How to Make 808 Glides in FL Studio: Slides, Portamento and Mono Mode

That 808 that bends up into the next bar, or drops an octave right before the hook, is one of the most recognizable sounds in trap and drill. The good news: FL Studio has everything you need built in. There are three ways to make an 808 glide, and each one feels a little different. Here's how all three work, which one to pick, and what to check when your slide just won't happen.

Quick answer

• Slide notes: draw a note with Slide mode on (press S in the Piano roll) and let it overlap your 808 note. The 808 bends toward the pitch of the slide note.
• Mono mode: turn on Mono in the channel's settings. Any two 808 notes that overlap will glide from one to the other. The SLIDE knob sets how long that takes.
• Portamento: give a note the porta flag (press O in the Piano roll), or turn on Porta for the whole channel. You get a short glide into that note.

One rule for all three: they only work with FL Studio's own instruments, like the Sampler. Image-Line states that sliding and portamento are not supported by VST instruments.

Before you start: load the 808 in the Sampler and tune it

Drag your 808 sample into the Channel rack so it opens in FL Studio's Sampler. That's the easiest way to get glides working, because the Sampler is a native instrument.

Then make sure the 808 is actually tuned. A glide moves from one note to another, so if FL Studio thinks your sample is a C while it's really an F, every slide will land on the wrong note. Here's how to fix that in a few minutes: how to tune an 808 in FL Studio. New to 808s in general? Start with what an 808 is.

Method 1: slide notes in the Piano roll

This is the most precise method. You decide exactly where each glide starts, where it goes and how fast it moves.

1. Open the Piano roll for your 808 channel and draw your normal 808 note.
2. Turn on Slide mode with the slide button in the toolbar, or press S. New notes you draw are now slide notes.
3. Draw a slide note on the pitch you want the 808 to glide to, and make it overlap the note that's already playing. According to Image-Line, a slide note has to overlap the note it slides. A slide note on its own makes no sound.
4. Adjust the length. The length of the slide note controls how fast the pitch changes: short is a quick bend, long is a slow, lazy glide.
5. Press S again to go back to drawing normal notes.

Two details that save you headaches: the 808 note you're bending has to keep playing until the slide is done (if it ends early, the slide stops halfway), and slide notes only affect notes with the same note color.

Method 2: mono mode and the SLIDE knob

This is the quickest way to get that classic "the 808 rolls into the next note" sound, and a lot of producers set up their 808 channel like this by default.

1. Click your 808 in the Channel rack to open its settings and go to the Miscellaneous functions tab.
2. In the Polyphony section, turn on Mono. The channel now plays one note at a time.
3. Back in the Piano roll, let two 808 notes overlap a little. Image-Line explains that in mono mode two overlapping notes slide from one to the other, no matter how big the overlap is.
4. Use the SLIDE knob in that same section to set the slide time. The further right, the longer the glide.

The nice part: notes that don't overlap just play normally. So you control which notes glide simply by making them touch or not.

Method 3: portamento

Portamento is a short, automatic glide from the end of one note into the next. In the Piano roll, turn on the porta button in the toolbar or press O, and draw the note you want to glide into. Image-Line describes it as a short slide in pitch from the previous note to the note with the portamento flag, which you'll hear most on bigger jumps.

You can also switch on Porta in the channel's Miscellaneous functions tab. Then every note on that channel glides in, and the SLIDE knob sets the glide time. That's handy for an 808 that should glide constantly, but for most beats, a glide on a few chosen notes hits harder.

Which method should you use?

• Want full control over every bend? Slide notes.
• Want to sketch fast and glide by overlapping notes? Mono mode.
• Want a short glide into one specific note? Portamento on that note.

There's no wrong answer. Plenty of producers use mono mode for the everyday glides and slide notes for the one big bend before the hook.

How to make your glides sound good

Getting the 808 to slide is the technical part. Making it sound like a record is about where you put the glides.

• Stay in key. Glide to notes that fit your beat, like the next root note, the octave or the fifth. Not sure what key your beat or sample is in? Drop it into the free Beat Lab and you'll see the key and BPM right away.
• Start from a solid bassline. In most beats the 808 follows the root notes of the chords. The free chord progression generator gives you a MIDI file with a chords track and a bass line on the root notes. Drag that bass line onto your 808 channel and add glides from there.
• Glide into the change. A glide right before a new chord, a new bar or the drop sounds intentional. A glide in a random spot sounds like a mistake.
• Use the octave. Jumping up or down an octave and gliding back is a simple move that adds a lot of bounce, especially in drill.
• Don't glide everything. If every note bends, nothing stands out. A few glides per four bars usually does more than a constant wobble.
• Leave room for the vocal. Long, slow glides under a busy verse can clash with the rapper. Save the dramatic ones for gaps and transitions.
• Watch the kick. A kick landing on top of a glide can make your low end muddy. Read how to mix 808 and kick for fixes.

Want to see glides in a full beat? Step 4 of how to make a drill beat in FL Studio uses them in context.

808 glide not working? Check this

1. Is the 808 in a native instrument? Slides and portamento don't work with third party VST plugins. Load the sample in the Sampler instead. If you want to stay in a VST, Image-Line suggests automating the channel's pitch knob, and many 808 plugins also have their own glide setting.
2. Do the notes overlap? Slide notes and mono mode glides both need overlapping notes. If there's even a tiny gap, nothing happens.
3. Does the first note last long enough? If the note you're bending ends before the slide is finished, the glide stops early.
4. Same note color? Slide notes only affect notes in the same color group.
5. Is the SLIDE knob turned all the way left? In mono or porta mode, a very short slide time can make the glide too fast to hear.
6. Does it land on the wrong note? Then the root note of your sample is probably off. Tune it first.

Need 808s that are ready to slide?

A glide is only as good as the 808 underneath it. NAME The Trap Oneshot Pack Vol. 1 has 26 808s, plus kicks, hats, claps, crashes and FX, all royalty-free. Load one in the Sampler, tune it, and try all three methods above.

FAQ

What's the difference between slide and portamento in FL Studio?

Portamento is a short glide from one note into the next, triggered by the note you glide into. A slide note bends a note that's already playing, and you set how fast it moves with the length of the slide note. Slides give you more control, portamento is quicker to set up.

Can I make 808 glides with a VST plugin?

Not with FL Studio's slide notes or portamento, since Image-Line says those only work with native instruments. Use the plugin's own glide or portamento setting if it has one, or automate the channel's pitch knob.

How long should an 808 glide be?

There's no fixed rule. Start short, about a sixteenth note, and make it longer until it feels right with the tempo and the vocal. Slow glides sound heavier, fast glides sound more bouncy.

Do 808 glides work the same in trap and drill?

The technique is the same. Drill tends to use more glides and more octave jumps, while trap often keeps the 808 steadier with a few glides at key moments.

More free help for your beats, from a BPM and key finder to a master checker? Check out all our free music tools.