Distort a monophonic bass synth.
Layer with a suitable dirty kick drum.
Compress the bass with the kick on the side-chain input.

 

Oh is it that simple?

 

Pretty much, if you know how to do it. Distortion (excessive) will destroy the low end, so you can try parallel distortion or multiband distortion (or both). You can add a lowpass filter after the distortion to tame the highs (as well as a highpass to make room for the low kick).
808s are originally just sine waves anyway, and distorting it will create more of a square (with those types of harmonics).

 

I agree with @Baxter...and if you're super lazy...I've heard that exact 808 (is it a 909, I'm too new!!!!) in Kontakt libraries for 808s like: New Era 808 & Bass, SSO Pro Drums, Tru Urban Speaker Buster..., West Coast Rider, and an 808 library from the ADSR guy (has light blue in it, and reminds me of boobs) which idk y I don't see...
or spend time watching stuff like 'ADSR Sounds 808 and Sub Bass Masterclass' it's way easier than it seems if you get taught the tricks.

 

My take on this:

Not strictly an 808 but yeah a shortish dull/hipassed synthesised kick over a bass synth smashed through a limiter (causing distortion) then heavily ducked / sidechained from the kick using a sidechain comp. Probably using another clipper / limiter to tame the end result.

 

A quick approximation

808 sample >>> Beepstreet dagger synth >>> D16 devastor >>> Sir Standard Clip >>> E27 EQ >>> Aom Invisible Limiter

I think nudge the synth right more will help

 

Nudged right and glued on the master with api style compressor

 

@focusrite Pls define "glued" in this context. I've had "glued" used in many different ways in explanations, and still don't understand what glued specifically means. ty for any help.

 

I've sent both the kick and the bass into a compressor which is making 2 voices sound more like 1 complete voice. If you send both kick and bass into the same reverb they would sound more together. The same thing can happen with a compressor.

 

k, ty. So gluing is really blending the two "sounds," either by forcing the RMS of both signals up/down together with a compressor making the blend or thru reverb blending the "sounds" together by adding the mid, highs thru algorithmic or convolution processing like Valhalla, or altiverb?

So saturation can do the same thing? Make the track "glued together" by adding harmonics/nice distortion to the total of the individual sounds on the Master Track, creating a blending again of the individual sounds?

 

Saturation smears transient so effectively it compresses, and glue things together. But it's highly material dependant.

 

and glue is an approximative term, one of those imagy term audio world loves, that illustrates pretty well the effect of a compressor (more specificaly the SSL, which is known for doing that with almost no effort), but it isn't really a technical term. There are a lot of expressions like this in audio (there is even a book about that, I forgot the name but it was on the sister site), images with meaning left to the imagination. It makes sense by experimenting them, try a few compressors on some drum breaks, some saturators (try satin, it's nice for gluing), you'll experiment the meaning of glue.