What is 909 kick?
The 909 kick is the kick drum sound of the Roland TR-909 drum machine: an analogue-synthesised drum built from a pitched body with a fast downward pitch envelope and a clicky attack. It is the most influential kick sound in techno and house.
Because the TR-909 synthesised its kick rather than playing a sample, the sound takes saturation and distortion exceptionally well — which is why it scales from deep house to hard techno. To recreate it, synthesise a sine or triangle body whose pitch drops from around 150–250 Hz to 40–55 Hz in under 100 ms, layer a short click for attack, and shape with saturation. Tune the fundamental to your track's key: in kick-driven techno the 909 is effectively the bass instrument.