Celebrating 40 years of the TR-808 Drum Machine
It’s hard to believe that a drum machine introduced in 1980 would still be celebrated today by lovers of culture, music, and design. Thank you to the people who ‘got’ the original 808, the artists who took it to another level and most importantly, everyone who loves the music that the Roland TR-808 inspired. Welcome to the continuing story of the most boombastic drum machine of all time–forty years on, still going strong.
Building the Beat: Inside Legendary TR-808 Tracks
Watch Arthur Baker, A Guy Called Gerald, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jermaine Dupri, the Avila Brothers, Cozmo D, and Carl Craig discuss mainstream hits and underground classics from their discographies.
PART 1
THE ORIGIN
LATE 1970S, JAPAN
In the late 1970s, the idea of a ‘drum machine’ was unusual. Although people made music at home, it was typically with a piano, organ or guitar. And since most households didn’t own an acoustic drum kit, an electronic drum machine would give families an easy and enjoyable way to include rhythm in their music making. It was at this point that Roland started work on developing a rhythm machine for the masses...
CR-78: THE
FORERUNNER
Launched in 1978, the CompuRhythm CR-78 was Roland’s first drum machine that created and stored patterns. Even though it was meant as a rhythm accompaniment device for organs—hence the abundance of waltz and bossa nova patterns—it became fairly popular with established musicians, including Phil Collins who used it several years later on ‘In the Air Tonight’.
THE
ENGINEER’S
DILEMMA
Tasked with producing the CR-78’s successor, a young team of Roland engineers sat down to exchange ideas. Working under Tadao Kikumoto (seen here with an early prototype), Hiro Nakamura was asked to develop the analog voice circuits for the unnamed product, which was intended to help pro-musicians create demos. But there was a problem: late ‘70s analog technology wasn’t very good at creating realistic drum sounds.
THE
SOUND
The goal for the new machine, now called the TR-808, was to include realistic-sounding drums. Memory chips (needed to play back sampled recordings of ‘real’ drum sounds) were too expensive, so the engineers used analog synthesis to recreate the sounds—initially on Roland’s System-700 modular system before recreating the parameters on the TR-808’s analog circuitry. Although a simple choice born of necessity, choosing analog over digital technology would have a profound impact on music in the years to come.
THE SECRET
WEAPON
Transistors which had been rejected as ‘out of specification’ were purchased by Roland and used as part of the TR-808’s sound generating capability. Although they weren’t faulty, they did exhibit some very particular qualities that helped give the 808 its distinctive sizzling sound. In fact, this tiny component, also known as an 2SC828-R, was so important to the final sound, that once supplies were used up, the TR-808 was discontinued. It’s also partly why most modern analog takes on the TR-808 don’t really stand up to scrutiny.
THE
SEQUENCER
Look at the front panel of a Roland TR-808 and you’ll see the words ‘Rhythm Composer’—a reminder of the designers’ original intention. Through a row of 16 distinctively colored buttons, people could easily program (and store) their own beats which meant that the TR-808 became an accessible and creative instrument in its own right. It was also the first appearance of Roland’s ‘TR-REC’ method of creating a drum beat—which is still in use today.
808: THE
SPEAKER
KILLER
Since the 808 sound was analog, many tonal adjustments were possible—less sizzle in the hi-hats, extra snappiness in the snare and, critically, more punch in the kick drum. Being able to extend the decay of the kick drum to reveal more of that warm analog tone, gave the TR-808 something very special indeed—the power to make people move. Much to the delight of speaker manufacturers, a cranked-up 808 track would regularly blow out speaker cones.
PART 2
PRODUCTION
1980-1982
The Roland TR-808 was officially in production for just two years—from 1980 to 1982. Around 12,000 units were manufactured and although it received support from early adopters like Japan’s Yellow Magic Orchestra, it wasn’t considered a commercial success. In 1982, the competitor LinnDrum was launched, helping shift the trend away from analog and towards digital sample-based drum machines. The TR-808 started to look like its time had come and gone...but ironically, its premature demise was merely the beginning.
THE CREATOR
TADAO KIKUMOTO
Forty years after the original TR-808 was launched, Tadao Kikumoto looks back on his most famous creation—and talks about his current projects, including a return to the 808 concept.
READ MORE
Voxel TR-808 by Meral Ezgi
PART 3
CROSSOVER
MID-1980’S ONWARDS - ACCESS ALL AREAS
Once the TR-808 was discontinued, a familiar story unfolded when units started to appear in second-hand shops, swiftly acquired by younger artists with a penchant for risk-taking and rulebreaking. From the mid-eighties, the 808 sound would become deeply embedded within a variety of electronic music scenes that had one thing in common—the music appealed to those who loved to party. From Chicago to Detroit, Manchester to Miami, here are some of the people and the music who helped make it happen.
THE 40-YEAR PLAYLIST
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF AMAZING MUSIC, MADE WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE TR-808.
PART 4
MADE ON 808
GOING INSIDE THE MUSIC
Electro, pop, soul, hip hop, techno, house, trap, Miami bass and beyond; you know something unusual is happening when the same drums are heard across a variety of different music genres. The TR-808 has been at the heart of some truly amazing tracks over the years, spanning an equally amazing variety of musical genres. Dive into some 808-powered classics and find out what made them tick.
TRY THE TR-808 IN YOUR BROWSER
(ALONG WITH OTHER ROLAND CLASSICS)
In celebration of our 50th Anniversary, Roland has collaborated with sound designer Yuri Suzuki to create Roland 50 Studio, a digital reworking of some of our most famous and influential devices. Explore the TR-808 right now, along with the SP-404MKII sampler, TB-303 Bass Line, and SH-101 synthesizer. You can even save the results to share with the world!
LEGENDARY SOUND.
ICONIC GEAR.
Attention 808 fanatics: Wear your love for the drum machine. The TR-808 collection of tees, hats, and jackets is made for music makers and rule breakers.
