Debuting back in 1980 for nearly $1200, the Roland TR-808 has an intriguing creation story and even more interesting history from then through today. The “TR” stands for Transistor Rhythm, a nod to the fact that the sounds are actually created by the hardware in the machine rather than being preset samples. The modern market is much more flooded but the 808 was technologically revolutionary in it’s day.
When the engineers were first developing it, one of them accidentally spilled some tea on an early prototype. The device was later turned on and instantly made a sound resembling a crash cymbal. After months dedicated to recreating that exact sound, the engineers successfully created what ended up being the actual crash cymbal for the machine.
In addition to the uniquely generated audio, the Roland TR-808 was also programmable and capable of using unusual time signatures including 7/8 and 5/4. Despite all of these fancy features, the drum machine was actually not a great commercial success. Instead, it had mediocre sales and was replaced by a newer model after only a few years. But that’s not the end of the story…
A wide variety of hit artists including Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Marvin Gaye, Run DMC, and Whitney Houston all helped make the 808 popular to the average listener. They used it for it’s distinctive percussion sounds, especially the bass drum. It’s even managed to spur songs dedicated to it like Blaque’s 808.
The Roland TR-808 may not be a basic requirement of your hardware setup, but it is an essential part of music production history.
Leave a Reply