WHAT IS THE TR 808?

The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines ("TR" serving as an initialism for Transistor Rhythm). Introduced by the Roland Corporation in late 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real drum kit. Indeed, because the TR-808 came out a few months after the Linn LM-1 (the first drum machine to use digital samples), professionals generally considered its sound inferior to sampling drum machines; a 1982 Keyboard Magazine review of the Linn Drum indirectly referred to the TR-808 as sounding like marching anteaters. However, the TR-808 cost US$1,000 upon its release, which was considerably more affordable than the US$5,000 LM-1.

The TR-808 was a step forward from Roland's previous CR-78 drum machine. The machine featured more sounds (eighteen in total) and better controls to allow the user to control the vision in waves in real time: volume knobs for the level of each sound and tone-shaping controls for the more important sounds. The memory capacity for storing patterns was increased substantially: 16 pattern locations were available, and furthermore, these could be chained together to produce songs, 22 of which could also be stored in memory. The memory was volatile (maintained by three DD batteries). The programming interface was hugely improved: a row of 16 buttons allowed the user to employ a very intuitive step-programming method—the pattern was divided up into 16 steps, and the buttons and LEDs indicated whether a drum sound played on each step. The unit also featured Roland's new DIN-Sync clock interface for synchronization with other equipment, plus various analog clock-outputs for slaving other devices. The TR-808 predated the invention of the MIDI interface; however such is the TR-808's enduring popularity that several third-party manufacturers provided MIDI-retrofit kits for it over the years.

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One of the earliest uses of the TR-808 for a live performance was by Yellow Magic Orchestra in December 1980 in the song "1000 Knives," composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto in 1978. The hand-clap sound was later publicized by YMO's innovative album BGM, released March 1981 in Japan; used again on "1000 Knives"; and in "Music Plans," another of Sakamoto's songs. One of the machine's earliest mainstream hits in the United States was on Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing."

In the mid-to-late 1980s, years after the TR-808 was discontinued, its sound again became popular, in part due to its kick drum sound, which could produce a very deep sub-bass. By the end of the 1980s, the TR-808 was popular within electronic music and hip-hop genres. As with many analogue electronic musical instruments, a great deal of effort has been put into sampling the sounds of the TR-808 for use in modern devices; however, due to the nature of analog circuitry, the result is often considered unsatisfactory and can sound unduly static and digital. Demand for the real 808 sound is so great that street prices for a used TR-808 have stayed close to what the cost of a new TR-808 was upon its initial release in 1980 when adjusted for inflation.

The sounds of the TR-808 were and still are very often used in drum and bass, hip-hop, R&B, house, electro, and many forms of electronic dance music, albeit often unrecognizable after extensive processing. One method is to lower the pitch of the kick drum to near sub-harmonic levels.

The popularity of the TR-808 has led to many artists referring to the machine in their lyrics,[1] and the group 808 State even named itself after the venerable machine, although Graham Massey recently admitted that up until the late 1980s he and the other members of 808 State thought the Roland TR-808 was "severely uncool."

On 8th August 2008 (08.08.08) a party was held in London to celebrate the TR-808. It featured 808 State, Arthur Baker, DMX Krew and I-f, artists associated with the machine. The party was organised by the electro label Citinite.

Kanye West's fourth studio album entitled 808s & Heartbreak apparently refers to the TR-808 in the album title because Kanye insisted that every track use TR-808 generated drum beats for a more 'tribal drum' to add more tribal feeling to his music as expressed in his song Love Lockdown and his other single Heartless.