Roland TR-808

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The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines ("TR" serving as an acronym 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 had a significant advantage over the LM-1 in that its $1,000 pricetag was much more favorable to musicians (compared to the LM-1, which was priced at almost $5,000).

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 in March 1981 in Japan, used on "1000 Knives" as well as in another of Sakamoto's songs, "Music Plans".

The TR-808 was an important step forward from Roland's previous CR-78 drum machine; although both have developed a dedicated following, the sound of the TR-808 is generally considered to be more powerful and have more "punch." The TR-808 also featured more sounds (sixteen in total) and better controls to allow the user to control the sounds 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: 32 pattern locations were available, and furthermore, these could be "chained" together to produce "songs", 12 of which could also be stored in memory. The memory was non-volatile (maintained by three AA 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 is divided up into 16 steps, and the buttons and LEDs indicate whether a drum sound plays on each step. The unit also featured Roland's new "DIN-Sync" clock interface for synchronization with other equipment, plus various analogue 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.

It was only in the mid-to-late 1980s, years after the TR-808 was discontinued, that its sound became popular. One factor leading to its popularity was its kick drum sound, which could produce a very deep sub-bass. By the end of the 1980s, the TR-808 was very 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 analogue circuitry, the result is rarely satisfactory and can sound unduly "static" and "digital." Demand for the "real" 808 sound is so great that street prices for a used TR-808 are nearly as high as the cost of a new TR-808 upon its initial release in 1980.

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. On the track Super Disco Breakin' off their Hello Nasty album, the Beastie Boys quip that "Nothing sounds quite like an 808." Outkast's Big Boi also boasts "Cuz' I know y'all wanted that 808/can you feel that b-a-s-s bass?" in the 2004 hit "The Way You Move". Famed R&B songstress Kelis told listeners: "I'm back with an 808" in her 2006 hit "Bossy", and in the song My Posse's on Broadway, Sir Mix-a-Lot proclaims: "The 808 kick drum makes the girlies get dumb". As well, 808 kick samples provided the basis for the majority of the basslines in early jungle/drum and bass tracks in the early to mid '90s, and continues to provide many to the present day, albeit often often unrecognisable after extensive processing.

Yamaha integrates an electronic drumkit into its keyboards known as the "Analog Kit". Although it does not reproduce the TR-808 perfectly, it provides a very similar tone and feel.

The TR-808 also served as the inspiration for the name of British electronic band 808 State.

Contents

[edit] Features

<img src = http://www.synthtopia.com/synth_review/synth_images/808.jpg>

  • Number of memory locations for user-programmable rhythm patterns:
    • two banks of 12 (or these can be combined to give 1 bank of 12 double length patterns)
    • plus: an additional two banks of 4 for use as "Intro / Fill-in" (again, these can be combined to give 1 bank of 4 double length patterns)
  • Number of song memory locations (ie lists patterns chained together)
    • 12 'tracks' each storing a list of up to 64 patterns (tracks themselves can also be chained together)
    • song and pattern memories maintained by three 1.5 volt AA batteries (dry cell) Roland Manuals (T)
  • Divisions per pattern:
    • maximum of 32 steps per pattern
  • Sound Sources:
    • Bass drum
    • Snare drum
    • Low Tom or Low Conga (selectable)
    • Mid Tom or Mid Conga (selectable)
    • Hi Tom or Hi Conga (selectable)
    • Rimshot or Claves (selectable)
    • Handclap or Maracas (selectable)
    • Cow bell
    • Cymbal
    • Open hi-hat or Closed hi-hat (selectable)
    • Accent (Note that "Accent" is not itself a sound; rather, it allows the musician to place 'accents' — that is, to increase the loudness — on certain steps in the pattern. All sounds playing on these steps are accented.)

[edit] Clones

The popularity of the TR-808 is such that many companies have seen fit to cater to a significant market of musicians who want the sound of the TR-808, but are not able to pay for one. This has led to a rise in "clones" - devices designed to emulate the TR-808, for a much cheaper price.

Popular clones include:

  • Elektron MachineDrum SPS-1
  • Jomox AirBase 99 and XBase 09 - emulates the Roland CR-78, TR-808, and TR-909
  • Novation DrumStation - an analogue emulation drum module which imitates the waveforms created by the original TR-808 and TR-909
  • Propellerhead Software ReBirth RB-338 - one of the first software synthesizers which includes accurate emulations of the Roland TB-303, TR-909, and TR-808.
  • The Zoom company's MRT-3B drum machine also features many 808-style sounds.

Many of Roland's other products, including their electronic drums, include TR-808-style drum sounds, although they may be samples and are usually not the same sound.

[edit] Notable artists who have used the TR-808

(Some of the following, such as Chris Carter or Beyoncé, may have only used samples of the TR-808. In this case, almost all past and current southern hip hop music have used samples of the TR-808.)

[edit] External links

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