What is the Roland TR-808?

The Roland TR-808 is a drum machine developed in 1980 by Roland’s founder Ikutaro Kakehashi with the intent of being used by professional artists. Originally, the machine saw little financial success and was discontinued in 1984 due to its poor reception as it was not an acoustic and realistic sounding drum machine well as changes in technology which made the 808 more difficult to replicate. Its original popularity drew from a Japanese group called The Plastics, a new wave band. The original purpose of the device was as a rhythm machine for backing tracks for groups without a drummer (Baker et. al). One of the main selling points for this device was the myriad of knobs and tuners which were completely customizable for the user, which gave artists the freedom to create new sounds and personalize their machine. However, the most prominent feature of the 808 was the “uncanny, futuristic sound,” which perfectly complimented the rise of synthetic “new wave music” in the 1980s (Wilson). The Roland TR-808 possessed an incredibly unique and unprecedented inorganic timbre which immediately caught the ears of producers and artists once they understood the capabilities of the machine.