Roland TR-808
Rhythm Composer
Date Produced - 1980-1984
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 cost $1,000 upon its release, which was considerably more affordable than the $5,000 LM-1.
History
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 again on "1000 Knives," as well as in another of Sakamoto's songs, "Music Plans". One of the machine's earlest mainstream hits in the United States was on Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing."
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.
Contemporary Use
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
The sounds of the TR-808 were and still are very often used in drum and bass,
The popularity of the TR-808 has led many artists to reference the machine in their lyrics.
The TR-808 also served as the inspiration for the name of British electronic band 808 State.
Features
- 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.)
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 - the TRX machine synthesis algorithms are directly inspired by the Roland TR series
- 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 that included 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.
- D16 Group's Nepheton - A VST instrument that emulates the TR-808. The D16 team indicated they carefully studied each waveform coming out of the 808's transistors and made their software emulate it.
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.
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