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The Roland TR-808: the drum machine that revolutionised music
- kepano 11y agoThere's a documentary about the 808 coming out this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIS-o_--wqY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIS-o_--wqY Looks amazing.
- sosuke 11y agoAlso a BBC radio story on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBvmnqeJWl4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBvmnqeJWl4 No telling if it is any good though BBC is fairly reliable.
- grimmdude 11y agoThat 808 tho
- andrewtbham 11y agoIt is still referenced frequently in rap music. "That 808 bump makes you put your hands up." - fly like a g6
- S_A_P 11y agoD-Nice used to call himself the TR-808. I always thought that was weird since he never really used them in his music...
- Expeditus419 11y agoI was thinking the same. Ironically, their rivalry with Marley Marl and MC Shan was started with the song "The Bridge" which featured a prominent TR-808. Here's Marley breaking down how he created the beat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IxUXfhC8TI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IxUXfhC8TI
- sneak 11y agoKanye has an album titled "808s and Heartbreak". I'm still waiting for someone in techno to make an album called "909s and Ecstasy".
- bgilroy26 11y agoThe pre-chorus of Big Boi's The Way You Move features the 808, that song hit no. 1 in 2003 Big K.R.I.T. wrote a 808-themed creation story, and featured the song on his 2014 album, Cadillactica https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIeuw1Ce5pk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIeuw1Ce5pk
- S_A_P 11y agoI've owned a TR-606/TB-303, 2 TR-808s and currently own a TR-8. I bought my first 808 in college in 1998 for 750 bucks. Being a broke college student I sold it to pay for school. After college I bought another TR-808 for 700 in 2003 and kept it for 2 years. I grew bored of the sound, and had taken a decent enough sample set of it to replace it for most uses. The second 808 I had I modded to extend the decay of the kick drum to the point of self oscillation. I also bought a new row of buttons for it. Lastly I added a midi-DIN sync box. I had considered adding a pitch pot on the kick drum but prices were rising to the point that I thought was an 808 bubble(a princely sum of 1600 dollars). Now I see tr-808s on ebay for 3000+ and kick myself. For anyone interested, the TR-8 does a good job emulating the TR-808/909 for the most part. I find the 808 cymbal(and to a lesser degree the hi-hat) sound nowhere near as good as the original and far less adjustable. The snares don't quite have the snap I hear in my 808 samples. It should be noted though that there was quite a bit of variation from unit to unit in the TR-808. My first 808 had a nice long 2-3 second kick decay, while the second one I owned was about .5 seconds(which is why I did the mod) the hi hat and cymbals are a slightly different pitch as well. I bought the 7x7-TR8 expansion and while somewhat useful(I like the 707 snare) the 707/727 sounds rarely get any use. The expansion did include some new takes on the 909 kick, snare and non specific clap and snap sounds. I really like to play with the new snap sounds, as it is a cool noise generator effect. I haven't seen any news around this, but it seems silly for them not to do a TR-606/DR-55 expansion pack for the TR-8. I would have bought that over the 7X7 expansion. There is a TR-808 documentary coming out soon 808themovie.com that will have tons of artist interviews who made their name with the 808. This article did a decent job of naming music that really used an 808, as there was one a few months ago that suggested mostly 909 tracks or tracks that may have used 808 samples sporadically in them. I get a bit pedantic about that because to me, you aren't using an 808 if you loaded a drum sampler with 808 sounds. Beastie Boys licensed to ill is a great example of an album made mostly with an 808(but synced up with a sequential circuits drumtraks and possibly a linndrum on one or 2 tracks) By the late 80s, most rap was made on sp-12/1200s and akai MPCs.
- swombat 11y agoWhat I don't understand is why bother owning the hardware these days, other than personal taste? Surely the reproduction of an ancient hardware drum sequencer in today's software should be perfect. I'm not criticising your preference for using hardware, that's your call. Some people still like to use vinyl, and I guess that's pretty cool. And some people still like to use hardware synths. And so on... but at the end of the day, unless you're doing something on the hardware that is impossible to do with software (e.g. some kinds of scratching could be argued to be impossible to reproduce exactly without vinyls and turntables), it seems to me the only reason to use a hardware 808 is basically personal preference. Happy to be explained why I'm wrong though. Are there any quantifiable differences between a physical 808 and a software one?
- jsnk 11y agoI wrote about TR-808 when I did an article on drum machines in college newspaper a few years ago. (http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/2011/06/01/8761/legendary-drum-machines/ http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/2011/06/01/8761/legendary-drum-...) Hope you find it interesting.
- jsmthrowaway 11y agoThe TR-808 is up there with samplers and the Amen Break in terms of defining modern music. If you have twenty minutes, there's a wonderful video explaining the Amen Break that I suggest everybody watch at least once: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac
- blt 11y agoIMO Amen was much more fleeting than the 808. Can't remember the last time I heard Amen in a mainstream track. Amen is super gritty and compressed which limits its style. 808 is an instrument, much more malleable.
- agumonkey 11y agoI thought that was the machine behind some Prince tunes, but it's a Linn LM-1 not a TR808. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMad5DLHNOw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMad5DLHNOw. Anyway good read.
- acomjean 11y agoThere was/is a software version of said drum machine. Back in mac os8 days, it made me realize how odd it is to try and turn nobs with a mouse. It made me think the interface is hard to use on a computer, unless you had the original hardware and knew how to use it already. It seemed like there should be a better way. But it was fun. now touch version on ipad. I haven't tried it but I'm not convinced the knobs work better on touch than they would have on the computer. https://www.propellerheads.se/rebirth https://www.propellerheads.se/rebirth
- joezydeco 11y agoIf you're nostalgic for these kind of drum machines and you're a fan of the old Nintendo Game'n'Watch, you need to check out the stuff Teenage Engineering is creating: https://www.teenageengineering.com/products/po https://www.teenageengineering.com/products/po
- radley 11y agoI'm going to break ranks and say the 909 was the far more revolutionary work horse. The 808 has a very 80s hip-hop / electro sound which was limiting. OTOH, the 909 has a very generalized sound with a strong kick and snare that has supported the bulk of EDM for the last 20+ years.
- JonnieCache 11y agoThe 808 bass drum dominates UK dance music as an pitched, melodic sound. Distort it through a cheap desk, sample it with a couple of layers and you're away. Drum and bass and dubstep are both built on a foundation of 808s, even if you cant necessarily pick them out. Here's a video tutorial of some producers walking you through this technique, with a real 808 and an EMU 6400 ultra sampler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yheX4yrOOQI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yheX4yrOOQI Here's Truly One by Origin Unknown, which uses two 808 samples a semitone apart so that they beat against each other, another of the many many 808 techniques: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNNg6UYoDTI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNNg6UYoDTI (What a record. Feel the rush!)
- radley 11y agoInteresting to see the 808 as the foundation of their final kick, but the final result is far from the natural 808 sound. (808 is still a sexy beast tho). The 909 has been the standard kick for house, techno, et al for a long time with little need for modification. In the hands of an expert, almost any drum machine can be amazing. For example, I never understood / liked old Alesis drum machines, but wow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDkjNb7XKsI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDkjNb7XKsI
- ChuckMcM 11y agoFor what ever reason I never 'clicked' with the UX of the 808 or the 909. I ended up with the Alesis sr-16 and then later a drum sound module unit. For me, it wasn't until I could program it from my computer that I felt I could tap some of its expressiveness.
- bane 11y agoThe 808 has such a dominant sound in a mix that it almost ends up dictating the rest of the mix and sets such a powerful mood - it's no wonder that it formed the backbone of so many different dance genres. I always preferred the sound of the 909 growing up, but as I get older the 808 continues to stay relevant as a sound even after the 909 has started to sound a little stale. To this day I mentally catalog drum machines as "808-ish" or "909-ish". The definitive 808 track for me has always been Polygon Window by The Dice Man off of the still absolutely amazing first Artificial Intelligence compilation album, one of the defining electronic music albums ever put together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVp6NH59d3M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVp6NH59d3M
- cdcarter 11y agoCan you share a strong example track of the 909 sound? I don't know the difference at all, so I'd love to hear!
- louthy 11y agoMr Fingers - Can You Feel It https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHwyzz2LMWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHwyzz2LMWA Laurent Garnier - Acid Eiffel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdeVX7UjeIk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdeVX7UjeIk Dave Clark - Thunder (This uses very extreme compression on the 909) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMxGHEpdyCs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMxGHEpdyCs All three tracks also use the Roland TB-303 Bass Line synth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TB-303 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TB-303
- bane 11y agoAwesome examples. And to fill it all in, some classic 303 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f7cylz6tl4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f7cylz6tl4 With a couple 303s, and 808 and a 909 (and a sparse set of effects), you can produce a big part of late 90s, early 2000s EDM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5IQm6ke18Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5IQm6ke18Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1X4rl8m3ng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1X4rl8m3ng
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- luisjgomez 11y agobass drum: 909 >>> 808 Not even close from techno perspective
- louthy 11y agoIf dry, I agree (unless you're making dub-techno, in which case the 808 BD is king). But with cunning use of compression and EQ you can do plenty with an 808 BD that would allow it to be used in techno.
- S_A_P 11y agoI am definitely more of an 808 fan but on the surface I would agree that the 909 is a better machine in almost every way. The snare is great. The kick is nice and punchy, but while offering more knobs it's less adjustable. I think if the 909 offered the long kick the 808 has it would have a much larger place in more types of music. For me what kills the 909 is the cymbals and hi hats. They are definitely great for 120-140bpm music but if you slow the tempo to 80-90bpm the machine sounds disjointed and doesn't "flow". When the aria videos came out for the tr-8 the original engineer said that if he were building a new sampled drum machine today he would use the same hi hats and cymbal. I just happen to disagree with that decision. I wish they would have made the 909 100% analog or at least had an option for analog or samples. I think the 909 samples sound really bad.
- kubiiii 11y agoI found a TR808 in a garage sale 10 years ago. Nice memories! There is a cheaper alternative with a similar sound and programmation capabilities (althoughfar more cumbersome and no sound tweak possibilities) : the CR8000. All this gear is getting expensive these days, but maybe Roland will follow Korg's lead with the MS20 and rebuild TRs.