Roland apparently sold about 12,000 units during the 808’s short lifespan. Like so much of the story, that ‘flop’ has to be considered in context. After just a couple of years, the 808 was discontinued and replaced by the all-new 909, a beefier machine with built-in MIDI, swing, pitch control, sample-based cymbals and various other tweaks to address the limitations of its predecessor.
The usual narrative is that the 808 was a commercial flop for Roland, beaten by the sample-based – and therefore much more realistic-sounding – Linn LM-1 and LinnDrum. Priced at $1,195 on release – the equivalent of about $3,700 today – the 808 wasn’t cheap. They don’t necessarily sound bad, just distinctly early-1980s, whereas the 808 still features in hit pop records to this day. Its contemporaries, such as the LinnDrum or Oberheim DMX sound dated in a way that the 808 doesn’t. Now celebrating its 40th birthday, the 808 has become a timeless musical-instrument sound in the vein of the distorted electric guitar or an acid bassline from one of Roland’s other iconic machines, the TB-303. The later TR-909’s kick drum is punchier and some might argue that the cheaper TR-606 has better hi-hats, but the 808 is the sound of electro and a sizeable chunk of 1980s hip-hop, as well as an eclectic range of other eras and genres. But that’s not really the point of the 808. The rival Linn LM-1 Drum Computer, also released in 1980, offered much more authentic sounds (albeit at a much higher price) thanks to its revolutionary sample-based design.
None of it sounds particularly realistic, of course. Hook the 808 up to a half-decent pair of speakers and its glorious analogue sounds will surely win you over, from the booming kick to the amazingly characterful clap, the sizzling hi-hats and the funky percussive blips of the rimshots and claves. Never mind the absence of ‘proper’ sequencing or pitch-perfect kick drums, there was no doubt that this was still an engaging and inspiring instrument.
No tuning on anything but the tom/conga circuits.įor all its limitations, however, I found myself glued to the 808 some half an hour later, prodding at its chunky buttons in some kind of trance. No swing or any other kind of MIDI control. Okay, the sounds were all there but was this it? The 808 is basic by modern standards: a simple step sequencer, 11 sound circuits (some of which double up as two instruments, forcing you to choose between a tom and a conga, or a maraca and a handclap) and not much else. Which is why, a few years down the line, in a studio somewhere in deepest West Yorkshire, I was left nonplussed when I finally got my hands on a real-life 808. I’d built it up too much in my mind, from the moment when, as a teenager in the 1990s, I discovered that this one mythical machine was behind the rhythms of an eclectic selection of my favourite tracks, from Planet Rock to Sexual Healing via Voodoo Ray to name but a few. At the very least, it’s got to be the most widely known its signature kick drum makes it one of a select group of electronic instruments recognisable to the general public. There’s a strong argument that the Roland TR-808 is the definitive drum machine: innovative, distinctive, enormously popular, and responsible for entire musical genres that sprung up around it.
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