Roland TR-808

The Roland TR-808 is a drum machine created in 1980 by the Roland Corporation. The drum machine utilizes imitations of acoustic drums sounds as opposed to live drum samples, and included a bass drum, snare, toms, conga, rimshot, claves, handclap, maraca, cowbell, cymbal, and open and closed hi-hats. Although initially a failure and discontinued in 1983, the TR-808 found a resurgence in the late 80's due to it's affordability on the resale market. It would then go on to be used in important songs of the time such as "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye and "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa.

The Roland TR-808 has maintained a heavy relevance in the sound of today's music as many drum samples are derived from this particular drum machine. Most notably, the Roland TR-808's bass drum has become one of the most popular and influential bass drum in modern music. So much so, that the term "808" has come to refer to that particular drum sound in production communities. The sounds of all the TR-808's drums have been evolved and manipulated in many ways over the years of its existence by producers and engineers. However, the basis of nearly every drum sound that is not sampled from live instrumentation is rooted in the TR-808 drum machine. It was also a major factor in the shift from sample-based hip hop production to DAW-based hip hop production