The 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 initialism for Transistor Rhythm). For the early "drum machine" computers that used a rotating cylinder as their main memory see Drum memory A drum machine is an Acronyms, initialisms, and alphabetisms are Abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name In Electronics, a transistor is a Semiconductor device commonly used to amplify or switch electronic signals Introduced by the Roland Corporation in late 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. is a Japanese manufacturer of Electronic musical instruments electronic equipment and Software. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) A demo version or demo of a song (shortened from the word "demonstration" is one recorded for reference rather than for release 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. The LM-1 Drum Computer, manufactured by Linn Electronics Inc, was the first Drum machine to utilize Digital Samples of acoustic Drums Keyboard Magazine is a Music -related Magazine that covers the Electronic keyboard instruments Anteaters are the four Mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating Ants and Termites Together with the Sloths However, the TR-808 cost US$1,000 upon its release, which was considerably more affordable than the US$5,000 LM-1.

Features

The TR-808 was a step forward from Roland's previous CR-78 drum machine. The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a Drum machine launched in 1978 While both have developed a dedicated following, the sound of the TR-808 is generally considered to be more powerful and have more punch. The machine 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). Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, is Computer memory that can retain the stored information The programming interface was hugely improved: a row of 16 buttons allowed the user to employ a very intuitive step-programming method—the pattern was divided up into 16 steps, and the buttons and LEDs indicated whether a drum sound played on each step. The unit also featured Roland's new DIN-Sync clock interface for synchronization with other equipment, plus various analog clock-outputs for slaving other devices. In Telecommunication, a slave clock is a clock that is coordinated with a master clock. 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. MIDI ( Musical Instrument Digital Interface, ˈmɪdi is an industry-standard protocol that enables Electronic musical instruments Computers Retrofitting refers to the addition of new technology or features to older systems

• 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 four 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. In electronics a battery is a combination of two or more Electrochemical cells which store chemical Energy which can be converted into electrical energy A bass drum is a large Drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The snare drum is a Drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire metal cable plastic cable or gut cords stretched across the a drumhead typically A tom-tom (not to be confused with a Tamtam) is a cylindrical Drum with no snare. The conga is tall narrow single-headed Cuban Drum of African origin probably derived from the Congolese Makuta drums or Sikulu This article references the term in the world of music For the term's use in radio and television broadcasting see Rimshot (broadcasting. Claves are a Percussion instrument ( Idiophone) consisting of a pair of short (about 20-30 cm thick dowels A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces as in the body parts of humans or animals Maraca is also a genus of Tarantula. Maracas ( sometimes called rumba See Cowbell (instrument for the percussion instrument A cow bell is a bell worn by freely roaming livestock so they don't run Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument Cymbals consist of thin normally round plates of various Cymbal alloys; see Cymbal making for a discussion of their A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of Cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a Drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, Disco All sounds playing on these steps are accented. )

The sounds on the TR-808 are a development from the earlier TR-33, TR-55 & TR-77 machines, and the CR-78. The Roland Rhythm 33 (sometimes known by its model number the Roland TR-33) is a preset Drum machine (or "beatbox" produced by Roland The Roland Rhythm 55 (sometimes known by its model number the Roland TR-55) is a preset Drum machine (or "beatbox" produced by Roland in The Roland Rhythm 77 Drum machine was Roland's first product (formerly Ace electronics - released in 1972 The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a Drum machine launched in 1978 These machines predominatly used tuned resonance voice circuits for pitched drum sounds and shaped white noise for others. In Physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to Oscillate at maximum Amplitude at certain frequencies, known as the system's White noise is a random signal (or process with a flat Power spectral density. The TR-808 improves on these designs, including for example adding detuned square wave oscillators (cow bell, cymbal) and analogue reverberation (handclap). A square wave is a kind of Non-sinusoidal waveform, most typically encountered in Electronics and Signal processing. Reverberation is the persistence of Sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed However, the distinctive metal beat sound from the CR-78 was not used, nor some of the Latin percussion sounds (e. g. , guiro, tambourine) from the TR-77 and CR-78.

Popular media

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. Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO is an influential Japanese Electropop band formed in 1978 The hand-clap sound was later publicized by YMO's innovative album BGM, released 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 earliest mainstream hits in the United States was on Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing. Marvin Pentz Gay Jr, known as Marvin Gaye ( April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Singer-songwriter "

In the mid-to-late 1980s, years after the TR-808 was discontinued, its sound again became popular, in part due to its kick drum sound, which could produce a very deep sub-bass. A bass drum is a large Drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. By the end of the 1980s, the TR-808 was popular within electronic music and hip-hop genres. Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with As with many analogue electronic musical instruments, a great deal of effort has been put into sampling the sounds of the TR-808 for use in modern devices; however, due to the nature of analogue circuitry, the result is often considered unsatisfactory and can sound unduly static and digital. In Music, sampling is the act of taking a portion or sample, of one Sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording Demand for the real 808 sound is so great that street prices for a used TR-808 are actually higher than the cost of a new TR-808 was upon its initial release in 1980.

The sounds of the TR-808 were and still are very often used in drum and bass, hip-hop, R&B, house, electro and many forms of electronic dance music, albeit often unrecognizable after extensive processing. Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with House music is a style of Electronic dance music initially popularized in mid-1980s Discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino Electro ( electro-boogie, electro-funk) is a Genre of Electronic music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 and Funk Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production One method is to lower the pitch of the kick drum to near sub-harmonic levels, which can destroy loudspeakers.

The popularity of the TR-808 has led to many artists referring to the machine in their lyrics,^[1] and the group 808 State even named itself after the venerable machine, although Graham Massey recently admitted that up until the late 1980s he and the other members of 808 State thought the Roland TR-808 was "severely uncool."

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. 808 State are an English Electronic music outfit formed in 1988 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 Drum machine This has led to a rise in clones—devices designed to emulate the TR-808 for a much cheaper price.

Popular clones include the following:

• Audiobits 8-Tron VSTi
• 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 that 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. Elektron is an electronic musical instrument company based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a Drum machine launched in 1978 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a partially analog, partially sample-based Drum machine built by the Japanese Roland Corporation Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd is a UK musical equipment manufacturer ReBirth RB-338 (commonly referred to as simply ReBirth is a Software synthesizer for Microsoft Windows There are four modifications included in the ReBirth installation A software synthesizer also known as a softsynth or virtual instrument is a Computer program for Digital audio generation The Roland TB-303 Bass Line is a Synthesizer with built-in sequencer manufactured by the Roland corporation from 1982 to 1984 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a partially analog, partially sample-based Drum machine built by the Japanese Roland Corporation
• The Zoom company's MRT-3B drum machine also features many 808-style sounds. For the early "drum machine" computers that used a rotating cylinder as their main memory see Drum memory A drum machine is an
• D16 Group's Nepheton - A VST instrument that emulates the TR-808. Steinberg 's Virtual Studio Technology (VST is an interface for integrating software Audio Synthesizer and effect Plugins with The D16 team indicated they carefully studied each waveform coming out of the 808's transistors and made its software emulate it.
• AudioRealism.se's ADM DrumMachine - A VST instrument carefully modeled after the classics' analog circuits.

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. An electronic drum is a Percussion instrument in which the sound is generated by an electronic waveform generator or sampler instead of by acoustic vibration

Notes

External links

Additional TR-808 Studio Tools:

• Sony Acid Pro Sony Acid Pro - Sony Media Software website. Dwayne Michael Carter Jr (born September 27 1982 better known by his Stage name Lil Wayne, is an American Rapper. Tha Carter III is the sixth Studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 10 2008 Sony ACID Pro is a professional Digital Audio Workstation (DAW software program originally published by Sonic Foundry, now owned and run by Sony.
• Sony Sound Forge Sony Sound Forge - Sony Media Software website. Sony Sound Forge, formerly known as Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, is a digital Audio editing and creation suite aimed at the professional as well as the
• Ableton Live Ableton Live - Ableton Software website. Ableton Live is a professional loop -based software Music sequencer for Mac OS and Windows by Ableton.
• Rebirth Museum - Dedicated to all things Propellerhead ReBirth RB-338 - Software website. ReBirth RB-338 (commonly referred to as simply ReBirth is a Software synthesizer for Microsoft Windows There are four modifications included in the ReBirth installation