The Roland TR-808 drum machine is one of the most important foundational elements of hip-hop beatmaking. Celebrate 808 Day ...

The sequencer on the 808, a row of 16 color-coded buttons, offered artists a way to store beats they programmed. Courtesy of Roland Even if you don't know the Roland TR-808 drum machine by name, ...

I want to mark the passing of a genius who changed the soundscape of popular music in the 1980’s. Ikutaro Kakehashi (1930-2017) died earlier this month at the age of 87. He founded the Roland ...

If you spent the 1980s hanging out at your local record store, and you don’t have a hankering for spandex and bouffant rock-god hairstyles, the chances are you’ll have more than a few pieces of ...

You may not know the 808 drum machine, but you have definitely heard it: the original Roland TR-808 was the first programmable drum machine and has been a mainstay of ...

If you’re into hip-hop and pop, you’ve probably heard “808” at some point. That’s a reference to the iconic Roland TR-808, a drum machine created by Ikutaro Kakehashi in 1980. Its unique dribbling ...

The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer is the most famous drum machine ever made. It remains a staple of modern production despite being more than 30 years old. Roland just posted a video teasing for a new ...

It’s almost impossible to imagine the modern musical landscape without the distinctive sounds of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. When the Japanese electronics company Roland started releasing the 808 ...

Even if you've never heard of the Roland TR-808 drum machine, you've definitely heard it. Developed in Japan as a user-friendly way to produce an electronic drum beat, the 808 grew into one of the ...