Happy 808 Day: Watch Original TR 808 Video Ad from 80s

The Roland TR 808 has not only shaped much of the electronic music we listen to and make since its release, it's also become nearly ubiquitous with the idea of beat making and many styles of music.  

Today is 808 day! Back in 1980 the original TR-808 Rhythm Composer was unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. And still today it often sets the standard by which other drum machines are created and judged.

Here’s the original advert for the Roland TR-808 from 1980:

And the tag line from the end of the video turned out to be more true than their marketing department would realise!

There have been a number of hardware and software clones of the 808 made since production of the TR-808 by Roland ceased in 1984, but the 808 still occupies a place in every beat makers heart. And so today we celebrate the 808, unashamedly loving that it has brought so many happy (and edgy) beats to music genres from Hip Hop to House.

Strange to imagine the state of music in the world today if the 808 had never been released…

Roland TR-808 was released in 1980.

Of course, probably the closest thing to the original 808 now is the Roland AIRA TR-8. It’s not analog, but develops the original legendary 808 and breathes new life into its iconic sounds. 

closeup of the iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine.

 

Links:

[Via: Marco Bernardi on FB]

Roland AIRA TR-8 Review

Roland AIRA TR-8 official site

 

Rounik is the Executive Editor for Ask.Audio & macProVideo. He's built a crack team of professional musicians and writers to create one of the most visited online resources for news, review, tutorials and interviews for modern musician and producer. As an Apple Certified Trainer for Logic Pro Rounik has taught teachers, professional... Read More

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