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 electronic music ever since.

A physical drum machine is essentially a box that plays drum sounds. They can either use synthesized sounds or audio samples.

That headline sounds suspect, but it is the most succinct way to explain why the Roland TR-808 drum machine has a very distinct, and difficult to replicate noise circuit. The drum machine was ...

This particular 808 is arguably the single most important drum machine in history - being as it gave rise not just to house music, but most dance music of the last 40 years. Actually make that ...

Aside from a few interesting outliers, most hardware drum machines come equipped with a step sequencer that will be loosely rooted in the design used by Roland’s classic 808 and 909. However ...