Roland TR-808

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Technology

The Roland TR-808 came onto the market in 1980 as a tool for demos. It does not use recordings of real drums: every sound is generated electronically. Musicians thought it sounded fake and Roland stopped production after a few years. Second-hand, it became cheap, and young producers discovered the bass drum that rings out long and low, a sub-bass that you feel more than hear. The 808 became the basis of electro, Miami bass and trap, and in hip hop ‘808’ now simply means: a deep, long bass.

Listening

• 
  Sexual Healing · Marvin Gaye, 1982
• 
  Planet Rock · Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, 1982
• 
  Love Lockdown · Kanye West, 2008

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Genre Map · Technology^NL Map
• Mixtape 7: The 1980s^NL Reader
• Mixtape 8: Electronic Music^NL Reader
• Mixtape 9: The Instrument^NL Reader

See also

• Roland TB-303
• MIDI
• Roland TR-909
• Trap
• Southern hip hop and crunk
• Contemporary R&B
• Early hip hop