Roland TR-808
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Introduced in late 1980, the Roland TR-808 was one of the first programmable drum machines. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it sounded nothing at all like a real drum kit. Indeed, since the TR-808 came out a few months after the Linn LM-1 (the first drum machine to use digital samples), people gererally 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". Only a few pioneers, such as Phil Collins and Marvin Gaye, utilized the 808's distinctive percussive sounds.
It was only in the mid-to-late 1980s, years after the TR-808 was discontinued, that its sound became popular. One factor leading to its popularity was its kick drum sound, which could produce a very deep sub-bass. By the end of the 1980s, the TR-808 was very popular within electronic music and Hip-Hop generes. It did not have MIDI, unlike its follow-up, the TR-909.
The TR-808 also was the inspiration for the name of the British electronic outfit 808 State. The sounds of the TR-808 were and still are very often used in Hip-Hop, R&B, House, Electro and many forms of electronic dance music. The TR-808 is also a staple instrument of artists such as The SOS Band and Phil Collins: it can be heard on many of the ex-Genesis star's solo material, notably the ballads "In the Air Tonight" and "One More Night".
One of the earliest uses of the TR-808 for a live performance was by YMO (or Yellow Magic Orchestra) in December 1980, in the song "1000 Knives", composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto in 1978. The outstanding "Hand Clap" sound was later publicized by YMO's innovative album BGM released in March 1981 in Japan, used on "1000 Knives" as well as in another of Sakamoto's songs, "Music Plans".de:TR-808 nl:TR-808 fi:Roland TR-808 ja:TR-808 sv:Roland TR-808