Roland TR-808 40th birthday celebrated with FREE plugin & doccie
It’s the Roland TR-808 drum machine’s 40th birthday this year.
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was originally manufactured between 1980 and 1983.
The legendary drum machine was a leading factor in the creation and development of house and techno music.
Today the TR-808 has been reincarnated in the form of the Roland TR-8 which has just been updated to include FM synthesis.
In 2018 they released the TR-808 and TR-909 as VST plugins.
Now, as part of their 40th year celebration this month the TR-808 plugin is available as a FREE download.
…and a mini-doccie
Roland have also released a mini-documentary on YouTube called Building the Beat: Inside Legendary Roland TR-808 Tracks.
The doccie features Carl Craig, Arthur Baker, A Guy Called Gerald, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.
They have also created a Spotify 808 40-year playlist featuring tracks that were produced using with Roland TR-808, which includes music from Kanye West, Felix Da Housecat, and Jamie XX.
Check out the playlist and the documentary below.
[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/vI0YDO7KYAk “]
