roland-dj-808
Roland, the Japanese electronic instruments, equipment, and software company has had an undeniable mark on music and sound. The introduction of the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer (the TR stands for transistor rhythm) very literally changed the game. One of the first programmable drum machines, the small piece of musical equipment created iconic sounds that we all know today. The 808's bass drum, clap, hi-hat, and cowbell have been used on countless hit records. The Roland TR-808 quickly became an integral piece of equipment not only in hip hop but pop, electro, house, techno, r&b, and more. The sounds were initially popularized by tracks such as Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" and Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock." The successor to the Roland TR-808 was the TR-909 and today Roland announced an updated version of the classic drum machine, the new TR-09. In addition to that Roland has also announced a new TB-303 Bass Line synthesizer and an interesting DJ controller that also packs in a drum machine called the DJ-808, giving the freeing option of creating beats on the fly during a live performance. Roland made the announcements today, which they have dubbed #909day (cause it's 9-09, get it?), during a 24 hour live stream that you can watch here.
H/T: Pitchfork
