The Sound Board

NOTE - this thread was originally for the 808.



Hey look at the calendar - it's 808 day. Roland's own emulation is usually $149, but is $49 today only.

https://www.jrrshop.com/roland-tr-808-p ... e-key.html

We have a cute thread on the 808 in the legacy section of the forum. Some great documentaries referenced in it - viewtopic.php?p=43940

(I succumbed. What can I say, it's pleasing. Individual outs, all the controls inc gain controls to overdrive it).

Thanks for the heads up, Guy.

I'm sure it's well done, and the price is very good.

Best,

Geoff

Ah! Turns out that this sale is NOT one day only. A Roland rep on KVR has said the sale runs until 9th September. 909 in other words.

No idea what they've got planned for September 9th...

Oh good, I thought I'd missed it and I'm definitely in... I don't do subscriptions but I love Roland stuff so I'm pretty much in whenever they have a sale (which is rare). Sounds like the D50 is on sale too, so I might be in for both of these.

Guy Rowland wrote: ↑Aug 09, 2025 3:50 am No idea what they've got planned for September 9th...

As you predicted, Guy:

Roland TR-909 Plugin Lifetime Key: $49

Actually, the GROUP code takes it down to $41.16. This may or may not be a 24-hour deal.

Best,

Geoff

Geoff Grace wrote: ↑Sep 09, 2025 12:34 am

Guy Rowland wrote: ↑Aug 09, 2025 3:50 am No idea what they've got planned for September 9th...

As you predicted, Guy:

Well aren't I the clever cloggs.

There have been entire documentaries made about the 808. The 909 is every bit as ubiquitous but it's not at that level of super-stardom. Whereas the 808 pops up in all kinds of genres all over the place, the 909 is dance music, specifically house. Its sonic footprint is so wedded to that, I'm struggling to think of a single use outside it.

I've got to have the set now though, don't I?

This is short and sweet - hear the real hi hat a cymbals they sampled for the 909. They sound totally different! Good ol' 80s sampling tech - apparently they were 6 bit and 18khz sample rate. That might explain it...



And I just learned for the first time that the snare and clap use the same noise source, and at least in the hardware phased if played together.

So is that the only difference between the 808 and the 909-the sampled cymbals?

Lawrence wrote: ↑Sep 10, 2025 12:48 pm So is that the only difference between the 808 and the 909-the sampled cymbals?

They sound totally different I'd say, no real sonic overlap between them. But I guess the non-cymbal sounds are all electronically generated and there's similarity in the architecture and pattern engine, so there's that. And both had tweak controls which ended being performed live and being a large part of the appeal. The controls themselves created genre talismans.

Roland missed a trick by not having a 707 sale on July 7 and a 727 sale on July 27 (hey, maybe next year). Although the 707 isn't quite as iconic as the 808 and 909, it's no slouch and it did cross genres more than the very specific 909. I think the definitive use would INXS' Need You Tonight, it sounded incredible on that record.

It's so interesting to me how analogue fell out of favour in the first part of the 80s. When the Linn Drum came along, everyone thought the CR-78 and 808 sounded like shit. Ha ha, they sounded nothing like drums! At least the Linn did a little bit. Then just as the likes of Roland abandoned all their analog models, popular music had other ideas - musicians, producers and DJs realised people LOVED the electronic sounds and didn't want them sounding "realistic". And they've never looked back.