The sequencer on the 808, a row of 16 color-coded buttons, offered artists a way to store beats they programmed. Courtesy of Roland Even if you don't know the Roland TR-808 drum machine by name, ...

He was a founder of Roland, the music electronics company, and the inventor of the ubiquitous Roland TR-808 drum machine. The 808 has cemented its place in music history and pops up on a wide variety ...

Five rock songs that were made better by drum machines, with iconic entries by New Order, Phil Collins, Yes, Billy Idol, and ...

Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum is selling an extremely rare Chamberlin Rhythmate Model 40, which he says is the “first drum machine in history.” (Léon Theremin’s Rhythmicon technically came first.) Only a ...

Matt Brennan's Kick It: A Social History Of The Drum Kit is a complex, meticulously researched piece of work that spans several centuries. In the course of over three hundred pages, Brennan explores ...