Roland sold roughly 12,000 TR-808s before killing it off in 1983. By every measure the industry cared about at the time, it failed. It cost $1,195. Hobbyists could not afford it. Professionals would not touch it, because the sounds were wrong. The kick was not a kick. The snare was not a snare. The cowbell …
808 Day: the drum machine nobody wanted became the sound of everything