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XLR / Library · the encyclopedia of machines

LIBRARY

Every machine that shaped how records sound: synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, pedals, microphones and the cables between them. An encyclopedia, written one entry at a time.

The collections

Eight rooms · entries being written
Room 01Being writtenSynthesizers
Room 02Drum machines
Room 03Being writtenSamplers
Room 04Being writtenGrooveboxes
Room 05Pedals & effectsRoom 06Microphones
Room 07Being writtenStudio outboard
Room 08Cables & connectors

Entry of the week · Drum machines

Roland TR-808

Maker
Roland1
Year
19802
Type
Analog drum machine1
Sequencer
16 steps3
Read the entry

Sixty years of machines

The full timeline →
  1. 1964Moog modularSynthesizers4
  2. 1970MinimoogSynthesizers4
  3. 1980TR-808Drum machines2
  4. 1983Yamaha DX7Synthesizers5
  5. 1988Akai MPC60Samplers6
  6. 2001Elektron MachinedrumDrum machines7
  7. 2011Teenage Engineering OP-1Synthesizers8

Makers, A to Z

  • AkaiArturiaBuchlaE-mu
  • ElektronKorgMoogOberheim
  • RolandSequentialTeenage EngineeringYamaha

Roland has a maker page; the others are being written.

Sources

  1. The TR-808 Story, Roland Corporation1980; analog synthesis; a row of 16 step buttons · checked 2026-10-07
  2. Our History, Roland CorporationFounded in Osaka, 1972; TR-808, 1980 · checked 2026-10-07
  3. TR-808: Technical Specifications, Roland Supportinstruments, step keys, outputs, DIN sync. Read through the Internet Archive copy of 2026-09-03; the live page refuses automated readers · checked 2026-10-07
  4. Timeline of electronic instruments, Bob Moog FoundationMoog modular 1964; Minimoog 1970; Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 1978 · checked 2026-10-07
  5. The Dawn of Digital Musical Instruments, Yamaha CorporationDX7 digital synthesizer, 1983 · checked 2026-10-07
  6. Museum, Roger Linn DesignLinnDrum released 1982, sampled sounds; Akai MPC60, a sampling drum machine and MIDI sequencer released in 1988 · checked 2026-10-07
  7. Legacy Products, ElektronMachinedrum (2001), a drum machine based on drum synthesis methods; Digitakt (2017) · checked 2026-10-07
  8. ten years of OP-1, teenage engineering’11–’21: ten years after unit no. 01 shipped · checked 2026-10-07