It is one of the recognisable musical instruments ever made, having featured on songs by everyone from Marvin Gaye to Duran Duran. It is even credited by many as spawning electronic dance music.

Combining real analog circuits with digital synthesis and sampling makes the TR-1000 powerful but overwhelming.

If you know the history of drum machines, the first thing you want to do with the TR-8S is load up the 808 kick drum. It's a deep, satisfying boom that's been an important part of everything from ...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. A drum machine emulates the sounds made by any and all ...

The TR-808 is the Fender Stratocaster of electronic music. The programmable drum machine was heavily used by pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa, the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Derrick May, and its ...

If you’re going to release a free online software emulation of Roland’s TR-909 drum machine, 9 September seems like the right day to do it. That’s certainly the view of Extralife Instruments, which ...

This dead simple drum machine that runs in your browser is so much fun. The HTML5 Drum Machine borrows its aesthetics from classic beat boxes like the TR-808 Rhythm Composer. It’s got five different ...

Earlier this year 1010music released the Lemondrop and Fireball, two surprisingly full-featured synths in unbelievably tiny packages. The company’s Nanobox lineup covers a lot of ground between those ...

Why do producers keep choosing analog drum synths over digital alternatives, even when technology has advanced so dramat ...