The 808: The Drum Machine That Changed the World

Have you ever noticed how much bass dominates all the popular music we hear today? From hip-hop to pop to electronic dance music, bass is everywhere. But it wasn't always like this. Bass has come a long way, and it's with the help of cars that it has.

But the car is only a supporting character. The unlikely real hero of this story began pretty as a toy to most before changing the music game forever. It all started in 1970s Kingston, Jamaica, at a time when the folk roots made way for music that was defined by bass. You know, reggae, dub, dancehall, and rocksteady. Music to move your body. And nothing moved bodies like the subwoofer.

Developed in the late 1960s, subwoofers are speakers for the extra low frequencies, you know, 20 to 200 Hertz. Like this.

At any rate, you're going to feel it first. And that feeling actually came to theaters back in 1974 for the disaster movie Earthquake.

Since then, it's never left the cinema experience. Disco, reggae, dub, and early hip-hop took subwoofers from earthquakes to full-on body shakes. Some engineers for the Jamaican sound system crew Stone Love Movement actually modified their subwoofers to make an even bassier sound. That deeper bass along with a few Jamaican DJs made their way over to the US just as a flourishing auto aftermarket was experiencing a golden age of customization. Low riders of the Chicano barrios of East LA kicked off the car counterculture as early as the 50s, cruising the streets decked out with outrageous hydraulics. The contest for the biggest sound quickly took off in cities from the west coast to the east, showcased by bass heavy hip-hop and dance music.

Yeah, I mean that bass frequency is almost everything. It's the rhythmic bed of the music, right? And without that rhythmic bed, you don't have this dance music. Even when the bass drum sounds filling the clubs and streets were a deep sharp thud in the right direction, DJs longed for something more, something that would last. And waiting in 1980, our hero Betty's for its debut.

Introducing the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer.

The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer is a drum synth originally designed more for demo songs than commercial releases. The brainchild of music engineer extraordinaires Don Lewis and Ikutaro Kakhashi, it was a total flop commercially when the 808 came out. Nobody loved the 808 and they stopped production just three years later.

But before it was gone, lost to history, a man named Joe with an 808 of his own made an ad in the Village Voice.

"Man with drum machine, $20 a session."

And that's how the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer became one of the most iconic and influential drum machines of all time.

The 808 was used on countless classic hip-hop and dance tracks, from Planet Rock to The Message to Billie Jean. Its distinctive sound helped to define the sound of an entire generation of music.

But the 808's influence didn't stop there. It also had a major impact on the car culture. In the 1980s, as hip-hop and dance music became more popular, so did the desire to have a car with a big sound system. People started installing subwoofers in their cars, and the contest for the biggest sound became a national obsession.

Today, bass is still a major part of pop music. And thanks to the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, it's also a major part of car culture. So next time you're cruising down the street and you feel that bass in your chest, you can thank the 808 for making it happen.