The TR-909
Roland’s TR-909 followed the 808 in 1983. It mixed analog circuits for the drums with digital samples for the hi-hats and cymbals, and was one of the first drum machines with MIDI. Like the 808 it was a slow seller, and like the 808 it later turned up cheaply in the hands of producers who made it the sound of Chicago house and Detroit techno: its kick and open hat are still the reference sounds of dance music.
This page opens the drum machine on the 909-style kit with a classic house groove at 124 BPM: kick on all four beats, clap on beats 2 and 4 (steps 5 and 13), an open hat on every off-beat (steps 3, 7, 11 and 15) and soft closed hats on the beats. A closed hat chokes the open hat, as it did on the original.
Shaping the groove
- Swing: a touch of shuffle (54–58 %) gives house its bounce; the hats move, the kick stays on the beat.
- Accents: in Velocity mode, make the hats before each beat soft and the off-beat open hats accented.
- Build-ups: mute the kick with M for a bar, then bring it back; a crash on step 1 marks the start of a new section.
- Toms and cowbell: a tom on step 15 or 16 makes a simple fill at the end of the bar.
The address bar always holds the pattern, so copying it shares the beat. Download a WAV loop for a DJ set or video, or the MIDI file for your own 909 samples. For the 808 kit and a trap beat, open the 808 drum machine.