Anyone sharing a home with a musician will appreciate advances in technology that make for quieter practice. Wearing headphones while playing electronic drums is already a good way to keep the noise ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Technology journalist specializing in audio, computing and Apple Macs. Who doesn’t love a bit of “air drumming” when their ...

Last week, Roland posted a teaser to its website headlined by the words ‘tomorrow returns’ accompanied by what sounded like a processed TR-808 drum beat. Now the company has unveiled the inspiration ...

In 2018 Roland introduced the TR-8S drum machine and instantly won the heart of my colleague Roberto Baldwin. Then, last year it resurrected its MC line of grooveboxes, and launched the portable, ...

When writing a song, performing before an audience, or laying down tracks to be at our best, making the music has to “feel” right. For too long, drummers have had to live with a double standard with ...

The sequencer on the 808, a row of 16 color-coded buttons, offered artists a way to store beats they programmed. Courtesy of Roland Even if you don't know the Roland TR-808 drum machine by name, ...

For a month, Roland has been teasing its mysterious “Aira” products with a series of videos that invoke the TR-808 and TR-909 Rhythm Composers, classic beat machines that are amongst the best-sounding ...

The stories of Roland and the drum machine are inextricably linked. Roland Corporation is known for many things: the iconic Juno and Jupiter lines, the influential SH-101 and SP-404, and a deep ...

The Roland TR-1000 Rhythm Creator is a direct successor to the famed TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines, each anchoring entire genres of 20th-century pop music and EDM. It's analog, it's aesthetic, and ...

Roland has been in the electronic drum business for a good many years, and most kits released have so far had a somewhat skeletal look compared to their traditional counterparts. Now the company has ...