These posters by Birmingham graphic designer Rob Ricketts show how to recreate bassline percussion sequences from classic dance tracks on the iconic 1980s Roland TR-808 drum machine.
The product was one of the first programmable drum machines and this series of four posters represents, key by key, four sequences from some of the most notable tracks that were originally created on the machine.
Here are some more details from Ricketts:
A series of informative posters detailing how some of the most notable drum sequences were programmed using the Roland TR-808 Drum Machine.
Each sequence has been analyzed and represented as to allow users to re-programme each sequence, key for key.
is nothing sacred these days?
What are you on about?
These posters are beautiful, graphic tributes to some great 80's songs.
They honour an iconic piece of music history, the Roland tr-808, and allow aspiring music-makers to introduce or re-introduce themselves to the lost art of simple rythm making, with tinny hand-claps and spacey cowbells.
I’m afraid, but the Roland TR-808 does not produce “bassline sequences” as written. It produces drum patterns.
Hi Paul, thanks for pointing that out! We've corrected the story now.
Beautiful visuals! Who would've thought an acid house track by Adonis can convey graphic resemblance to early computer data card, or to works by Josef Albers…
Btw, although a drum machine, the TR-808 can produce bassline sequences; its analogue modular synthesis capabilities are fit for basslines as well
Nice enough, but to say it teaches drum patterns! What was the shuffle rate or individual drum settings (decay, tone)? But nicely presented on paper.