Electronic music might have spawned countless sub-genres, but they all still orbit one firm foundational element - the drum machine. But, as with our recent look at the first band to use a synth ...

Better known by its shortened name of the 808, the drum machine heralded a new wave of electronic music when it arrived in 1980, and was one of the very first drum machines to let its users ...

You may not know the 808 drum machine, but you have definitely heard it: the original Roland TR-808 was the first programmable drum machine and has been a mainstay of electronic music ever since.