Roland TR-909

The four-to-the-floor kick of house and techno. Released in 1983 as the 808's successor, the TR-909 combined analog drum synthesis with digitally sampled cymbals, a first for Roland, and it was no immediate success: Roland stopped after about 10,000 units. Its punchy kick, crisp hats and clap found their home in the club scenes of Chicago, Detroit, London, Manchester and Berlin, and became the default grammar of house and techno. Roland reckons it has powered more tracks and live performances than any other drum machine. Paired with a TB-303 it is the complete toolkit of acid house.