Roland TR-808 Vs Roland TR-08 With The Egyptian Lover

This video, via PSSL ProSound and Stage Lighting, captures a demo of the new Roland TR-08, along with a head-to-head comparison against the classic Roland TR-808, featuring The Egyptian Lover (Greg Broussard).

Note: The comparison section suffers from an important limitation – the level of the 808 is noticeably louder than the TR-08, which can significantly bias the results. In addition, the sounds are tweaked in different ways on the two devices.

 

38 thoughts on “Roland TR-808 Vs Roland TR-08 With The Egyptian Lover

  1. 808 thoroughly kills it, regardless of volume discrepancy, surprised they even put that video out. The new/old interface is very attractive but they’re not even close to capturing the full vibe of those circuits

    1. the kids really don’t care at all if its close to an actual 808 at all. in fact many just use sample packs now and get work done, so having something like this will be a no brainer if they even use hardware today.

  2. Yikes! the TR-08 sounds no better than 808 samples you would find free on the internet. Might as well get any digital groovebox/drum machine that has an 808 kit already in it.

    The analog 808 is ALIVE!

    I would of easily bought the TR-08 and SH-01A if they captured the sound of the originals. I am not an analog purist I love digital gear, but in this case digital still can not recreate these classic analog vibes and sounds.

    When you watch these artist video reviews you will notice they all hold on to their vintage gear. I can guarantee you they will not be replacing it with these new models.

  3. Seems they did not put much time and effort in it to make them sound more close for this ‘comparison’. The TR-08 should sound better like this, more like the TR-8 since they should share the same VA software. If not .. .a no-go. For $150 more you can have a TR-8, so the only point to get it is maybe the looks.

  4. To have an even remotely credible/meaningful discussion about sound quality, a blind test would have been way more interesting. Besides comparing a TR-808 with a TR-08, designing the test by comparing two TR-808’s aside, and then comparing two TR-08’s aside would be the only way to control for confirmation bias.

  5. If the Egyptian Lover says <>, then I will.
    I have seen him tour and dj with his 808, just bringing the house down, playing Kraftwerk records along his own beats and scratching like a Master!
    Nothing but respect for this man!
    His endorsement, paid or not, is more than good enough for me!!!

  6. If ever an analog/digital comparison proofed the reason why a lot of people still stick to “analog first” 😉 – then this one.
    It was said before – the 808 is ALIVE!
    I freakin just don’t get Roland – maybe only for marketing, sales and profit. But imho the reputation is just gone!

  7. You know, I don’t expect the 08 to be dead on but I would like to see a more in depth comparison video. I’m sure it could get closer than this. Even if it can’t, I like how it sounds now as its own thing, even in comparison to the original. I probably won’t buy one anytime soon but it’s neat.

  8. I honestly don’t know what to think after watching that – I mean he says that the 808 is put through EQ and effects to “clean it up” so… I don’t know how much of it is EQ boost or compression added and how much of it is 808 when you hear them net to each other. I mean, if they were going to be fair about it they should have put the same effects on the tr08 so that you could hear them side by side – and I really want to hear the parameter tweaking on the 08 and not just some guy grooving hlding it – he didn’t even tune the claps the same…..

  9. Is this comparison shit, too low levels on the 08 BD, too high level on the harsh sounding OH? Or is it the 08 thats shitty?

  10. This comparison is the perfect example of why doing an A/B test of two different sounds when the levels are different results in invalid results (the louder sound is considered to sound “better”, regardless of its actual merits).

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