Roland’s DJ-808 – Controller Lust
https://www.roland.com/us/products/dj-808/
It should be stated upfront that I’m not a DJ; I have no intention of being a DJ. I love production and I love technology. I do have an active lust for blinky toys that make sounds that make people get up and dance. With that said, if for any reason this article seems biased for or against Roland, well that’s just being honest and that’s just something you’ll have to work out on your own.
It appears Roland has taken every one of their production products and squished them into one controller. Just off the top of my head, the DJ-808 houses a collective history of Roland’s products: eight of them. Maybe more.
TR-808
TR-909
TR-707
TR-606
VT – Voice transformer
MC-505 – Groovebox
Any sampler from the Roland/Boss lineup of performance samplers.
A Mixer
And then Serato.
And then an option to connect Roland’s AIRA product line. There are some options here.
Why this is a big deal? To use a product like the DJ-808 a few years ago, you would need to bring the above mentioned toys with you. Although possible, very inconvenient. In today’s DJ world, having a device to be more creative in a live sense does look inviting.
More importantly and possibly the most important overall issue, the DJ-808 (and like many Roland products), is an education in a box. From my experience, purchasing a Groovebox many years ago as my first serious hardware, it was just that; an education in a box. I didn’t know what the hell a step sequencer did or why it was useful. I didn’t know what an flange effect did other than being amazed by the sound of it. Not until some time later when taking beginner audio classes did I realize the education I had purchased.
Dislikes
What I don’t like? Not a very catchy name for the power that the unit possesses. Sure ‘808’ pays homage to the classic TR808, which Roland did fund and which did play a major part in shaping the electronic culture; but just 808? I mean, didn’t reading this article and ‘808’ over and over again seem a little dull? Wouldn’t something like ‘A_box’ seem a little more interesting?
Another peeve is live sampling. At our demo, the process of recording a live sound (voice or otherwise) into a computer and then dropping the new audio (in the Serato interface) into a pad on the DJ-808 seems a bit … antiquated? Tedious? Couldn’t this have been streamlined a bit?
To wrap this article up, another editor is pressuring me into give a rating. A ___ out of ____ stars or something. How about this?
Roland DJ-808 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥/🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I am not a DJ.
Survived the 1996-2001 years of the New Orleans State Palace rave scene. Witness early acts such as Rabbit in the Moon, Dj Micro, Planet of the Drums, Felix the Housecat, Dj Qbert, as the rave scene was taking off in the U.S.
Officially moved to Houston in 2000 to study audio, video, graphic design.
Currently, working as a video editor/ photographer in the Houston area.
