Free 909s and 9 Tracks Made With 909s to Celebrate TR-909 Day

This year 909 Day is a HUGE deal.

If you were thinking of getting a new MIDI controller or drum machine, today is your day.

To celebrate the 33rd birthday of their iconic TR-909 drum machine, Roland is unveiling a ton of new gear, including reissues of the 909 and the 303!  

Roland’s 909 Celebration event also includes a 24h online festival with a full lineup of live-streamed music performances.

Join the party! Here are 909 tools for you to use and 9 tracks made with 909s to play today.

Why the 909 is so iconic

Introduced in 1983 (three years after its sibling the TR-808) the Roland TR-909 was a hybrid— partly analog and partly sample-based (for the cymbals and hi-hats).

It was designed by Tadao Kikumoto, the same engineer who created the legendary acid bassline machine – the TB-303.

The 909 had a fuller kick and a snappier snare than the 808. The easy to use 16-step sequencer was perfect for dance music rhythms.

The 909 was one of Roland’s early drum machines to feature MIDI connections. It also saved patterns and songs – making it good for both studio and live sets.

But the 909 was discontinued only 2 years after it was introduced. It failed at its intended purpose of being a ‘realistic’ sounding drum machine. Like the TB-303, it was initially a failure.

But it ended up in the right hands…

The pioneers of techno and house – like Jeff Mills and the Belleville Three – made it the iconic machine it’s become.

Join the 909 party HTML 909

Get groovin’ right away straight from your browser. Created by the Finnish developer Teemu Kallio, this HTML 909 is a fun way to make beats instantly. Play with it online now by going here.

Drum Machines for Ableton Live

Get your Ableton Live 909 – it’s included in the free Drum Machines pack. It was carefully sampled and processed to be close to the original. Get it here.

BPB Cassette 909

Bedroom Producer Blog has a free sample pack made with TR-909 samples. You get 155 samples: 71 are clean and 84 are processed through cassette tape for some extra crunch. Grab it at the bottom of this page.

909 Samples from Mars

Ok, this sample pack isn’t free, but we really like what the folks at Samples from Mars are doing. This meticulously recorded and tape-saturated sample pack gives you over 300 sounds from the 909 to play with. Grab it here (it’s on sale today only!).

9 Amazing Tracks made with a 909

Here 9 tracks made with a 909. Some will be obvious and others will surprise you! Crank up the volume and listen for the unmistakable thud of that kick.

Phil Collins – “Take Me Home” (1985)

Phil Collins is not the first artist that comes to mind when people say ‘909.’ But he’s among the pop musicians that adopted drum machines early on. You can hear those 909 toms, claps and high hats in this song.

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Leticia is a lover of acid basslines and hypnotic techno. She DJs and produces under the name softcoresoft. Writer at LANDR.

@Leticia Trandafir