The 808 drum machine has been inducted into the music technology Hall of Fame

The Roland TR-808 has been inducted into the NAMM TECnology Hall of Fame.

Manufactured between 1980 and 1983, the legendary drum machine has contributed to music from the likes of Beastie Boys, Marvin Gaye, and Public Enemy, and is still a popular piece of studio kit today.

Each year, a panel of audio experts, including authors, educators, engineers and other professionals select the inductees for the NAMM TECnology Hall of Fame. In this year's hall of fame, the Roland TR-808 has been listed, alongside the Crane Song 2002 Phoenix Plug-in, and the Scholz Research & Development 1982 Rockman.

This year’s panel commented, “Roland’s TR-808 programmable drum machine became part of the foundation of music movements in hip-hop, rap and electronica. And although made in 1980 — almost 40 years ago — the once $1,200 TR-808 remains a highly-prized studio tool today, with working units valued in the $4,000 range.”

See the full list of inductees here.

In September last year, Roland have announced a series of new products based around the Juno-60, classic MC-303 and Jupiter synths.