It is one of the recognisable musical instruments ever made, having featured on songs by everyone from Marvin Gaye to Duran Duran. It is even credited by many as spawning electronic dance music. However, one enterprising fan of Roland's TR808 drum machine has decided to make the electronic gadget real - by recreating it using real instruments in his living room. Scroll down for video . Moritz Simon Geist with his creation, a giant drum machine using actual drums to recreate the iconic Roland TR-808 . The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable . drum machines and was introduced by the Roland Corporation in early . 1980. The first band to use the TR-808 was the Japanese . electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra, although it hit the . mainstream in 1982, with the release of the mainstream American hits . 'Sexual Healing' by Marvin Gaye and 'Planet Rock' by Afrika Bambaataa. It is still used in drum and bass, hip hop, R&B, house, electro, and many forms of electronic dance music. The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, known as the 808, was one of the first programmable drum machines, and the most recognisable. Released in 1980, it has been used in a string of hits in the 1980s by everyone from dance and hip hop bands to Madonna. 'MR-808 is the first drum robot that reproduces the drum sounds of the 80s - in the real world,' said Moritz Simon Geist, who built the machine. 'I have been playing electronic music for several years now, and at some place I was bored of the electronic music production process. 'So I decided to go back to the roots of sound generation – the physical sound generation – but combine it with the electronic music structure we like so much. 'I liked the idea so much, that I couldn’t stop building my own drum robots, and ended up replacing all the electronic sounds of a whole drum computer.' However, unlike the original, the robot 808 doesn't always sound the same, and was designed to sound more 'real'. 'I like the idea of introducing more 'error' into the music,' said Geist. 'A drum beaten by a mechanic robot arm can never . be as predictable as a computer generated sound. 'Consequently, the . mechanic character of the installation MR-808 introduces fallibility . into the performance.' The cabinet for the project recreates the same key layout at the original, although it can also be programmed form a connected computer. Eleven . sounds of the 808 were replaced by mechanical actuators and physical . tone-makers. The instruments . include: Snare, Bass drum, Hi-Hat, Carabassa, Clave, Ride, Clap, Tom . (3x) and Cowbell. A gameboy was also used to recreate some electronic sounds. Motors and solenoids were used as actuators, which . are triggered by a power electronic device and an Arduino . Microcontroller computer. The clapping sound is created by a series of slats . Robotic hands play percussion instruments in one of the projects 'segments' Drumsticks are powered by electronic controllers . One of the 3D models created to ensure the project would work . Moritz Simon Geist, who built the 'real life' drum machine .
Projects recreates iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine using real instruments played by robotic hands .
It is one of the recognisable musical instruments ever made, having featured on songs by everyone from Marvin Gaye to Duran Duran. It is even credited by many as spawning electronic dance music. However, one enterprising fan of Roland's TR808 drum machine has decided to make the electronic gadget real - by recreating it using real instruments in his living room. Scroll down for video . Moritz Simon Geist with his creation, a giant drum machine using actual drums to recreate the iconic Roland TR-808 . The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable . drum machines and was introduced by the Roland Corporation in early . 1980. The first band to use the TR-808 was the Japanese . electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra, although it hit the . mainstream in 1982, with the release of the mainstream American hits . 'Sexual Healing' by Marvin Gaye and 'Planet Rock' by Afrika Bambaataa. It is still used in drum and bass, hip hop, R&B, house, electro, and many forms of electronic dance music. The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, known as the 808, was one of the first programmable drum machines, and the most recognisable. Released in 1980, it has been used in a string of hits in the 1980s by everyone from dance and hip hop bands to Madonna. 'MR-808 is the first drum robot that reproduces the drum sounds of the 80s - in the real world,' said Moritz Simon Geist, who built the machine. 'I have been playing electronic music for several years now, and at some place I was bored of the electronic music production process. 'So I decided to go back to the roots of sound generation – the physical sound generation – but combine it with the electronic music structure we like so much. 'I liked the idea so much, that I couldn’t stop building my own drum robots, and ended up replacing all the electronic sounds of a whole drum computer.' However, unlike the original, the robot 808 doesn't always sound the same, and was designed to sound more 'real'. 'I like the idea of introducing more 'error' into the music,' said Geist. 'A drum beaten by a mechanic robot arm can never . be as predictable as a computer generated sound. 'Consequently, the . mechanic character of the installation MR-808 introduces fallibility . into the performance.' The cabinet for the project recreates the same key layout at the original, although it can also be programmed form a connected computer. Eleven . sounds of the 808 were replaced by mechanical actuators and physical . tone-makers. The instruments . include: Snare, Bass drum, Hi-Hat, Carabassa, Clave, Ride, Clap, Tom . (3x) and Cowbell. A gameboy was also used to recreate some electronic sounds. Motors and solenoids were used as actuators, which . are triggered by a power electronic device and an Arduino . Microcontroller computer. The clapping sound is created by a series of slats . Robotic hands play percussion instruments in one of the projects 'segments' Drumsticks are powered by electronic controllers . One of the 3D models created to ensure the project would work . Moritz Simon Geist, who built the 'real life' drum machine .
real instruments in his living room. Scroll down a giant drum machine using actual drums to recreate the iconic Roland TR-808 . The Roland