It is now 09/09/09 09:09:09. This date only comes around once every 100 years, and I’d like use this time to celebrate the… 909!

The Roland TR909 is THE house and techno drum machine. It’s kick drum and hi-hat sounds appear on thousands of tracks, and are instantly recognizeable. It’s shuffle contributed to the birth of a whole genre of music.

Released in 1984, the Roland TR909 is still extremely popular even (more) today. It’s been used by 808 State, Air, Bushflange, Future Sound of London, Moby, Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), Orbital, Hardfloor, Überzone, Underworld, The Prodigy, Faithless, ATB, Eat Static, Jimmy Edgar, Sense Datum, Richie Hawtin, A Guy Called Gerald, Astral Projection, Josh Wink, Freddy Fresh, Jean-Michel Jarre, Luke Vibert, the Chemical Brothers, and many, man more – including me!

So … Happy 909 day!

You can find TR-909′s for sale with our auction finder.

• The History of Techno
• Arp 2600 vintage ad