There are so very few of these instruments around. Fewer in this condition and almost none with a factory fitted Kenton Midi retrofit.

For the sound of this instrument - listen to recordings from the early 80s (Yazoo) or late 80s (Bomb the base) - or 90s (808 state, or the Shamen). Or today - the sounds are still popular with R&B and dance producers.

All the modern Roland workstation synths and drum units carry 808 samples. But they aint as good as the original. Why? Becuase the original sounds are produced with analog oscillators, voltage controlled filters and voltage controlled amplifiers. The sounds are FULL the base drum is warm, the cymbals hisssss. Put each output through your mixer or combine groups of sounds.

The unit has a full Kenton Midi retrofit - so its FULLY controllable and syncable over midi - and I've got the instruction book. I haven't got the original 808 manual BUT I've got some pretty good PDFs that I can email to get you started.

I bought this unit from the UK four years ago and I'm selling it to you in exactly the same condition. A couple of very minor scratches on the side of the unit but otherwise pretty much as it left the factory!

Try and find a better vintage beat box and then bid on it! I dare you!

If you're an analog fan - try checking out my 'Waldorf Pulse' auction.