The Synths and Drum Machines That Defined and Shaped the ‘80s

Ah, the 1980s: ripped jeans, mullets, Back To The Future, Diego Maradona. But the exuberant decade was also famous for something else: popular music being completely transformed by advancements in technology, namely music synthesis. In practical terms, it was the ‘80s synthesiser and drum machines that ushered in a new era of music defined by cutting-edge electronic sounds.

And while the origins of music synthesis and electronic instruments can be found much earlier in the 20th century, such instruments were not widely available or affordable for the average person in the ‘60s onwards. But the 1980s were the decade in which synthesizers, and subsequently drum machines, hit the mass market and became affordable. These electronic instruments finally left the worlds of the avant-garde and experimental music and helped usher in bands such as Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, relying heavily on ‘80s synths. Some of the biggest pop songs of the decade, including I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston, have very prominent drum machine parts.

Let’s dive into the Headliner guide to the ‘80s synthesizers and drum machines that defined a decade of music, with sounds that still influence countless artists today.

‘80s Synthesizers

Yamaha DX7

If you’re going to mention ‘80s synthesizers hitting the mass market and changing the game, it would be mad to not start things off with the Yamaha DX7, the first commercially successful synthesizer to achieve huge sales following its 1983 release and sales of 100,00 units. While the Moog and Arp synthesizers of previous decades were hugely influential and made significant sales, their cost and the perception of being instruments for ‘serious’ musicians were prohibitive. The DX7 was relatively more affordable, and its presets allowed a less steep learning curve.

After years of purely analogue synthesizers, the Yamaha DX7 came along and changed the music game as we know it. It is arguably the most influential ‘80s synthesizer thanks to being the first hugely successful digital synth, still one of the best-selling synths of all time, using FM synthesis.

While early users struggled to program their own sounds on this new technology (as had been the norm previously), its presets quickly became the game-changing aspect of this instrument and by 1986, it could be heard across 40% of the number one singles in the US. On the other side of the spectrum, away from popular music, it became an important synthesizer in the ambient music of Brian Eno.

Its beloved presets can be heard on synth-heavy tracks such as Take On Me by A-ha, Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins, and Fresh by Kool & the Gang. Its electric piano preset became a staple of ‘80s power ballads, as evidenced by artists including Whitney Houston, Chicago, Phil Collins, Luther Vandross, Billy Ocean and Celine Dion.

Roland Jupiter-8

While the DX7 was built in the ‘80s and revolutionised music with a digital synthesizer, Roland’s Jupiter-8 is an analogue synthesizer released in 1981 that was nonetheless hugely influential for some of the decade’s biggest artists, albums, and songs.

These days, Roland sells a number of digital synths based on the original, for example, the Jupiter-X. The few original Jupiters listed online will set you back around 20 grand! It’s a big old beast, with 6 oscillators, two fat low-pass and high-pass filters, a lovely LFO, its classic arpeggiator, oscillator sync, and cross modulation. When people talk about the wonderful, wonky warmth of a classic analogue synthesizer, you couldn’t ask for a better example than the Jupiter.

Throughout the ‘80s and beyond, it had a whole host of famous users. ABBA, Duran Duran (it’s used all over Hungry Like The Wolf and Save A Prayer), Marvin Gaye, Pet Shop Boys, and Ultravox for starters. It’s used extensively on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, still one of the best-selling albums of all time. Other classic ‘80s music songs to use the Jupiter-8 include Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Journey’s Separate Ways, and Queen’s It’s A Kind Of Magic.

Oberheim OB-Xa

If there’s one thing about classic ‘80s synthesizers, it’s that they are not only expensive, but can be pretty huge too. Oberheim is a name worthy of a large instrument, and the analogue subtractive OB-Xa is another highly influential ‘80s instrument that became very popular from its 1980 release.

A pretty damn famous example of its sound is the unmistakeable synth lead melody in Jump by Van Halen (I’d imagine it’s started appearing in your head by now). But it wasn’t just ‘80s soft rock bands that loved the Oberheim, it was also championed by a big variety of artists, including New Order, Prince, Queen and Miles Davis. And how about Prince’s 1999 using its fat tones?

It’s also notable as one of the first polysynth synthesizers to see mass adoption; your typical ‘70s synthesizer was monophonic, meaning you could only play one note at a time. This was one of the reasons the mighty Moog had a relatively quieter period during the 1980s.

Sequential Prophet 5

If your decision to buy a classic ‘80s synthesizer hinges on which famous songs and albums used it, are Madonna’s Like A Virgin and Michael Jackson’s Thriller in the right territory for you? Synth legends Kraftwerk also loved the Prophet 5, as did Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins (it can be heard on In The Air Tonight by the latter). Sequential’s most famous ‘80s synth was also pivotal in ‘80s films: it can be heard in the scores of Blade Runner, The Terminator, and in a number of John Carpenter films. It was even more recently used to write Netflix’s Stranger Things theme tune, which relies heavily on ‘80s nostalgia.

The Prophet 5 was the brilliant invention of Dave Smith and John Bowen, with another turning of the tides moment in synthesizer history in 1977 which allowed users to save their sounds, tweaks and edits instead of hopelessly trying to remember which cables were plugged in where and the exact position of each knob. The introduction of onboard memory to the synth was huge.

It began selling out right away, despite its four grand price tag. It still sounds absolutely stunning all these years later and is so joyous to play. A reissue will cost you from £/$2500 upwards, and unlike Roland, Sequential lovingly recreate their instruments as analogue synthesizers like the originals, keeping that lovely warmth intact. An original, vintage Prophet has a crazy price range with listings going from five grand up to tens of thousands.

Yamaha CS-80

Clearly, ‘80s synthesizers were not built with any notions of practicality or being portable. At least Yamaha’s CS-80 wasn’t, with its Jurassic size and build. While its size is a little absurd, and the fact its notoriously impossible to get a hold of one, it had a big impact on the music of the 1980s, an impact as big as the synth itself, in fact.

Vangelis, one of the biggest proponents of synthesizers and analogue instruments there ever was, called it the most important synth he ever used, proving vital for his original music scores for Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire. He said, “For me, the best analogue synthesizer design there has ever been. It's the only synthesizer I could describe as being a real instrument, mainly because of the keyboard — the way it's built and what you can do with it.”

Vangelis aside, it was another of the synths used to create Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and Kate Bush used the CS-80 on songs such as Babooshka and Hounds of Love. And that’s before mentioning Toto’s Africa and Rosanna. Next time you’re feeling festive, listen out for it in Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime. If you somehow find one of the remaining originals for sale, you’ll need to part with tens of thousands of dollars. Delivery will likely cost you in the region of a grand as well. Yamaha’s much smaller, much cheaper digital Reface CS is based on the CS-80.

Roland Juno-60

Quite simply, one of the most beautiful-sounding ‘80s synths, it’s little wonder that Roland’s Juno-60 was not only a huge instrument back then, but has enjoyed a huge resurgence in recent years and can be heard in the music of Nils Frahm, Sigur Rós, and Chvrches. Following its 1984 release, the Juno quickly caught on and can be heard in mega hits such as A-ha’s Take On Me, A Different Corner by George Michael, and Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. The Eurythmics were also very notable users, and the Juno also played a big part in the new age electronic sounds of Enya.

It’s famed for its one-of-a-kind onboard chorus effect, as well as its truly beautiful arpeggiator (check out Nils Frahm’s Says for a contemporary example of how stunning the two sound combined). It’s fascinating to consider that the Juno-60 was created to be a more affordable competitor to Sequential’s Prophet-5 and Roland's own Jupiter-8, having gone on to totally rival both throughout the years. Simply put, if you’ve ever heard someone talking about synths sounding ‘lush’, it may be the Juno-60 that prompted them to say that.

It’s either a case of finding an original on the second-hand market and being prepared to pay two or three grand for it, or, like with the Jupiter, Roland has a digital recreation with the Juno-X.

‘80s Drum Machines

Roland TR-808

Few musical instruments have gone on the rags-to-riches arc that the Roland TR-808 has been on, going from commercial failure and being discontinued, to being a key player in the development of hip hop and electronic music, while becoming totally widespread in pop music. It sealed its place in eternity once it was heard in the openings of Marvin Gaye’s Grammy-winning Sexual Healing (the first commercial track to use the drum machine) and its brilliantly quirky intro to Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Released in 1980, Roland marketed it as a more affordable competitor to the Linn LM-1. However, musicians were not ready for the TR-808's more starkly electronic sounds and continued to favour the more realistic drum samples heard on the LM-1. Roland had hoped early adopters would simply use it for making demos, however, it sold fewer than 12,000 units and was discontinued in 1983. Reviews of the ‘80s drum machine even poked fun at it.

By the time it was discontinued, the TR-808 had gained a cult following thanks to the second-hand market, selling for around $100, a tiny fraction of its RRP. Being able to get it so cheaply, underground producers and musicians loved its ease of use and quirky sounds. For hip hop, it has been described as being as pivotal as the Fender Stratocaster was for rock music. Listen to ‘80s hip hop pioneers such as Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Public Enemy, and you’ll hear the TR-808 plastered all over the music of Talking Heads, Shannon and Phil Collins.

The "Trembling feeling of the 808 bass drum booming down boulevards in Oakland, the Bronx, and Detroit is part of America's cultural DNA," The New Yorker wrote.

Linn LM-1 Drum Computer

Before the 808 took hold, however, there was the small matter of musicians actually adopting drum machines in the first place. And the ‘80s instrument that pioneered drum machines becoming part of popular music was the Linn LM-1 Drum Computer. It was created in the late 1970s by namesake Roger Linn, who was unhappy with how drum machines sounded, including the Roland CR-78, complaining at the time that they “sound like crickets.”

Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro has been mentioned a few times above in the ‘80s synthesizer stakes, and it was he who suggested that Linn try recording samples of acoustic drums to a computer chip. Session drummer Art Wood played many of the samples, and the handclaps came courtesy of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The quantisation feature was quite revolutionary; users could now fix the timing of their beats.

Released right at the turn of the decade in 1980, its original price was $5500, meaning only high-earning musicians and studios had access to it. But the tagline “real drums at your fingertips” proved powerful, and early users included Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, and Peter Gabriel. Before long, popular music was transformed by the drum machine, heard in the tunes of the Human League, Gary Numan, Michael Jackson, Giorgio Moroder, ABC, Devo, and John Carpenter. Prince was a great proponent of the ‘80s instrument — listen to the blistering intro of 1999 to hear him unleash its power.

Oberheim DX/DMX Drum Machine

One year later, the Linn LM-1 saw its first major competitor hit the market in 1981. We could easily sum up the influence and impact of Oberheim’s DMX on the music of the ‘80s with two words: Blue Monday. Can you name another song from the decade that better typifies the stark electronic sounds of the era? New Order’s trademark track begins with that iconic kick drum pattern that’s instantly recognisable.

You could make a similar argument for Pet Shop Boys’ West End Girls and its use of the ‘80s drum machine. Another fun tidbit is that American rapper DMX chose his artist name after the instrument.

It rivalled the LM-1 by offering 24 drum samples to that machine’s 12, while also offering features such as tunable samples and eight separate outputs for individual processing. A more affordable, stripped-down version, the DX, made its use even more widespread across pop and hip hop.

E-mu Drumulator

Some of the aforementioned ‘80s drum machines were important, despite being completely unaffordable for the average musician. And while $1000 might sound mad to some as an affordable price, the relatively lower pricing of E-mu’s Drumulator upon its 1983 release democratised sample-based rhythms for those who couldn’t match the LM-1’s price point. It brought professional-sounding drums to a broader range of musicians, including synth-pop acts like Tears for Fears (Shout) and Depeche Mode (the brilliant drum machine intro of Everything Counts). Its characteristic punchy, 8-bit digital samples became an iconic sound.

Beyond its more accessible price, the Drumulator's influence also came down to its distinct, gritty sound and flexible features. Producers were big fans of its individual outputs for mixing control and the option to swap out drum sound chips for customisation. Its user-friendly learning curve and programming saw it profoundly shape the rhythmic landscape of the ‘80s and beyond, while also being a big source of inspiration for future drum machines and sampling instruments. Two more legendary examples for good measure: Howard Jones’ What Is Love? and Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me both put the Drumulator to stunning use.

BONUS: The Fairlight CMI

The Sampler That Changed Everything

No conversation about the most iconic synths and machines of the '80s is complete without the Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument). Released in 1979 and gaining major traction throughout the early ’80s, the Fairlight wasn’t just a synthesizer—it was the first commercially available digital sampler, and it blew the doors off what was sonically possible at the time.

This groundbreaking machine allowed artists to record real-world sounds and play them back across a keyboard at different pitches, a concept that now seems standard, but was mind-blowingly futuristic at the time. The result? Some of the most recognisable and surreal textures of the decade. From Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush to Stevie Wonder and Art of Noise, many pioneers of the era sculpted entire tracks around the Fairlight’s unique digital quirks.

Its now-infamous ORCH5 sample (the “orchestra hit”) became a defining sound of '80s pop and hip-hop. While the interface resembled something out of a retro sci-fi film and came with an eye-watering price tag, the Fairlight CMI represented the future—instantly embraced by the most forward-thinking artists and producers of the decade.

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Words By
Adam Protz