You have to believe me: they’re not paying me for this. But I get so many emails about Behringer’s 808 clone, the RD-8, asking what I’ve heard about up-to-date details and now shipping info. The buzz, at least by the inbox measurement, is probably more than every other piece of gear we’ve written about put together (including viral ones like the cardboard BeatBox).
It looks like the story is coming to an end – a happy one. Behringer has begun shipping their RD-8 drum machine to retailers, and they’re now showing up in places where you can put down money and credibly expect one in return.
German music retailer Thomann was among the first to list a stock of RD-8s for sale. Due to backorders, the retailer warns that new orders of the 808 clone will not ship for another 3 to 4 weeks (the page itself still reads “7 to 8 weeks,” though other sources indicate this has been cut roughly in half.)
There has been confirmation that Thomann is indeed shipping RD-8s to customers and early buyers are posting videos of their new machines in the wild:
Interestingly, the price for the Behringer RD-8 comes in at €299, or about $328. This is actually cheaper than Roland’s TR-08, the “boutique” 808 revival put out by Roland two years ago and which seemed to please almost no one. Thomann is selling the TR-08 at €340, or about $373.
Yet despite the shipping backlog, the Behringer RD-8 is still the second best selling drum machine on their site, ahead of several Korg Volca machines and behind only the Elektron Digitakt
