Preview Roland’s new take on the legendary TR-808.

While Roland’s much-discussed AIRA range won’t be premiered until April’s Brighton Music Conference, we’ve already seen pictures and prices. But the question remains: how does it sound?

Ableton Live users are in luck: Australia’s Live School has sampled the AIRA TR-8 (via a rare-and-vintage Fairchild 670 compressor) and created a free Drum Rack; head to their blog to download the set in exchange for an email address. Watch the below video see how the box was sampled. [via XLR8R]

Earlier this year, FACT attempted to demystify the original TR-808, while Mr. Beatnick wondered if we should be excited about its return.