From ‘Sound Synthesis and Sampling’ by Martin Russ

Metronome patented 1815

Performance First magnetic tape recorder 1920

Sampling First true commercial magnetic tape recorder 1937

Sampling RCA mark II synthesizer 1955

Analogue Buchla black box, early analogue synth 1963

Analogue Mellotron 1965

Sampling Wendy Carlos's 'switched on bach' 1968

Performance Mini Moog launched 1969

Analogue Ralph Deutsch electronic piano 1970

Hybrid Roland TR-33 Rhythm Unit 1972

Performance Roland MC-4 Sequencer 1978

Digital Fairlight CMI 1979

Hybrid Fairlight CMI 1979

Sampling Wasp synthesizer uses hybrid of analogue and digital 1980

Digital First dedicated sampler: emulator 1980

Sampling CD launched 1982

Digital PPG 2.2 polyphonic hybrid synth 1982

Hybrid Yamaha DX7 first commercial all-digital synth 1983

Digital TR-909 First MIDI drum machine 1983

Performance Roland MC-202 Micro-composer 1984

Performance Ensoniq mirage: affordable sampler 1984

Sampling Roland D50 digital synth 1987

Digital Waldorf Microwave wavetable synth 1989

Hybrid Roland JD-800 analogue polysynth 1991

Analogue Roland DJ-70 sampling workstation 1992

Performance Yamaha VL1 physical modelling synth 1994

Digital Digidesign ProTools free 1995

Sampling Roland MC-303 Groovebox 1996

Performance Yamaha AN 1X analogue modelling synth 1997

Digital Yamaha DJ-X mass-market sampling groovebox 1998

Performance Reason virtual studio in a rack software 2001

Digital Yamaha RS7000 Music Production Studio 2001

Performance Hard disk recorder, mixer and CD-writer in one box 2001