R Is For Roland also features interviews with Legowelt, Egyptian Lover, Mark Ernestus and more.

If you have a fetish for Roland gear but can’t afford the prices on the second-hand market, Electronic Beats is publishing a whole book dedicated to the Japanese company’s equipment throughout the years.

Written by Michal Matlak and Florian Anwander, R Is For Roland will be released next month, and features a photography by Tabita Hub. The book highlights 23 key pieces of Roland equipment from 1973 to 1987, from iconic machines like the TB-303 and Jupiter-8 through to lesser-known instruments like the MC-202 MicroComposer and JX-3P synthesizer.

“I’ve always been dedicated to vintage Roland machines, so it was a dream to have a kind of encyclopaedia with all my favorite instruments united in one book,” Matlak told Electronic Beats. “There’s a lot of technical details but the prime focus is communicating personal points of view and experiences with these machines.”

The book also features a selection of interviews with notable Roland fans talking about their favourite gear, including Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry on the Space Echo, Jeff Mills on the TR-909 and Egyptian Lover on the TR-808. The book doesn’t cover any of Roland’s recent forays into the hardware like the Aira series, but its 384 pages look to be one of the most exhaustive investigations into Roland gear available.

The limited edition hardcover is released on May 11, and will be available from the book’s dedicated webstore. If Roland gear isn’t your thing, Ableton released its own book recently, aimed at helping producers develop new creative strategies.