Luke, pick up that saber!

Re:verbs right, you got to call Roland US or where ever and order the manual - it's like having a church without a bible. Also, there's some 'turbostart' PDF's in Roland's 'Downloads' area at their US and Canada sites that can help you get started. As well, there's a great Roland SP-808 'Video Manual' that is brilliantly hosted by this aussie chap that walks you through EVERY step of the 808 ($20 from Rolands?)
Then of course, there's this site - where one can read for days and get great tips as well.

Try www.rolandca.com and peruse their downloads for starts.