Roland TB-303

The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. It was originally designed to be used with the Roland TR-606 Drumatix, a programmable analog synthesis drum machine. Designed to simulate bass guitars, it was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units were adopted by electronic musicians, and its "squelching" or "chirping" sound became a foundation of electronic dance music genres such as acid house, Chicago house and techno. It has inspired numerous clones.

Roland TB-303 Bass Line
TB-303 front panel
ManufacturerRoland
Dates1981-1984
Price£238 UK, $395 US
Technical specifications
Polyphonymonophonic
Timbralitymonotimbral
OscillatorSawtooth and square wave
LFOnone
Synthesis typeAnalog Subtractive
Filter24dB low pass resonant filter, non self oscillating
Aftertouch expressionNo
Velocity expressionNo
Storage memory64 patterns, 7 songs, 1 track
EffectsNo internal effects.
Input/output
KeyboardNo

Design and features


The TB-303 was designed by Tadao Kikumoto who also designed the Roland TR-909 drum machine.[1] It was marketed as a "computerised bass machine" to replace the bass guitar.[2] However, according to Forbes, it instead produces a "squelchy tone more reminiscent of a psychedelic mouth harp than a stringed instrument".[3]

The TB-303 has a single oscillator, which produces either a "buzzy" sawtooth wave or a "hollow-sounding" square wave.[3] This is fed into a 24dB[4] low-pass filter, which is manipulated by an envelope generator.[2] Users program notes and slides using a basic sequencer.[3]

Impact and legacy

The 303's unrealistic sound made it unpopular with its target audience, those who wanted to replace bass guitars. It was discontinued in 1984,[5] and Roland sold off remaining units cheaply.[3] 10,000 units were manufactured.[3]

"Rip It Up", by the Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice, which reached #8 in the UK singles chart in February 1983, was the first UK top 10 hit to feature the 303.[6]

Another early use of a TB-303 (in conjunction with a TR-808 drum machine) is Indian musician Charanjit Singh's 1982 album Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat. It remained obscure until the early 21st century, and is now recognized as a precursor to acid.[7]

The Chicago group Phuture bought a cheap 303 and began experimenting.[3][4] By manipulating the synthesizer as it played, they created a unique "squelching, resonant and liquid sound".[3] This became the foundation of "Acid Tracks", which was released in 1987 and created the acid genre.[3] Acid, with the 303 as a staple sound, became popular worldwide, particularly as part of the UK's emerging rave culture known as the second summer of love.[3][4]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as new acid styles emerged, the TB-303 was often overdriven, producing a harsher sound, such as on Hardfloor's 1992 EP "Acperience" and Interlect 3000's 1993 EP "Volcano".[8] In 1995, the TB-303 was distorted and processed on Josh Wink hit "Higher State of Consciousness"[4][9] and on Daft Punk's Da Funk, which are two of the most iconic uses of it.[10]

In 2011, the Guardian listed the release of the TB-303 as one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music.[5] The popularity of acid caused a dramatic increase in the price of used 303 units.[3] According to the Guardian, as of 2014, units sold for over £1,000.[11] It has inspired numerous clones.[12]

Clones

There have been a number of hardware and software clones,[13] including:

Hardware
  • Acidlab Bassline 3 - uses analog technology and said to have a close sound to the original.[14]
  • Behringer TD 3 - an analog monosynth heavily inspired by the TB-303 in both function and appearance. Comes in silver, blue, red, yellow, purple, and green colors.[15]
  • Cyclone Analogic TT303 - according to some users, it is the closest sounding to the original.[13]
  • Dinsync RE-303 - It is a replica kit and requires electronics and soldering knowledge for building.[13]
  • Future Retro Revolution - uses analog technology with digital DSP effects. The layout and design is significantly different from the original.[16]
  • MAM MB 33 (and FreeBass 383) - it is an analog rack-mount unit with knobs. It works over MIDI and has no sequencer.[17] MB 33 comes in a back color, while FreeBass 383 is the same thing with a white and orange design.[18]
  • Mode Machines MkI-MK3 - x0xb0x based. [19] It is said to have a close sound to the original.[13]
  • Novation Bass Station - it is one of the first 303 analog clones released in 1993. It offers a wider range of sounds and no sequencer. It was also available in a rack-mountable version called Bass Station Rack.[20] Bass Station II was released in 2013 and adds enhanced features such as a sequencer, arpeggiator and more.[21]
  • Roland TB-03 - uses Roland's ACB technology, which is a digital modeling technology, to mimic the sound of the original. It has several enhancements to the original like built-in speakers and effects.[22][23]
  • x0xb0x - DIY project by Limor Fried and a mysterious person referred to as "the German".

Software
  • Audiorealism ABL-3 VST - it is a VST software plugin.[24][25]
  • D16 Phoscyon - software emulator that has many more features and effects.[25][26]
  • Image Line Transistor Bass - a plugin that works only with Fruity Loops software and is made by its creators.[25][27]
  • Roland Cloud TB-303 - a software synth that requires Roland cloud subscription. It uses the Roland ACB technology used in their hardware synths.[25]
  • Yooz Music BL-303 - a free plugin that is very basic with only 7 knobs.[25][28]

References
  •  1980s portal
  1. Hsieh, Christine. "Electronic Musician: Tadao Kikumoto". Emusician.com. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  2. "The History Of Roland: Part 2 |". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  3. Hamill, Jasper. "The world's most famous electronic instrument is back. Will anyone buy the reissued TB-303?". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  4. "The Fall and Rise of the TB-303". Roland US.
  5. Vine, Richard (2011-06-14). "Tadao Kikumoto invents the Roland TB-303". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  6. "Buzzcocks: Boredom / Orange Juice: Rip It Up - Seconds - Stylus Magazine". 2015-06-10. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  7. Stuart Aitken (10 May 2011). "Charanjit Singh on how he invented acid house ... by mistake". The Guardian.
  8. Church, Terry (Feb 9, 2010). "Black History Month: Jesse Saunders and house music". Beatortal.com. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  9. "30 Years of Acid". Attack Magazine.
  10. "The 13 most iconic TB-303 basslines of all time". Mixdown Magazine. 2021-03-03. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  11. Reidy, Tess (2014-02-15). "Retro electronics still popular – but why not just use modern software?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  12. Warwick, Oli (8 April 2017). "Attack of the clones: Is Behringer's Minimoog a synth replica too far?". Fact. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  13. "The 8 best TB-303 clones according to the artists who use them". DJMag.com. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  14. "Roland TB 303 - Hardware clones and software emulations of the iconic bassline synth". Aulart. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  15. "Behringer unveils a Roland TB-303 clone". Engadget. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  16. "Future Retro Revolution". vintagesynth.com. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  17. "MAM MB 33 | Vintage Synth Explorer". www.vintagesynth.com. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  18. "MAM FreeBass 383 | Vintage Synth Explorer". www.vintagesynth.com. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  19. "MODE MACHINES | x0xb0x MK3 "FINAL EDITION"". mode-machines (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  20. "Novation Bass Station | Vintage Synth Explorer". www.vintagesynth.com. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  21. "Novation Bass Station II | Vintage Synth Explorer". www.vintagesynth.com. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  22. Corporation, Roland. "Roland - TB-03 | Bass Line". Roland. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  23. Aisher, Bruce (2017-03-14). "Roland TB-03 Bass Line review". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  24. "AudioRealism Bass Line 3". AudioRealism Virtual Synthesizers. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  25. "Roland TB 303 - Hardware clones and software emulations of the iconic bassline synth". Aulart. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  26. "Phoscyon". www.d16.pl. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  27. Studio, F. L. "Transistor Bass". FL Studio. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  28. "BL-303 – Free | Yooz Music". 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2021-09-26.

Further reading
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