After 15 years of DJing I finally took the plunge and got myself a nice little setup for producing Acid Techno. Nine weeks later and I'm completely hooked

Things are starting to come on well when it comes to percussion and I'm starting to get to grips with ABL2 (certainly now I've introduced some distortion!) but the difficult thing seems to be working out which synth plugin to buy for making FX, nice dark synth lines and fleshing out breakdowns

The ideal plugin would be capable of everything from dark, atmospheric ambient type sounds all the way to screaming sirens and the like...

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Well you've got the 303 emulator covered right there.

Get yourself a set of 606,707, 808, and 909 samples. U-he's Diva is a great all round virtual analogue synth. It's definitely worth having a crack at. But, if you really want acid, there's nothing like th real thing...

Yeah, I'm certainly pleased with ABL2; bar spending a grand and a half on the real thing the sound is as good as I could hope for

As for drum samples, I've already got a good selection of decent 909 sample packs but will certainly look into some 606, 707 and 808 packs too. I didn't realise they were used in Acid that much but thinking about it, my percussion could use a bit of variation in sound... They may be the perfect place to start.

Definitely hear what you're saying in that last sentence too... That's the main reason I haven't invested in a vst synth sooner; you really can't beat the nice and simple 303/909 combo for acid!

Many thanks for your advice; Just had a look at the U-he Diva and it does look like a nice synth for what I want. Will do some more research

You can check out Novation V-Station too, if you can find it for a decent price, i spent 25 € half a year ago or so, not many stores till have it though. It has a nice distortion fx on board, and should be pretty nice for harsh acid like sounds too.

Thanks chk, that's another to add to the list.

Shame they're becoming a rarity; hopefully I'll be able to track one down

FWIW you don't need to may $1500 (or more ...) for a real TB-303. The x0xb0x sounds close to indistinguishable from the original, and it's 1/3 the cost:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov10/articles/xoxbox.htm

It's an open source design, so anyone can build these from the parts - it's not limited the brand reviewed in the above article. Some audio comparisons here:

http://www.acidvoice.com/x0xb0x.htm

Above site also compares various soft synths + distortion pedals.

Peace,
Andy.

What DAW are you running?

Nice!
Thanks Andy- That's seriously the most useful bit of info anyone's given me since I started making tunes! I've heard a few references to the xoxbox banded about the net but never knew what the hell people were talking about.

Just been looking around at a few prices and I reckon it might actually be a feasible option too

Yeah, the acidvoice site has already proven a great for comparisons- it was the reason I went for ABL2.
Because I got into Acid Techno in the late 90s when it was all still analogue my main concern for choosing a setup was to try and emulate that sound... Imo there's just nothing like it!

Has/does anyone here use(d) a vst for extra distortion on 303 sounds? Using Ohmicide at the moment and have had some good results but other recommendations would be great.

@djshire: I'm using Live 8.2.1

Live? Oh, well....I don't know much about Lives built-in synths.

Anyways, I made something you might like, my first track
http://soundcloud.com/djshire/8-track-original-mix

Anyways, I made that track using mostly Apple Logic plug-ins, including the percussive elements (all made using ES2).

You could do a lot worse than buying Camel's Camelphat.

It's got a great distortion section, a tasty filter and some 'magic' EQ and compression. It sounds awesome and is dead easy to use.

Also look at Fabfilter Saturn. Although it's more expensive, focused and complicated it really does sound amazing.

D16 devastor.

A second recommendation for that xOxbox thing. If you're really into the acid stuff it's money well spent. Way cheaper than a real 303 and sounds pretty well identical.

As for distortion - I haven't yet really heard a VSTFX that I really like, although CamelPhat IS a good recommendation. Have you thought about h/w again? One of the best bits of kit I bought in terms of value was a guitar stomp box. Cheap as chips - likely still cost the same as most plugins. I bought a Boss bass overdrive - and it's so much smoother than digital distortion. I still use it regularly on synths (both h/w and s/w). It cost me 50 quid or so years back and has done me proud. Overdrive is often (to my ears) a better type of distortion on synth lines than straight distortion - which can be too harsh.

And as for VSTi - hard to go past impOSCar for adding to acid tracks - it's both very very versatile yet can still make aggressive sounds. Way back when I used to have all the kit - 303, 202, 606, 909 and Junos...and the OSCar sat very well with Acid stuff. And impOSCar is a very good emulation. I still use it alongside my 202 when I occasionally do that style.

YES! I built one for a friend (who is NOT electronically inclined) about a yr ago. (It was a Willzyx xOxbOx, I believe). The complete (un-assembled kit) was under $300.

After completion I was AMAZED at the "classic" 303 sound this kit/clone....I personally own (2) 303's... One stock and one I modded,(devil-fish). The clone sounded amazingly close to my stock box.

I believe they will also build one for you but can't remember the cost (I think it was ~ $575 or so).


I ALSO agree that nothing beats the "real" hardware version of the 303, but there's NO way I'd pay $1,500 for one.... AND that's a conservative quote.... I've seen them sell for $3,500!

hmm... d16?

Funny! However, if you're going for the acid house sound 1989 style it has to be way more simplistic and with very sparse use of effects. i think your track is too crowded and with too much room. But it may just be me.
I did a take on acid house a while back
http://soundcloud.com/kbeesmusic/k-bee-the-return-of-acid-ho use
very simple stuff