Audiorealism ABL3

[ilhouse]

Bought Bitwig recently and looking into getting a 303 VST for some acid basslines. To my demise, Mac doesn't seem to have any free VST's in this department so gonna have to pull the trigger and drop some cash on one. Have narrowed it down to D16 Phosycon ($60) and Audiorealism ABL3 ($100), with a slight preference to ABL3 due to some of the reviews Ive read on this forum. The only negative thing Ive read about ABL3 is that it doesn't have a swing option. How big of an issue is this?

Another thing, is the Audiorealism Drum machine worth the extra $50 for the ABL3/ADM combo ($150)? Trying to produce techno/deeper edm if that helps any.

[gentleclockdivider]

Yep No swing , but all the rest is top notch .
I love it
It's the best 303 emu around
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRFylrfz_-g

[Jonathan10]

I like the imageline one better check that out. The ABL3 is definitely solid. But it needs midi drag to track to be truly useful imo

[awol9000]

I've owned Phosycon but ABL3's pattern mode sold me. Easy as heck to program. I love the tb303 sound which many attribute the to original sequencer but I don't need a cryptic hard to remember sequencer like the original. ABL3 does the job and it's easy.

On another note, D16's multi-band distortion is the perfect acid companion.

[ilhouse]

I like the imageline one better check that out. The ABL3 is definitely solid. But it needs midi drag to track to be truly useful imo

Not too sure what this means, pretty new to music making! Does this have to do with how the DAW reads the sounds? Sorta wondered how that worked since it is a pop up and doesn't show up as bars/can't draw it in

I've owned Phosycon but ABL3's pattern mode sold me. Easy as heck to program. I love the tb303 sound which many attribute the to original sequencer but I don't need a cryptic hard to remember sequencer like the original. ABL3 does the job and it's easy.

On another note, D16's multi-band distortion is the perfect acid companion.

Just downloaded the demos before pulling out the credit card. Making a pattern on the ABL3 seems ridiculously easy to understand when on pattern view versus the classic. The ABL3 demo had no presets but Im assuming both paid versions have presets and ability to save patterns?

On the other hand, the D16's additional distortion seems like an added plus, and all in one package. Is it easy to add distortion to ABL3? Tried using the distortion on BITWIG to emulate the parameters on D16 but didn't seem to be the same thing.

[Drew Lake]

TBH they both have there pros and cons and it's just about what you prefer. I love the TB303 sound and try and center my track on a good acid line or two but from my experience I gave up looking for the perfect TB303 VST clone and settled on just using what sounded good to me. Funny enough though it turned out to be a free Plugin called Toolchain by RS-MET and BlueARP as the sequencer. It doesn't sound like a true 303 but to me it sounds exactly what I was after.

[pekbro]

If you can do without the sequencer, and are just looking for a good 303 sound for free.
I think the YoozBL303 is quite alright.

https://yoozmusic.com/yooz-bl-303/

[antic604]

I like Phoscyon better - it has much more (very good!) presets for single sounds and sequences, better sequencer, has an arpeggiator and comprehensive distortion module. And it's cheaper. And looks better. And - important in my case - the developers are Polish

Regarding swing, you can drive both VSTs from Bitwig's sequencer - you get glides by overlapping notes and accents by velocity above 96.

[ilhouse]

Thanks for the input guys! Bought ABL3. The layout, sequencer, and adjustable UI on ABL3 seemed to let me be more creative by quickly editing all the steps in one window versus having to do it the "old-school" way; it also has the OG view as well . Since it doesn't have distortion I ended up dropping more on D16 Devastator 2 . Read in a couple places it's a great distortion VST for acid; and not sure how accurate but it apparently having a top notch distortion unit is equally as important, that's why ABL3 dropped distortion so people can use one that will do ABL3 justice . Maybe Im just trying to justify spending double the amount of Phosycon lol.

If you can do without the sequencer, and are just looking for a good 303 sound for free.
I think the YoozBL303 is quite alright.

https://yoozmusic.com/yooz-bl-303/

I tried BL303 for a while and I just couldn't get it to work for me; the the slides/accents were controlled with the velocity and would get flustered with it. As far as the sounds it produces are pretty good tho. Thanks for recommendation.

And - important in my case - the developers are Polish

I didn't get the Phosycon but D16 still got my business with the Devastator 2!

[JunSev]

Bought Bitwig recently and looking into getting a 303 VST for some acid basslines. To my demise, Mac doesn't seem to have any free VST's in this department so gonna have to pull the trigger and drop some cash on one. Have narrowed it down to D16 Phosycon ($60) and Audiorealism ABL3 ($100), with a slight preference to ABL3 due to some of the reviews Ive read on this forum. The only negative thing Ive read about ABL3 is that it doesn't have a swing option. How big of an issue is this?

Another thing, is the Audiorealism Drum machine worth the extra $50 for the ABL3/ADM combo ($150)? Trying to produce techno/deeper edm if that helps any.

Is not specifically a emulation of the tb 303, but TAL Bassline 101 never will leave you disappointed if you're looking for good basslines, I think that is emulation of the Roland SH-101...

[fanodu1]

I like the imageline one better check that out. The ABL3 is definitely solid. But it needs midi drag to track to be truly useful imo

The Image-Line emulation sounds very close in direct comparison, even though a bit muffled in direct comparison.

[chaosWyrM]

i much prefer phoscyon to abl3. i know they are both emulating the same thing...but unless all you care about is a straight emu....phoscyon is more "interesting". a 303 is a 303 is a 303....phoscyon goes a bit beyond that and i find has a sound thats more noticeable, for lack of a better term.

abl3 is very good at what it does, and is probably a bit more accurate, if thats what you want....but phoscyon sounds just as good and can do a bit more.

of course...just my opinion.

[ilhouse]

i much prefer phoscyon to abl3. i know they are both emulating the same thing...but unless all you care about is a straight emu....phoscyon is more "interesting". a 303 is a 303 is a 303....phoscyon goes a bit beyond that and i find has a sound thats more noticeable, for lack of a better term.

abl3 is very good at what it does, and is probably a bit more accurate, if thats what you want....but phoscyon sounds just as good and can do a bit more.

of course...just my opinion.

If the Phosycon had a pattern view I would have definitely got it. Messed around for a few hours with both and felt like I was a bit more creative with ABL3 due to simplicity of programming. But with that said, the Phosycon offers quite a bit more tbh. I was able to get a fatter/warmer (not sure if this is the proper terminology) sound on ABL3 easier as well so went with that; not that it can't be done on Phosycon. Since I got the D16 devastator, I got a $25 discount for another vst, so might end up getting Phosycon in near future as well

[awol9000]

i much prefer phoscyon to abl3. i know they are both emulating the same thing...but unless all you care about is a straight emu....phoscyon is more "interesting".

I always liked the arp feature on Phoscyon. That alone might be reason to own both.

[ilhouse]

For you guys using these VST's, how do you go about recording? I have my ABL3 routed to an audio track which records everything, but was wondering how you guys go about your workflow.

Have pattern saved in bank and copy it, and paste it into next bank and change it up, that way Ill have the patterns for song and go back and forth. Only if the knobs saved!

Took a look through the manual but still couldn't get a better understanding. I know Im missing something on how to make the workflow easier