The Roland TB-303 Sound - A comparison with various synths

[ghettosynth]

Cool comparison!

My fav was probably the Behringer and, great, now I need to buy one so thanks a lot. The most unique sounding one to me was the Typhon, especially once the filter started to open and that trademark Dreadbox sound came out.

Least fav was the Cobalt - it just sounded sorta lifeless to me and lacked depth compared to the others.

It would be cool to share your MIDI file so we could try it with other synths and upload our results. I'd love to hear how some of my other monos (e.g., Sub37, Pro3, Slim Phatty, SE-1X, and SE-02) compare.

Depending on your preferences, you might find the MO worth the extra dosh, I certainly did!

[pixel85]

For me, those sound very different which makes it more difficult to judge.

TD-3 - naturally, the most classic acid sound out of all of them. Apparently square wave in TD-3 is not perfectly cloned but I it's the first time I like square 303 (I mean in my TD-3 when I began to use it).
Deepmind - surprise. It really has a rubbery Roland sound. I didn't know that so thanks for showing it.
Typhon - very digital and flat sounding. I don't know if Typhon is digital, most likely not
Cobalt - is better than I expected as I'm officially a hater of this synth
Virus Ti - I think that you can squeeze more acid from Virus. I always liked 303 from Virus which was used A LOT in older Psytrance.
Pulse - ok, this one sounds bad
Minilogue - the most different sounding out of all of them. It's quite rubbery. Not 303 rubbery but it's close.

I prefer to use TD-3 for acid. Because it's the closest sound to the real thing. I also prefer to use its sequencer than the piano roll for acid patterns*.



* of course I would prefer to have a sequencer like in Phoscyon but it is what it is

The Phoscyon thread here at KvR gave me a headslap moment. You can export sequences from Phoscyon, and use them to play TD3. I kinda knew that but didn't register it properly. So I can use the wonderful Phoscyon sequencer to come up with sequences, and use those for the TD3 with it's original and awful sequencer. Apparently accents work properly but ties don't but it's likely there's a way to do it. Must start doing that because, like you, I really like the TD3 for it's sound. I just hate the 303 sequencer, always did. I barely touched it because I forgot how very much I hate the 303 sequencer, now I can use it properly.

tbh I decided to use sequencer for the first time just a week ago. Until then I was afraid to even touch it knowing its reputation But I found quick YouTube tutorial which encouraged me.
Overall, yeah, it's crappy sequencer. But it gives the vibe of making quick half-random patterns like they did long time ago.
I'm fine with this when it's one pattern per track. If I'll have to make more than one, I'll use piano roll because I have limited patience

[DrGonzo]

As much as I adore the original 303, the older I get the more I appreciate good synths that do flawed carbon copies of the sound. I never got as far as doing acid with a Casio CZ but the Virus is certainly a good choice, and so are the 101 and the Elektron boxes. So much of acid lies in the attitude rather sorely in the sound.

Yesterday I came across this video from Patchwerks and while not perfect - it has a nice vibe to it.

[kritikon]

tbh I decided to use sequencer for the first time just a week ago. Until then I was afraid to even touch it knowing its reputation But I found quick YouTube tutorial which encouraged me.
Overall, yeah, it's crappy sequencer. But it gives the vibe of making quick half-random patterns like they did long time ago.
I'm fine with this when it's one pattern per track. If I'll have to make more than one, I'll use piano roll because I have limited patience

Oh for sure, there's the random pattern moments of joy, but as you say - more than 1 bar makes it just not worth doing. You can make whole songs if you really want to, but I reckon anyone making songs on a 303 sequencer must be beyond the usual uber-nerdy obsessive fanboy potential musical school-shooter. It's just another level of doggedness that makes them barely human. I recently did a 4-bar pattern on Phoscyon and it was a breeze, just a delight compared to the silver box way. Trouble with piano roll is that the 303 sequencer is so quirky that often it doesn't play well that way when you want a certain result. TBH most stuff I ever got out of a 303 that was useful was completely random, whereas now I can actually plan sequences.

Anyway - I want a Dreadbox now. Minilogue XD or Dreadbox? That's a cruel choice to have to make IMO. Damn the OP!

[cryophonik]

Anyway - I want a Dreadbox now. Minilogue XD or Dreadbox? That's a cruel choice to have to make IMO. Damn the OP!

I had a Typhon for a while and I've owned both the keyboard and module versions of the Minilogue XD. The Minilogue is a lot more synth for the money and is a very nice synth for warm analog sounds. The only reason I sold mine was because I wanted a Prophet 6 and needed the space/inputs. The Typhon is a different beast. It sounds great overall and those Sinevibes effects are pretty stunning, but I did get USB hum and I sometimes found it difficult to get punchy basses because I'd get weird phase issues with the oscillators or something, so I ended up selling it after buying my SE-1X. I've never owned a Nymphes, but that's probably more comparable to the Minilogue XD. Personally, I'd stick with the Minilogue XD without a doubt - it's just an amazing synth for not much money and punches way above its weight. Damn, now I'm GAS'ing for another one

[hcv242]

The Typhon is a different beast. It sounds great overall and those Sinevibes effects are pretty stunning, but I did get USB hum and I sometimes found it difficult to get punchy basses because I'd get weird phase issues with the oscillators or something"

The hum only happens if the usb power cable is connected to your computer. Connect the usb to a phone charger and the hum goes away.

[cryophonik]

Yeah, I'm aware of that, but it wasn't always convenient to use a phone charger when I had it. It was a minor issue, tbh, but still worthy of mention IMO. I still think the Typhon is a very cool synth.

In other news, I just noticed your post on GS. Funny how different the opinions are over there compared to here.

[hcv242]

In other news, I just noticed your post on GS. Funny how different the opinions are over there compared to here.

Had to check that, because I totally forgot about the GS post. People do perceive things in very different ways. I couldn’t disagree more whith the people saying the cobalt and the pulse 2 sound good.

[cryophonik]

I couldn’t disagree more whith the people saying the cobalt and the pulse 2 sound good.

Exactly!

[Stefken]

The objective was to find the most versatile synth to do acid basslines and not to find the most similiar sound to a tb-303.

The answers are subjective. And i find the question at hand pretty confusing really.
Acid is a genre that pretty much originated from the use of a specific hardware unit. The TB-303.

So, when one asks : i m looking for a synth that does acid well, but i doesn t have to sound like a TB-303, what exactely are you asking then? It s completely undefined. Since Acid and the TB-303 sound and operation are almost synonyms.

[hcv242]

So, when one asks : i m looking for a synth that does acid well, but i doesn t have to sound like a TB-303, what exactely are you asking then? It s completely undefined. Since Acid and the TB-303 sound and operation are almost synonyms.

Hello. I am going to answer to you with another question: is it possible to do acid basslines without a tb-303 ?

[Stefken]

So, when one asks : i m looking for a synth that does acid well, but i doesn t have to sound like a TB-303, what exactely are you asking then? It s completely undefined. Since Acid and the TB-303 sound and operation are almost synonyms.

Hello. I am going to answer to you with another question: is it possible to do acid basslines without a tb-303 ?

Sure, you can use one of the numerous clones . And quite a few of them are integrated with a distortion which is a super companion for the TB-303, which was not included in the original.
The Roland Cloud TB-303, Phoscyon and PureAcid also have a very nice visual sequencer which makes the process a lot more userfriendly. So, in a way, they beat the original TB-303 and hence are for sure a good alternative to an original TB-303.

In hardware: TD-3, TB-3, Devilfish, TD-3 MO, ...

Here is another question. Why is there an absolute abundance of clones, if you can do it with 'any' synth.

[hcv242]

so there you have it

[hcv242]

Why is there an absolute abundance of clones, if you can do it with 'any' synth.

Mainly because people think that if they use the same tools as Dj pierre, Hardfloor or Atom™ they can sound like them. Brands take advantage of that, but we all know that is not true.
If you feel the need to use a 303 to get squelchy sounds, fine, do it. Just don't try to convince everyone that they also need a 303. Don't be like fatboy slim

[cryophonik]

People have been making acid without a 303 or 303 emulation for decades. Other synths that are not intentionally designed to emulate the 303 can still approximate the sound, some very closely and others not so much. But, how closely they resemble an original 303 and how good they sound are two different things and, yes, very subjective. That's the whole point here.