AudioRealism Bass Line 2 (ABL2)

The Roland TB-303, what a simple instrument... Just take a sawtooth or square wave, run it through a resonant 18 or 24 db/oct lowpass filter modulated by a decay envelope, throw in some accents and portamento, and there you have it, BAM! right?

It's only by listening to the evolution of the software 303, that I've come to realize how complex and 'alive' the sound of a 303 really is. Like an accoustic, or a well programmed and featured synthesizer, there are subtle movements in the sound, and proportions that change beyond simple filter modulations.

Love it or hate it, to see a 303 as simply a waveform going through a filter is to miss the point. And that point has not been missed by Audiorealism, makers of what must be the most accurate softsynth 303 in the world today. The sound spawned countless genres and contextualizations precicely because this subtle complexity creates a sound which is compelling because it sounds alive, tangible, like a physical process.

Having played with a real silver squidgebox a long time ago, there are very few simulations that take me back to that insta-grin moment I cranked the resonance and let the acid flow. Audiorealism ABL 2 nails all of the subtleties almost squarely on the head. The way the accents bob up and down slightly, as if on the surface of a liquid; the way the main body/character of the sound changes, and not just the cutoff point, when you up the resonance; the clear, wide variation of sound, from peircing high-pitched resonant bubbles to dark, chunky rubber... need I go on?

ABL even affords you the luxury of adjusting the internal pots of your simulated 303, allowing you to supercharge or tone down the sound to fit the flavour of your current project. You can make the cutoff range go out the top of human hearing, choose between overdriven filters, or pure liquid sinewave resonance, and even simulate flaws such as the VCA clicks which occurred on every sequencer step.

One feature I really appreciate is the resonance gain compensation. In a ladder filter, turning up the resonance causes a drop in volume of overall sound, as more energy is directed into the peak and none is added. This makes extreme tweaking cumbersome in realtime, and requires either distortion or a compressor to level things out - which may not be desired. Resonance gain compensation gets around this simply by causing the oscillator volume to increase, in proportion to your resonance. Simple, but SO effective, and a welcome break from 'warts and all' authenticity :)

Many software 303's sound amazing put through a suitable distortion, but what floors me with ABL is that despite having built in distortion, it sounds amazing totally naked! Warm and authentic are words that spring to mind. Subtle distortions such as simulated filter overdrive, and the internal clipping that is caused when the volume knob exceeds 75%, create an output signal almost indistunguishable from the real deal.

I like the new GUI. It's bold and iconic without being overly nostalgic, but the option is there to skin if so desired. Features such as pattern randomization, sequencer swing, and an audio detection routine to detect the notes from a source loop, round out an amazing acid experience!

I am not an acid purist, nor am I a pure acid-head. I just consider the 303 an invaluable tool in creating electronic music, and something with instant appeal, sort of like electronic music's version of the electric guitar. ABL is the best emulation out there at the moment, and in A/B tests I, along with most other people, can't tell the difference. Whether you think this justifies the price tag is up to you, obviously...

... After all, a 303 is just a basic waveform through a resonant filter, right? ;)Read Review