Engineering:Roland TB-303
| Roland TB-303 Bass Line | |
|---|---|
 TB-303 front panel | |
| Manufacturer | Roland |
| Dates | 1981-1984 |
| Price | UK £238 (£919 in 2019), US $395 ($1111 in 2019) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | monophonic |
| Timbrality | monotimbral |
| Oscillator | Sawtooth and square wave |
| LFO | none |
| Synthesis type | Analog Subtractive |
| Filter | 24dB/oct low pass resonant filter, non self oscillating |
| Aftertouch expression | No |
| Velocity expression | No |
| Storage memory | 64 patterns, 7 songs, 1 track |
| Effects | No internal effects. |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | No |
The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. 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.
Design and features
The TB-303 was manufactured by the Japanese company Roland. It 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/octave[4] low-pass filter, which is manipulated by an envelope generator.[2] Users program notes and slides using the internal sequencer.[3]
Legacy
The TB-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. 10,000 units were manufactured.[3]
The first track to use the TB-303 and enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart was "Rip It Up" (1983), by the Scottish band Orange Juice.[6] Charanjit Singh's 1982 album Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat was another early use of a TB-303, alongside another Roland device, the TR-808 drum machine. The album remained obscure until the early 21st century, and is now recognized as a precursor to acid house.[7]
The Chicago group Phuture bought a cheap TB-303 and began experimenting. By manipulating the synthesizer as it played, they created a unique "squelching, resonant and liquid sound". This became the foundation of the single "Acid Tracks", which was released in 1987 and created the acid genre. Acid, with the TB-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]
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".[10]
In 2011, the The Guardian named the release of the TB-303 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] As of 2014, units sold for over £1,000.[11]
Successors
The TB-303 has inspired numerous software emulations and clones,[12] such as the TD-3 by Behringer, released in 2019.[13] In 2014, Roland released the TB-3 Touch Bassline, with a touchpad interface and MIDI and USB connections.[14] In 2017, Roland released the TB-03, a miniaturized model featuring an LED display and delay and overdrive effects.[15]
References
- ↑ Hsieh, Christine. "Electronic Musician: Tadao Kikumoto". https://www.emusician.com/gear/tadao-kikumoto.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Reid, Gordon (December 2004). "The History Of Roland: Part 2" (in en-gb). https://www.soundonsound.com/people/history-roland-part-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Hamill, Jasper. "The world's most famous electronic instrument is back. Will anyone buy the reissued TB-303?" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasperhamill/2014/03/25/one-synth-to-rule-them-all-roland-takes-on-clones-with-reissue-of-legendary-tb-303/#346a468359d5.[better source needed]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Fall and Rise of the TB-303". 28 March 2013. http://www.rolandus.com/blog/2013/03/28/tb-303-acid-flashback/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Vine, Richard (2011-06-14). "Tadao Kikumoto invents the Roland TB-303" (in en). https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/tadao-kikumoto-roland.
- ↑ "Buzzcocks: Boredom / Orange Juice: Rip It Up - Seconds". 2015-06-10. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604010309/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/buzzcocks-boredom-orange-juice-rip-it-up.htm.
- ↑ Stuart Aitken (10 May 2011). "Charanjit Singh on how he invented acid house ... by mistake". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/may/10/charanjit-singh-acid-house-ten-ragas.
- ↑ Church, Terry (Feb 9, 2010). "Black History Month: Jesse Saunders and house music". http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/black-history-jesse-saunders-and-house-music/.
- ↑ "30 Years of Acid". http://www.attackmagazine.com/features/you-just-have-move-your-feet-30-years-acid/2/.
- ↑ Brewster, Will (2021-03-03). "The 13 most iconic TB-303 basslines of all time" (in en-AU). https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/the-13-most-iconic-tb-303-basslines-of-all-time/.
- ↑ Reidy, Tess (2014-02-15). "Retro electronics still popular – but why not just use modern software?" (in en). https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/15/old-electronic-instruments-popular-software.
- ↑ Warwick, Oli (8 April 2017). "Attack of the clones: Is Behringer's Minimoog a synth replica too far?" (in en-US). Fact. https://www.factmag.com/2017/04/08/behringer-minimoog-synth-clones/.
- ↑ "Behringer unveils a Roland TB-303 clone" (in en-US). 8 November 2019. https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-08-behringer-roland-tb-303-clone.html.
- ↑ Nagle, Paul (April 2014). "Roland TB3 Touch Bassline". https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/roland-tb3-touch-bassline.
- ↑ "Roland TB-03 Bass Line review" (in en). 2017-03-14. https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/roland-tb-03-bass-line.
Further reading
- "Roland TB-303 Bass Line". Electronics & Music Maker: 20. April 1982. OCLC 317187644. http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/roland-tb-303-bass-line/4250.
- "Knowledge Base: The History of the Roland TB-303". Future Music (262): 52–3. February 2013. ISSN 0967-0378. OCLC 1032779031.
- A Brief Story of the Roland TB -303 Bassline Synthesizer.
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