| Roland TB-303 Bass Line | |
|---|---|
 TB-303 front panel | |
| Manufacturer | Roland |
| Dates | 1981–1984 |
| Price | UK £238 (£1152 in 2023), US $395 ($1366 in 2024) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | monophonic |
| Timbrality | monotimbral |
| Oscillator | Sawtooth and square wave |
| LFO | none |
| Synthesis type | Analogsubtractive |
| Filter | 24 dB/oct low-pass resonant filter, non-self-oscillating |
| Aftertouchexpression | No |
| Velocity expression | No |
| Storage memory | 64 patterns, 7 songs, 1 track |
| Effects | No internal effects. |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 16 pattern keys |
TheRoland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the303) is abass synthesizer released byRoland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulatebass 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 ofelectronic dance music genres such asacid house,Chicago house andtechno. It has inspired numerousclones.
The TB-303 was manufactured by the Japanese companyRoland. It was designed byTadao Kikumoto, who also designed theRoland TR-909 drum machine.[1] It was marketed as a "computerised bass machine" to replace thebass guitar.[2] However, according toForbes, it instead produces a "squelchy tone more reminiscent of a psychedelicmouth harp than a stringed instrument".[3]
The TB-303 has a singleoscillator, which produces either a "buzzy"sawtooth wave or a "hollow-sounding"square wave.[3] This is fed into a 24 dB/octave[4]low-pass filter, which is manipulated by anenvelope generator.[2] Users program notes andslides using the internalsequencer.[3]
The TB-303's unrealistic sound made it unpopular with its target audience, musicians 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]
Indian musicianCharanjit Singh's 1982 albumSynthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat featured an early use of a TB-303, alongside the TR-808. The album remained obscure until the early 21st century, when it was reissued and recognized as a precursor toacid house.[6] Singh had an influence onBollywood music producerBappi Lahiri, who experimented with tweaked TB-303 basslines for several Indiandiscofilm songs released in 1983: "Koi Lutera" inWanted: Dead or Alive, "Aah Ha Oonh Hun" inDo Gulaab, and "Tum Tum Tumba" inKarate.[7] The first song using the TB-303 to enter the top ten of theUK Singles Chart was "Rip It Up" (1983) by Scottish bandOrange Juice.[8] The same year, Japanese musicianRyo Kawasaki used the TB-303 with a TR-808 andsynth guitar in hiselectronic jazz albumLucky Lady (1983).[9][10]
The Chicago groupPhuture 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" (1987), often credited as the first acid house track. With the TB-303 as a staple sound, acid became popular worldwide, particularly as part of the UK's emergingrave culture known as thesecond summer of love.[3]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as new acid styles emerged, the TB-303 was oftenoverdriven, producing a harsher sound, such as onHardfloor's 1992 EP "Acperience" and Interlect 3000's 1993 EP "Volcano".[11] In 1995, the TB-303 was distorted and processed onJosh Wink's hit "Higher State of Consciousness"[4][12] and onDaft Punk's "Da Funk".[13]
In 2011, theGuardian 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.[14]
The TB-303 has inspired numerous software emulations andclones,[15] such as the TD-3 byBehringer, released in 2019.[16] In 2014, Roland released the TB-3 Touch Bassline, with a touchpad interface andMIDI andUSB connections.[17] In 2017, Roland released the TB-03, a miniaturized model featuring anLED display anddelay andoverdrive effects.[18]
| Synthesizers |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic drums | ||
| Keytars | ||
| Grooveboxes | ||
| Samplers | ||
| Workstations | ||
| Sequencers | ||
| MIDI interfaces | ||
| Modules | ||
| Software | ||
| Amplifiers | ||
| Effects units | ||
| Organs | ||
| Boss effects | ||
| Founder | ||
| Other | ||
