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Building a TB-303 from Scratch

loopmaster.xyz

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Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#51

Post by squigg »

TB-303 owner here. If my TB-303 sounded this bad I'd set fire to it ;-)

Really this is just an implementation of a basic oscillator, filter and envelope. No harm in that all and it's more than I could manage - it's fun and nice, but it's nothing like a 303. "Building an acid synth" would be fairer.

The accent and glide are core components of the sound, as is the really quite unique sequencer control - from the strange bendy growls to the classic acid bark the accent brings out. Would have been nice to see a deeper dive into why that is and why it's different from implementing a normal portamento-style glide as many other synths do, like the SH-101 - which cannot sound that close to a 303 due to that glide. Well it's also got a different oscillator and filter, with no accent either, but I don't want that to ruin the story ;-)

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#52

Post by Archit3ch »

Sounds like a softsynth.

Without having the source to the WASM diodeLadder(), the following is just a guess: they implemented it exactly like every other "Diode Ladder" on GitHub, rather than a true SPICE simulation. Some evidence for that: the CPU usage would explode.

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#53

Post by bloke_zero »

c-c-c-c-c wrote: post #18

I'd love to see a deep dive into the 303 CPU and their replicas like https://www.sonic-potions.com/re303 and https://socialentropy.com/pages/product_qs303 sonic potions has an analysis of the cpu timings here https://sonic-potions.com/Documentation/Analysis_of_the_D650... Theres also some nice articles about the diode ladder filter in the 303, similar to the one in the vcs3 https://www.timstinchcombe.co.uk/index.php?…

There was a lot of work done on the RE_303 and the Pixie CPU (303/606) - I don't know much about it but it might give you another more recent vector to explore: https://github.com/sunflowr/recpu?tab=readme-ov-file

(I built one and as far as I know the Pixie CPU was the 303 code + MIDI)

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#54

Post by llm_nerd »

efdee wrote: post #35
djmips wrote: post #19

How much are you building 'from Scratch' when your language has primitives like diodeLadder(). :) I'm just joshing - it's very cool!

In his defense, he built the entire language :-)

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe" - Sagan

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#55

Post by aa-jv »

juleiie wrote: post #43
aa-jv wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, Deckards Dream comes pretty close to attaining a modern analog manifestation of the CS80 ideal: https://black-corporation.com/shop/ And, well, its a lot more feasible to gig with, by comparison.

It sounds different but it is great in its own right and priced adequately to how amazing it sounds. Maybe 'alternative' is a wrong word. I think I meant 1:1 replica. Also it doesn't come with ring modulator nor ribbon. I think black corp synthesizers are inspired by the original vintage devices and are great on their own but there are justified reasons to also avoid them mostly because of common issues that arise wh…

>common issues that arise when you buy a niche product from a tiny company thousands of kilometers away.

Sorry, this is just negative - but anyway, have you played with both?

I have. There are differences but they are minor and you can very definitely accomplish an approximation of the CS80 'sound' with the DD. It sold out for a reason.

Either way though, if you have an opportunity to have a real CS80 in the studio, as I do, you are very right in saying that it is an amazing beast.

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#56

Post by squigg »

stagas wrote: post #44
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They miss out how not-square the "square wave" is for a start. Its pulsewidth varies wildly across the compass.

I think you're right. We have a `pwm(hz,width)`[0] but I didn't try it. Was more focused on the ramp/sawtooth. Can't decide which one sounds better. [0]: https://loopmaster.xyz/docs/generators/pwm

Always the square for classic acid house - the saw is better for more modern (and worse ;-) distorted acid techno

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#57

Post by Supernaut »

hnlmorg wrote: post #42
poisonarena wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

its been getting a renaissance since 2006 i think

I have a huge stack of records that prove it was used heavily throughout the 00s. And the 90s too

It's amusing to see comments implying that the TB-303 is some kind of neglected classic. In reality, it can only be considered to have been forgotten for perhaps the two years after Roland ended production in 1984.

"Acid Tracks" came out in 1987 and I genuinely feel like I've been reading endlessly about the 303 ever since.

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#58

Post by tibbon »

My first real soldering project (aside from just making cables) was a x0xb0x TB-303 clone. I somehow built it with a $10 radioshack iron and nail-clippers as flush cutters in an un-air conditioned Boston studio apartment over a summer. Probably not the first deep electronics project, but somehow it worked!

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#59

Post by dylan604 »

"If you've ever heard the word "acid" in a song, it's probably a reference to the sound of the TB-303"

Ummmm, what? If you've heard the word "acid" in a song, it was definitely not a reference to the 303 and definitely the other use of "acid" like its use on the dancefloor. If you've heard someone describe a song as "acid", maybe it could be a reference to the 303.

Re: Building a TB-303 from Scratch

#60

Post by dylan604 »

skrebbel wrote: post #11
djmips wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like a real bad day.

Yeah it was pretty spectacular. The author was a bit paranoid, had never shared his sources with anyone or backed them up anywhere or version controlled them to a remote SVN server or anything like that. And then his hard drive failed and Buzz development was over. IIRC there even was a community-organized crowdfunding campaign to fund some fancy data recovery company to try and revive the hard drive so he could get…

Would someone be able to use any of the modern reversing programs on the exe to get something?
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