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 ;-)
My project over the last week was to get the robots to train a neural net to learn the "303 thing", hasn't gone well at all.
The first one sounded like it was being played on a blown out speaker after it got run over and the second attempt sounded like it was going through a $20 pawn shop guitar pedal that got left in the rain which lead to the 'oh, you wanted the neural net to learn the 303's filter section? My bad, I just made some random stuff up as an approximation...'
The worse part is there's still compute credits left over from the initial ten bucks so we just have to try again...
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)
I remember playing with Rebirth in the late '90s and then actually finding a real, TB-303, albeit with a bunch of drawn on crap. But it was very functional. Keeping it in a box for my daughter. She will either think it's cool or sell it after I'm gone. If she sells it, hopefully she gets some decent coin.
I'm kinda tempted to give it to my neighbor's son though. He knows about all this stuff and loves it. He'd appreciate it more. He’d also love my Roland D-50. He also comes by the garage to help out with stuff. Like the son I never had.
My daughter, though, does not appreciate this tech stuff whatsoever. Calls my gear room the ‘junk room’ .
Maybe he could borrow the D-50 to start! I wish someone had introduced me to hardware synths when I was younger; it took me years to find my way with no guidance.
You could always invite him over to check it out, just to see how he reacts to it, and if he's interested more in the tech aspect or the music aspect. Due to the increased rarity of the device, you'd probably want to find out if he would actually use the device, or try taking it apart to see how it works. I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but you could try asking her if she would be upset if you allowed the neighbor to play with the device, just to avoid any ill feelings.
It sounds like you've got some great options either way. I wish I had a neighbor growing up that had cool music gear (although I did get to grow up with a dad that got me into computers before I could read, so that definitely built my love for technology). Sounds like you're the kind of dad more kids these days need in their lives.
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!
>The development of the core program, buzz.exe, was halted on October 5, 2000, when the developer lost the source code to the program. It was announced in June 2008 that development would begin again, eventually regaining much of the functionality.
The plugin in that demo isn't by Jeskola, it's by HD (Haldreamer) who I believe is a Russian audio developer who made some nice Buzz plugins in the early 2000's. Source: I have it installed and I just checked the "about" box.
What a blast from the past! Thanks for that. I remember Jeskola Buzz. It was a big part of my teenage years. The ethos of building things on top of an old, clunky, but otherwise amazing platform. People really created some amazing synthesizers for it.
my high school had a cs-70 and it poisoned me for life. that being said, theres a pretty big leap in terms of accessibility vs a browser based synth and you dont need $10,000 to play it so that's nice
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 when you buy a niche product from a tiny company thousands of kilometers away.
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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 ;-)
Fellow TB-303 owner here. I concur.
It seems like there might be a disproportionate number of 303 owners here on HN.
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The first one sounded like it was being played on a blown out speaker after it got run over and the second attempt sounded like it was going through a $20 pawn shop guitar pedal that got left in the rain which lead to the 'oh, you wanted the neural net to learn the 303's filter section? My bad, I just made some random stuff up as an approximation...'
The worse part is there's still compute credits left over from the initial ten bucks so we just have to try again...
Dead Comment
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?pge=diode2
(I built one and as far as I know the Pixie CPU was the 303 code + MIDI)
I'm kinda tempted to give it to my neighbor's son though. He knows about all this stuff and loves it. He'd appreciate it more. He’d also love my Roland D-50. He also comes by the garage to help out with stuff. Like the son I never had.
My daughter, though, does not appreciate this tech stuff whatsoever. Calls my gear room the ‘junk room’ .
https://data.dynareg.se/breadandbutter/D05.html
It sounds like you've got some great options either way. I wish I had a neighbor growing up that had cool music gear (although I did get to grow up with a dad that got me into computers before I could read, so that definitely built my love for technology). Sounds like you're the kind of dad more kids these days need in their lives.
Back in my day of the demoscene and Buzz...
demo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2kl-CW9snU
>The development of the core program, buzz.exe, was halted on October 5, 2000, when the developer lost the source code to the program. It was announced in June 2008 that development would begin again, eventually regaining much of the functionality.
I'm just joshing - it's very cool!
No words can describe the feeling of original Yamaha cs-80.
It is very unfortunate as there is no true alternative to a 80kg, age issues ridden, ultra expensive antique device.
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https://black-corporation.com/shop/
And, well, its a lot more feasible to gig with, by comparison.
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 when you buy a niche product from a tiny company thousands of kilometers away.
[0]: https://loopmaster.xyz/docs/generators/pwm