Show me your TB-303 Skillz

[jmi]

Originally Posted by crufty

hey jmi, really nice! would you mind talking about the engineering of those tracks?
how where they recorded & mastered? itb, otb, hybrid? what console, hw (or sw) units were used etc?

The setup is quite simple. And hybrid indeed.
Software fot clean duties and hardware for the the color and artefacts...
Sound generation is mostly done with hardware synths + samples (drums/stabs) and somes vst for layering . Everything go straight in a Steinberg mr816 interface to Ableton.

Writing & mixing are itb. The main idea is to keep it simple and efficient. (Comp : cytomic the glue, softube cl1b, brainworx vertigo, ableton comp // Eq : Dmg equality // FX : mostly ableton besides reverbs)
We try to be very carefull with gain staging when we record and mix, and at the end to provide a mix with good dynamics to the mastering engineer.

Of course as everybody here, we lust on some more high end gear... comps, reverbs or Di would be nice, but honestly, it's okay and the "lo-fi" aesthetic suits the genre. That being said, the setup keeps evolving to something more and more hardware based at least on the frontend because we more and more feel the need to have a lot of differents "colors".
We experiment this at the moment, we'll see if the last 2 steps are worth the hassle :
HW synth + HW sampler > HW fx > MR816 > ABLETON >MR816> mackie 1202 > DTD

[Jeeroj]

been playing with the swing on my x0xb0x today
drums es-1 and i'm running a synth wah pedal in the background.

[deep_disco]

Originally Posted by Jeeroj

been playing with the swing on my x0xb0x today
drums es-1 and i'm running a synth wah pedal in the background.

nice one!

[blinky909]

i have left this here yet?

[Jeeroj]

you're smacking it at the moment blinky!

everytime i'm on here you've whipped up some new techno pumper

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by Jeeroj

you're smacking it at the moment blinky!

everytime i'm on here you've whipped up some new techno pumper

thanks. that last one could have done without that one sound - ugh. that is why i have moved to multi-tracking - what sounded good at the moment is so horrible sounding the next morning.

i'll dish up some more 303 goodness this week.

[crufty]

Originally Posted by jmi

The main idea is to keep it simple and efficient.

nice...thank you very much for sharing! well done!

[Jeeroj]

July's pattern is up acid kids!

[splitradix]

I have my 303 and 606 in work with me so I can play with them whenever the manager's not looking:

[golden beers]

bump!
just came across this classic on you tube, thought i may as well post here

from 1987

[blinky909]

my MXR 104 came today, and shortly thereafter so did i.

[schmuck]

Here's my last shot:

BTNSCRTH-1419 (acid18), includes

SH5 as "the Crow"
TB303 through Ebbe und Flut as "The Lead FX" (partly resampled & modified in Kontakt)
MC202 as the "beep that sweeps"
TB303 naked, as "herself"
Voyager trough sherman as "Bass in the middle"
Reaktor as "the Pad"
TR909 as the "drum machine"

[NAWAX]

Originally Posted by blinky909
my MXR 104 came today

Haha.
Now your 303's got big balls.
Best thing that can happen to a 303 if you ask me.

[crufty]

Originally Posted by blinky909

my MXR 104 came today, and shortly thereafter so did i.

niiceee

schmuck -- nice as well ebbe and flut is pretty cool sounding

this thread is one giant itb hammer (not to mention hardcore browser test)

itb plugs sound great, and can work better for certain genres imo; for that hardcore 303 sound, epic evidence that hardware still reigns supreme...

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by NAWAX

Haha.
Now your 303's got big balls.
Best thing that can happen to a 303 if you ask me.

i had been using the Boss HM-2 pedal, but it's just too gritty and noisy. the MXR is very nice and has that classic acid distortion sound i was looking for.

[NAWAX]

Yep. I love mine to death.
Especially when I fully crank the resonance on the TB.
The 303 tone remains crystal clear while screaming like hell.
I've just got me a second one for my SH-101.Try it on your MC-202. I'm sure you'll love it

[lineofcontrol]

Originally Posted by jmi

Thanks guys for the love comments, try to keep the 90's rave/techno sound alive : ), and sure got some vynils left, mp me if you want!
Otherwise Juno and others shops got them, my label is in France so it may be easier depending your location...

Gorgeous tunes mate. Nice indeed. What gear are you using to complement your 303 and 808?

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by NAWAX

Try it on your MC-202. I'm sure you'll love it

the bass line that starts at the beginning is the 202 with a touch of 104 distortion

[jmi]

Originally Posted by lineofcontrol

What gear are you using to complement your 303 and 808?

So far no drum machine, only samples , for the synths :
tb303 + oberheim matrix1000 + xoxbox + waldorf blofeld + roland juno2
303, matrix and juno2 are my fav. xoxbox is nice tho when i want smoother sounds and blofeld don't get so much use for now...

[b3nsf]

hey guys,

Great thread!!! here's a tickly 303 (bit reduced and EQ'ed)



and a more standard 303

[b3nsf]

this one has some geiger counter / metasonix applied to it...

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by b3nsf

this one has some geiger counter / metasonix applied to it...

does that sound good to you? i'm seriously asking because it sounds like crap to me.

[sushiluv]

@ blinky 909

ju wrote that you sequenced your Pro-One from the 303.
i tried to sequence the pro-one, the mono/poly and the sh-5 but besides pitch i had no luck, means the gate didn´t work and i had to seuence the gate from a drumcomputer. while this can be interesting and rewarding i wonder if your 303 also triggers the gate of the pro-one. please let me know, maybe my 303 has a problem there.

thank you.

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by sushiluv

@ blinky 909

ju wrote that you sequenced your Pro-One from the 303.
i tried to sequence the pro-one, the mono/poly and the sh-5 but besides pitch i had no luck, means the gate didn´t work and i had to seuence the gate from a drumcomputer. while this can be interesting and rewarding i wonder if your 303 also triggers the gate of the pro-one. please let me know, maybe my 303 has a problem there.

thank you.

can you post an audio example of a 16 note 303 sequence that alternates low C and high C?

[b3nsf]

Hey blinky,

With much respect, it was supposed to sound like crap!

Here's another example of a 303 used to make strange sounds....

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by b3nsf

Hey blinky,

With much respect, it was supposed to sound like crap!

i don't understand the point of making it sound like crap.

[b3nsf]

Hey blinky,

In a full song I use tension/release and bad sounds next to good sounds...

that was an extreme example, i was going for a textural thing....

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by b3nsf

Hey blinky,

In a full song I use tension/release and bad sounds next to good sounds...

that was an extreme example, i was going for a textural thing....

given the second example i concur that you are getting the desired effect. carry on.

[sushiluv]

Originally Posted by blinky909

can you post an audio example of a 16 note 303 sequence that alternates low C and high C?

Of course, here´s the example

but i got it all wrong, while it receives pitch and gate, it seems the pro-one gets a permanent note on message, which results in the envelope amount of the filter not working, the LED stays always red. if i´m not wrong it should also get note on/off (gate on/off) from the tb´s sequencer:

btw, sorry for hijacking this thread but since everyone here is so fond of the tb

thanks for the help and cheers

[stevee0303]

Here's a quick 303 303 x0x 808 jam from me.

http://youtu.be/aQ2aSmnI2uw

I'd thoroughly recommend the technobox app on the iphone/ipad over ReBirth for quick randomizing, editing and copying patterns to a 303 or x0x.
I also use a well built x0xb0x with sokkOS for similar quicksilver functionality.

If anyone intends to mod a 303 just for midi, why not just buy a midi to din sync converter such as the doepfer msy Doepfer MSY2 - Thomann UK Cyberstore
Just my tuppence.

Stevee
TB 303 Acid & Techno Stevee0303 - YouTube
Stevee303's sounds on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free