To those who know, the TB-303 is more than just an electronic instrument in a small silver box. It’s an era-defining synthesiser and sequencer, which at the point of release in 1981/82, came equipped with a fashionable vinyl carry case; a must for all fashionistas! Why equip a little silver box with such a faux carry case? That has everything to do with the market for which it was designed to cater. The 303, as it is colloquially known to its friends, was offered as a solution for the discerning gigging guitarist, who didn’t have any bass-playing friends to jam with. Acquiring a 303 for a mere £200 or so, you could plug up to a suitable amp, and heypresto; bass magic! Thanks to its onboard sequencer, you could store patterns and songs, making it perfect for pub gigs and the odd bit of karaoke, which was something of a national obsession in Japan. If you were also lacking drums, the Roland TR-606 was the near-identical drum machine twin, providing a rather beautiful set of analogue drum sounds, alongside the analogue synth architecture of the 303.
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Denne historien er fra January 2022-utgaven av Computer Music.
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Explore Black Salt Audio's cm bundle
In a new series, we're highlighting the best plugins from the CM Plugin Suite V3.0 and showing you how to make the most of them
DH Plugins LFO-EQ-1
Modulating your EQ parameters opens up a multitude of exciting effects. Can this affordable plugin really hit the mark? Jon Musgrave finds out
SSL Module8
Multi-effects are getting more powerful at the expense of ease of use, but Module8 manages both and is therefore pretty gr8, says Andy Jones
Dawesome/Tracktion Myth
Peter V is fast becoming the most ground-breaking plugin developer around. His latest is a synth of mythical proportions, says Andy Jones
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Reverb is a great tool, but cleverly thinking about its application can really take your mix to the next level. Here’s how to get tailoring…
Make a spicy lead with GForce Axxess
It's time to turn up the heat and Axxess a searing lead, with a little help from an ultra-cool addition to the plugin suite
Cherry Audio Chroma
If you're after a colourful new synth, Cherry Audio has something that covers the whole spectrum. Roland Schmidt looks through the prism
GForce Software VSM IV
This updated VSM continues to prove that strings are very much the thing! Roland Schmidt swots up on his virtual string theory
KATIE TAVINI
A ubiquitous name in the world of mastering, Katie Tavini’s intuitive senses and aptitude for bringing out the best in a huge array of music has been rightly praised. We were keen to catch up with Katie – fresh from moving her studio into a new setup in Liverpool – to find out more about her acclaimed approach
Make a loop into a track
It's simple to make a killer loop, but how does that become a dancefloor-filling hit? It only takes a few steps to get the process started...