Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates
The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulate bass 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 of electronic dance music genres such as acid house, Chicago house and techno. It has inspired numerous clones.
Design and featuresEdit
The TB-303 was manufactured by the Japanese company Roland. It was designed by Tadao Kikumoto, who also designed the Roland TR-909 drum machine.<ref name="emusician">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was marketed as a "computerised bass machine" to replace the bass guitar.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, according to Forbes, it instead produces a "squelchy tone more reminiscent of a psychedelic mouth harp than a stringed instrument".<ref name=":2" />
The TB-303 has a single oscillator, which produces either a "buzzy" sawtooth wave or a "hollow-sounding" square wave.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Better source needed</ref> This is fed into a 24 dB/octave<ref name=":3" /> low-pass filter, which is manipulated by an envelope generator.<ref name=":0" /> Users program notes and slides using the internal sequencer.<ref name=":2" />
LegacyEdit
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,<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Roland sold off remaining units cheaply. 10,000 units were manufactured.<ref name=":2" />
Indian musician Charanjit Singh's 1982 album Synthesizing: 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 to acid house.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Singh had an influence on Bollywood music producer Bappi Lahiri, who experimented with tweaked TB-303 basslines for several Indian disco film songs released in 1983: "Koi Lutera" in Wanted: Dead or Alive, "Aah Ha Oonh Hun" in Do Gulaab, and "Tum Tum Tumba" in Karate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first song using the TB-303 to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart was "Rip It Up" (1983) by Scottish band Orange Juice.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same year, Japanese musician Ryo Kawasaki used the TB-303 with a TR-808 and synth guitar in his electronic jazz album Lucky Lady (1983).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Chicago group Phuture 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 emerging rave culture known as the second summer of love.<ref name=":2" />
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as new acid styles emerged, the TB-303 was often overdriven, producing a harsher sound, such as on Hardfloor's 1992 EP "Acperience" and Interlect 3000's 1993 EP "Volcano".<ref name="bp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1995, the TB-303 was distorted and processed on Josh Wink's hit "Higher State of Consciousness"<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and on Daft Punk's "Da Funk".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The English producer Fatboy Slim admired the simplicity of the controls, and named his first single "Everybody Needs a 303" (1996).<ref name=":02">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2011, the Guardian named the release of the TB-303 one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music.<ref name=":1" /> The popularity of acid caused a dramatic increase in the price of used 303 units.<ref name=":2" /> As of 2014, units sold for over £1,000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
SuccessorsEdit
The TB-303 has inspired numerous software emulations and clones,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> such as the TD-3 by Behringer, released in 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2014, Roland released the TB-3 Touch Bassline, with a touchpad interface and MIDI and USB connections.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2017, Roland released the TB-03, a miniaturized model featuring an LED display and delay and overdrive effects.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReferencesEdit
Template:Portal Template:Reflist