The TB-303 is THE sound of acid and techno house music! It's a monophonic analog bass synthesizer married to a pattern-based step sequencer released in 1982. It features a single analog oscillator with two waveforms (ramp or square) and has a simple but excellent VCF filter with resonance, cut-off, and envelope controls. There are also knobs to adjust tuning, envelope decay, tempo and accent amount.

Extended information

How does it work? Well, it's not a performance synthesizer because you have to program a pattern of notes and timing info into it (sort of like a drum machine). Patterns can then be linked into songs. It was originally made to accompany a drum machine, the TR-606 specifically, and provide bass-line accompaniment to guitarists, keyboard players, etc. It was not a successful product in its time. As a result, creative DJs and aspiring electronic musicians found them for next to no money and began using them for techno and acid music. Usually a single pattern is continuously played while the performer tweaks the knobs creating an exciting and expressive musical event.

The TB-303 has become one of the most sought after vintage synths ever! It has helped develop and stylize many forms of electronic music including House, Acid, Trance and Ambient. If ever there was a need for a repetitive bassline/groove or an extremely resonant and bubbly sound, the 303 is KING.

Technical specifications

Polyphony - Monophonic Oscillators - 1 VCO : Sawtooth or Square waveforms. Tuning control pot. Filter - 18dB/oct lowpass resonant filter with controls for cutoff, resonance, and envelope amount VCA - Control pots for Decay time and Accent intensity Sequencer - Patterns: 64; Songs: 7 Effects - None Keyboard - none Control - CV / GATE / DIN Sync

Information above is courtesy of http://www.vintagesynth.com/