Roland TB-303 Bassline Synthesiser

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The Roland TB-303 Bass Line is a bass synthesizer with built-in sequencer manufactured by the Roland corporation from 1982 to 1984 that had a defining role in the development of contemporary electronic dance music . The TB-303 (short for " Transistorized Bass ") was originally marketed to guitarists for bass accompaniment while practicing alone. Production lasted approximately 18 months, resulting in only 10,000 units. It was not until the mid- to late-1980s that DJs and electronic musicians in Chicago found a use for the machine in the context of the newly developing house music genre. The TB-303 has a single audio oscillator , which may be configured to produce either a sawtooth wave or a square wave . The square wave is derived from the sawtooth waveform using a simple, single-transistor waveshaping circuit. [1 ] This produces a sound that is subtly different from the square waveform created by the dedicated hardware found in most analog synthesizers . It also includes a simple envelope generator , with a decay control only. A lowpass filter is also included, with -24 dB per octave attenuation, and controls for cutoff frequency, resonance, and envelope modulation parameters. It is a common misconception that the filter is a 3 pole 18dB per octave design when in fact it is 4-pole 24dB per octave. [2 ] The TB-303 sequencer has some unique features that contribute to its characteristic sound. During the programming of a sequence, the user can determine whether a note should be accented, and whether it should employ portamento , a smooth transition to the following note. The portamento circuitry employs a fixed slide time, meaning that whatever the interval between notes, the time taken to reach the correct pitch is always the same. The accent circuitry, as well as increasing the amplitude of a note, also emphasizes the EG filter's cutoff and resonance, resulting in a distinctive, hollow "wow" sound at higher resonance settings. The unit is in good condition but it is 30 years old and does have some cosmetic bumps and scratches. I have owned the unit for the last 12 years and during that time it has been well looked after and has only seen light and careful home studio use. It has a Kenton electronics modification which can be seen in the rear picture allowing the slide, acc, filter, gate and cv functions to be controled by cv from another analogue unit or via midi through a midi to cv converter. The accent port on the mod kit is missing the external washer which could be replaced cheaply. The 303 was recently given a complete service by Glasgow studio electronics and all repairs and service are guaranteed for 6 months, the certificate of service is included in the sale. All repairs carried out as follows Repair details Roland TB303 sn 197700 service Replace DC socket, intermittent Replace pots o/c Clean int / ext Reflow various Clean batt contacts Tested OK Audio wise the 303 is in first class condition and all knobs and pots work cleanly without interference just as they should. Included in the sale are the original carry case which is in great condition apart from a small cigarette burn on the red R of roland, it is visable in the pictures if you look closely. Also included is a brand new battery cover, 9v power supply appropriate for 303's an old but not original copy of the operation and service manuals and a digital copy of the original manuals on cd. This has been a much loved part of my studio for many years but its time for it to find a new home there is no reserve any further questions just drop me a line. read more

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