First I have to say that I have never owned a real TB303 or any other clone. So this is not a comparison with the original one. I am solely judging the TB-03 on it's own merits.
Here is my review after spending many hours with it. Let me know what you think:
General remarks
-I was disappointed at first about the manual. That sheet looks cheap and is not very practical. But as it turns out the information in there is much better than what was in the lousy TR-8 manual which didn't have good info and is far from complete. Basically almost everything you need to know is in the TR-03 manual. So I am happy with that. It's an improvement over the very poor Aira manuals.
-The TB-03 looks great en feels very solid. When in default position that is. When placed upwards in both positions there is some movement when you touch the tb-03. The plastic holder and bottom doesn't feel very stable when in the up positions. So I always keep it in down position.
-Midi connection is very user friendly. It immediately syncs with my other synths and TR-8. But the default midi channel is 2 so at first it didn't work. It doesn't say that in the manual. I don't understand why they didn't set the default channel to 1? Not a big a deal but you have to keep that in mind when you first hook it up.
Sound
The sound it pretty good I think. Just as the 303 it is a limited sound but you can make a lot a variation by turning and setting the knobs. I don't care if it sounds 100% like the original 303 since I don't want to spend that much money on a real one anyway. You probably only the hear the difference when you compare them side by side. Keep in mind that you pay at least 5 times more for a real one. I noticed that when setting the resonance in low settings it becomes very bass heavy and there is also a volume raise. Also the low notes don't cut through like the high notes. No idea if that is also the case with the original 303?
-The accent knob is a bit hard to control. The first 25% of the knob nothing happens and past 50% it gets too exaggerated.
Programming
Very nice to have two programming modes. Both modes take some time to get used to and both have there ups and down. Still not sure which mode I like better. If you want to copy precise written out bass lines the step mode will be easier but if you like random stuff (like most dance guys do) the original mode might be better. I still wander how people with no knowledge of rhythm notation can program the 303 since it is not easy if you want precise stuff. Luckily I know rhythmic notation very well so that helps to quickly understand how to program it.
There are two strange things that I have noticed while programming patterns:
1) in original mode: when in time mode and going past step 16 it jumps out of time mode and out of 'program mode' into normal mode. This is not very practical and you have to be careful not to make mistakes that way or overwrite a part of your pattern (it happened to me). So be careful not to go past step 16 when you still want to make correction in your pattern. I am not sure why they made it like that?
2) in step mode: each time you press time mode the number 16 is displayed. That is pretty annoying and confusing sometimes when programming. It flips constantly between 16 and the number of the step you want to program each time you press time mode. I know that 16 is for changing the number of steps but I am not sure why they choose it to be like that?
3) in original mode: after you have programmed your last pitch there are some random pitches that fill up the rest of the 16 steps. So say you want only 9 pitches then there are also pitches from 10-16 that you didn't program. Why is that? Why aren't the pitches that you didn't program empty?
Effects
I didn't read much good things about the TB-03 effects on the internet and also the delay and reverb on the TR-8 are not super great either so I didn't expect much. Sure the effects are not stellar and not up to par with the effects of some of the other companies but they are still useful and better than nothing. The digital delay is pretty nice and useful when you sync it. The sync steps are very close together on the little knob though so it takes some time to find the right sync rhythm. The feedback knob only starts working after 25% of the knob to my ears. The reverb sound s rather metallic and not very natural but you can get some useful sound from that also. Same goes for the overdrive. Not the best overdrive you can find but still useful (especially drive 1).
What I miss the most in the effects is a mix knob for the delay level. Every delay needs that! Now you can't control the volume of the repeats. Sounds like Roland combined mix and feedback in one knob to save some money and that is very limited. A third mix/level knob like on the TR-8 is needed. Not sure why they didn't make that also on the TB-03. Would make the whole effects section more versatile and useful.
New additions 1.04
-the copy pattern function works great and is very easy.
-it is great to have random patterns. I am really happy with that BUT the generated patterns are too random and don't take account in what key you programmed the original pattern. Not the same key or general feel whatsoever. Would be more useful if it only did timing variation and randomized the order of the tones you programmed in the original pattern. Also it overwrites your original pattern immediately so you have to copy it somewhere else if you want to keep it. Random 2 is also nice but each time you press it the octaves seems to get higher (?). After some presses the pattern become less useful.
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun with the TB-03 and it is really addictive. It is definitely worth it's money.
The effects could have been better but they are still useful. It takes some time to get used to the programming and there are some strange choices Roland made in both modes. But besides that it is very user friendly. The Sound is pretty good and the TB-03 has some useful advantages and new features over the original 303.
TB-03 long review!!!!
Re: TB-03 long review!!!!
Hi,
Glad you like it !
Just a quick comment from me as I only have 2 mins now - the characteristics you mention about the Res getting louder on lower levels is just like a real 303, so rest assured :-)
In fact, all the knobs behave exactly the same way as they do on a 303.
Glad you like it !
Just a quick comment from me as I only have 2 mins now - the characteristics you mention about the Res getting louder on lower levels is just like a real 303, so rest assured :-)
In fact, all the knobs behave exactly the same way as they do on a 303.