This is sure to be controversial, but I can’t argue with their thoroughness.
Acid Voice has compared a collection of the top clones of the Roland TB-303 and ranked them, based on how well they clone the sound of the original acid synth.
They’ve got audio demos and in depth comparisons of the various bassline synths, including the x0xb0x, the Future Retro Revolution, the TeeBee and the FR 777.
Here’s how they stack up, in Acid Voice’s opinion:
- Adafruit x0xb0x
- Future Retro Revolution
- Syntecno TeeBee MKIII
- Oakley TM3030
- Analogue Solutions TB-X
- Acidcode ML303
- Acidlab Bassline
- MAM MB33 MKII
- Future Retro 777
I would rank the 777 much higher. The Future Retro 777 will do just about everything you’d want to do with a TB303, plus it’s a fairly full-featured analog synthesizer, too.
The bottom line, though, is that there’s never been a better time for people interested in great-sounding acid bassline synths.
Let me know what you think of the results!
Now I want to break out all the old acid-house cd’s and shit. 🙂
BlueBrat – Acid basslines still sound great to me.
Gimme a glow stick, I guess.
I’d have to agree. The 777 is a much more interesting synth than the Revolution. The only thing the Revolution has on the 777 is a more flexible sequencer.
i post just to wanted to say i agree with this whole convo from the glow stick to the future retro gear man i wished i had a 777
I guess it depends on what exactly you’re looking for … if you want an exact clone of the 303 sound, I think the 777 doesn’t quite pull it off (e.g. I think the square wave sounds quite different), though it can come fairly close in many cases. Judged on its own merits though, the 777 is a very interesting synth that combines a 303-like vibe with a much broader sonic palette. [For instance the 777 can do an absolutely awesome moogish synth-bass.]