TB-303. The Failed Bass Player That Invented Acid

In 1981 Roland released another machine under the eye of the same Tadao Kikumoto. It was called the TB-303 Bass Line, cost three hundred and ninety-five dollars and was sold as a computerised bass machine: a guitarist who had no bass player could program a bass line into it and rehearse or perform along with it. Inside there was one oscillator putting out a sawtooth or a square, a resonant filter, a simple envelope and a small sixteen-step sequencer. It also had two modest functions, accent, which made a single note louder and brighter, and slide, which pulled the pitch smoothly from one note to the next.

The 303 resembled a bass guitar about as much as the 808 resembled a live drummer. The sound came out squeaky and rubbery, with the filter’s characteristic quacking overtone, and the guitarists the machine was aimed at quickly lost interest. It was awkward to program, notes and durations were entered separately, and getting lost in them was the easiest thing in the world. In 1984 Roland discontinued the 303, and the machines, like the 808, settled in second-hand shops at knock-down prices.