A Roland TB 303 is one of my favorite vintage synths. Check out this high-quality recording on our Youtube. I took the liberty of adding 4 different guitar pedals between the Roland 303 and my Apollo twin.

Want 400mb of free 303 loops and samples? Click here!

80bpm – C#/Db-A#m/Bbm – 303 synth recording!
In the early 1980’s the Roland company generated the TB-303.

If you put a 606 along with the Roland TB-303, you’d probably wonder which is which.

Video Holding them both Side by Side.

Thanks to QuickSilver upgrade and Switched On Austin for taking care of the repairs.

The quicksilver tb-303 upgrade allows me to send midi piano parts to the TB-303, which gives an opportunity quicker access to the TB-303’s power.

The History of The Roland TB-303

You’ve heard the TB-303 in nearly every major album in the past couple of decades.

In a time where midi was still being revolutionized by players like Tom Oberiem and Dave Smith.

80bpm – C#/Db-A#m/Bbm – Roland 303 recording. 

The TB-303 was not exactly easy to set beats with, nor was the 606. I’ve done the grind, and after watching all the videos, I drove over to talk to Chad from Switched On Austin, and he told me about Quicksilver. Little more research shows this upgrade is a beneficial thing!

Making Beats on the TB-303 was hard to make Loops

I tried watching the videos – after about 30minutes I realized it needed the upgraded to be viable in my studio. For me, I like to dive into projects, and sitting behind an intricate synth is not the artistic side of your brain.

“You lose that entire artistic piece of your mind when it’s frustrating to figure out an instrument.”

With the upgrade, I can use Ableton Push and easily jam out my midi loops; tweaking is easy on the Ableton sequencer.

Another sample of the Roland TB 303.When ever you have an opportunity to play with a Roland TB 303 – do not pass up the chance because it’s your duty as a music producer to know about this iconic synthesizer.

Plus, the mod helps because I’m able to send it any midi notes. The Quicksilver upgrade is the biggest buff for the TB-303, and without the update, it would be a very time-consuming product.

You will probably want to watch a few Youtube videos before you ever build a stable loop worth recording, the buttons are simple enough, it’s just the least user-friendly synth I’ve ever used, and that’s why upgrading a Roland TB-303 has been an increase in the resell value.

Currently, you can find the Roland Tb 303 going for $3,000 to $4,500. Sometimes you will see one for less than $3,000 when it is damaged. Usually with the battery being left in it or left in the attic for too many hot summers.

For me, I had to buy a TB 303 broken on eBay and was lucky to be able to find one with out much competition.

Today, Tb 303 will have ten to sixty bids regardless of the condition.

Why you should buy your Roland TB 303 broken

If you have the money to buy a clean version of a Tb-303 – congrats. For anyone looking to buy a Roland 303 fixed, use Switched On Austin, and if you find one broken, they can fix it!

Broken 303 need love too

No one has ever bought me a synthesizer, I’ve had to grind for them, and that means I’m crunching to get the good deals. Recognizing that Switched On has more than seven years of experience fixing Roland 303’s is very reassuring before buying one on broken too!

If you can find a broken 303, you can send it to Switched On and then get your Quicksilver 303 upgrade. One for fixing, the other for making your 303 ready to rock.

TB-303 – the T stands for Transistor, and the B stands for Bass.

The 303 is rawest Analog Synthesizer of its time

My 303 is loud and raw. It’s one of the most precise sounding waveforms, and the knob turns never seem to disappoint.

Comparing the 303 recording sessions to the Ob-8 is like comparing driving a boat and Miata.

The OB-8 has large full turns to find the auditable changes, where the Roland 303 finds unique variables with the most subtle modulations due to the small knob sizes.

303 knobs are smaller than most, yet functional

The Tb-303 knobs are very small but do not turn easily! That’s a bonus because you have more control over knobs that are not loose.

If you don’t like small knobs, you will want to hook yours up to midi. Me, I don’t like sending knob turns to instruments because it starts to take away the human emotion of playing the instrument.