Roland AIRA TB-3 Touch Bass-line
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TB-3 Touch Bassline
Based on the wildly influential TB-303, the new TB-3 Touch Bassline is a performance-ready bass synth with meticulously authentic sound and intuitive controls engineered to play.
It’s the TB…
…Evolved.
The Lineage
Nobody could have anticipated what would happen to the world of dance music when Roland’s now-legendary TB-303 was embraced by inventive musicians on both sides of the Atlantic. Since the 1980s, the TB-303 has been a staple of electronic music. It is the defining sound of Acid House and has since been the marquis instrument on an array of groundbreaking electronic dance tracks. It’s not only been used to write songs, but it has songs written about it. In fact, the release of the TB-303 has been heralded as one the key events in the history of dance music. Not bad for a little silver box.
The Sound
Launched in 1981, the TB-303 continues to be an indispensable bass synth for dance music. We have meticulously analyzed the circuitry of the TB-303 piece-by-piece and down to the individual circuit behavior.
Using Analog Circuit Behavior technology we have fully reproduced both the saw-tooth and square wave oscillators as well as the -18dB/octave ladder low pass filter used in the original TB-303, capturing that unmistakable cutoff and resonance character.
In addition to the faithful reproductions of classic TB tones, the TB-3 is packed with 134 sounds that live and breathe. Bubbling synth basses, hard distortion basses, trippy delay sounds and drippy effects. They’re all here - and then some.
The Feel
A TB bass line not only sounds unique, but it has its own trademark feel as well. The TB pulses. It drives. It bubbles and it percolates. That’s why we worked so hard to faithfully reproduce the Accent, Slide, and Step Sequencer behavior of the original unit.
But our vision went beyond simple reproduction.
The truth is, the step entry on the original TB-303 was difficult to use, the keyboard was difficult to play, and special maneuvers were required for the shuffle functions.
So we experimented with a variety of prototypes in our quest to create the optimal TB interface.
Touch Pad
The new TB-3 is equipped with a brightly lit, green and red, pressure sensitive touch pad that lets you seamlessly create patterns and interact with the unit during performance. In addition to pitch and volume, you can tweak filters and even control modulation by simply pressing down on the pad with your finger. It also makes the keyboard a breeze to play.
- Envelope modulation and decay can be controlled with a single finger
- Switch patterns, transpose, and chain patterns with finger gestures
- Internally partitioned at keyboard intervals so it’s easy and natural to play in realtime
- XY PLAY (X: Continuous pitch change, Y: Volume, Press down on pad: Modulation)
Step Sequencer
The TB-3’s evolved Step Sequencer is a snap to use and allows seamless switching between pattern creation and performance. Of course, an attractive aspect of the original TB-303 was how it would sometimes generate unintended sounds as the user maneuvered through its complex and cryptic pattern creation operation. In order to inject that element of chance and discovery, the TB-3 has automatic pattern generation and random pattern modification.
Scatter
The TB-3’s Scatter function features slicing, reverse, gating and other effects, instantly creating variations, stutters, and glitches that would normally require painstaking editing in a DAW. Complex, per-step functions are triggered easily with the Touch Pad and a single finger. Keep things fresh and interesting with 8 different types of Scatter variations and 10 levels of Scatter Depth – all controllable in realtime and in perfect sync.
Just like the original:
- Meticulously crafted using a pristine unit, original spec sheets and archival data
- ACB technology models each component and every aspect of the original TB-303 sound
- Faithful recreation of the original saw and square oscillator waveforms
- Elements that characterize TB-303, such as attack, slide, and tie have been fully reproduced, including how they interact with each other
- Authentic filter behavior with smooth response and authentic sound
TB Evolved:
- Pressure sensitive Touch Pad
- 134 captivating sounds including 4 oscillator effects-processed tones
- Bank A: Original TB-303 sounds
- Bank B: New synth bass sounds
- Bank C: New synth lead sounds
- Bank D: New sound effects
- Dedicated Tempo control with Shuffle and Tap Tempo
- Control built-in effects with smooth, responsive knobs
- 7 segment, 3 character LED display
- Seamless switch between pattern creation and performance
- 16-step indicator lights to aid in pattern creation
- Pattern support for up to 32 steps
- Easy access to Shuffle control for bass lines that groove
- Enter steps manually or record realtime on the Touch Pad
- Change Step Count during playback to alter the length of phrases
- Random pattern generation and pattern modification
- Pattern copy
A few more things
You can connect the TB-3 to your computer via its USB jack for USB bus power and to send and receive Audio and MIDI data.
The TB-3 can receive MIDI clock information to sync with external devices including other AIRA series units.
The TB-3 is designed to work seamlessly and look great with other products in the AIRA series.
AIRA Update
The entire AIRA family has been updated with exciting and useful new features requested by users from around the globe. Easy to install and free for all users, this AIRA Update includes enhancements for the whole line, like backup and restore facilities and better overall MIDI management. It also provides a wealth of product specific enhancements like external MIDI pitch control for VT-3, tuning control for TB-3, and instrument gain control for TR-8.
