[Timo]

ROMplers usually refer specifically to samples, not presets, and you also mentioned fixed samples. This isn't the case.

What they mean by presets is the different virtual analogue oscillator waveforms available. The original 3o3 had two equivalent 'preset' oscillator waveforms: saw and square. The new TB-3 has 134 of them, including the original saw and square models. Others are more synthy/lead/fx. It would have been nice to have had oscillator modulation on the square (PWM) with other waveshaping, and LFOs, but guessing they wanted a direct 303 clone than your usual normal mono synth (which the System-1 would cover).

People say where's the Env and Decay knobs? These are controllable via the pressure sensitive touchpad.

I don't think there's anything you can do on the original 303 that you can't do with the new one, other than the CV/Gate, but there's MIDI for that. Everything is there... The cutoff, res, accent, env and decay (touchpad), oscillators (presets), tuning (touchpad), and significantly better pattern/sequencing.

Seems no less a synth than the original was. In fact the reverse is true. It's just in a different form to what us geeks are used to.

To me it doesn't matter if it's analogue or virtual analogue, Volca vs Aira, if it sounds good it is good, doesn't matter how you get there. As Tweak says, DSPs have come a long way since their early days. I do think a good hardware interface tied to a good VA model with a knob per function is worth more than just a soft-synth on a screen with menus and a mouse. It's the more direct, creative interaction you often need for exploring things that you would normally get bogged down with with a mouse.

I wasn't at all convinced about the new AIRA range until watching the live Dancefair stream when it was unveiled. The TR in particular looks like a huge heap of fun to use in realtime. Was far less impressed with the System-1, but that could be the demo guy using far too much nooby reverb.