Virus for acid?

[vvanrij]

If I were the only one thinking that, I would reconsider it, but I think its even in the SOS review

[Gopal]

Originally Posted by vvanrij

If I were the only one thinking that, I would reconsider it, but I think its even in the SOS review

Well if a reviewer getting large backhanders from Roland says so, then it must be true

[c mode]

Also check here if you have some time to kill.

http://www.nkhstudio.com/pages/popup_bassline.html

http://www.nkhstudio.com/pages/popup_amen.html

A little wordy but good histories, about these two classic sounds.

[Timo]

Originally Posted by Gopal

Well if a reviewer getting large backhanders from Roland says so, then it must be true

Hehe, i think you're thinking of Future Music or Computer Music.

SOS tend to be discerning as ever, pulling no punches. Reviews get thumbs up from SOS because manufacturers don't send them half finished products, as manufacturers know they'll be publicly taken through the mill in their review otherwise. However, SOS tends not to understand dance music as much as it could do. I get the feeling they are much more biased towards live and more traditional types of music, including pop music too. Certainly not dance.

I have an MC505 (ROMpler), though, and that has the midi-stepping when you sweep through the freqs with high resonance, so I would still say the 505 will sound nothing like a proper 303. The 505 filter wouldn't compare, and it doesn't have saturation, not to mention it also uses just samples instead of a real analogue oscillator, etc.

[Timo]

I just found the SOS article

MC307

and can't see a mention of a TB303 vs MC307 comparison? The MC303, however, was the father of the MC505 - both are digtal and sampled based machines.

The MC505 has a low boost + extra low octave control, which is pretty decent. And when high resonances are used in the filter, the technical short-comings of the audible, obvious midi-stepping cut-off filter control creates a very nice effect in its own right when whacked through distortion while sweeping the filter very, very slowly in the audible mid-to-high frequency range.

[blay]

The only thing hooked up to my 505 is a midi cable.

[Hollowcell]

I have a JX groovesynth (same as the 505, but with a few extra sounds) and it only gets used as a controller - sometimes a hardware sequencer when starting off tracks too. The sounds are very static. Nothing that I'd compare to a TB, or any other half decent synth for that matter. There are a couple of alright strings sounds though.

Bottom line, can't emulate a TB with samples.

[~+?]

Originally Posted by Timo

Would the Virus ever be capable of making these sorts of gutsy, really fat acid lines?

Asys1
Asys2
303-esque

Why does the basic 303 type sound sound so great, being just a monophonic, single-oscillator? Pitch-accents and programming aside, are the Virus filters just not fat enough?

In addition, what sort of distortion boxes (hardware or software) are good to use to get the above types of sounds?

All 3 of them samples are real TB303 BTW. Sounds like liberator crew and 303 lorry immersion. I have a 303 and I can tell you they are all 303's 100%. A lot of the magic of the 303 is in its internal sequencer and its slide accent.

There is a clone made by Analogue Solutions that uses the same electronic parts as the original 303 but I forget the name of it now. I was lent one by the guy at analog solutions when my 303 broke down, he's nice guy. We needed a replacement for a gig. It?s got the same sound as the 303 but without the sequencer. It's got more range on the filter as i remember hehe

[Timo]

Originally Posted by ~+?

All 3 of them samples are real TB303 BTW.

Thought so. The acid in the Asys2 demo sounds exactly the same as Fat Boy Slim's "Everyone Needs a 303".

I heard that the 303 sounds weak on its own, so I guess outboard/external distortion is the biggy, which enhances the 303's own filter at the same time.

Yeah, there are definate problems imitating the 303 on the Virus. Understandably so, obviously, as the Virus has completely different implementations of filters of course - each tool to its own, and all that - just in the same way that a 303 wont sound like a Virus - but purely for the heck of it and the sake of an inquiring mind the Virus' own saturation sucks the life out of everything, and the distortion tends to make stuff sound more fizzy than "lead-like".

[Gopal]

Originally Posted by Timo

I heard that the 303 sounds weak on its own

DUDE, YOU HEARD WRONG! :P