xoxbox is a decent clone, but it ain't the real deal. But then again who really cares what you use for acidlines? Not me anyway.

I had to work about 8 days to pay for my TB, so I bought one. Before it I used MC-202 and MAM MB-33 II for acid basslines. After running any of them through my Electro Harmonix Hot Tubes or Boss MT-2 they sounded suitable for my sound (hard acid/-style/-techno). Main difference now is that I can say to people that I own one and make their dicks shrink

I'll be honest, I'm more of a techie engineer guy than a musical guy so I mostly did this for the satisfaction of building it myself. So I haven't recorded anything yet. I need to take a music theory class or something...

Anyway, a few other points...

They DID reverse engineer it:

quote:

We have two--count 'em, two--analog electrical engineers with too much time on their hands working on this project. An original TB-303 was diassembled and reverse-engineered to verify the schematic. The original transistors were analysed using big expensive curve-tracers to determine their characteristics. We measured every waveform and counted every cycle to give you the best sound...its just like the original because it IS the original.

And if it doesn't sound enough like an original (it's good enough for me, I don't think those WAVs are fair comparisons) there are several simple modifications such as replacing the BA6110 amplifier chip with an original (but very rare) BA662 chip or replacing several key transistors with higher gain versions. Also pretty much any mod that will work on the original will work on a x0x (bass or resonance boosting, etc)


The ladyada.net site is more of community than a company, I don't think they're making that much money off this considering the number of parts and labor, plus all the information is available for free.


But yeah I'd only really recommend the x0xb0x if you've got some electronics experience and want to dedicate a couple days to building it. I enjoy the satisfaction of having built something like this, so it was worth it for me, even if it's not the best choice for a synth.

___________________
-tom

Last edited by cheesy9999 on Apr-05-2006 at 03:58

Hey. I'm working toward both, a computer and an electrical engineering degree myself actually . Just because they claim to have done it doesnt necessarily mean they truely did it and if they did, it was absolutely pointless. The reason schematics are made is so engineers have a guide to work off of to build circuits. Much of it could be loaded up into a circuit designing app and printed out onto a sheet of transfer paper or could also be printed straight onto the copper plating. Another reason its pointless is because proper schematics provide all of the information on which components are to be used. So by getting the schematics, you are getting everything you need to recreate the TB303, which is just plain production duplication, no reverse engineering needed.

Cheers,
Zac

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---FL Studio 9 User---

If your interested in building clones, here's a 909 clone...
http://www.introspectiv.eclipse.co.uk/

quote:

Originally posted by IDarkISwordI Hey. I'm working toward both, a computer and an electrical engineering degree myself actually . Just because they claim to have done it doesnt necessarily mean they truely did it and if they did, it was absolutely pointless. The reason schematics are made is so engineers have a guide to work off of to build circuits. Much of it could be loaded up into a circuit designing app and printed out onto a sheet of transfer paper or could also be printed straight onto the copper plating. Another reason its pointless is because proper schematics provide all of the information on which components are to be used. So by getting the schematics, you are getting everything you need to recreate the TB303, which is just plain production duplication, no reverse engineering needed. Cheers, Zac

Well, first of all, the x0xb0x isn't identical to the original 303, especially the digital section.

Several of the components (transistors mainly) are very rare and hard if not impossible to find, so they had to find similar enough replacements, hence the curve-tracer.

Like I said, they're probably not making a lot of money off this, I don't think they would lie.

Either way it's a fun project if you're into that kind of thing...

___________________
-tom