303

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(and soundalikes)

it might just be me, but i can't think of the last record i heard with a decent 303 sound in it. why does the 303 seem to be so badly utilised tool?

i guess this can double up as a 303 search and destroy too:

hardfloor. Lost in the little silver box, into the nature, trancescript, asperience etc etc. Hardfloor (on the first album and singles) really revitalised the 303 for me. while obviously an integral part of acid house, it was in danger of being cast in a snobby way (you can only do *this* with it). Hardfloor went for the bombastic maximalist approach, yet retained a real funkiness with it. this was then, of course, overkilled by the acrid abeyance/important/plank mob and other assorted Germans (although some other good shit came out of that)

i think the other big success with this approach were the NYC synewave/experimental crew (Damon Wild etc etc). Rising Sons - Afghan Acid, Equinox - Pollux (a split 12 with Freddie Fresh of all people!), and Pump Panel's Ego Acid.

why has the '303/acid with breaks' been such a failure? this should, in theory, have yielded some great stuff, but everything in this vein seemed so limp (and of course tainted with 'big beat'). the only thing i can think of here that came anywhere close is Illuminatae's Temora Del Terra. and how about a Josh Wink reappraisal? (i can't remember that track)

― gareth, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That Josh Wink song is truly one of the greatest dance songs ever ever ever. It just keeps on going and going, and then you think you're going to faint it goes so high. Unmissable wasted or otherwise. He also is a good DJ to see doing a set.

― Ronan, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

ceephax Acid crew (squarepushers brother) did lots of frantic acid records, acid quakers 2000 (LO) is a good example loads and loads of 303 ..
higher state of conciousness - josh wink, a high point of 303 use, maybe it killed the sound? ..
Destroy.. Due to the rebirth program making 303 / 606 /808 sounds cheap and easy to make theres a whole generation of trance acid shite on the net, mp3.com etc..

― jk, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What Gareth didn't you hear Aaliyah's 'Try Again'?

Search: Wink - Don't Laugh, Acid Trax - Phuture (of course, ah well make it everything by Phuture), 'Washing Machine' by whatshisname, the whole Musik album by Plastikman, 'Humanoid', every Hardfloor remix ever.

― Omar, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

whasshisname = larrry heard = mr. fingers = fingers inc.

― jess, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You don't hear many harpsichords these days either. Maybe as techno has grown more nuanced and sophisticated the (often beautiful) limitations of the old synth filter sweeps etc feels too raw, out of place? Old fashioned? The big WOWMP sound in Doom's Night transforms itself with a limberness yr 303 can't muster. Then again I have not heard half the songs you mention so caveat critiXor... (and just watch, that wowmp's prolly been featured on the cover of 303 Monthly, holding a martini)

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I must take a moment of silence for the poor little oft forgot 505. I sometimes wonder if I have the only one in existence. It looks like a calculator, sounds like rattling a bag of chicken bones, yet still I love it. Recalcitrant as always,

― kate, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Is it supposed to sound like chicken bones?

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What in god's name is being discussed here?? What is a 303?

― Sean, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

303 is part of the model number for one of Roland's most popular synths. WObbly, squelchy lines prevalent in many techno tracks come from a 303 or a 303 emulator.

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

the TB 303 was a crap bass-guitar synth designed to accompany guitarists... it only became very popular when people realised you could make strange high squelching noises by turning some of the knobs up to full, Phuture "Acid Tracks" being the first to feature it in this way.

the TR 808 and TR 909 are famous (and good) drum machines, the 808 providing many of the early hip hop beats, as well as synthetic percussion (think 'Sexual Healing', Paul Young 'Wherever I Lay My Hat' etc). the 505, 606, 626, 707, 727 etc are all drum machines i think...

― m jemmeson, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think some of the interesting uses of the 303, soundwise if not technically, can be found in early instances of British acid house (before everyone switched to techno/hardcore) - producers knew the sound was the mnemonic aspect of the style but they weren't as committed to minimalism as their Chicago counterparts. So you get stuff like 808 State's Ninety album, which has 303s going crazy but then all this bizarre stuff on top of that as well. The psychedelic house that preceded the prog. house, maybe?

― Tim, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

interestingly enough, i just got to the part in d. toop's "oceans of sound" where he interviews marshall jefferson (phuture) who has this to say about the 303:

"now everyone thought acid house was after that was a drum machine and that acid machine, the tb-303, which was not the truth. acid house was meant to be the capturing of moods. you don't have to use the same machine all the time. you can use different instruments. i hate that machine with a passion now. everyone's using it wrong."

now, i, fer one, agree with simon reynolds that (paraphrasing) the history of dance music is the history of the powerful cliche: the 303 acid wibble, the mentasm/roland juno sound, garage snares, amen breaks.

verrrrrrrrrry interestink.

― jess, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Actually, a very recent Aphex Twin track... or actually AFX, off the Men 1 12"...

You can download that Mp3 and other tracks that make up an entire mix CD of weirdo 'idm'/nu breaks dance music here.

― Brian MacDonald, Tuesday, 18 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think the Cologne guys did some really great 303 work a few years back. You look at what Mike Ink and the Structure posse were doing in the mid-90 and there was some very quality acid. The best place to find the good Cologne acid material is Kreisel. Kreisel was a 7" only lable run out of the Kompakt store that was basically a best of series that came out every week in 1999, there were 52 records in all. Also look into the Acid Resistant comps that came out 5 years ago or so(god has it been that long...)

Also look out for old Adrenalin MOD records if you can find them, very choice early acid. And you are right Gareth, you cannot go wrong with old Tim Taylor mmaterial.

As for Josh Wink and Higher States Of Consciousness/Dont Laugh/whatever...I always think of that old Dead Milkmen song: You'll Dance To Anything. It was fucking garbage back in the day, and it is still garbage today. lowest_common_denominator east coast drum roll crap rave music, back when snare rolls were the thing in 95.

One word, subtlety. look for it in your records.

― Michael Taylor, Wednesday, 19 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Subtlety, sure but even the aesthete wants to go for the easy thrills once in awhile, hence Jeff Mills "The Exterminator", Carl Craig's "Jam the Box" and "Kevin Saunderson's "Straight Outta Hell". Indeed, I'll gladly never listen to "Metropolis" again, which certainly isn't the case with "Waveform III".

Never been a fan of Wink myself, but "Don't Laugh" is a very good dance track and I somehow don't remember it having any drum-rolls.

anyway some other good 303:

Kevin Saunderson - The Groove That Won't Stop

Bam Bam - Where's Your Child and Give It To Me

Fast Eddie - Let's Go and Acid Thunder

Choice - Acid Eiffel

Tyree - Acid Over

― Omar, Wednesday, 19 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Omar, have you heard Absolute's 'Class of 1987' (Force Inc), from about 94? this seems like a rehash of Acid Over in a way (but long time since i heard tyree)

― gareth, Wednesday, 19 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Gareth, can't remember that one, will see if someone has mp3'ed it.

...and it's 'The Extremist' instead of 'The Exterminator' (oh, the shame. This surely means Trainspottin United will revoke my membership :(

― Omar, Wednesday, 19 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"one word, subtlety. look for it in your records."

i'd rather have the skin stripped from my body and be rolled around in pretzel salt.

or listen to prog trance.

whichever would be less painful. (i haven't decided yet.)

― jess, Wednesday, 19 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What about a certain "mind-numbing" track from Emmanuel Top? Was that a 303?

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 19 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

To derail the thread slightly, can I just recommend strongly my favourite acid house compilation: Jack The Box, mixed by Hardfloor in about '96 and including a couple of tracks by them deliberately produced to sound much older than they were. A lot of the classics are there - "The Poke", "Land Of Confusion", "I've Lost Control", "Where's Your Child". Essential stuff.

Also it goes without saying that Green Velvet's acid house updates are indispensable, both as songs/tracks in and of themselves and for their often disturbing 303 lines.

― Tim, Wednesday, 19 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

eleven months pass...

i saw a damon wild mix cd on synewave today (from about 1999 i think). has anyone heard this. i mean, is it any good? there should be a synewave thread really

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 19:53 (twenty-three years ago)

i had a listen to it. its drab...

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 16:19 (twenty-three years ago)

303 is my area code

― keith, Wednesday, 11 September 2002 23:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, "Try Again" no doubt.

― OCP (OCP), Thursday, 12 September 2002 00:34 (twenty-three years ago)

two years pass...

YO,its all about TRANSLLUSION the album which is by DREXCIYA (RIP james Stinson),its dat hardcore 303 acid all the way,some real classic straight up detroit shit,fuk all the hataz 313 + 303 FOR LIFE

― danell jonson, Saturday, 8 January 2005 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

eight years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC_ZySE_jg8

― Crackle Box, Monday, 29 April 2013 08:50 (thirteen years ago)

hairdresser acid

― six times? (electricsound), Monday, 29 April 2013 08:52 (thirteen years ago)

dude really has the best videos

― six times? (electricsound), Monday, 29 April 2013 08:54 (thirteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykcWdR-ewGw

― Barnaby, Hardly, Monday, 29 April 2013 12:40 (thirteen years ago)

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