30 YEARS O F T H E 3 0 3
Roland's magic silver box the TB-303 is the sound of acid — the machine that birthed a musical revolution and still resonates deeply today. Acid veteran Kris Needs traces its roots and evolution... words: KRIS NEEDS
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djmag.com
T
he unmistakable squelch of the Roland TB-303 is the most recognizable noise in electronic dance music history. It’s also the sound of acid house, dance culture’s most seismic revolution, but has miraculously stood the test of time as its alien magic becomes discovered by subsequent generations.
After shaky beginnings, the little silver
box started a riot of its own after DJ Pierre and his pals stumbled on its distinctive chomp when messing around and created ‘Acid Tracks’. Rarely has one gadget attracted such global reverence, from original Chicago masters and Detroit’s parallel techno movement to Germany’s Hardfloor, UK protagonists such as Missile and Stay Up Forever’s acid techno party nutters. Talking on the phone with Underground Resistance’s Mad Mike Banks in 1992, he wistfully exclaimed, “I’m sitting here right now looking at my little silver box.” That’s unlikely to happen with a laptop.
BASS SOURCE The Transistor Bassline 303 was designed by Tadao Kikumoto as a bass source for solo musicians, accompanying the 606 drum machine in 1982, but flopped after its 16-key set-up confused musicians and its one octave range didn’t sound like a real bass. Roland ceased manufacturing in 1984, estimates on how many went out varying between 10-20,000. It was first heard bubbling in the UK in 1982 on Scottish post- punkers Orange Juice’s ’Rip It Up’, which took it into the Top 10, and on the slo-mo sizzle of camp post-disco trio Imagination’s ’In The Heat Of The Night’. It was also used for chunky electronic undertow by the likes of Heaven 17 and Blancmange. Section 25’s 'Looking From A Hilltop’ was the first
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