From Christopher_List@sonymusic.comMon May 15 12:03:50 1995 Date: 15 May 95 11:04:03 EDT From: Christopher List To: analogue Subject: "TeeBee303" - was: Basssssssstation rack I don't know if anyone has posted anything about this yet, but... I picked a 1U rack (sort-of, I'll get to that) thing last weekend called (no kidding) the Tee-Bee303 from "Syntechno". Made in the Netherlands by some REAL gear heads, it just came out, I think there's only one distributor in the country (Echo Park Music in Park Ridge, NJ) I got it for $600. Here's the deal: Front: Power switch, "Program" button, Saw/Square Wave switch, 1/4" analogue in, knobs; Tuning, Cut-off Freq., Reson., Envelope Amt., Decay. That's it - note THERE IS NO VOLUME KNOB. Back: Midi In, Midi Thru or Out, 2 more Midi Outs, Roland Sync Out (!), 4 Cv outs, 4 trigger outs (all 1/8"), Audio Out - RCA jack (!?!), BIG wall wart power supply, full rack space deep with nice 909-type feet on the bottom. Features: 1 analogue osc, 1 (self)resonant LP filter. 4 channel (programmable) midi-CV converter (switchable roland and something else - I'm not a big CV user so I can't remember the spec.). Midi time to roland sync converter. Plays a short tune when you turn it on. All front knobs transmit/respond to midi controller data. Can record and playback 1 sequence (????????). One midi controller can be programmed to act as portamento (slide) on/off. Note volume is velocity sensitive up to velocity of 100. Velocity higher than 100, and the note is considered "accented" - for accented notes, the envelope decay is always 0 - apparently this is how a 303 does it's accent - I never realized it... Getting one of these things to sound like a 303 is ALWAYS based on the sequence you use (that's half the fun of the real thing). That being said, I programmed one of my favorite patterns from my 303 into my sequencer and tried it out. Side by side taste test style. This thing does a *DAMN GOOD JOB* with the exception of the attack which for some reason was missing some of the GRIT that the 303 has. I had to shorten the note durations in my sequencer to keep the notes from sounding like they were running together too much. When run with some distortion (the way I like my 303) the two were VERY hard to tell apart - but, hey, there's some sort of holistic blend going on there in those little silver boxes that puts out a sound that can never be duplicated. Square and sawtooth wave were equally convincing. On the down side: 1. Sequencing is a bit of a drag, if you want to slide on one note you basically have to go into the event list insert a controller message after the note to turn on the portamento, then another one after the next note to turn it off. 2.The Roland sync worked well UNLESS my sequencer was running at too high a resolution (120 ppq was too much for it) - then it got out of time after a while (or, I should say, it was really after about 20 measures). 3. It has a way of going out of tune (might be warming up) - which you don't expect on "Modern" analogue gear. 4. There's no "midi light" to let you know that it's actually receiving midi data (I've got one of these on my Paia Fatman, I mean come on...) 5. It's a one rack space unit, but it has ONE hole (more like a slot) in the MIDDLE of each rack ear (as opposed to two - one at the top and one on the bottom), don't ask me why, must be European format... The midi control is a blast, I changed my sequence to include wild filter sweeps with rapid changes from 0-128 right on the beats and got some <> effects that you do with a 303, but only with very skilled hands and a robotic sense of rhythm. This is where the instrument shines, I'll be playing with this for quite a while. One strange thing, though, is that the midi-controller data doesn't seem to exactly match the knob. It's like if the knob goes from 0 - 10, the controller data effects it by +/-3 from it's current position (?). OK, now we get to the best part! Programming (changing midi channels, controller to knob mappings, etc.) - maybe there's a lot of old gear that works like this, but I've never used any, and I think it's great. To program: 1. Turn machine on while holding the program button. You are now in program mode, the thing plays 16'th note at some pitch to let you know.... 2. Look up the parameter you want to change in a table. The table gives you settings for the five front panel knobs. Knobs can be set Left, middle or right. You set the knobs according to the table and press the program button. The thing changes the pitch of the 16th notes up an octave to tell you that you are ready to enter the VALUE for the parameter (!!!!!) 3. (you probably guessed this part) You look up the value you want to set the parm. to in a table, set your five knobs (3 to the 5th = 243...) according to the table, hit the program button again, and you're ready to roll... -if you screw up the 16th notes change to some scary "error tune" and you have to start over. -These boys have problems, too much time at the Cannabis Cup finals, I think... but, hey, wack interfaces are the seeds from which love blooms, I saw this in action and had to have it... I haven't used a bass station, so I can't compare it ( though I was thinking of getting one as a "travel keyboard"). _any more questions, just ask...... -Love, Topher