Roland TB-03: a complete tutorial

The Roland TB-03 is a reedition of the famous TB-303. We know the legendary sound, but how does it really work? Here's a complete description of how to use it.
0:00 Intro
0:51 Overview
1:28 Base sound & tone
2:56 Effects
5:13 Playing patterns
7:11 Writing patterns
7:40 Original mode
9:21 Step mode
10:53 Using MIDI
11:28 Tracks
14:02 Pros & cons
15:03 Outro
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[@AndyWoods82]

Possibly the best tutorial I have seen on TB-03 so far

[@martin-sch]

One of the most clear tutorial I have seen, thank you so much!

[@Woochia]

Thanks you! :)

[@larsfrosznielsen3536]

OMG.... if I only have watched tin in '82 when I bought this original. Thanks for telling me now..... it's a killer machine

[@matthewyates2031]

The best tutorial I've seen on the TB-03. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@godscolour]

the amount of fucn times ive come back to this video... bless you

[@user-gf5xl1kb8u]

This was perfect for helping me write a new track. I love the sound of the 03, but wow it's been complicated to learn. Thanks again!

[@adamkrueger4463]

Fun machine. Dope video. Infinite love and gratitude!

[@steveporter6300]

Thanks, i picked up a TB03 and want to learn how to use it, total noob but a fan of the genre, just trying to get an understanding if i need T8 or TR08 to provide drums as well. I have subscribed to try and learn. Thanks very much

[@diplomatfromspace]

I get mine in two weeks. Very Good Instructions

[@henrikpersson4698]

Tres bien, this helped me greatly

[@caesarsheadache]

Great tutorial Cheers 👏👏👏🔥🤘

[@henrikpersson4698]

excellent work

[@Woochia]

Thanks!

[@PAAmsterdam]

Merci Charly, bien cool ce tuto!

[@Woochia]

Avec plaisir :)

[@gregorislakmon4836]

Thank you for that indepth tutorial

[@westerncivilization]

Thank you

[@SanplerVarondaro]

que buen video colega saludos desde TIJUANA Mexico

[@obbekjaer]

That C-section was unknown to me :O Also, nice run through of the delays and drive/distortion.

[@sullycliftona888]

If they could make it like the Korg sequencer on the monologue… this would be a fantastic bit of kit .. it is still my favourite boutique I have two now and sold my behringer although it to was good sounding but not portable and no led display. I really wanted someone to do a jd08 walk through like this , so if anyone is watching please ! It’s needed as it’s probably the hardest boutique to get to grips with .. This entire 303 tuition is so easy to understand thank u . Monsieur,

[@chateautemp]

Thanks for this! Would be interesting to see your DAW integration with the TB03 and how you get the slides and accents in.

[@Woochia]

For the slides and accents it's easy: in the midi clip of your draw, if two notes overlap, there will be a slide, and if the velocity of a note is maxed up at 127, it will be accented

[@raymclarnon1437]

I agree, would like a see a video of DAW integration with the TB03 as that is my preferred option.

[@bryanmcshane1512]

Great tutorial - thanks! Can you record the incoming midi data from a DAW into the TB by pressing the REC button - or will it only play the sounds?

[@Woochia]

I don't think I tried it.bi'd say it can only play the midi that comes in, and you can't really save a pattern sent by your DAW. But maybe when you put it in step recording mode, maybe that can record the notes into the steps. I dunno :/

[@lordvespatron]

I think the waveforms are very similar.. the square wave in particular is far more pronounced on my RE303. But it’s a fun toy.

[@leewightman8619]

Iv always wanted an original devil fish I see behringer have made a clone the td3 m.o so might get one Iv got the Roland t8 it sounds pretty good

[@marni-man]

The K.A.O.S bassline!

[@grillos96]

For live performance, can you do changes on the fly? If not, any alternative to the TB-03?

[@JH-lo9ut]

Roland Aira tb-3 lets you alter the sequence as it plays. This synth has received a lot of hate from the analog purists. In reality, it is not bad at all. You get a bunch of preset patches, a bunch of effects and some cheesy touch-screen functionality, but in essence it functions and sounds more or less like a 303 if you want it to. Note that the Roland tb-03 in this video is also a digital synth, but with only one preset and a retro enclosure. Neither sounds exactly like a vintage analog 303.

[@lwpweb]

can i record patterns comming from the daw into the tb-03?

[@g.o.9513]

🤔

[@reneepaninskimusic6276]

Do you know the function of copy and paste a pattern. And how can I save the pattern?

[@Woochia]

Copy and paste is explained in the video. Then I think every pattern is saved automatically 🤔 just change what's on a pattern slot and you're good to go

[@Guitarist888]

What output Jack are you using? Mine is too big to fit into that tiny jack.

[@Woochia]

That was a regular stereo mini jack cable (3,5mm/0.14in TRS jack).

[@Guitarist888]

@@Woochiagotcha! Sorry for the late reply. One more question. I accidentally erased a pattern that i programmed and recorded one GarageBand. I forgot to write it down. Is there away I could reprogram the pattern that i recorded?

[@Sofia-ts9yi]

What do you need to power this thing? I have one and I’m having trouble hearing it :(

[@Sofia-ts9yi]

It lights up but nothing plays :(

[@Woochia]

It works either with batteries or with a usb cable (plugged to a computer or a phone charger). You dont hear anything when you plug headphones in the headphone output ?

[@MrTFH1]

S’il vous plaît. Savez-vous comment supprimer une étape d’un modèle. Superbe vidéo, merci beaucoup!

[@Woochia]

Une étape d'un modèle ?

[@Medtronica]

Also, my Track 1, Pattern 1 sounds different than yours. Is there a reason for that?

[@Woochia]

Yes, that's because I re-wrote another pattern over the original one on mine

[@Medtronica]

ah okay this makes sense thank you@@Woochia

[@Judasz696]

How to do slides and accent in daw like ableton?

[@Woochia]

You can do that with the midi piano roll: - if slide in enabled, overlapping notes will make a glide - notes with a velocity of 127 (max) would be played as accented

[@Judasz696]

@Woochia yeah im aware about slides workaround but still its not the same sound when you do it like this. Tested this. It's more to slides then just the overlapping. You need to automate also midi cc 102 and still it differs from hardware automation. What we are missing?

[@jansenbrown3435]

came here looking for info on how to do routing for it in cubase.. alas this tutorial is missing a section on DAW integration.

[@Woochia]

Unfortunately, I haven't used Cubase in a LONG time. But to control it from Ableton Live, you connect it to your sound card with a midi cable and use an effect called "external instrument" to send the notes of your midi track through that. I don't know if it's a similar process in Cubase :/

[@jansenbrown3435]

@@Woochia Yes I understand, using mini out.. to midi in.. or general midi. I realised this.. its just silly that Roland didnt make it more like the Access Virus VSTi way way way better.. proper inputs too without having to use it as a dedicated soundcard. USB is only good for power, and maybe pattern saving/backup.

[@sullycliftona888]

I agree. Org mode is better .. fantastic vid. To) .. ( I’ve already forgotten the basics / due to so bloody many Korg volcas and two other boutiques.. and at my age I should know better…

[@benjaminbritschfayet7510]

It seems the sound of the TB03 IS NOT exactly the same as the original TB303. Am I right ? (I don't speak about tweaking the parameters here. - I mean the actual flavor of the sound itself) Woochia, could you please comment ?

[@Woochia]

From what I've read, getting the "real sound of a real TB-303" is a lost cause. Even a TB-303 may not have the "real sound of a real TB-303". At the time, all TBs were not all the same, they all had slightly different sounds due to the conditions of storage, way it was manufactured, and other things. Today, the way we make those machine is that they all have exactly the same sound, so you have the sound of "a" TB-303. There are tons of clones out there, some have amazing sounds, some are better than others. To me, searching for the "perfect reproduction of the sound of a real TB" is just splitting hair. It's chasing a chimera and I get tired of it pretty quickly.

[@Medtronica]

Dude you lost me at 11:58. you move really fast even when I pause the video. You switched from Play and then to write without saying anything about it....

[@Woochia]

That's said at 11:46. To write a chain of pattern, turn the mode knob to "write - track". Then you'll be ready to write the chain. Press "pattern clear - bar reset" to go back to measure 1, and select the pattern you want with the buttons A, B and 1 to 8. Press "write/next" to go to the next bar. I think you can select the bar to write on with the value knob as well.

[@Medtronica]

Perfecto thank you!@@Woochia