Bad Gear - No He Didn't... 

Audiopilz: *slaps roof of YT channel* Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs: www.patreon.com/audiopilz

I guess that if Bad Gear existed a year after the TB-303 came out, it would have genuinely been a candidate.

"Everybody needs a 303" Roland: "YES! Maybe we should promote his channel." Then they see the Roland episodes.

"TEN RAGAS TO A DISCO BEAT WAS FIRST" 😂 I love that record so much, the backstory is almost as amazing as the music itself.

"I will stick to the original" *holds up the TB-3* 😂😂😂😂😂 "MY PRECIOUS!!" Great episode!! Happy Friday Florian!

Roland: "Alright, so you just enter your bassline here, and that'll be perfect for weddings and shows!" Ravers: *turn the resonance up* "Hey man, this is wack, let me get my acid." Roland: "No, that's not how you're supposed to play the game!"

I built my first X0XBox about a year before the Bass Bot was released. At the time the kit was the only way to get that authentic TB sound without selling a body organ and I probably put around 20 hours into painstakingly building it up. The cost of the kit plus my labour would probably come to around the same as buying one of these off the shelf. My ears can’t tell a difference between the two, not that RU-vid audio is exactly master quality, but that and the 303 silver box looks made me wonder if the kit was worth it for the time spent building it. And the answer is hell yeah it was worth it, might not look as cool but this isn’t a fashion parade and mine’s built to OCD standards. As the X0X and original TB essentially share the same schematic there is something particularly cool you can do both. There’s an internal preset pot that acts as a linearity control, separate to the actual tuning and it’s supposed to be adjusted so an octave up is exactly twice the frequency of a particular note. If it’s not set absolutely correctly the desired notes become increasingly detuned the further away from the centre you get. And that my friends is a beautiful thing when you want to embark upon a wigged-out AFX-style acid head-f**k. Lovely.

Man i really love that when I am done working on Friday 18 o'clock I can start my weekend with another epic episode of Bad Gear :-)

I worked in a music store in the late 80s and early 90s. We had a ton of the original TB-303s in stock, used, and cheap. Wish I had appreciated their use at that time :P

Last track is fantastic. Reminds me of classic racing game menu music!

Great video. I had to double take when you showed a clip of my comparison, I had forgotten about that entirely. Great video as always and the tunes you made with it sound great!

I used to own three individual 303 units, over different time periods. Today, I got a TD-3 I rarely use, but having tweaked the insides it is as spot on as I'd not spend tens of thousands of euros on, shall we say...

I got a yellow Behringer TD-3 (with smiley face) when it was on sale and I love it.

Babe, babe wake up! Florian just released a new episode of BadGear.

I love those low volume shuffley grooves you always have in the background, gets my head bobbing subconsciously

Absolutely loved the tunes you created for this video..... gorgeous acid toonzzzz 🤩 Had me bopping like the old days, despite the arthritis 😬

Christmas isn't Christmas without the beloved TB-3 making an appearance.

Oooo, nearly unfriended there. 😉

You give me faith in my TB3. I have a TT v2 also and that rocks too, but your reviews are always accurate, insightful and will leave me feeling cheered up:) Another excellent episode 👏

First jam brought me right back to college, second was twenty minutes to closing of said college night. Awesome work

"Noooo whaaaaat - it's the end of times!" Flashed before my eyes as I smashed that play button 😂 the horror was real hahaha Awesome video with awesome jams as always! You're truly one of a kind when it comes to high quality productions!

I am amazed at how much bad gear you review that I own/have owned... -303 clones deserve a league/vote off of their own. For me the og Cyclone tt 303 sounds so good it makes me question the fabric of reality.

Thank you for bringing TTs into this show!!!

That track, which was used with the visuals of the Anime Redline, sound really dope.

I think it has to be said, your Finale pieces showcase rather great editing skills and cool music, that's a 5 hour megamix waiting to happen ;)

If you’re interested, a guy named Dope Robot has made a midi editor that opens up a lot of new possibilities for the inscrutable problem child etch-a-sketch we call the tb-3. It might be an idea for a better gear episode.

REDLINE FINALLY MAKES AN APPEARANCE!!! Although it very much fits more breakcore vibes, just the fact that you used the footage will always put a huge smile on my face :)

Something that has 'bass' written on it but is midrangy. But once again, you doctored the bass out of it in your feature jam. I can never miss any of these friday videos! Saludos!

I have that Bassbot, it’s still invited to nearly every track I make. Really great piece of kit.

This channel is like that first drink at a bar after a long week. Just hits right

I stay having to rewind and keep my finger ready to pause with Bad Gear videos due to all the great, yet speedy memes!

You killed the demonstration!!!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

I've been a bassbot user for years ! You did a great job with the final jam 😎 Also using time mode like the oldschool TB is not mandatory with the bassbot, I only enter it sometimes if I want to use it but you can do everything in pitchmode

There are never enough TB-303 clones and the Cyclone analog synth, which I had seen around the net, sounds mighty nice here. That said, Roland was indeed wise to update the TB-03 UI for an alternate to the traditional 303 workflow. As a side note, I confess I had held off buying the J-6 until I watched your episode, which has worked out nicely, actually. I hope more instruments come your way to review!

Wow, it even has an actual arpeggiator? Reading the Behringer TD-3 manual, it mentions the arpeggiator over and over again, and when you look for it or its explanation, you quickly find out that what they're referring to is the step sequencer. ^^ This and funny colors for the steps should be enough of a unique selling proposition. I'm sold! (this post might contain small traces of sarcasm, if you happen to find any, you're free to keep them)

The finale jam is a beauty! Finish it and release it!

HONEY, QUICK! FLO IS TEARING APART THE 303!

Ah, such a bliss! How could anyone hate this beautiful thing??

Hahaha, that picture with Uli pressed up against the window pane … 🤣

Another great episode Florian. Never seen one of these or the Mk 2 (or even a Devil Fish) in the wild, down under. I now want one and I already own 3 different 303 clones including the one avoided by the colour blind. 3 and a half if I count the OG Volca - well it has that big knob. My thanx as always.

IIRC the x0xb0x I bought was from the guys who became Cyclone Analogic shortly after. It used transistors from the last 303s built and other components out of spec with the usual X0X builds of the day. Still sounds bloody nice and my best 303 hardware clone (I have many lol)

Man that 2nd sample song deserves to be a whole track.

Cool acidic show and jams this Friday! Are we heading toward Volca Bass? All the best and have a great weekend!

Love your content and references

5:03 the acid line is late edit: and the 2nd jam! If you pulled the acid line back 5-10 ms it would be much better

I always look forward to the vocoder shoutout

HA, another great vid. We just bought a tt303 last year. Bloody love it. Always wanted a real 303 and this one is as close as I will ever get. We have 2 other 303 boxes but this one is the real deal. So many wicked features on it as well. Really fun and authentic box. If you look long enough there are a few good deals out there. I waited for about 3 years for a decent priced one. Keep the fun vid's coming. Aways crack me up. x

Beautifully done jams. I used ABL2 all the time, then I got a real 303 and have used it maybe a dozen times in the last ten years.

Mein Gott, ich bin in der falschen Zeitlinie aufgewacht

The TT-303 is a great clone. Hope I can add it to my TB-303 clone collection one day.

I need a folder full of the memes used in each episode, always such high quality!

I love you make your videos.Those quick snipettes, very funny 🤣All I have a Roland JD-xi,still trying to figure out how to work it.

loving my TD-3's (normal and MO) but damn the prices for 303 before Uli came and i think build quality is also great of TD3's.

LOVE that second jam! Also, the TT is great! I love the MkII form factor. The only other 303 device I'd go for is the Avalon, but since it's basically impossible to get one, the TT is the best.

Ahhhh the Bad Acid test :) Nice one, Pilz. That 3rd jam was _gettin' thar._ Most of the clones, including this one and the B, sound as some variation on a x0xb0x which is open source(OS). Having myself an og, a FR 777, FR Revo mk2, two x0xb0xes, and dicking about with my m8s Behringer, the thing I hear in all the clones (besides FR - which is closer to a 101 sound) is clipping in the VCA very soon as the resonance and EG level rises. All of the OS-based clones in every test I've heard tend to clip too soon, more or less. They typically get the basic seq+synth behavior and filter character(an offset diode ladder) down well enough, but the audio path sounds quite different at times vs the og. It's totally a "last 1 - 5 %' concern that won't even matter in many mixes/arrangements, but it CAN matter sometimes, and will def matter to the mixing engineer: _The og TB-303 doesn't clip like the clones do, especially both x0xb0xs and the B. It sounds bigger, less noisy, smoother and 'lazier' - and it stays in tune over octave jumps better. _ Something about how Roland QC'ed their builds in the early '80s makes (a sometimes significant) difference in the sound _as an instrument_ vs how the x0xb0x variants and other clones built by whoever in the last 20 years behave and sound. So.....Is the og worth a $1-2K dollar difference? Well, THAT all depends on how much acid you make... and _what acid makes of YOU._ 🙂 Huzzah!

Given its history, the 303 is the OG Bad Gear (alongside the 808 & 909, of course).

i love mine , and it does SOOO much more than an og . Its random is awesmoe , its midi is great , and the banks are awesome !!! oh the pots are crap , i had to replace them all !

Love your tunes.

Yes!!! my main box gets its own little moment of glory. Thanks man X

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of squelchy voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

I'd love to see a video or two about your favorite gear, that gear that you appear to be using in addition to the actual "bad gear" more than half of the time, in particular the Arturia Beatmaster Pro (?) and the black square thing with the green edges from Roland . Both are used in this video around 6:10

I built my own X0Xb0x, and it's really good! I bought extra transistors and picked whichever ones sounded best in it. The manufacturing variability in transistors (basically, the BJT's gain-bandwidth product) probably does explain why different units seem to sound different.

Can't wait for the Minimoog, CS80, OB-XA and Prophet 5 episodes

Outside of guitars, I'm a little hard-pressed to think of a single synth with as many copies/clones as Roland's TB-303. Also, I think it's missed opportunity that you didn't save this video for a March 3rd release date. :)

I've lurked on your videos for a while now. Today I subbed. No particular reason, but thanks for the entertaining vids!

The Finale is pretty amazing. I bought one to try and hold off on the demise of my primary TB-303 - except it broke in record time, but now I use TWO Modified Uli Bass Lines - yellow too for extra BASS. They helped retire my 303s which are now in my Memorial CS80 and Jupiter 8 Fund.

I've not thought of the "303" as paragon of sound, but rather just an inspiring framework (sequencer oddness + sound). I personally prefer the sound of the MS-404 clone which adds in some LFOs

Was expecting the TD-3 👀

I really LOVE the Patreon Vocoder Shoutout and I don't know why 😁

used to use a real 303 a lot, to drive a proper synth (moog rogue), & learned to program its song-mode (it gets easier if you write it all out on paper first, & enter the patterns with the sound turned down, otherwise it insists on playing you what's already in the location you're about to write to, which is infuriating). best trick was taking the batteries out for a few minutes & letting its mind get scrambled, then put the batteries back in & have fun editing the messed up random patterns it's now filled itself with.

when the intro song is very obviously made with the thing.

Seems like a pretty nice clone if you ask me.

Last track is gorgeous and reminescing me classic soundtrack music from racing video games made by EA like Need for Speed etc. Rom di Prisco was using TB-303 a lot these days 🙂

Fantastic synth, the sequencer on this and the v2 is my favorite. Had one for years and years

ACIIID

We are all waiting for a full length acid house album from you.

Great video as always! The 303 is such a crazy synth. That piercing sound at 1:28, what other synth could do that? I need to see the waveform!

I wonder if this channel will ever feature the Rebirth 338 softsynth of late '96? I remember this was a sensation at the time, where did 25+ years go?!

Anyone else vote for the memes to last longer? They are too fast! We want the memes! We want the memes! Say it with me!

I love my Bassbot, you’d have to prise it from my cold dead hands. Great episode as always and loving the last jam 🫠

Viper Higgins popping up at 1:36 is like a clash of worlds for me.

Loved the Ryan George ref !!

I noticed that R oland with the flashy lights is your go to . We spoiled synth bratz but we deserve z best amigo. Thanks 4 your entertainment

This is the first time I've ever given a thumbs up to a video before even watching it just because the thumbnail was great.

The 2nd really quick pic - the meme at 1:56 - omg I laughed so hard

A bloke called Norman told me everyone needs one of these.

and right on cue, there's Florian to save my Friday at lunch 🔥🔥🔥

Love the jams! well done!! Don't know much about TB/TT/T 303/3/03 things but this one does sound really nice to me.

That first jam setup was fire!!

I love it when you use anime clips for your final jams, and Redline is a modern classic. Recommendations for future episodes, assuming you haven't used them before: Riding Bean, Gunsmith Cats, Roujin-Z, Venus Wars, All-Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku

Awesome! I'd love to see your take on the Volca Bass as it's a little 303 adjacent 🤍

great review like always... I have a few TD-3's and the bass bot sound a lot different from them.. but.. it does have a good standard bass sound, but didn't sound very '"acidy" like the TD-3

Finale is fantastic.

Perfect video for a coffee on a Saturday :)

Amazing use of redline there in the jam.

Hahaha, that guy at the sunflower festival with his broken sunflower. 1997 Regensburg, never forgotten and lovely called the Schlammflower festival. Good old times 😂

That vocoder section woke up the Sardaukar in me. Or the Kwisatz Haderach. I don't know yet.

Nice jams, sir.

Please excuse my stupid grin at the last gag with the TB3. Nice one 😁

I only listen to Acid when it's AudioPilz Austrian style!! Nice episode - Let the weekend commence!!