Donner B1: A 303-style analog synth for $152! 

Hah, now my studio is a weird mix of 90s synths and modules bought back in the day, and a new bunch of Behringer (and now Donner) gear.

Donner means Thunder in german

@@redwarf8118 die meinen bestimmt Döner haha

@@deutscherkamerad3675Ja, die amis können ja keine Aussprache.

@@redwarf8118 die können nix haha

@@deutscherkamerad3675 Es ist offensichtlich nur ein Witz, Kumpel

Loved all my casios..affordable and fun.

The Behringer TD-3 is a similar product in this price range. It's sometimes on sale for real cheap. I've even seen it for less than $100. The Donner B1 looks more modern and playable, while the TD-3 is closer to the TB-303 in look and feel.

Got a Donner practice pad once. their really just “you get what you pay for”

Beringer have been doing this for a while already

Correction, Casios sold in department stores are affordable, my Casio cost $599.00. In honor of full disclosure it's a workstation, not a Casiotone.

@hollovvpoint same!

With you there buddy! Algorithm done good, not a musician, love the content haha

Dude! that's exactly what I was thinking haha. the editing is AMAZING

I'm not a musician and I want one.

Yup exactly

That theme is just a very basic major chord arpeggio, haha

Now I know, it's there, but not there ugh 😩

Is this a jazz emu reference 🤣🤣🤣

You killed me with the DVD logo bit! 😅🤣

several different synths were used for the Stranger Things theme including the Roland SH-2 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lIrBQim8dzk.html

The main difference between filter cutoff and resonance on the 303 vs other synths is that it's severely limited in it's range. It keeps you in the sweet spot. And I gotta say it does that very well. On different synths you just have to learn what range you should keep it in. So you could say the 303 is just more limited and I wish it would have more range on the filter cutoff, it doesn't fully open and it doens't fully close which can be annoying, but it is also very useful that you can use the full range of the knobw in a live performance and know it's always gonna sound good. But plenty other synths have a nice resonance depending on their filter design and it can also be used as an extra oscillator that can be tuned a fifth above the main oscillator for instance. So... pros and cons to both approaches. The 303 does just the one thing, but there's definitely some magic to it. It's like a P-bass that way.

@@OttosTheName So fascinating, and thank you for taking the time to share your insight! I've been a stringed instrument player the majority of my life so I'm still intermediate when it comes to sound design and synthesizers, but man it's all so intriguing and that period of time sparked a lot of innovation and creativity. The synth and retro gear community is pretty awesome honestly

This sounds nothing like a real 303 tho.

No one said it does? Does a snare drum not sound like a snare drum because it isn't "the original real" one?

this comment made me laugh lol hahah gold

this synth created a ton of garbage non stories up form a day before release till now!

Yeah, thats on purpose. It's a REALLY crappy clone, but kinda decent in its own right imho.

Hmm, that would be helpful!

I would prefer CV in/out, which could turn this into an integral part of any setup, let me patch in my own sub, delay, etc!

@@tdzucker but wouldn't that be a Behringer TD3?...😏

@@BendApparatus yea but tbh I take pride in the instruments I own, except for Berhinger. I like their products and bought two secondhand, I think they do the job, but I take no pride in ownership

@@tdzucker understandable. Though I don't particularly hold any pride in material things. And to me they're all faceless corps... I get things based on my affinity for it. If I'm really interested in it... I'll gladly pay a premium for a particular brand... If I'm just mildly interested, I don't mind picking up the cheapest option. You're correct the td3 gets the job done. The tb3 on the other hand is pretty funny... it's like a cartoon version of what people perceive the O.G 303 to be...part of me wonders if this was intentional on Roland's part.

Which is the other one, pls ? I'm new at this, thanks

@@RoxanaKristina Behringer has a clone as well call the TD-3

It's amazing how just being genuine and concise will almost always be a better sales tactic than all of the fanciest social engineering and marketing techniques

@@MrUglyStupid that's truth,Sir

some of those sounds were very reminiscent of early 2000s game trailers.

yea specially when you have a computer with a cpu... not really need to spend on

@@cokfenasiadanaliadanali7675 That’s not analogue…

@@cokfenasiadanaliadanali7675 you don't really get it do ya :)

@@PeterKudelin go easy on him, he always had to spend so much time spelling his name that he could never focus in class

303's were a few hundred bucks in the mid 90s, where did you see them for thousands?

@@CT-ho6si Mid 90's yes. But by the late 90's when every producer wanted to be Josh Wink? Yes, well over $1000 easily.

@@CT-ho6si - think I got mine around 1998 for £700. Box plus carry case and even had Roland batteries in it. Back in those days you had to work out how to program it by yourself. Loved it.

It has MIDI in and out. You could get a two way MIDI2CV converter. Or build your own for $10!

An og 303 will cost you 3k now mate

Sheesh 🤔

This is one donner that won’t give you food poisoning.

Its döner... not donner

Döner

Hahaha that's right. Turkish Donner hahaha funny

Unquantised has never been part of the 303 workflow/sound, and I'd rather use an external reverb and keep costs down, as opposed to a built-in one which probably wouldn't be very good anyway

Love that it's just JSON for sequence data files opens it up for integration with other software editors if someone wanted to. Weird the knobs don't do CC Though it would encourage you to get more hands on with it

I thought I heard the same.

the stranger things arp synth is literally a stock ableton one if i'm not mistaken.

@@r3dsnow757 Actually they used an hardware synth and played the arpeggio themselves in, didn’t use an arp but in the end it’s the same result xd

Agreed. Also, while the distortion on the Behringer is a useful addition and does sound pretty good it can be hard to balance the clean and distorted sounds. I prefer to use an old stompbox and compressor for a more balanced transition between clean and distorted. I think a delay or reverb would have been a better option - and this has got it.

Man, what an awesome presentation. I greatly appreciated your video and think you did an awesome job of showing us what this synth can do, as well as how much of a fantastic deal it happens to be. Well done Donner, you've made a heck of a synth for a really quite unbelievably low price.

I think its cool that they put distortion and delay into the 303, these days. These are the effect everybody uses. Less clutter on the table.

@@Engineeer yeah, less table clutter is good when you want to have a more clean workflow, but, a lot of the times, for me, it’s more about finding the right dostortion or delay, there’s a variety of them out there, and i like some of the weirder ones i have. That being said, i still do appreciate on-board effects and what they offer too, and like the idea that it has them built in so you don’t have to use them, but can if you want to without anything external.

Same. I'd think about getting this if I didn't already have a NuBass

The NuBass is so underrated, it's insane

Probably a Cool Audio IC in that box providing the sound. I think it looks a lot more sleek and has a cleaner look than the other 303 knockoffs. They may sell some units on that alone.

The very first thing I noticed is that it's got two octaves instead of just one. That might be useful to some people. But I agree with you, I'd rather get a TD-3 than one of these, especially because they're routinely available for less than $100.

I just picked up the Sonicware Liven Bass & Beats, you may want to check that out, very interesting Wavetable Bass Synth and Drum Machine with fantastic sequencing and in-depth editing, £200.

@@GODZINACOMA101 Sonicware's stuff is very interesting and very reasonably priced IMO. I'm not familiar with the Bass & Beats, I'll have to check that out.

@@rars0n They're a little name but making a big splash, at least for affordable synths. The bass n beats looks solid but I am torn between that and the XFM as both are impressive for the price. But since I already need a TD3MO and had my heart set on a Proton I think I might just take a step back and think about how far I want to go down this rabbit hole lol...

the TT-303 sequencer is really great, its really easy to use and offers way more than the most expensive clones.

@@jamaharon - exactly this. I was really impressed by the sequencer options on the TT. Takes it into a different league imho.