THE MACHINE THAT
FAILED ITS WAY
INTO HISTORY

Roland shipped it in 1981 as a practice tool for guitarists.
It flopped, got dumped in pawn shops for $40 — and then Chicago found the resonance knob.

Touch the knob ↓

01 Live in your browser

A real acid line, synthesized live with the Web Audio API. Click steps to program a pattern. Hold ACC or SLIDE and click a step to accent or slide it, the way the original box does it.

TB‑303 emulated

Best on desktop with sound on. Some mobile browsers need a tap before audio starts.

02 1981 → now

  1. 1981 — Roland releases the TB-303 Bass Line as a solo-practice companion for guitarists. It cannot swing, cannot groove like a real bassist, and sells poorly.
  2. 1983 — Discontinued after roughly two years. Units flood secondhand shops for pocket change.
  3. 1985–87 — Chicago producers (Phuture, DJ Pierre) buy cheap 303s and discover that pushing resonance and env mod to the edge, then randomizing the pattern, produces a screaming, liquid tone nobody at Roland intended.
  4. 1987 — "Acid Tracks" by Phuture. The genre gets its name from the sound of the machine itself.
  5. 1988–92 — Acid house detonates across the UK and Europe. Original 303s, once worthless, start climbing in price.
  6. 2000s–today — A clone economy emerges: hardware and software recreations chasing the same filter circuit, because the demand never stopped.

"It was supposed to sound like a bass guitar. It sounds nothing like a bass guitar. That's the whole point."

— every 303 owner, eventually

03 If you want the sound today

Original units run well past $1,000–2,000 when they surface at all. These are the standing options.

Behringer TD-3

Budget hardware clone, analog filter, MIDI + CV. The easiest way into the sound for not much money.

Roland TB-03 (Boutique)

Roland's own digital modeling reissue. Tiny, battery-powered, built-in sequencer, official pedigree.

Acidlab Miami

Polish-built analog clone aimed squarely at 303 purists — no modern extras, just the circuit.

Software (Xoxos, TAL-U-NO, etc.)

Free-to-cheap plugin emulations. Not identical, but close enough for most productions, and instant.

04 What it costs right now

Live asking prices pulled from Reverb's used-gear marketplace. This changes — check back.

05 Acid, live, right now

Upcoming shows for artists who built careers on this machine, pulled live from Ticketmaster.