Roland is fairly quiet on this 303 Day, but in the maelstrom of terrible news, it was a relief to see the Japanese music community out in force. This is what we really strive for: a world where we can just make bassline noises all day. Here are some highlights, and even some free Max for Live love if you need some acid therapy.
Rush Hour Mix from Roland
Roland, for their part, invited Rush Hour Music from Amsterdam to do a lovely playlist — read more by Rush Hour’s Antal Heitlager on Roland’s site.
Free stuff
The big freebie for today is a new Max for Live “tribute” to the 303 by NoiseGarden, available over at the unofficial Max for Live repository, maxforlive.com:
And if you want to work on your Max patching chops, you can not only poke around inside that patch, but watch the tutorial it was inspired by:
There’s also this free library from Martinic: martinic.com/presets
And don’t forget the awesomeness of roland50.studio, the free browser-based studio full of Roland gear built by Yuri Suzuki and team. It began with Roland’s 50th, but I know Yuri and co. are always adding little tweaks.
And it’s good enough for Jeff Mills. This is techno.
Feel happy!
And speaking of Yuri, he’s got a new 303-filled LP for abend kollektiv:
303 sounds
But Japanese 303 lovers — including some I follow regularly — always make this a holiday. I swear the only thing I look for on X/Twitter these days is these accounts; maybe I should set the language to Japanese and just lose everything else. (And yes, you should otherwise delete X, but here, let me pick the best for you! And slowly I do see Japanese folks migrating over to BlueSky, so I have some hope for de-Elonizing my screens.)
Wow, this is hot:
Now here’s a deep cut: the Windows editor for the long-since-forgotten VariOS “Open System Module.” This is official Roland, just discontinued official Roland (and inferior to the modeled circuit stuff available now):
Speaking of modeled circuits, don’t forget that the ACB 303 models are packed into the T-8 along with 909 and 808 models, making this the most compact modeled 303-based rig available (unless you DIY something):
Damn, I am all about this asymmetrical groove. I want to hear this become a track! The Max for Live device you see there is an older one by anibaluru:
I almost missed finishing this just letting that loop. But, wait — more goodness — delicious, this one:
We even get a Donner sighting, and you know there ain’t no party like th– sorry, too soon?
Really beautiful ambient, to add that to the mix:
Back to dancing:
You knew one TR-1000 was going to make an appearance:
Back in this hemisphere, many time zones away from the 303’s birthplace, Audio Obscura has this beautiful album:
Finally, acid — the music video. This is gorgeous, visually and sonically:
303 software sales
As per tradition, Plugin Boutique has discounts on software, including an exclusive on Roland’s own 303 emulation as a lifetime key. Let me just list them all, including discounts and expiration:
Roland TB-303 – 67% off until Mar 08
Arturia Acid V – 50% off until Mar 08
D16 Group Phoscyon 2 – 50% off until Mar 10
