Call it the Bride of x0xb0x. Michigan Synth Works today teased a new, Arduino-compatible, open-source 303 processor, plus a full DIY kit. They’re both affordable ways to build your own all-analog, modern TB-303 with current components. And it feels like the early spirit of the open x0xb0x is back.
The x0xb0x is the device that helped pave the way for open source music hardware as we know it. The very concept of open source hardware as opposed to hardware was fairly young at the time, particularly because licensing focused on code, or at most — as with Creative Commons — image. Because of the cultural impact of the 303, the x0xb0x became an early poster child. With hardware engineering by a “crazy German engineer” whose identity to this day remains shrouded in secrecy, and coded, championed, licensed, and sold by Limor Fried (“Lady Ada”) during the genesis of adafruit, the instrument captured a spirit of DIY in music. And you’ll still find a project page.
It’s long past time for new hardware, however, as components change in this long a span of time. (You can’t really say the x0xb0x is “modern” anymore. Yeah, I feel old, too.)
So that makes this intriguing news from Michigan Synth Works:
It has been 20 years since i built my first x0xb0x which started my obsession with building 303s and I think its time to take everything I’ve learned over the last two decades and give something back. Starting with this: OS-303. An open source, Arduino compatible TB-303/u650 processor. This is a project I have started with the help of ace coder and fellow Michigander Phazerville to bring an open codebase for everyone to use/hack/modify to build processors for TB-303, TR-606, and TR-808. One of my favorite aspects of the x0xb0x community was all the different firmwares that were developed for that device and hopefully we can do that again. Repo is here: https://github.com/djphazer/OS-303. These will be affordably priced ($40 USD) and available from the MSW shop. More details soon.
The chip already has a project page and an MIT-licensed repository, plus a Discord channel. (Discord, for their part, delayed and clarified age verification policies last week. I’ll leave the discussion of chat platforms for elsewhere. cough IRC.)
That u650 processor was used in the TB-303, TR-606, and TR-808. This has implications for repair of the aging Roland hardware, too.
And then there’s the kit. So far they’ve only posted a boot video to Facebook, but here are the details and pics:
So how about a new 303 kit to go with that processor? Presenting the LRB-303 DIY 303 kit! This is a all surface mount device with parts meticulously chosen to match the original. All surface mount parts are machine assembled. The kit includes everything except the case and knobs which are sold separately.
With only a handful of parts to solder, this kit can be built in a hour or two. No rare parts to hunt down, no fakes to deal with, no endless sourcing. I am partnering with JLC3dp to provide cases (in 5 colors!) direct. Full kit is $499 USD and will be available later this month.
It’s an unexpected bit of news today. Will keep an eye on this one. (I just want that Gnot Synthesizer, which I might observe costs roughly the same as that other thing. Oh, and I want… wait, no, I should get off this site!)
OS-303
https://michigansynthworks.com/