TB-303 Appreciation Day

TB-303 Appreciation Day is celebrated annually on March 3^rd. Its purpose is to celebrate the history of this popular instrument and celebrates its applications in modern music.

History of TB-303 Appreciation Day

The TB-303 is a bassline synthesizer first produced by Roland Corporation in 1982. The company is only ten years old and the 303 has been around for just over a year, selling only 10,000 303.

Initially, the TB-303 was seen as a companion for solo guitarists, but at the time it fell out of favor. Later, however, artists began to see the potential of this technology, with Alexander Robotnik's 'Les Problemes d'Amour' becoming a huge hit in 1983.

Changes made through frequency tuning have created the complex, meandering bass pitches that artists such as DJ Pierre, Spanky and Herb Jackson have discovered and used in their music.

Throughout the '90s, artists challenged the sound the TB-303 offered by adding rougher, angular edges to their compositions to create a softer sound and ultimately form the genre techno music called Acid House.

Today, the original 303's are now selling for more than £1000. Roland then continued to reimagine their technology with the release of the TB-3 Touch Bassline synthesizer in 2014. The 303 set has become stable for DJs worldwide, allowing for easy movement and causing demand for 303s to skyrocket in the electronic dance scene.

TB-303 Appreciation Day celebrates its long history and shows how the TB-303 has innovated sound and transformed technical music.

How to celebrate TB-303 Appreciation Day

If you want to explore the old sounds of TB-303, check out some artists like “Acid Tracks” by Phuture, Bollywood artist Charanjit Singh, 808 State and Underground Resistance “The Final Frontier”. As the sound of tracks continues to affect people today, possibly over the weekend, make time to go to a techno dance club and tip your local DJ, supporting these efforts music of them force.

If you want to try your hand at engineering, buy the TB-303 from Roland's company website and check out their other inventions like the TB-303 Devil Fish Mod, TB-303 Borg Mod, and TR-606.

Post your story about TB-303 and share us on social media using the hashtag #TB303AppreciationWeek and tell your friends about your love of techno music.