Editing Roland TB-303 (section)

==Legacy==
The TB-303's unrealistic sound made it unpopular with its target audience, musicians who wanted to replace bass guitars. It was discontinued in 1984,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Vine |first=Richard |date=14 Jun 2011 |title=Tadao Kikumoto invents the Roland TB-303 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/tadao-kikumoto-roland |access-date=26 Mar 2018 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref> and Roland sold off remaining units cheaply. 10,000 units were manufactured.<ref name=":2" />

Indian musician [[Charanjit Singh (musician)|Charanjit Singh]]'s 1982 album ''Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat'' featured an early use of a TB-303, alongside the TR-808. The album remained obscure until the early 21st century, when it was reissued and recognized as a precursor to [[acid house]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/may/10/charanjit-singh-acid-house-ten-ragas |title=Charanjit Singh on how he invented acid house ... by mistake |work=[[The Guardian]] |author=Stuart Aitken |date=10 May 2011}}</ref> Singh had an influence on [[Bollywood music]] producer [[Bappi Lahiri]], who experimented with tweaked TB-303 basslines for several Indian [[disco]] [[Filmi|film songs]] released in 1983: "Koi Lutera" in ''[[Wanted: Dead or Alive (1984 film)|Wanted: Dead or Alive]]'', "Aah Ha Oonh Hun" in ''Do Gulaab'', and "Tum Tum Tumba" in ''[[Karate (film)|Karate]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pandey |first1=Himanshu |title=Bollywood synth pioneer Bappi Lahiri’s 303 experiments |url=https://www.redbull.com/in-en/tb-303-synthesizer-bollywood-bappi-lahiri |access-date=11 February 2025 |work=[[Red Bull Music Academy]] |date=22 May 2019 |language=en-in}}</ref> The first song using the TB-303 to enter the top ten of the [[UK Singles Chart]] was "[[Rip It Up (Orange Juice song)|Rip It Up]]" (1983) by Scottish band [[Orange Juice (band)|Orange Juice]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 Jun 2015 |title=Buzzcocks: Boredom / Orange Juice: Rip It Up – Seconds |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/buzzcocks-boredom-orange-juice-rip-it-up.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-03-26 |website=[[Stylus Magazine]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604010309/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/buzzcocks-boredom-orange-juice-rip-it-up.htm |archivedate=2011-06-04}}</ref> The same year, Japanese musician [[Ryo Kawasaki]] used the TB-303 with a TR-808 and [[synth guitar]] in his [[electronic jazz]] album ''Lucky Lady'' (1983).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Andy |title=A Look Back at Fusion Legend Ryo Kawasaki, Who Pioneered the Synth Guitar |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/ryo-kawasaki-critical-discography |website=[[Bandcamp Daily]] |access-date=14 February 2025 |date=22 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=8 Tracks: Of 80s Japanese Funky Synth Fusion W/ Kay Suzuki |url=https://www.theransomnote.com/music/playlists/8-tracks-of-80s-japanese-funky-synth-fusion-w-kay-suzuki/ |website=Ransom Note |access-date=14 February 2025 |date=20 August 2021}}</ref>

The Chicago group [[Phuture]] bought a cheap TB-303 and began experimenting. By manipulating the synthesizer as it played, they created a unique "squelching, resonant and liquid sound". This became the foundation of the single "[[Acid Tracks]]" (1987), often credited as the first acid house track. With the TB-303 as a staple sound, acid became popular worldwide, particularly as part of the UK's emerging [[rave]] culture known as the [[second summer of love]].<ref name=":2" />

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as new acid styles emerged, the TB-303 was often [[overdriven]], producing a harsher sound, such as on [[Hardfloor]]'s 1992 EP "Acperience" and Interlect 3000's 1993 EP "Volcano".<ref name="bp">{{cite web |last=Church |first=Terry |title=Black History Month: Jesse Saunders and house music |url=http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/black-history-jesse-saunders-and-house-music/ |website=Beatortal.com |date=9 Feb 2010 |access-date=16 October 2011 |archive-date=12 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212230432/https://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/black-history-jesse-saunders-and-house-music/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1995, the TB-303 was distorted and processed on [[Josh Wink]]'s hit "[[Higher State of Consciousness]]"<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=The Fall and Rise of the TB-303 |url=http://www.rolandus.com/blog/2013/03/28/tb-303-acid-flashback/ |website=Roland US |date=28 March 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=30 Years of Acid |url=http://www.attackmagazine.com/features/you-just-have-move-your-feet-30-years-acid/2/ |url-status=dead |website=Attack Magazine |access-date=28 September 2015 |archive-date=17 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017044719/http://www.attackmagazine.com/features/you-just-have-move-your-feet-30-years-acid/2/ }}</ref> and on [[Daft Punk]]'s "[[Da Funk]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Will |date=3 Mar 2021 |title=The 13 most iconic TB-303 basslines of all time |url=https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/the-13-most-iconic-tb-303-basslines-of-all-time/ |access-date=2021-09-25 |website=Mixdown |language=en-AU}}</ref> The English producer [[Fatboy Slim]] admired the simplicity of the controls, and named his first single "[[Everybody Needs a 303]]" (1996).<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Doyle |first=Tom |date=January 2017 |title=Classic tracks: Fatboy Slim 'Praise You' |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-fatboy-slim-praise-you |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=[[Sound on Sound]]}}</ref> 

In 2011, the [[The Guardian|''Guardian'']] named the release of the TB-303 one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music.<ref name=":1" /> The popularity of acid caused a dramatic increase in the price of used 303 units.<ref name=":2" /> As of 2014, units sold for over £1,000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reidy |first=Tess |date=15 Feb 2014 |title=Retro electronics still popular{{snd}} but why not just use modern software? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/15/old-electronic-instruments-popular-software |access-date=26 Mar 2018 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>