I'm a little sad that the 303 sound had such a short-lived and niche life. In the 90's it seemed to me like it was the first instrument that could challenge the hegemony of the electric guitar. It was so versatile - the sound is bouncy, melodic, and had some real "growl", all at the same time.

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alisonatwork 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

Unfortunately it really is a niche thing that only appears to speak to certain people.

As someone who feels like the sound of the 303 touches me deep in my soul, it's constantly disappointing to be reminded that other people don't hear it the same way I do. You can even see it in comments on this post where expressing a love or appreciation for the actual sound of the silver box is dismissed as elitist or something because lol whatever, any old synth sounds just as good. Most people either can't hear or don't care about what makes it special, which perhaps explains why it never became respected as a mainstream instrument like the 808 did.

Fortunately the clones these days are very cheap and very good and music has become so easy to obtain that you can visit Bandcamp every week and still find new tracks featuring the 303 and its descendants. Every now and then you might hear a 303 in a mainstream tune and it's a treat, but if you just love the sound and don't mind listening to music that few others get, I don't think there's ever been a better time.

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satyrun 6 days ago | parent [-]

I love this software but I was completely sick of the 303 by the late 90s.

If anything, I think it got over exposed in the 90s. The sound is just so distinct with the slides and accents.

Rebirth was also the first really popular software synth I remember and at that point it was just 303 overkill.

For me, it was an acid house album in the 2010s that I can't remember that made me appreciate the 303 again.

	▲	alisonatwork 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		I remember back in the 90s there was somewhat of a backlash against the 303, which presumably was part of what Norman Cook was getting at with the name of the song mentioned on the top of this thread. Ironically - or perhaps deliberately - that track was peak unimaginative/tedious usage of the instrument, which is funny because he had also done some much more elegant takes in his Pizzaman project. For me it never felt like the 303 ever got really overdone in mainstream electronic music. Certainly there was the riff from Pump Panel's Confusion remix showing up all over the place, and there were a few tracks that got a high rotation on MTV like Daft Punk's Da Funk and Josh Wink's Higher State, but I don't think it was ever really ubiquitous outside of acid music, which is already a niche genre. Like, we never got 808s & Heartbreak for the 303. It was definitely controversial inside the synth community, though, where hardcore analog and modular synth nerds scoffed at it being so limited and toy-like, and everybody - young and old - resented it becoming so expensive and sought-after, which in turn raised the prices of other vintage synths that according to the rumor mill could do a decent approximation if you programmed them just right. Rebirth busted that market by making the basic essence of the sound available to everyone, and there were plenty of bad acid tracks that came out during that period, but I think that's also when the opportunity was there for it to really break through as a serious instrument. Later VSTs like Phoscyon took inspiration from mods like Devilfish and more elaborate clones like the FR-777, building on the 303 base to create the kinds of sounds that in the old days might have required a lot hacking/patching up of different instruments to construct. But by that point it was clear that the mainstream didn't really care. I'm at work right now so don't have access to my music library to share specific favorite tracks, but there is still so much great music featuring the 303 coming out - it never stopped. There is stuff for people of every taste. If the more unsubtle stuff doesn't work for you, you might want to check out Mighty Force label, which has been putting out a bunch of IDM/braindance and pleasant electro music recently that sometimes has delightful uses of the 303. Also in the back of my mind for more IDM-ish and electro stuff are Analogical Force, Virtual Urban Records, HC Records, Nocta Numerica... There's a bunch more in that vein, plus all the usual suspects doing big room techno, hard party acid, all-hardware synth jams etc etc, but you probably need to dig in any case. I tend to find even the best albums only have one or two tracks that are to my taste, but everyone is different so it's great that there is so much out there.

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jghn 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> that could challenge the hegemony of the electric guitar.

IIRC when it came out in the early 80s it was intended to be a substitute for bass guitars. So perhaps that is part of your sentiment.

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leptons 6 days ago | parent [-]

In the 1980's nobody knew how to use synths beyond the default patches. That's why I think that 80's music sounds so generic and kind of hollow.

The 90's was different, the people making synth music pushed the synths past what their default setup was capable of. Synths used in the mid/late 90's for psychedelic/acid trance sound nothing like 80's synths, but they are the same synths.

The "303" was intended as a bass instrument, but with 90's acid trance it's typically used as a lead, as well as a bass.

	▲	jghn 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		> In the 1980's nobody knew how to use synths beyond the default patches Dwayne Goettel would be a big counter example! :) Although his best work was early 90s I suppose.