Confirmed. I wondered if it was a hardware hacker, as I've built a couple x0xb0xes from kits, but it was not. I guess this is where we are? I mean, 'we' that doesn't include me, 'cos I have x0xes and can do stuff with them.

As a reference for what 303s are actually like, early Plastikman acid/minimal tracks often have really intense 303 elements. The filter's characteristic and can have enormous resonance and sonority, but the ability to combine that with accents and produce wild dynamic effects is something you don't find in other synths.

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drcongo 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I've got 3 hardware versions in my studio - ranked from best to worst for emulation: a T-8, a TD-3, and a TB-3. The TB-3 is rubbish, the T-8 is excellent, but I still most often reach for Pure Acid - it seems to have that variability in the filter that a real 303 has.

	▲	Applejinx 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah, the Aira is clearly a softsynth. What makes a 303 distinct (and this is to some extent mirrored by a x0x) is the brutal simplicity of the circuit. These things are very very primitive and there are sonic qualities gained by the lack of complication. Here's a video of parallel 303 and x0x, both of which are from an era where circuitry was through-hole components on a larger scale than we do currently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkJk_BpqHzQ There's also a modern version called x0xheart which is more SMD components, and it has yet another sound: sort of more surgical and pristine than the older through-hole builds, but still distinctly NOT a softsynth. This is a x0xheart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgBa2d7gsPo Hardware hackers who like acid music are heartily encouraged to explore this sort of thing! If nothing else, the modding scene around 303s is great fun :)