Synth Adventures
Boutique family

TB-303 · 1 (mono acid)

TB-03

Same performance grammar as the original 303 with modern I/O, overdrive and CV/gate options.

Accent, slide, cutoff, resonance — the acid bassline machine in Boutique form.

Roland manuals
ROLAND · TB-03

Signal at a glance

  1. VCO (saw/square)
  2. VCF
  3. ENV MOD / DECAY
  4. Accent
  5. Sequencer (pitch then time)

Panel map

WAVEFORM
Saw vs square — square for hollow acid, saw for buzz.
CUTOFF · RES · ENV MOD · DECAY
The four knobs that write most acid records.
ACCENT
Steps that punch louder/brighter.
SLIDE
Legato pitch glide into the next step.
OVERDRIVE
Boutique-era grit before or after the filter character.

Starter recipes

  • Classic 16th acid

    Low cutoff, high res, short decay, accents on off-beats.

    1. Saw wave, CUTOFF low, RES high, ENV MOD high, DECAY short.
    2. Program a 16-step pattern with rests for breathing room.
    3. Accent steps 5 and 13; slide into the downbeat occasionally.
    4. Hand-ride CUTOFF live.

  • Square whisper line

    Square wave, less res, longer decay for dubby lines.

    1. Square, RES mid, DECAY longer.
    2. Fewer accents; more slides.
    3. Filter open slowly over eight bars.

  • Overdrive as arrangement

    Clean verse, driven drop — same pattern, Boutique OD as the switch.

    1. Write a sparse 16-step skeleton.
    2. Verse: OD low, cutoff mid.
    3. Drop: OD up, cutoff lower, accents denser.
    4. Do not rewrite pitches — only performance flags and grit.

  • ●○– paper first

    Draw note/tie/rest glyphs, then enter on the TB-03.

    1. Sketch eight steps in ●○– notation (see canon study recipes).
    2. Enter pitches on ● only; ties inherit; dashes rest.
    3. Add accent/slide after the rhythm breathes.

Pairs well with

FAQ

TB-03 vs TB-3 (AIRA)?
TB-03 is Boutique ACB recreation of the 303 panel. TB-3 is the AIRA touch-pad instrument with different workflows and sounds — both teach accent/slide.
Pitch then time programming?
Classic 303 method: enter note pitches first, then timing/ties/slides — the Boutique keeps that muscle memory.
CV/Gate — when?
When you want the Boutique to drive a modular or vintage mono. Clock and MIDI still matter for the rest of the rig — CV does not replace a clock plan.