However, I really wonder why they don't have any URL auto-sharing mechanism. Given that there are no patterns, no sequences whatsoever, it's just one single 16 position loop per "device", an entire song could easily fit on the URL. Eg the TypeScript playground live-updates the url as you type: https://www.typescriptlang.org/play?#code/FAYw9gdgzmA2CmA6WY...
That "record" feature is neat, but it'd be way neater if I can just share an URL with my composition with a friend and they can remix it.
It's a 808/303/101 in your browser.
I’ve got a Roland cloud subscription and I definitely think it’s useful and way more convenient than vintage gear approaching 50 years of age. I also have the arturia v-collection and think this last update made the Roland synths (Jupiter and Juno’s) sound way more alive and better imho than the Roland versions. They are both pretty good though. You can get the same dsp emulation in the Roland boutiques/Aira as well if you want hardware knobs to twiddle.
Iirc the 808 and 909 in rebirth were sample based. The 303 was nice and squelchy but not quite a perfect emulation. Lots of fun to play with though. I remember spending hours in college playing with rebirth.
I think the joy of the roland 50 is how approachable the sequencing is though, with the sounds everyone is familiar with
SP404 2022-04-04T12:00:00.000Z
TR606 2022-06-06T12:00:00.000Z
TR707 2022-07-07T12:00:00.000Z
TR909 2022-09-09T12:00:00.000Z
Damn, I really wish they would have given these away as VSTs instead. I'd love to bring an official Roland 303 software synth into my setup without paying their ridiculous subscription fees.
But! FLStudio has Transistor Bass. I don't know if it's available as a VST but IL has posted comparison videos online and I can't really hear any difference through my studio monitors.
I use analog synths to get away from screens. Fun thing I've discovered that is specifically useful for the 303 is that loops and melodies with a prime number length against composite number beats are a source of free constant movement in otherwise repetitive loops. A 4 on the floor beat vs a 7, 11, or 13 step melody only cycles every 4 x n bars. I've been mulling one of the an 808 re-issues, or even investing in a collectors item, and playing this in my browser is removing my excuses for putting it off. Thank you!
I wanna say I first played with ReBirth in 2002/3(?) - I was 12/13 - and that was my introduction to - at least - the 303/808/909.
What's great about these pieces of software, is that just by playing around of them, they are great tools to learn about the fundamentals of synthesis.
The Roland JD-XI is a more recent multi-layered synth that features a whole drum machine, an analog monophonic bass synth, and two polyphonic synths, all attached to a fantastic sequencer. I highly recommend checking that out if anyone is interested in a nice modern hardware equivalent to something like this.
Looks like they partnered with the Counterpoint team on this (https://ctpt.co/)
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I'll try them later at home. Do you think they'll sound as good as the analog counterparts? Hahahaa
It has been a while since I last did music production, but I'm currently so bored of the web development process and it's the year of the tiger so might as well pick up my teen and early 20s love again. My soul demands it
The Flash app in the browser had better performances and stability though. This app panics as soon as one pressed the random button.
The Flash app had effects and more powerful synthesizers and it was 15+ years ago.
Anyone have recommendations? P515? CA59? Other? Clp 745?
What you can do however, is try hooking up Roland FP-30 to a computer and using the computer to generate sounds (so called VST).
I'm visiting relatives for a few weeks, and they happen to have FP-30X (same action), the built in sounds are absolutely god horrid (they are so bad I consider them useless, outside of maybe the rhodes sound), but I'm hooking it to my laptop which has Garritan CFX Concert Grand (full version), Ivory II grand pianos and Pianoteq.
Garritan CFX being the overall most realistic. But you can't go wrong with Ivory II either as it will be a massive upgrade compared to any built in digital piano sounds.
So the full stack would be:
1. The best action you can get (the built in DP sounds don't matter since they are all going to be some gradient of suck anyway)
2. PC with audio interface with very low latency drivers
3. Garritan CFX
I have a YDP-184 [1] that includes the CFX you mentioned. I actually think the weak point in its sound is the acoustics of my room, coupled with the inboard speaker placement.
Then of course there are the Hybrids [2], which I haven't tried myself (and are considerably more than I'm looking to spend as a hobbyist.)
1: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/a...
2: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/d...
I understand and really will think about your suggestion, but I think I will want to choose something that's easy to just sit down and play at.
My current fav is Image-Line's Transistor Bass
So for anyone who dabbles in these instruments, it's a fun toy for about 5 minutes and that's it. I suspect you can't expect anything more out of a promotional piece.
I'm not an authority on the 303, though. I just like to play around with analog gear sometimes.
I've tried getting it to run on Windows 10, but even after all the hacks I could find online, it just doesn't run quite right. It was made in the era of 800x600 resolutions. And even though there's a pixel-doubling patch available, it looks like hot garbage.
Even still, this was a huge part of my music experimentation phase of life. (My youth)
Would love a way to ctrl-z to save myself from myself.
Webaudio has pretty poor performances in general on mobile.