after spending some time with this guy...

I really love it. I don't miss the extra sequencer functionality of the bass bot and the sound to my ear is good if not spot on. TB303s vary anyway. It distorts better than the bassbot with the inbuilt ds1 or a stomp or even a plugin. Knobs are not too stiff or too loose. Slide and accent feel good to my ears. Clock sync is easy to set and works great from all 3 sources. Even takes start/stop messages well over USB from a DAW. I really see myself selling my bassbot and xoxbox and getting a few more of these. the form factor is traditional like the bassbot mk1 I have so I'll actually be saving space as well as money. I don't think I'll sell my freebass as it fits in a rack and has blendable saw and square... and has shit resale. I'll do a little more comparison, but my son and I made a cool little acid loop last night layering 2 tracks of TD3 (I did the 1st pass, he did the 2nd) and its working for me. My unit's distortion is not terribly noisy at full gain, although the whole unit has a smidge of self-noise. If I recall that's true of originals though.... the self noise is a smidge higher than the bassbot and xox, but you have to really listen for it. More apparent on headphones with the td3 soloed. At less than the price of a traditional 'dinner and a movie' date? Uli's 303 clone is a no-brainer. If you just want the classic in the traditional form factor with no bells and whistles apart from MIDI, CV/gate outs, analog clock in and a DS1 then this is for you. Roland won't make another one so hats of to Behringer for making a cheap little 303 that does the business well enough for most people's needs. Nothing against the TB3 and TB03 roland, but you went digital and added features, inflated the price beyond plugin pricing.... meh. Is it dead on? I dunno, I don't have access to a 303 anymore, but its great in its own right and versus the xox/bassbot/roland buy in its a no-brainer if you wanna do some acid. And yes, I'm sure the Avalon is spot on, but its more than 10 times the cost and in the mix you'll never care.

My only concern is build quality, but its not like cyclone didn't resort to SMDs and cheap pots so in the affordable clone game this is still the clear winner. If it dies I can afford another one noproblem.

She screams like a 40 year old when you twist her knobs...

I've lusted quite some time to get my hands on a real 303 but paying over a 1000€ for a handful of 40 year old electronic parts, packaged in cheap -and by now smudged- plastic, was never really an option.

And to be honest, I was quite skeptical when Behringer announced they would make a cheap 303-clone as Roland convinced us it could no longer be done at a reasonable cost when they churned out those ugly, green Aira things... But when Behringer recently announced the Devil Fish (MO) versions and prices dropped below a 100€ for a brand new 303-clone, I could no longer resist...

And to be honest, I was still quite skeptical when she finally arrived and I unboxed her... She felt very light and fragile as if she was made out of the cheapest plastic you could find. But I quickly realised that Uli probably got it spot on when comparing her to the real thing :-) At least mine was not smudged by those filthy fatty fingers that have been touching her over the years...

But boy was I in for a big surprise... and never was I more glad proven to be wrong!

And what a joy to twiddle her knobs... What a raw sound she produced! Screaming, squeaking, grunting... Putting an instant grin on my face!

And what a pain the sequencer is! Just like original... Sometimes I think it would have been better if Behringer would have improved the sequencer (like some of the other clones out there did) but, then again, it's part of the charm of the original 303 and it invites you to make the "happy mistakes" that undoubtedly gave us some of our favorite, classic tunes. I know that it already improved some of mine unintentionally :-)

Does it sound a 100% identical to an original 303? Probably not... Most likely only 99.5%, according to purist. But who cares? Who will tell the difference, especially in a mix? But perhaps we should compare them again in 40 years...

Did I had an awful lot of fun? Absolutely! I haven't had as much fun twiddling knobs for 99€, except the time I took those twins to... Nevermind, they must be 40 years by now as well, screaming just as vigorously of pure joy and pleasure! Only this baby is younger, cheaper, better looking, more reliable and will still last for quite some time... and will backup over USB.

Preferred Settings + Usage:

Next best thing to the real thing

I'll likely never own an actual Roland TB-303, but for my budget, this does the job perfectly, and cheap enough that I could buy 2 of them. There may be some subtle differences in the sound, but that's also true between individual TB-303s. When it comes down to it, what matters most is not whether it's an exact duplicate of the 303, but what it sounds like and what it's capable of in its own right. And in that respect, it's an acid machine, with the full range and capabilities of a 303, plus the added benefit of MIDI and a USB connection for easy programming, and saving and loading sequences. I have yet to find anything about it that warrants criticism, though I haven't used it that much yet. I've heard criticisms from others, that seem legitimate, but don't correspond to my own experience.

90's Acid Trance is alive and well!

This little box sounds amazing. While I've never used a TD-303, I've heard plenty on records, and I'd say this is super close right out of the box!

A few points: 1) The TD-3 sounds like 90% of the original TB-303, but lacks some of the original's squelchier tones. However, with the TD-3's included distortion circuit, it makes up for it and can covers more, albeit different, sonic ground than the TB-303.

2) It's just as hard to program as the original, but with using the free Behringer SynthTribe software, it becomes much easier– the software includes an intuitive visual sequencer.

3) The TD-3 will create random patterns, too– something the TB-303 didn't offer (afaik). In addition, there is a convenient and free website: https://303patterns.com/#initial-setup that offers a visual sequencer as well as random pattern generator.

Bottom line – Is it worth it? YES! For $109-149, depending, the TD-3 is well worth the price, and in an improvement on the original– it's available in a rainbow of colors!

So far... NOT a TB, but awesome nonetheless

Just opened it up and connected it to my studio this weekend. Overall the sound quality is great for the price. It does not sound like a TB-303, but I do feel like it has it's own personality, and if you like that acid sound, this is a better option than paying multiple thousands of dollars for the original. The added distortion is noisy through my mixer, but adds that grit that everyone loves from a TB-303 run through distortion.

It's a lot of fun.

I've never wanted a 303, just didn't see anything like this fitting my style, but this was so cheap I bought one and it's a lot of fun!

You don't have to make acid with. The squarewave is square but can get funky, especially if you drop some acid on it. The sawwave is buzzy like a saw. It doesn't smell bad. It's small and plastic and a piece of crap to program. But that crappy programming actually makes for some interesting happy accidents. Playing with this makes me want an MC-202. Thanks Obama.

Silverbox for president!

Clone of the one and only acid machine, the Roland TB-303 with a very high fun factor. Ah, and an extra distortion section. Very cool!

It’s Acid man.

Well I ain’t gonna shell out for an OG, and I probably ain’t gonna be as lucky who found one in an original box in a skip. So, this one does the job, and they have done a great job. That price too!

Mine is Red.