ROLAND TB 303 vs BEHRINGER TD3

Comparison starts at 1min.

A comparison video for the Roland TB 303 and the Behringer TD3. I think it's fair to say at this price and how it sounds the Behringer TD-3 is a great 303 clone.

For me the down side is having the original sequencer. It's a real pain though there is a software editor which helps.

There was no processing on the two 303s.

If you like this sort of thing, I do short music and gear vids on instagram.

[RobyUanKeRoby]

Best comparison ever!! And i agree, soundwise Behringer did a massive goood job! MORE ACID FOR EVERYBODY!!!! Subscribed at your channel, keep on with this vids!

[robjanssen]

Cool trick I read on a forum: generate a random pattern by pressing Clear + Start/Stop. If you like the rhythm in the random pattern but not the notes, set it to Pitch mode, and tap in only the pitches you want to kind of force it into a scale. If you like the notes it generated, but not the rhythm, set it to Time Mode and give it the timing you want. This is a great way to get a lot of patterns really quickly while not ending up with useless random mush. It's also something that's only possible if time and pitch are separate :)

[ultralife]

I just bought a completely unused second-hand td-3, for about 70 euros. Was looking for a comparison to the original 303 and man, Behringer NAILED it. Roland were fools to not do this themselves. Could have let Uli produce it and ask 500 for it, it would sell like hotcakes. Great job Behringer!

[davidhrivnak]

This is an excellent comparison! I've been right on the edge of buying a real 303 so many times over the years, but I always ended up deciding that I couldn't justify spending that much money for one specific sound when I could get so close to it with my other synths. Not having access to that exact sound always haunted me though, and I was surprised when Behringer came out with such an accurate clone. I'm not surprised they made one, but it's so good! One of my favorite things about the original 303 is how it sounds when it bubbles beneath a very low and restrained filter cutoff, but my TD-3 was a little too bright and didn't go all the way there until I adjusted the internal filter cutoff trimpot. Now it's absolutely perfect IMHO YMMV

[MrHarney]

At last a comparison where the levels are right ..thank you

[bca]

I've had the TD-3 for a week or two, and have to say that I quite enjoy the archaic, original-style sequencer. Sure, it's insane, but A) it adds a fun challenge, B) because of the fact that it's so difficult to control, it opens the door wide open to happy accidents, C) most of the time the patterns end up more interesting then if there were a straight-forward sequencing method, and D) I get to feel a sense of comradery with our acid forefathers who prevailed in creating magic with the same sequencer

[ewkalt]

"some people swear by it, i only just swear at it" hahahaha

[DidgeTunes]

One of my past colleagues sold an original TB-303 for £10 in a garage sale. She thought it was just a teenagers beatbox toy !!!
Behringer did a fantastic job matching those tones, and you did a great job demonstrating them.

[CinematicLaboratory]

I am really happy Behringer is doing a 'galaxy class' attack of the clones. Can't wait to get the 2600.

[jasonsoditch]

Thanks for the excellent video! I noticed the bottom end on the behringer still sounds quite hefty as you increase the resonance, whereas the original 303 loses some weight and sounds more thin. If my ears aren’t deceiving me, that’s a big selling point and I’m that much closer to buying one.

[levvasilets]

finally, 303 costs the same price as it did at the beginning

[ryanmoran]

Wow, I can't believe how bloody bang-on the TD-3 I was not expecting it to be that close!!! Great comparison video! Thank you.

[JesusGreenBL]

Thank you! I've been waiting from day 1 for someone to do a side by side with a 303 that was more of a screamer. Further proof of what I was saying since day 1, that really Behringer nailed the sound, they just set that VCF offset trimpot a bit high. I've been saying if you put it next to a screamer 303, you might find it matches, or that the 303 even ends up being brighter. Here you've demonstrated that.

You mention having another darker 303. If you get that one fixed, you should record the same sequence and knob adjustments 4x: once on the screamer 303, once on this TD-3, once on the darker 303, and then once on this TD-3 but with the trimpot adjusted darker. Post it on an audio forum thread about the TD-3, but don't tell anyone which is which. Watch as everyone claims the two darker ones are the two 303s. 😂

[RoXx]

The Roland TB-303 sometimes sounds a little more delicate and defined in low- and topend especially the resonant filter "chirping".
It has a little more extra at some points in this video. Of course not even two TB-303 would sound the same.
But all in all the TD-3 sounds exceptionally good especially considering its price. What a bargain! It's an absolute no-brainer.
I'm loving mine as well :)

[JackAcid]

I have both two, and the TB03, and I think Behringer have done a great job. It's great fun and is absolutely bang on sonically, in my opinion. Brining acid back to the masses. As it should be.

[DJAxcess]

Been an owner of a TB-303 for around 20 years now and a TD-3 owner for a month. Haven't had my hands on my real 303 in quite a while because it's sent out for repairs and modification, but from what I heard on my TD-3 and in your comparison video, it was a no-brainer to pre-order the TD-3 after the presentation. It's getting closer than any other synth and softsynth I tried. If Robin really starts doing Devil Fish modifications for the TD-3, I might go for another one and get that one modified as well (if I can afford another Devil Fish until then). Thanks for taking the time to do the video and have a merry christmas and a happy new year.

[djstephennicholls]

Unless you have replaced all the capacitors and transitors in the original which are almost 40 years old, out of spec and probably leaking, it will never sound the same as the newer clones. This is were everyone gets it wrong with comparisons saying it doesn't sound quite like the original. Even 2 original 303's won't sound exactly the same. And after all your eq carving and brickwall decimation in todays dreadful audio mastering processes the original is not even gonna sound like the original. Also at least behringer listens to its customers unlike over priced Roland who didn't even make their new clones analogue!

[makromizer]

So true, exactly my impression. Almost too good of a clone, I would easily have forgiven them for not cloning the sequencer so well. And the genuine plasticky feel... tolerable but I wouldn't have insisted on it either. Then again, it likely contributes to the amazingly low price.
Honestly, can't really fault Behringer for it, we asked for a clone and that is what we got. Plus the almost mandatory distortion unit, a cleaner signal and full MIDI/USB controllability of sequencing parameters (not knobs though, which would required motorized dials for its pot based voltage control).

[pupdiogenes]

The original Roland has that extra presence *because* it is noisier. The good news is that with the Behringer's aux input, you can mix a little bit of noise in with the osc to give the filters and distortion more to bite onto.

[eugeneismyname]

great job, mate. very strong face-to-face comparison. and i am pretty astonished by the sound. this is the first real case for me not recognizing any difference in a blindtest