As you may have heard from FutureMusic perviously, Behringer has been teasing a 303 clone. Well, today the company made it official by announcing the TD-3 in three different colorways.
The Behringer TD-3 BassLine analog synthesizer and sequencer is the company’s take on the famed Roland TB-303. The little silver box that started a global movement and is still popular to this day. Behringer claims the TD-3 is an authentic reinterpretation of the classic 303, with an all-analog signal path, a 16-step sequencer, transistor wave-shaping circuitry, a built-in arpeggiator, and a four-pole resonant low-pass filter.
Behringer TD-3 Features:
» Bass Line synthesizer with true analog circuitry for bass and acid sounds
» Authentic reproduction of original circuitry with matched transistors
» Analog signal path based on Roland TB-303 VCO, VCF and VCA designs
» Sawtooth and square waveform VCO with transistor wave-shaping circuitry
» 4-pole low-pass resonant filter with cut-off, resonance, envelope, decay and accent controls
» 16-step sequencer with 7 tracks, each with 250 user patterns
» Arpeggiator with wide patterns for sound effects
» Distortion circuitry modeled after the DS-1
» 16-voice Poly Chain allows combining multiple synthesizers for up to 16 voice polyphony
» 11 controls and 28 switches to give you direct and real-time access to all important parameters
» MIDI and USB implementation with MIDI channel and Voice Priority selection
» 3-Year Warranty Available
Like Behringer has done with their other reissues, the TD3 adds a few choice modern features to enhance the classic sound. First off, the unit contains a separate distortion processor, lifted from their DS-1 stomp pedal to add grit and growl to the original sound. Unfortunately, they didn’t change the cumbersome programming, which retains the painful pattern programming with the TD-3’s onboard 16-step 7-track sequencer, to keep it retro. However, they did add MIDI implementation, so you can program your acid lines with ease in your DAW. Using the TD3’s interface, you can compose your patterns in Step mode or use Keyboard mode to play and record them in real time. The TD3 allow you to save up to 250 user patterns and chain them together into “songs.”
This latest release is yet another classic synth that Behringer has cloned and brought to market with a modern approach. Behringer has been very aggressive on this front, premiering synth after synth at a price point that commands notice. Some will be enamored by the approach and celebrate the affordability, while others will quickly dismiss Behringer’s market strategy. Whatever the side of the fence you fall on is immaterial in the fact that Behringer is making analog synthesis more obtainable to the masses and adding enough enhancements to give the classics a more current approach to synthesis.
Behringer’s TD-3 will street at $149* — No shipping date has been confirmed. (Be advised Sweetwater Sound is the only USA store to have preorder open for the TD3, HOWEVER, this store has changed the price of the unit THREE TIMES during the preorder phase ($150 >> $199.99 >> $149.99.) We have contacted Sweetwater about the continued price discrepancies, but were only told “they would get back to us” (no response yet) and that “we should get our order in as soon as possible” (unctuous sales pitch). According to our friends at Behringer, you should not pay more than $149.99.
Behringer
