When I was a teenager I saw a guy named Bob Kilpatrick perform on stage at a youth camp I was at. He had only his acoustic guitar and two little silver plastic machines that he called his backup band. One of the machines I was familiar with was the Roland TR-606 drummatix drum machine. I knew about it because one of my friends had one and I had lots of fun programming drum patterns on it so we could jam to them when we played guitar. The other box was a Roland TB-303 which is highly sought after and revered as THE "acid" techno groove box to have. Both of these analog rhythm boxes gave me my first taste of playing with electronic music machines.
The TB-303 would later become very valuable. I've seen some of these things priced at $2500+ to this day! I suppose the reason for the demand is that these are classic analog synths and those sounds are wonderful to those in the know. When I saw that Audiorealism had released technoBox, complete with TB-303 and the ultra-popular TR-808 and 909 drum sounds and a built-in sequencer, I knew I had to try it out. I'd love to have those three rhythm machines right in my pocket to play with at any time!
technoBox has an ultra modern looking "blackout" display. It looks daunting at first but clicking the "i" button will bring up a list of parameters including a Manual. If you've never used the real TB/TR series rhythm machines, you may be confused when you first see the interface. While the UI is graphically appealing, it is a step based programming sequencer rather than a visual one with a fully laid out grid but it stays true to the original devices it emulates. On the bass side of things (303), it's also step programming but by using a small keyboard with an octave layout.
Programming the 303 was never easy to learn and this app tries to stay true to the original machines that it emulates. For some that might be cool but to others it might be a big drawback. I don't mind the UI at all. Layout in a bassline is done in steps and not in real time. Once you program the bassline, you can change any of the many filters in realtime to create the funky, squishy sounds that the 303 is know for. Check out the video to see what I'm talking about.
Programming the drum side was easier. Simply select either the 808 or 909 patches, then select your drum sound you want and place your beats along the 16 step grid. It takes a bit of getting used to, but folks that have played with the real old skool drum machines will feel right at home. The best part is that you can use BOTH 808 and 909 at the same time but only in different patterns. Check out this demo to see how you can program the drums and bass on the fly.
I might add that hearing technoBox on the small speaker in your iPhone or iPod Touch is not really the way to go. If this is the only way you're listening, you are missing out! Hooking it up to a good audio system or some good headphones really delivers the awesome power of the 303!
For the future, I wish that technoBox would allow an interface where you could play a bassline into it live using the keyboard instead of having to press the individual step editor. Other than that, I think technoBox is a fantastic toy box of old skool beat box synths. I cannot wait to see what they do next with it. technoBox is available at the iTunes App Store for $9.99.
When I was a teenager I saw a guy named Bob Kilpatrick perform on stage at a youth camp I was at. He had only his acoustic guitar and two little silver plastic machines that he called his backup band. One of the machines I was familiar with was the Roland TR-606 drummatix drum machine. I knew about it because one of my friends had one and I had lots of fun programming drum patterns on it so we could jam to them when we played guitar. The other box was a Roland TB-303 which is highly sought after and revered as THE "acid" techno groove box to have. Both of these analog rhythm boxes gave me my first taste of playing with electronic music machines.
, complete with TB-303 and the ultra-popular TR-808 and 909 drum sounds and a built-in sequencer, I knew I had to try it out. I'd love to have those three rhythm machines right in my pocket to play with at any time!
