r/303 • u/simeonsoden • Jul 03 '26

FAT Freebass FB383 analogue synth tutorial, review, sound demos: is this a good Roland TB-303 clone?

https://youtu.be/kLFkmOaVM54?is=ip273JtRT-PuHtxc
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u/simeonsoden Jul 03 '26

I've been really liking the FAT Freebass FB383 analogue TB303 clone again (even if staying in tune is more of an aspiration than guarantee with this thing). It’s fully analogue and the filter does all the good self oscillating squelchy things you want from a 303 even if it does lack a sequencer (slides and accents can be triggered with MIDI). Some sources claim it's a fairly faithful clone of a TB-303, not sure how valid that is though. For those outside the UK wondering, this synth is just a MAM MB33 with a different paint job. You can also feed audio into this synth and use it as a MIDI triggered enveloped / gated filter, which is kinda cool! Had this set up recently for some acid parts (ofc) and it’s been fun using this synth again so I thought I'd make a video on it - hope you enjoy :)

Chapters:
00:00 - review, background info and basic features (incl. how it differs from a "real" 303 and other clones)
07:58 - Programming sounds (pt1. VCO and tuning)
10:20 - Programming sounds (pt2. filter and envelope)
12:24 - Programming sounds (pt3. Accent and slide)
15:47 - Programming sounds (pt4. Using the filter's external audio input)
21:07 - Sound demo 1 - the synth in a track with no effects on it
23:02 - Sound demo 2 - the synth used in a track through an overdrive pedal

some more info on mods:
https://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/FREEBASS.html

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u/OpziO Jul 03 '26

I had it back in the day, never really got on with it. But I do own the MAM MB33 which I believe is a descendant, and I think that’s great.

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u/simeonsoden Jul 03 '26

yeah I wasn't super enamoured with it at first, but if you spend a bit of time getting into the mind set of programming the MIDI like a 303 and use the slides etc you can get some some cool stuff out of it! I believe the MB33 (mark I) is the same synth in a desktop box, MB383 Mark II is a little different though! The desktop form factor is deffo a lot more convenient either way though!