Comment by stef25 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by stef25 | Hacker News Reader

Ah acid ... the sound of the 303 has been with me ever since I got a copy of ReBirth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReBirth_RB-338 from Propellerhead Software back in the 90s. It's a software emulator of 2x TB303, a 909 and an 808 with distortion and delay effects. These instruments were basically the corner stone of dance music in the 80s and 90s and the software was just incredible at the time.

Before that I was using trackers on my dad's amiga but this was something different all together. I spent so many hours playing with this software and even got a Phatboy http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/phatboy.php external midi controller with knobs. This was cutting edge stuff back then.

What's funny is that I discovered the software before I actually started listening to this kind of music, which wasn't easy to find during this time. When I started going out and then discovered acid house and psytrance, recognising the 303 sounds as what came out my little ReBirth program was amazing.

A little know fact is that an Indian artists may have actually "discovered" acid house before Pierre and all those guys did. "Charanjit Singh - Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat" is from 1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN8M2irJVJA

The sound of a 303 is absolutely fascinating, timeless and unique and the "acid" genre is still a live as ever.

Some essential acid tracks

Bam Bam, where's your child https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDyxyRcZWBA, supposedly just 1x 303 is used here and the pattern is pretty intricate.

Jesus loves the acid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhSB_6EQ0DM, apparently it's a 101 being used here, not a 303

Fuse, substance abuse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JonuLqgoQI8

Hardfloor, Acperience (Live on MTV!)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgFGHz5dR7k

System 7 Alphawave, Richie Hawtin rmx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOtCXu6dCE

And here's a full length mix of classic acid tracks https://soundcloud.com/abbeloosolivier/classic-303-acid-patt...

Ah yes, ReBirth! Had a lot of fun with that. A friend of mine once threw a party where ReBirth was the only source of music. The whole night was basically one long communally made acid track. Guests would stroll up to the computer, fiddle with the knobs a bit and the music would slightly change. Good times.

This is like me! ReBirth was pivotal for shifting my computer use from purely gaming to more creative efforts including programming, back in middle school. I’m probably not wrong to say it is has had a huge influence on music software since. I still enjoy using it on the iPad.

Your list is also a good one, I would add this, https://youtu.be/rdfEWFYpYNM

It was amazing to hear Ten Ragas - especially as someone who grew up around Goa Trance. Considering that it’s roughly from the same time as Phuture (even predating it by some years) it is like the lost eastern counterpart to Acid. The music is the interface, the medium is the message, etc.

Ten Ragas was actually before all the acid house if I'm not mistaken. The guy did a European (or maybe even World) tour a few years ago and I saw him play in a small bar.

He appeared quite unenthusiastic, just replaying the kind of stuff he made way back then and probably had a hard time understanding why people found it so incredible. Apart from several 303s he also had a very expensive Jupiter that he was touring with.

Sadly he passed away shortly after the tour.

Yes he was, by about 3 years. The amazing thing is that nobody in the West or even in the Goa party scene of late 80s/early 90s seems to have heard this stuff until it was re-released a few years ago, at least to my knowledge. https://www.discogs.com/Charanjit-Singh-Synthesizing-Ten-Rag...

I did hear about the tour and that exact response, clearly this stuff was in the distant past for him.

It makes wonder who else got their hands on a 303 in the early 80s elsewhere in the world. We keep digging out great African and Middle-eastern records, there may be more to the Acid story.

Hardfloor are masters of the 303. In addition to Acperience, check out their semi-recent track the Art of Acid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OvWMAzhdOQ

Indian track is fascinating, thanks!

Have you tried ReBirth for iPad? It’s a phenomenal and faithful recreation.

I have not, didn't they get removed from the app store due to a complaint from Roland?

If it did, that'd be a damn shame. It was an incredibly well-written and faithfully-ported version of the original.

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