Plugin Boutique is offering the Roland TB-303 synth plugin at 67% off its regular price, bringing it down to $49 from $149. The deal runs until March 8th in celebration of 303 Day.
The TB-303 hardware was released by Roland in 1981 as a substitute for the bass guitar. We all know the rest of the story. It failed at its original purpose but found its real audience years later when producers discovered it on the secondhand market and started using it in ways Roland never intended.
It became one of the most iconic hardware synths and led to the creation of acid house, a genre built almost entirely around the 303’s characteristic resonant filter sweep and sequenced bass lines.
There are numerous 303 hardware and software clones out there, some more successful than others, but obviously, the official software recreation from Roland themselves has the most credibility.
Roland’s own TB-303 software version uses Analog Circuit Behavior modeling to replicate the original circuit’s sound, and this is probably as close to an official emulation as you’re going to get, given that it comes from the manufacturer of the original hardware.
The plugin covers the original controls faithfully, including Tuning, Cutoff Frequency, Resonance, Env Mod, Decay, and Accent knobs, along with a waveform switch between sawtooth and square.
However, Roland added a hidden panel (the Secret Panel) that adds parameters not present on the original hardware.
These hidden features include VCF Trim for adjusting the filter’s frequency range, a Condition knob that simulates the tonal variations caused by age and unit-to-unit inconsistencies in the original hardware, Master Tune, and an onboard effects section with drive (Type, Tone, Depth) and delay (Type, Time, Level, with tempo sync).
The sequencer has been updated quite a bit from the original’s famously cryptic step-entry system. The graphical Edit Window displays the bass line and allows you to input and edit 16-step patterns with accents, slides, octave shifts, and pitch per step.
Patterns support up to eight variations, and you can rotate or transpose a pattern, adjust the last step to change pattern length, and drag MIDI or audio data directly into your DAW.
The Randomize functions (Generate and Modify) produce new patterns based on configurable parameters for Pitch, Gate, Accent, Slide, and a definable scale and key range. Play modes include Forward, Reverse, Fwd & Rev, Invert, and Random.
The plugin can hold 64 patterns and 64 patches per bank, with no limit on the number of banks. It ships with 32 preset patterns and 48 preset patches.
I also like that MIDI Learn is supported for most controls, and the plugin can be configured to use the Roland TB-03 or TB-3 hardware as a control surface.
Activation requires an internet connection and a Roland Cloud account. The plugin is available in VST, AU, and AAX formats for macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later and Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit).
As a nice Plugin Boutique bonus, a free copy of Riffer by Audiomodern is included with purchase.
Download: Roland TB-303 Software Bass Line ($49 until March 8)
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Last Updated on March 3, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
