To say that Robin has modified the 303 would be an understatement. The fact is he has virtually re-invented it. At a glance you notice an array of knobs and writing, foreign to the standard unit, and upon further inspection realise that there are a multitude of extra inputs in the back as well, not to mention the word DEVILFISH with a flashing red eye in huge print stamped on the top.

The numerous new controls and features have a huge impact on the sound of the machine. Where the original TB-303 is flat and fairly dry, the Devilfish is thick, deep and warm, producing sounds that contain not only depth, but a clinical sharpness and clarity. Imagine the best acid line you've ever heard, and give it a fatness boost of 200% and you start to capture the essence of the Devilfish. The magnificent sound of classic filters and electronics under extreme duress.

Creating this sound is not a simple task though, the Devilfish has a total of thirteen knobs and three switches. Firstly an Overdrive Pot has been added, controlling the level of oscillator signal fed to the filter. A Slide Time Pot allows you to change the slide time from 60 to 360ms, as opposed to the standard set 60ms. A Soft Attack Pot varies the attack time between 0.3ms and 30ms, a vast improvement on the standard TB-303 where there is a typical 4 ms delay and then a 3 ms attack time.

A Decay Pot gives a controllable decay time between 16ms and 3 seconds to the Volume Envelope Generator (VEG) whilst the Normal Decay and Accent Decay Pots both give a range of 30ms and 3 seconds to the Main Envelope Generator (MEG). What does this do? When used with the standard resonance pot you can accentuate the distinctive acidee "wow" upward filter sweep at the start of accented notes. This sweep circuit can be disabled at any time with the Accent Sweep Switch.

In the standard TB-303, the resonance pot drives a special circuit to pulse the filter frequency on accentuated notes. The resonance pot sends either a direct pulse to the filter, or sends the signal through a "lag" circuit giving the distinctive "wapp" sound. The Devilfish has a Sweep Speed Switch, allowing three modes available., fast, normal and slow. When these modes are used with the resonance and Accent Decay pots, the result is a different series of accents on short consecutive notes. The accent sweep circuit can be disabled with a Acc Sweep Hi Resonance Switch set to it's lowest position whilst this switch in other positions can double the usual feedback allowing the filter to self oscillate.

Now if all of this isn't enough and you want that extra value for your hard earned dollar, wait, there's more........

A Filter Tracking Pot enables the filter frequency to track the note being played. The range is from 0 through to normal to over tracking. A Filter FM Pot frequency modulates the filter frequency with the audio output of the VCA, and finally a three position Muffler Switch affects the output of the VCA and provides two types of muted clipping. The effect is a softening of the loudest extremes of the sound and an introduction of a moderate level square wave clipping buzz whilst allowing the bass to pass unaffected.

I must add that all of the normal TB-303 operations are still possible including the extremely well known "acid" type filter sweeps. And if that's still not enough, check this out. You can plug any of your studio equipment into the Devilfish and use it's filters and processing capabilities. If you thought you liked your electric guitar fed through a Boss distortion pedal then think again, the Devilfish will blow your mind.

Does your brain hurt trying to digest all of this?.......... mine does! What does it sound like you ask? The short answer is amazing. The first thing you notice is THE BASS ! - 32Hz is now up by 4dB, that's nearly double the volume. Once you stop drooling, and play with other features, you discover that all the sounds have a definitve produced quality, and seem to leap out at you.

The new sonic possibilities of the Devil fish allow a 14 dimensional space within which to mould a sound. It is the tweekers delight, and if you are the type to sit, twiddle and explore then there is no end to the musical possibilities the Devilfish can offer you. Robin advises to use with extreme caution. This little sucker pushes out such a high intensity signal that he warns "Devil Fish sounds may be seductive and powerful. Minor problems are small household items being vibrated so as to fall from shelves, more serious is the level of sound you can subject your ears to without realising it."

Well Mr Whittle, you've won me. What a monster of a machine. If Roland would only discover this guy, I'm sure they would have the TB-303 Devilfish version on the market in no time flat, hopefully at the original 1982 price of A$395.......(sigh)......one can only dream.

Craig Obey

You can View Robin's website www.firstpr.com.au and look for the Devilfish pages or e-mail Robin on: rw@firstpr.com.au