Fat Freebass Fb383 Manual Treadmill
One of the many TB303 clones manufactured in the last thirty years, the MAM FB383 was also sold under the FAT brand name & distributed by the Turnkey Shop.
MAM MB33 The MAM MB-33 comes in two models. Both 1U rackmounting, the standard model recieves midi note data, and the Mk-2 model has controller send/recieve added for realtime control of all the pots, plus distortion control.It's a reasonably close 303 clone, pretty much as good as any clone on the market.The advertising blurb says that the MB33 has been designed to have to closest sound possible to the original TB303. Well there ya go. It's as i said as close as any of the clones, none of which really get there, but in most situations, the better clones are almost indistinguishable from a real 303 depending on the programme material once it's in the mix. Honestly, no two real 303's sound the same either.
There can be quite alot of variation between different units. Usually not that much, but there can be a difference.anyhow. Not alot to say. Standard 303 controls are duplicated. With the addition of a fader pot to fade between saw & square wave, the same as on the FAT Freebass unit. It's quite a good feature that.Incidently, there is some talk that the FAT unit is actually a Mb unit. Dunno.they do sound close.
Both excellent value for money. But anyway, accent is switched in via midi velocity control over 120, and the slide is automatic when you play legato mode.here's the spec's.VCOAnalogue VCO with sawtooth and square waveformsFILTERAnalogue 24bB filter with variable resonance.ENVEnvelope has variable decay and is used to modulate the filter cut-off. There is a separate preset envelope for the VCA (as with the TB303).ACCENTNotes will be accented when a velocity level over 120 is playedThe back of the unit has audio out, midi in & out, and also an audio input to process external audio signals.
There is also some dip switches to set the midi channel. There is a second more expensive model, which add's full midi control for all the control knobs, plus distortion control.check out the small RA file of the unit.Product Manuals or Files.
Product: MAM - MB33Name: narcoticEmail: Email supplied but hiddenActivity: ProfessionalDate: 19-Jan-99Isnt anyone tired of straight emulation pieces yet!Sure the mb-303 sounds an aweful lot like the real thing, its acually rather impressive. But who cares.Just when i thought the real thing was about to be phased out somone had to go and create this thing.To me, the sound of the 303 inhibits musical growth and progression. And the way its being used these days defies what electronic music means to me, to push sonic boundries, to create new sound-scapes and textures and most importantly, to progress. Thank-you.but alas i give the MB a 4 out of 5 purely for its accurate emulation and not its integrity as a musical insturment.Product rating out of 5:. Product: MAM - MB33Name: OctaveCatEmail: Email supplied but hiddenActivity: ProfessionalDate: 20-Oct-00Actually I just bought the MAM MB 33 II and it's really good.
Doesn't sound exactly like a real 303, but has it's own character. The resonance sounds pretty good when distorted with a distortion pedal. Note: this model usues a 18 db low pass filter - so sounds warm and phat. The thing sells for like $ 200 USD and it is a complete steal for a techno/electronic musician. This is the poor man's 303 made in Germany!Product rating out of 5:. Product: MAM - MB33Name: optikEmail: Email supplied but hiddenActivity: part-timerDate: 16-Nov-00I HAD A CHANCE TO PLAY WITH A MB33MK2.I ACUTALY ORDERED A VF11 VOCODER AND THEY SENT ME A MB33 BY MISTAKE.
I PLAYED WITH IT FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE I SENT IT BACK. IT SOUNDED GREAT, PHAT, AND SQUELCHY. I HAVE NOT USED A REAL 303 BEFORE. DONT KNOW HOW TO COMPARE THEM. BUT IT HAD A SOUND I REALY LIKED. I AM GOING TO ORDER ONE ASAP.
INFACT I WANT A COUPLE OF THEM TO PLAY POLYPHONIC SEQUENCES (BY SENDING A DIFFERENT SEQUENCE TO EACH ONE). THEY ARE MONOPHONIC, BUT WILL RECIECE POLYPHONIC INFO, THAT SENDS IT INTO A SORT OF SHUFFLE PANIC OR SOMETHING.THAT CAN RESULT IN SUPA DOPE UNEXPECTED SOUNDS.
I DID NOT EVERE SET UP THE AUDIO IN ALTHOUGH, BUT THE MK2 WILL ACCEPT AUDIO INPUT TO GO THROUGH ALL THE FILTERS. NOT ONLY IS A SYNTH BUT A FX PROCESSER. I CONTROLED IT WIHT A DR202. BUT DID NOT TRY TO RECORD MIDI KNOB CHANGES. I DONT THINK MY 202 CAN DO THAT. BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE I CAN RECORD KNOB CHANGES INTO A SEQUENCER.
I AM LOOKING FOR A GOOD SIMPLE SEQUENCER THAT WILL ALOW THIS.MAM MAKES THE FAT FREEBASS AS WELL AS THE NEXT SPASSBASS 3.3 AND 4.4. AND I THINK ONE MORE.
THE DIFFERANCE IS THE MK1 TO THE MK2. A EXTRA SWITCH OR TWO AND COMPLETE MIDI SPEC.SUM IT UP: GREAT BASS SYNTH WITH UNLIMITED SOUNDS (KEEP TWISTEN KNOBS).
A GREAT PRICE.CONTACT MICKEY SELTZER @ MAM AMERICA. TELL HIM I SENT YOU. CHRIS SLOAN UTAH.Product rating out of 5:. Product: MAM - MB33Name: Biting EyeEmail: Email supplied but hiddenActivity: ProfessionalDate: 07-Jul-04Well, after comparing it to all of my moogs, and all my roland analogs, I would have to say it is the closest thing to a real 303 that I have found, easy to use for all you first timers, and still good enough for all you dedicated musicians. Great value for money, and at that price they are cheap enough to chop into pieces and stick them in your tacky digital grooveboxes so you can take em on the road with you. I will add more when I have messed around with it a bit internally, hey if you want any synth to sound good, you gotta take it apart and operate on it's vital organs, you know, give it that tender touch that it didn't get at the factory.Anyway, mods coming soon, but as is, the MB33 will bite the eyes of any digital synth out there, and some old analog ones too.Product rating out of 5:. Product: MAM - MB33Name: TuneFreakEmail: Email supplied but hiddenActivity: part-timerDate: 14-Feb-08I just got it from ebay, This thing rocks.
But you can easily feel the difference of 24dB low pass filter. Anyway, after tried to sequence it in MC 303 I wasn't very happy.
Than I tried Ableton Live & Renoise - With pc sequencer MB33 is a REAL MONSTER. You can try to send signal through distortion or other effects than You won't change it for anything else. (Sorry for my eng).Product rating out of 5:.
Add your comments here for the product:'MAM MB33'Looking for the manual? - Check this page above under the heading: 'Product manual or files' - We might have it!Your Name. required field!Your Email.
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Category: Products / synth / new analog mono
Added: 17-Dec-98 Author: admin
New price: £ 129 (only from Turnkey in the UK) S/H price: £ 100 ish
Company Link: No company link
F.A.T FB-383
Well..here's another midi/analog monosynth in the 303 imitator posse..!!..Advertised as the only authentic TB 303 clone (er...don't they all ?!)..it's fairly close.. at least it's more squelchy than the Deep Bass 9...(check the review)..But of course, nothing sounds like a real TB.. But.. It does a 303 type sound as do all the others...
The main difference with this module, is that the waveform is variable between Sawtooth & Square wave..So if the Select Wave control is at 12 O'clock..then you get a mix, which sounds quite interesting...
Like the Deep Bass 9, this Freebass unit has an external input..so you can process external signals..
All the controls of the original 303 are duplicated..Cutoff..Resonance..Envelope Mod'..Accent (accent is switched in for midi notes with velocity over 100)...Tune & decay...also, like the DB9, this unit DOESN'T have a potamento switch on the unit..(groan !)..so it's midi control number 64 if you want to add 'Slide' to the sound...NONE of the controls are controllable via midi, and this unit outputs NO controller data via midi either.. I just had to double check that.. originally the Distributor told me it did recieve data...sorry...
Well..there's not alot more to say..This unit again doesn't really get the 303 sound..but it comes pretty close.. closer than the DB9, especially for the top end stuff.... in a mix it is very convincing, especially when you remember the price you paid
I would say that it sounds better for the Square wave stuff, (it sounds pretty hollow)...but again..no way it cuts through you like a 303...Also the Freebass has the variable waveform selector..so it's more versatile soundwise than the DB9..Best check it for yourself..See..these units are set in the factory to an optimum setting for the filter & resonance master settings..So you can usually get inside them, and get tweaking with a screwdriver to tune into just the filter range you want..All in all an excellent value for money unit given the further reduced, measley price of £ 129 inc. vat...They should be an even better bargain if you can find one secondhand.
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Category: Products / synth / new analog mono
Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Kilo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
Excellent cheap little synth for analog style bass/synth lines etc..
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: TheBaA!
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
..like this better than the 303, honestly..
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: kilo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
yup.. I was over visiting 'Time & Space', and Hamish uses it alot and was really raving about how good it was...He does alot of remixing, and says it's great..he also said that the 303 emulation was pretty good in the context of a mix..
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: rob.
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99
hi..
i see turnkey is parting with these for
£129 at the moment; thumbs up, (get it?) or
thumbs down, (keep saving!)
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: steve griffiths
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99
I`ve owned my freebass for about 3 days now..absolutely blinding..a lot of people give it about 3 out of 5 for 303 emulation..I`ve been d.j.`ing / listening to 303 based music for about 9 years and for the price I`d say this deserves 10 out of 10 !
Overdrive the output a bit and it sounds even better !
Great 'hands on approach'..love it !
Write a bass line, sample it.then overlay another ad infinitum !
Thanks to Turnkey for their excellent assistance.
Stevie [speedy] G.
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Rod
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99
Does it sound as real as Rebirth??
Should I buy a multi-IO sound card and a faster PC so I can run Rebirth and Cubase simultaneously, or get one of these babies??
Rod.
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: BUDDA-X
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99
Well.. i just bourght a FB-383, and it sounds pretty good ( for its price ), but we all know how to turn the knobs, so lets take a look on the DCF external input, try to plugin you toy keyboard and give it all analoug filtering!
( Fucking JUNO 106 sound! )
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Mark Bower
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
This little silver box is pretty damn close to the original (I've both) and if you drive it 'properly' (i.e. pretend you're programming a real 303 with its nasty little user interface in your Logic/Cubase/Whatever editor) it can sound exactly like a real 303 - bearing in mind that not many 'real' 303's sound the same anyhow - I had two 'real' ones before that sounded completly different (different filter rates, slide speed, bass response etc).
To correct some points in the review though: Slide is actived for legato notes (not controller 64). ie. overlapping notes which makes it a doddle to add slides to a riff, and Notes over velocity 120 trigger accent (meaning you can easily program accents, and more importantly, slid accents).
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Minister
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99
The higher notes sound fucking GREAT! Exactly like the real 303.
The deep notes on the other lacks some bass, i think.
Still, its a great bass, especially considering the price.
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Crashforce
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
Pretty good. I use it all the time on my records.
Does anybody know how to tune up the resonance more ie has
anybody don it yet?
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: DaveD
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99
Great bit of gear .. just add distortion!
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Niall Coghlan
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99
I just bought one of these things and despite what people may say you can get a VERY convincing 303 impression out of it. One thing which is absolutely vital though is a decent distotion pedal for that real spine-tingling gritty sweep.Top marks!
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: neil (skinny puppy)
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99
I've been after the 303 sound for ages. My MC505 couldn't do it (silly Roland, have they heard Rebirth? Everyone's making the 303 sound better than them) despite being a superb little workstation.
Then I saw this. £129?! For sounds this good?! Complete fudging bargain! Bloody close to being authentic too.
Oh yeah, definitely use a distortion pedal.
Anyone got it open and arsed about with the filter settings yet?
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: DEAN HERNANDEZ
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
VERY GOOD AND INEXSPENSIVE PRODUCT HAD IT NOW FOR OVER A YEAR VERY PLEASED BUT WOULD KIE MIDI CONTROL OVER THE FILTER AND ENVELOPE.WOULD
CONSIDER BUYING A PRODUCT BY YOURSELVES THAT WOULD FACILITATE THIS.THANKS
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: DEAN HERNANDEZ
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
love the product have had it for a year.would like
to know if you have any plans to sort out some
feature to control the filter envelope by midi.drop me a e-mail if you do.....
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: David Cracknell
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99
I've been using this device for about 3 months now. I agree with the 'not quite 303' sentiment but crack it up through a whopper PA, feed it through a decent distortion (I use a custom distortion built from plans in a music mag) then watch the sound rip a crowd apart! I use an Alesis MT sequencer (NO FUCKING COMPUTERS) and intend to get at least 3 more FATS to play with.
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: David Cracknell
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99
As a coda to the last mail, I do like the big knobs! The TB303 was distinctly fiddly.
IT IS NOW SAFE TO TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Al
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99
Anyone out there got a really good smooth dub-bass
sound out of their Freebass? Could you send me the
SysEX file?
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Steve Bowerman
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99
One mad machine. I've owned one for about 2 months
. The only gripe is that the tune function takes
a while but how often does it go really out of
tune - Mine, never!
Overdrive the signal though ya mixer and this baby
is squealing like a pig. If you write dance music and
you haven't got one (or a real 303) then WAKE UP!
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Golem
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99
Buy two and add Behringer Ultrabass,hey presto a unique modular synth.
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Golem
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99
Sequence them with a Quasimidi 309 yields good reults.
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Golem
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99
What no midi thru?
Get yourself a doepfer mmr4/4.
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: HI IM A FAG
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 21-Aug-99
MAN THIS THING IS THA SHITTIEST SOUNDING THING IVE EVER USED!
-Nostrum (Time Unlimited Records)
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: niceman
Email: Email supplied but hidden
www.fuckoffasshole.com
Activity: Professional
Date: 18-Nov-99
Rebirth is total shit i have owned it for about 6 months and it is safe to say that it is totally overHyped I dont think it sounds anything like a 303,well to be honest it does kinda but it definetly is not as close to the real thing as everyone says it is .
just thought i should let all of the people who are starting out know dat dont believe the bullshit go and try everything out first and be wary of what the sales asshole says (they only tell u wat you want to hear) heres a list of what I think is good if u r doing dance or whatever supernova,nord lead,Jp8080,505,Rm1X,CS1x,CS2x,polymorph,raveolution and some more..
fuck akai's and if u ask me forget sampling if u r on a tight budget thanx kilo hippy for a fucken nice site how about CS6X,JP8080 reviews and some more RA please pretty please
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: Peter Hageus
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 11-Aug-00
The RA server seems to be down (and has been for some time). Also, I'd prefer mp3 to RA..
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Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: ivo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 05-Nov-10
LOL, ten years later..
I still got the FB383 and it sounds just perfect. No other VSTi can accomplish that.
note: The FB383 uses a AC (not DC) adapter.. otherwise the device doens't work!
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Last added comment
Product: F.A.T - FB-383
Name: jimmy
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 12-May-12
HELP i bought one of these and i have a mc 303 and i have no idea how to connect the emulater to it.. PLEASE HELP AND EMAIL ME stiffler-201@hotmail.com
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'F.A.T FB-383'
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