© Robin Whittle, Real World Interfaces rw@firstpr.com.au 23 October 2008
release.html Release Notes - details of the modifications. midi/ MIDI In The Devil Fish is now available with MIDI In. memory/ 32 Banks of Memory manually switchable in real-time. sounds/ Sound samples in MP3 and Real Audio. ../tr-606/ TR-606 modifications. .../smem/ 32 Megabyte memory boards for Akai samplers.
Today I passed it over to the band. They went mad. Immediately they locked the studio and started to build sounds. Nobody can stop them now. They are very happy and they say thank you thousand times!
I want to let you know I am successfully exploring what the
Devil Fish has to offer. And it IS overwhelming... I've owned
plenty of synthesizers before but... I've never imagined a
"relatively simple" synth such as my Teebee will transmute
into such a miracle.
Also, I've noted that the Devil Fish is very capable of
creating clicky sounds with low decay values. They can be
very useful for percussion and other things. What's more, the
resonance and muffler settings can get relatively thin sounds,
this feature can be utilized to fit more of the Devil Fish
"juice" into the mix. More tracks, more layers, more textures.
I begin realize that it's, in fact, possible to create a lot
of layeristic stuff - create entire soundscapes using only the
Devil Fish and outboard effects.
Oh by the way you probably know this....
You can change MIDI modes and reset while machine is running so
you can turn off/on MIDI reception during a track, its really
neat I use it a lot, as well as running the Accent Out to an
attenuator(Moogerfooger CV processor) and out back into the
Devil Fish Slide In and I can Turn the Att. up and down to turn
on Slide/Gate etc...thats fun also the CV processor has a
Square/Triangle L.F.O which I often use for the CV filter in
for rhythmic filter sweeps and other crazy fast bell like
effects when turned up full and I love using the mod wheel to
filter it means I do real dramatic filter stuff without killing
the D.F.'s Cutoff knob and also be able to freak it out and
return to the exact same sound setting.....Endless...........
(Sound samples are at: sounds/linxstar/ .)and in many other countries, musicians have placed themselves in the care of the Devil Fish.
The Devil Fish is a modification to the TB-303 ? a synthesiser/sequencer produced by Roland in 1981/82, which has played a crucial role in the development of electronic dance music. A detailed description of the Devil Fish can be found in the release notes release.html. Features include:
- CV and Gate inputs.
- CV input to turn on Slide. (V2.1D onwards: > 2.3 volts turns on the Slide circuit and > 4 volts turns on Gate to tie notes together.)
- CV input for Accent.
- CV input for Filter Frequency.
- Output for Accent.
- Audio In to filter.
- Audio In to frequency modulate the filter.
- Audio Out from filter (pre-VCA).
- Overdrive pot to control the level of oscillator going to the filter: zero to 66.6 times normal level.
- Separate control of Main Envelope Generator times in accented and non-accented notes.
- Volume envelope is no longer fixed, and can be varied from 16 msec through 3 seconds - and to no decay at all, i.e. for notes which last indefinitely.
- Soft Attack control gives attack times between 0.3 and 30 msec. (TB-303 attack was ~3 msec.)
- Slide time is variable to five times longer than normal.
- Variable Filter Tracking causes the oscillator CV to control the filter frequency.
- Internal Filter FM: a unique approach of AC coupled Filter FM from the audio output of the VCA.
- The Muffler is a unique post-VCA soft-clip distortion circuit which retains bass response.
- Push-button to manually activate Accent.
- Filter can be switched to self resonance.
- Accent Sweep has three modes and can be disabled.
- Filter Cut Off pot range doubled to 5 kHz max, and widened to include much lower frequencies.
- Env Mod pot range extended to include zero and go as high as three times the normal maximum.
- Bass response is improved.
- Lithium battery for at least ten years battery backup, so there is no need to install C-cell batteries.
- The six TB-303 knobs Tuning to Accent are mounted about 1.5mm higher than normal, which makes them easier to turn.
Click images to see larger views.
The Devil Fish can still perform all the functions of the TB-303. Full details are at release.html .
The optional 32 bank memory system enables switching between banks while a pattern is playing. Details are in the memory/ directory.
The optional MIDI In system uses the existing Sync socket, and receives Sync, Notes, Accent (depending on the note's velocity), Slide (from MIDI controllers or tied notes) and Filter Frequency (from a selectable MIDI controller number, defaulting to Mod Wheel). Full details are at: midi/ .
There is also a special Sync Lead which accepts MIDI In, and provides a daisy-chain of three Sync out connectors to drive, for instance, devices such as other TB-303s or Devil Fishes, TR-808s or TR-606s. See the sync-lead/ page and this section of the MIDI documentation: midi/#lead .
New LEDs in Deep Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red are available: leds.html . I suggest all Deep Blue LEDs, except for the Run/Stop LED, in which I install a new Red LED. Most people who see the Deep Blue LEDs really like them. They are more blue than the normal, somewhat aqua, hyperbright blue LEDs which are now widely used. They are also a good brightness, whereas the ordinary hyperbright blue LEDs are too bright to look at.
Replacing pots and switches. The tact switches underneath the 24 buttons almost always need replacing. I install a thin plastic internal dust guard which greatly prolongs their life.
The six small pots along the top of the TB-303 sometimes fail. I can replace the complete set of them with newly manufactured pots from TechnologyTransplant.com This costs AUD$200.
The Tempo and Volume pots rarely fail, but I can replace them. If the volume pot is scratchy, try turning it one or two hundred times - this may remove the coating of grease which is causing the trouble. The two rotary switches have never failed, in my experience.
The Devil Fish is the most dynamic, pulsating, wailing musical instrument I know of. If you and your TB-303 have a sense of adventure, the Devil Fish modifications will propel you into musical territories dark, destructive, delicate, languid, undulating, exquisitely detailed, throbbing, luscious and lurid . . . . . Best of all, the spaces between these extremes can usually be traversed by judiciously turning a few knobs.Tina's illustration on the Devil Fish job progress book.
Click the image below to see a larger version:
Martin Röthlisberger (AKA DJ Ace, of the Liquid Trolls) in Switzerland has manufactured some stunning anodised, aluminium cases, NC machined from solid blocks of metal. His site is: www.acid.ch. In April 2001, I worked on two AluCase Devil Fishes - in red and black. A picture is here. Please contact Martin at: 303 (at) acid.ch .
Click for larger version.
Artist Robin Whittle Uniform Bass Code Charles James Linxstar
Track Melodic pulsations
& knobulationsacidtrax2-edit cj03 Devil Fish with Mooger- Fooger Time 1.44 1:06 1:00 2:40 Shift-click to save MP3: rw12.mp3 cw-acidtrax2-edit.mp3 cj03.mp3 Linxstar-
Devil-Fish-
Mooger-Fooger-
edit-excerpt.mp3MP3 file size 1.7 MB 1.1 MB 1.0.MB 2.6 MB 56K modems: Click to play Real Audio now: rw12-32k.ram cw-acidtrax2-edit-32k.ram cj03-32k.ram 33K modems: Click to play Real Audio now: rw12.ram cw-acidtrax2-edit.ram cj03.ram 24 minutes of sound samples in MP3 and Real Audio format are in the sounds/ directory.
Peter in the Netherlands has some MP3s of music he made with his Devil Fish: tek.tekmac.nl
(Translation from Strine: "How much is it?" "Strine" is Strine for "Australian". )
Australian prices include GST (Goods and Services Tax). This is not payable by residents of other countries.
Price for customers outside Australia.
AUD means Australian DollarsPrice for Australian customers, includes 10% GST. The Devil Fish modifications AUD$800 $880 Typically it is necessary to replace all the pushbutton switches and install and internal dust guard to prolong their life. AUD$70 $77 Deep blue LEDs or other colours, including any mix of colours AUD$80 $88 The 32 bank memory system AUD$350 $385 The MIDI In system.
See below for upgrading a TB-303 which is already a Devil Fish.
AUD$300 $330
The works. AUD$1600 $1760 Special MIDI In with 3x Sync Out lead: midi/#lead AUD$100 $110 The basic modification cost includes cleaning the machine and a moderate level of repair work. There is no extra charge for removing the Kenton CV socket kit. (The Devil Fish performs all the functions of that kit, except that the Kenton kit automatically deactivates the internal sequencer's accent state, and the Devil Fish Version 2.1D and beyond enable a high Slide input voltage to drive the gate, in order to "tie together" notes which have separate Gate pulses.)
For instance, the cost of the Devil Fish modifications, with switch replacement, courier and freight to the USA or Canada is AUD$981.
- Insurance to the value of AUD$2000 is AUD$45.
- Courier and insurance from Australia to:
- AUD$100 Japan, Singapore etc. (55 + 45).
- AUD$111 North America. (64 + 45).
- AUD$117 European countries. (72 + 45).
If you have a Devil Fish version 2.x or 3.x then I can upgrade the machine to the current 4.x version with MIDI. It is not possible to install MIDI with the older Devil Fish circuit boards. The price is AUD$800 or $880 including GST for Australian customers. This replaces the existing circuit boards, so your machine will have 7 new small pots and three new toggle-switches in the Devil Fish panel, with new CV, Gate etc. sockets at the rear. If your machine is version 1.x or version 4.x without MIDI, please contact me for further details.
The links below will load the Commonwealth Bank's page with the conversion results for the currency of your choice. Use your browser's back button to return to this page or open the links in a new window by clicking with the right button of your trackball/mouse. For reasons unknown, these Commonwealth Bank server is not reliable with Firefox but seems to work correctly with Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Country Devil Fish mods, switch replacement, courier & insurance + Blue or other
colour LEDs
+ 32 banks of
Memory
+ Blue or other
colour LEDs
+ MIDI In+ Blue or other
colour LEDs
+ 32 banks of
Memory
+ MIDI In+ Blue or other
colour LEDs
+ 32 banks of
Memory
+ MIDI In
+ Sync Lead #lead
USA AUD$981 AUD$1411 AUD$1361 AUD$1711 AUD$1811 Canada AUD$981 AUD$1411 AUD$1361 AUD$1711 AUD$1811 UK AUD$987 AUD$1417 AUD$1367 AUD$1717 AUD$1817 Austria, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, SpainAUD$987 AUD$1417 AUD$1367 AUD$1717 AUD$1817 Switzerland AUD$987 AUD$1417 AUD$1367 AUD$1717 AUD$1817 Japan AUD$970 AUD$1400 AUD$1350 AUD$1700 AUD$1800 Singapore AUD$970 AUD$1400 AUD$1350 AUD$1700 AUD$1800 The above links load a Commonwealth Bank page. For details of how I did these links for currency conversion, see ../funds/ .
Please see here exchange-rates.html for an explanation of the fudge factors used to create the price estimates you will see by clicking links in the table above.
It is usually best to send your TB-303 and wait for me to contact you regarding payment, which I will do when I am working on the machine.
The above table has links to conversions into currencies other than Australian dollars. These figures are a guide to your costs, since the actual exchange rates vary day-to-day and with different banks. The payment methods below are for customers outside Australia, with the final payment being in Australian Dollars. I don't accept credit card payments, but it is possible to use major credit cards via PayPal. For customers in the USA, UK Canada and some other countries, PayPal's "echeck" or "echeque" system may be the best approach.
The full details of payment options are on a separate page: payment-details.html .
It is usually best to use the bank transfer approach for paying for the full modifications. This is fast, gives you the best exchange rates but involves a fee. Fees vary from bank to bank, but it costs AUD$25 to AUD$30 in Australia. Some US banks charge significantly more, such as USD$30 or more. Repairs and additional modifications cost less, so PayPal is a more cost-effective approach for payments under AUD$1000.
Ordinary PayPal payments via a credit card is probably more convenient than a bank transfer, but may cost more for the full modification payment due to PayPal's fees and poor exchange rates. You need to send 3.4% more than the Australian dollar prices listed above.
PayPal payment via 'echeck' or 'echeque' (PayPal takes money directly from your account, in the USA, Canada and the UK) is more attractive, since PayPal's 3.4% fee at this end is capped to a low amount - so there is no need to send 3.4% more. This takes longer and involves poor exchange rates, but has no fees such as those which are required for a bank transfer.
In the past I aimed for a three week turnaround time between you, the customer, sending your TB-303 and receiving it back as a Devil Fish ? but it is best to allow four to six weeks. Australian Customs is particularly busy at present and so there can be delays of several weeks. Also, we are working on more machines than in the past, so it is not always possible to complete the work within a week of a TB-303 arriving. Please check with me by email or phone beforehand. Please send the TB-303 with a reputable courier company, rather than by the post. DHL, Federal Express and your Post Office's EMS service are all excellent.
The German Postpak service and a similar service from the Belgian Post Office is not a courier service and should not be used. Despite assurances about tracking numbers and someone having to sign for delivery, it will be delivered in Australia as an ordinary parcel. This means it may be left on my doorstep. Ordinary airmail with the recipient having to sign for the package is not secure enough for an item such as a TB-303. Post Offices in many countries deliver their packages not through the Post Office of the destination country, but by various transport companies. Australian truck drivers may not understand instructions in French regarding the recipient signing for the package.
Please send just the TB-303 - no batteries, vinyl carry case, or original styrofoam/cardboard box. Batteries should only be included if you do not want the 32 banks of memory and you wish to retain the existing memory contents. Memory contents cannot be retained if the 32 bank system is installed, and I can't absolutely guarantee that patterns will be retained if the memory is not installed, so please write down all important patterns before sending the machine for modification.The Devil Fish will be returned via the Australia Post EMS courier service (also known as Express Courier International), which is delivered in North America and most European countries by either DHL or the country's Post Office. There is an online tracking system for EMS packages here (use Microsoft Internet Explorer for this site, because the "What happened earlier" button does not work with Mozilla/Firefox). The modifications are very reliable and are guaranteed for two years.
There have been virtually no reliability problems with the 210 Devil Fishes to date (30 April 2007). Since 1996, except for one damaged carton, there have been no problems with shipping the machines - and most of them are to overseas customers. European countries including the UK, but not the USA or Canada, charge customs duty and/or sales tax on imported items. I think that any such charges should apply to the cost of the modifications, not to the total value of the Devil Fish modified TB-303, but it likely that you will be charged customs or tax on the full insured value of the package. I normally insure the package for AUD$2000.There is no full user manual, but the extensive release notes provide plenty of guidance in the use of the machine. The Devil Fish is shipped with a printed copy of the release notes, and a few dozen blank patch sheets and pattern sheets.
Telephone and postal details are at the bottom of the main First Principles page, at www.firstpr.com.au#contact . Geographical information on where Melbourne is can be found via that page too. Please note that Melbourne time is very different from European or North American time, so please think carefully before calling. The above-mentioned page links to timezone charts. The best times to call from the UK are midnight to 11 AM which is 10AM to 9PM in Melbourne.It is generally best to enquire via email: rw@firstpr.com.au.
Sound Samples! Over 30 one minute samples of the Devil Fish in action ? on solo missions or in formation with comrades. These are in the sounds/ directory. These are in MP3 128 kbps stereo and mono Real Audio G2 formats.
Patch sheets in PDF, GIF and other formats can be found in the patch-sheet/ directory. Also in this directory you will find a single page PDF file for conveniently writing down every aspect of a TB-303 pattern.
The September 1996 Devil Fish press release ? or the fragments of what should have been a press release ? by RWI Corporate Communications Manager Ms. Lydia Tingle, can be found at df-pr1.html.An April 1995 early history of the Devil Fish is at dfspank.html. This includes a report from Atombee on his collaboration with friends, following my advice:
Atombee wrote:"Investigate feedback loops and tweak them beyond stability. Dim the lights, flex your arms, forget about the world outside, deliver the punishment your studio/synthesizer needs to find its true voice."By controlling the voltages, we control the frequencies, by controlling the frequencies, we can control the human mind. .... but God knows the machines took over our brains last night ... who is controlled and who is controlling?
The main images from the cheatsheet card which accompanied the TB-303. tb-303-card/ This is a mini guide for the TB-303 sequencer's Pattern and Track writing operations.
This is a great business to be in. Customers are enthused before and after their Devil Fish arrives. In this case, before . . .
I can't wait to see what happens when you run the fish through the mutron octave envelope combo. I'm already getting some very freaked out sounds so I can only imagine that the expanded devilfish abilities will push my sonic range through the top of the meter untill the goo that was once my brain oozes from my ears and nose like a radioactive glowing organism pulsing to the beat of the drum while my brainless body explores the dank moldy caverns of the inner earth like a marionette who's strings are pulled by the unseen overlord of sounds and frequencies. I'm definitely going for the full upgrade.Some modifications you can do to the TB-303, including replacement of the push-button switches and installation of an internal dust guard to prolong their life: 303-mods.html. This file also contains a few maintenance tips of interest to technicians - including a new source of replacements for the six small pots: Tuning, Cut Off, Resonance etc. See also the page on the 6 small pots pot-wear/ .
A short treatise on the exact timing of the Gate, CV and Slide in the TB-303 sequencer: 303-slide.html.
Another treatise looking at the TB-303's Accent Sweep circuit and how humans respond to its pattern of pitch variations in the filter when multiple accented notes follow each other in quick succession: 303-unique.html.
A picture of the excellent 9 volt regulated, 200 mA (milliamp) Boss power adaptor which is best for the TB-303, Devil Fish, TR-606 etc. In Australia, this is called a PSA-240P. "Regulated" means that its output voltage is always very close to 9 volts irrespective of load current, up to its maximum of 200 mA. Most ordinary power adaptors have unregulated outputs, such that with a light load, they may produce 11 volts or more. There's no way of telling just by looking at an adaptor what voltage it will actually put out when loaded relatively lightly by a TB-303 / Devil Fish. If it puts out too high a voltage, then this will cause a power transistor in the TB-303 / Devil Fish to overheat, and perhaps to fail. This over voltage problem is more likely to occur with an adaptor which is rated at 9 volts at a high current such as 500 mA. Since TB-303s are precious devices, the best approach is to buy a 200 mA 9 volt Boss adaptor! See the section in the Release Notes about adaptors: release.html#adaptors .
Also pictured is the Boss Metal Zone MT-2 - a popular distortion and three band EQ distortion pedal which sounds great with the Devil Fish. This is Chad and Lincoln's, and we had fun in the usual configuration (passing the Devil Fish signal through the Metal Zone), and by sending the Devil Fish's output into the Metal Zone, with the Metal Zone's output going into the Audio In to Filter of the Devil Fish - with the output of the system being the Devil Fish's output, not the Metal Zone's. This caused filter oscillation right down to low frequencies, irrespective of the setting of the Resonance pot, and we got some great effects where the system would oscillate at both high and low frequencies, and subtle changes in the Devil Fish's pattern (its volume envelope, filter frequency and the pitch of the oscillator) would sometimes perturb the overall system from its normal high frequency mode of oscillation into a totally different low frequency mode. Feedback, distortion and especially a little delay can give rise to fascinating, complex and sometimes chaotic results! Lincoln says that Metal Zone aficionados / maniacs sometimes run three of them in series . . .
A large picture of the TB-303 circuit boards. The background is a painting by Adriana Hardy, whose paintings are drawings are at the ../../gallery/ section of this web site.
Back to the Real World Interfaces page, for details of my 32 Megabyte memory boards for Akai S1000/S1100 and S2800/S3000/S3200/CD3000.
To my page on TR-606 modifications: ../tr-606/.You may be interested in my material on Music Marketing via the Internet, especially with electronic delivery: ../../musicmar/ . Also my pages on lossless and lossy audio compression: ../../audiocomp/.
Sites of interest include those concerned with the TB-303 and electronic musical instruments in general. Some older sites no longer on the Net can be found at archive.org, via links from older versions of this page: web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.firstpr.com.au/rwi/dfish/ .
WikiPedia has a good page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TB-303 .
A page which links to other sites regarding TB-303s for sale: tarfo.com/music/?item=TB-303 but since sellers often use "TB303" rather than "TB-303" I suggest you try this as well: tarfo.com/music/?item=TB303 .
There are a bunch of mailing lists, including Analogue Heaven, at Hyperreal: www.hyperreal.org/music/lists/ . Hyperreal is an excellent site with many resources of interest to electronic music and rave culture. In particular, the section on musical instruments is of interest: machines.hyperreal.org. The TB-303 section is at: machines.hyperreal.org/manufacturers/Roland/TB-303/ . This page includes scans of the TB-303 schematics.
The Propellerheads www.propellerheads.se are legendary for ReBirth, the excellent software emulation of two TB-303s, a TR-808 and a TR-909.
CustomSynth.co.uk www.customsynth.co.uk make "decals" for TB-303s, to give new or similar to original appearance even when the case is worn. I have written to them enquiring about the manufacturing techniques they use, and the price. My main interest is for the case around the six small knobs, which is very often worn away.
The Devil Fish won the "Best home-made modification (software or hardware) for making wikked sounds." category in the 2002 B(if)tek W.I.N.K. (Wired Innovative Naughty Kids) awards. www.biftek.com Salutes and wiggles to the B(if)tek Girls for putting on such a great night! It was at the school gym floor of the science-lab-themed Croft Institute bar in Crofts Lane, in Melbourne's Chinatown. Other finalists in this category included Matt Costain's TR-606 mods, which are at: www.confusedmachines.com and Paul Perry's Frostwave work. Paul won the award in 2004.
The main Roland site is www.roland.com. From there you can reach the various subsidiaries and distributors in other countries.
Nothing to do with the TB-303 or Devil Fish, but a fascinating site for musical instrument history: www.obsolete.com/120_years/ .
Check out the two oscillator Future Retro 777 sequencer-synthesiser: www.future-retro.com/. While you can easily plug a synthesiser into the Audio In of the Devil Fish to give you more "oscillators" the main spirit of the Devil Fish is a relatively straightforward oscillator feeding an intense and convoluted process of filtering, distortion, gain control, more distortion and then perhaps some Filter FM.
A MixMag interview with Hardfloor, the quintessential 303 maniacs: www.techno.de/mixmag/interviews/Hardfloor1.html .
A vast array of information about synthesisers, including the TB-303, is at www.vintagesynth.com/ .
Here are some links to fully aquatic Devil Fishes: www.ussdevilfish.com/index01.htm , www.strangescience.net/stsea2.htm , popweb.com/maldive/37.htm . . . . or continue the search at Google Advanced .
The image below is an illustration of from Volume 2 of the three volume set The Science of Life by H. G. Wells, Julian Huxley and G. P. Wells from 1929-39 (I think). Click the image to see the full page and some more devilish deep-sea creatures.
Q1: "Can the Devil Fish still make the sounds of the TB-303?"
Yes. See the release notes: release.html for how to restrict the Devil Fish to the TB-303 subset. It was always my intention that the Devil Fish sound-space be a super-set of the TB-303s, but with repeated fast accented notes, the Version 1.x Devil Fishes did not sound identical to the TB-303. This lead to the development of the Sweep Speed switch, with the "Fast" mode being that of the version 1.x machines, the "Normal" being that of the TB-303 and the "Slow" being a super wide and sloppy version of the TB-303 response. This switch was retrofitted to several of the 18 Version 1.x machines, so there remain about 15 or so which cannot do everything a TB-303 can do. The TB-303 has a weedy bass response due to the low value of capacitors C20 and C21. These are replaced with larger capacitors in the Devil Fish, so if you really want to replicate the TB-303's thinner sound, you should use external filtering such as the bass EQ control of a mixer.
Q2: "Does the Devil Fish have MIDI?"
Yes - MIDI In. I do not intend to implement MIDI Out, but Colin Fraser makes a MIDI In and Out retrofit for the TB-303, which I think would fit and work within a Devil Fish : www.colinfraser.com/mb303/ .Q3: "Do you have any TB-303s for sale, or do I know of any?"
Sometimes. Please contact me if you wish to buy or sell a TB-303 and I may be able to put you in touch with someone. See the pages mentioned above and above for ways of searching for TB-303s for sale.
Q4: "Are you going to make a standalone Devil Fish?"
One day. It is a very big project to do it as well as I believe it should be done.
Q5: "Is it OK if a TB-303 has the Kenton CV/Gate/Slide/Accent/Filter input sockets?"
Yes. Before doing the modifications, I remove the sockets, fill the holes with epoxy, paint them silver and then carefully drill the Devil Fish holes with my template.
Q6: "My TB-303s pots are stiff. Can you replace them?"
The pots typically are a bit stiff. The friction in the pot is not caused by the wiper on the carbon track, but by a special part of the shaft rubbing on the case in the presence of high-viscosity silicone grease. By dismantling the pot, it is possible to remove that grease and make the pot move relatively freely. However I do not pull pots apart without good reason, because of the danger of damaging them. I only replace a pot if I cannot repair it. I prefer to leave pots alone. I have very limited quantities (2s and 3s in some cases) of some of the original ALPS pots.
I have small stocks of some freshly manufactured non-ALPS pots from Technology Transplant www.technologytransplant.com as mentioned in the "mods" page #mods . I can install a new set of 6 small pots - and I have replacement Tempo and Volume pots too. The 6 pot set was also available in a longer shaft version and I have some of these. I trim them to 2.1mm or so longer, which lifts the knobs up nicely and makes them easier to turn. However, I can achieve the same goal with ordinary pots. There are some problems with the splines of these new pots pots not fitting all TB-303 knobs. See the mods page for more information - I can resolve this.
Q7: "The TB-303's memory contains precious patterns. Will they still be there after the Devil Fish modification?"
I don't absolutely guarantee this, but I have procedures for retaining Lithium battery power to the RAM chips at all times, so your data should remain intact. Be sure to have four good C cells in the machine when you ship it. Take extra care with the packaging, especially to use tape, packaging or whatever to make sure that nothing can turn the Volume knob to the On condition. That would flatten the batteries. The patterns cannot be retained if the 32 bank memory system is installed. It is best to write your patterns down anyway. See the pattern sheets mentioned in the Other Information section above.
Q8: "Do you install Ultra Violet LEDs?"
No. UV LEDs produce very little visible light and plenty of UV, which as far as I know is likely to be damaging to the eyes - especially up close with the iris wide open in dark conditions.
Q9: "What about spare parts, repairs to Devil Fishes and TB-303s"
The parts situation is becoming critical. Certain parts are vital for the TB-303 and cannot be obtained from any source other than by scrapping a TB-303. In time, there will be no other option but to purchase a TB-303 to use for spare parts. The problem parts are:Fortunately a number of hard- or impossible-to-obtain parts never seem to fail. These include the Tempo (actually, I have a report of one failing) and Volume pots, the miniature transformer in the power-supply and the dual-transistors in the VCO and filter. The rotary switches never seem to fail. ALPS still makes them, but getting one could be tricky. The 6.5mm Output, Headphone and Input sockets (Roland part number 13449218, or is it 13449217?) may be unobtainable, but they are extraordinarily reliable and I have never had to replace one.
- CPU chip ? an early 1980s NEC 4 bit device with mask-programmed (i.e. the pattern built into the chip at the manufacturing stage) software. This family of CPUs has not been manufactured since 1984, so even if it was possible to extract the software from a TB-303 CPU, there is no available chip which will run it.
- The five synthesiser control pots. This style of potentiometer has not been manufactured by Alps since the early 1980s. See the good news in the #mods page about newly manufactured pots! The original part numbers are:
- Tuning and Accent pots: 50K linear (Marked underneath as "50KB"). Roland part number 13219331.
- Cut Off and Env Mod pots: 50K log ("50KA"). Roland part number 13219340.
- Resonance pot: Dual 50K linear ("50KBX2"). Roland part number 13219775 (not the 13219774 mentioned in the service manual!).
- Decay pot. 1 meg linear ("1MA"). Roland part number 13219339.
- The TB-303 case, battery holder cover etc. The cases can be obtained from a scrapped TR-606, as can the knobs and buttons. The metal panel part of the case is no longer obtainable.
- The DIN Sync socket with switch. (Roland part number 13429706.) The socket is reasonably standard, but its integral dual pole switch is unique and unobtainable. A workaround is to install a toggleswitch instead.
I do not do general service work. I do maintain machines I have modified, and of course repair machines prior to modification. I do not sell the diminishing quantities of parts I have available, and will only use them for repairing Devil Fishes.
See the page on modifications for more details of maintenance, spare parts and alternatives for replacing pots.
Q10: Other maintenance questions regarding knobs, pots, switches, contamination etc.
Never, ever, let anyone spray anything inside any equipment you care for!!!!! Ever! Many TB-303s have been damaged by people spraying oily and/or corrosive liquids inside them. Someone gave me a TB-303 which had been destroyed in this manner.Do not glue the knobs in place. Use a little piece of "Blu-Tak" or whatever this grey putty-like substance for holding posters to walls is called in your locality. Devil Fishes have their knobs secured in this manner. If knobs are hard to remove, grip them with adhesive tape, rather than with pliers.
The Sync socket is secured to the circuit board only by its solder joints, and it is common for these to fracture and so cause intermittent operation. This can easily be fixed by a technician. I resolder these joints with every machine I work on, but they may in time become weakened again.
Once the switch replacement and dust-guard work has been done, you should not need to worry about bouncing switches for a long time. Devil Fishes from 1993 are still working fine, despite 10 years of intensive use. One machine which I modified and replaced the switches of in 1996 did come back for switch replacement in 2002, but this was a *very* extensively used machine. Another machine from 1993 apparently needs its switches replaced too - in 2004. The switches are not repairable. Never spray anything on them.
Battery leakage is a big problem. Because a Devil Fish (apart from the first 18 Version 1.x machines) has an internal lithium battery there is no need install C cell batteries unless you really want to operate it without a power adaptor. If you have battery leakage, be sure to have an experienced technician work on your machine to rid it of all traces of corrosive chemicals. These chemicals can cause lasting damage to circuit boards and components if not removed quickly. Rainwater is not too much of a problem - let the machine dry and carry on. Sticky things like bourbon and coke require the attention of a technician, who can generally clear it away with water and alcohol.
If your machine fails to operate from C-cell batteries, it is likely that leakage has corroded the spring contact for the negative and/or positive terminal. Take your machine to a technician! Another cause of this failure is that on some TB-303s the positive contact is recessed too far for some batteries to reach. This is easily fixed by dismantling and bending the contact out a little.
See the page on modifications for more details of maintenance, spare parts and alternatives for replacing pots.
Apart from the images of aquatic Devil Fishes, and the sound samples of Charles James, all material in this /rwi/dfish/ section of the web site is copyright 1999-2007 Robin Whittle. If you would like to use some of this material for your own purposes, ask! I will probably say "Yes.".If you wish to link to this site, please link to: http://www.firstpr.com.au/rwi/dfish/ and let me know. I will add your site to the links section.
