I also loved the 303 clone in the pulsecode rhythm studio iOS app which no longer exists 
I can only speak for the TD-3, TB-3 andTB-03 here. I do own an original 303, which means Iāve done a fair few A/B tests - though only against one original, which I think is an issue (because itās quite clear that 303s can and do differ - mine seems to have a fairly low resonance cap, so it doesnāt squeal quite as much as some other units Iāve heard).
The TB-03 is a nice all-in-one package. I love the oddball reverb, which can give some convincing Plastikman results, especially if you tweak it live. Being able to dial in decent enough Roland FX without extra gear is useful to me. It performs well with what Iād describe as low-key or subtle acid lines, but the accent is very bad (way too heavy-handed) and the resonance doesnāt fare well at the extreme - it becomes ābrittleā and unpleasant. For more extreme approaches, I think the TB-3 was better - or at least more able to disguise its failings - but being forced to use the X/Y pad for what should be knob functions was an annoyance too far. I found the TB-3 more interesting for some of its non-303 applications.
The TD-3 does better across the spectrum in terms of sound, though I did have to go in and tweak the filter range pot (which was painless enough). At the factory setting it was going much higher than was accurate, so that anything over the 75% mark sounded wrong (to me) or made no appreciable difference, depending on the other settings. Once that was sorted, the sound was definitely better than the TB-03. I can understand the temptation to put that down to the TB-03 being digital, but I donāt have any evidence for this. The accent is still problematic, but not as much as it is on the TB-03. Accent seems to be the big stumbling block in 303 emulation, and is one area where you definitely appreciate the original.
The distortion on the TD-3 I used once and then left alone forever - a basic Boss Overdrive or Distortion sounds much, much better, even though Iām generally appreciative of onboard effects.
However, I donāt really enjoy the physical aspect of using the TD-3 - it feels, well, appropriate to its cost. I think itās fantastic that a decent 303 sound can be had for Ā£100, but you do still get what you pay for, and the TD feels hollow and breakable - not in any sense robust. It hasnāt broken, but Iām not expecting it to last (though it might well be easily fixed). The TB-03, in contast, feels great in use despite the small form factor.
So ideally Iād like the TD-3 sound in the TB-03 hardware, but what can you do? Itās very hard to argue with the price of the TD-3 (setting aside any other concerns for the time being). I got a good price on a used TB-03, but if I was paying RRP Iād be carefully comparing it to some of the alternatives. Itās fun, but I think Roland have yet to do the original true justice.
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Forgot about that, never tried it though, also just remembered there were quite a few rack clones/inspired in the 90ās.
Fat Freebass (Mam MB33 clone)
Control Synthesis Deep Bass 9
Syntechno TeeBee
Will Systems MAB303
Doepfer MS404
Probably some others Iām forgetting, there was also a desktop unit handmade by a guy in Norway IIRC, Daniel Schouten.
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It seems, as mentioned in here before, itās discontinued. Sadly. And prices for used ones almost tripled.
ā¦ooopsā¦checkedā¦seems truuā¦
wellā¦it was a no brainer for quite a long timeā¦
and if this little company from bavaria donāt built them anymore, it must be for supply chain issuesā¦
i guessā¦
itās really exactly like the real thing, sonicwise, just without itās own sequencerā¦
while any sequencer can do overlapping midi which results in famous 303 glides and any velocity over 120 results in an adjustable accentsā¦all the rest is up to u and ur realtime lust for twiddeling the knobsā¦all sonic shades of a real hardware 303eeeeeeeeeee at ur handā¦
pretty sure, since the demand will go on forever, once they can get the parts again, they will built them againā¦maybe not for 120 bux anymore, thoughā¦ 
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Look, yet another one manifests!
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By the by, for the TB-03 owners, I cut and pasted the manual & docs into a long .PNG easier to scroll throughā¦
(I find the roland treasure maps a little annoying)
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you can pick up a behringer TD3 DIRT cheap, and itās random pattern gen has been a GREAT tool, in kickstarting song ideaā¦
im 100% opposed to behringer.
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Itās not really a clone but the Norand Mono is my go to acid synth. Definitely feels like someone sought out to make an advanced 303.
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Sometimes I think I want the ā303 soundā. But then I realise Iām actually looking for something kindred rather than replicating. And for that Iām good with my Acid8 and Norand Mono.
But why am I then still looking at this local ad for a cheap MAM MB33 Retro right now? 
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I was fooling around on my 303 yesterday and stumbled on a two-step sequence that generated a pretty hefty kick sound, just a glide from high to low C with the decay as the key control. Especially at higher tempos this led to a kind of capacitor dance where what should have been a repetitive and effectively single-note pattern turned into a semi-unstable pattern of accented hits and timbre fluctuations, quite hypnotic to listen to. Applying a reverb brought this out even more, and at one setting I had a kind of barber pole effect going on, a constantly descending tone that you could only really hear in the reverb.
Anyway, I thought to myself well, this seems like a good patch to test the clones with, as itās a blatant abuse of the features Roland have kindly provided. My TB-03 was nearby, so I hooked that up and dialled things in. To my surprise, it handled it pretty well. It lost a bit of bass, and at higher values the decay and accent would start to overpower the subtle variations, but away from the extremes it did sound unpredictable and organic, like the original.
Thatās my impression of the TB-03 in general - it behaves nicely until you get to the edge of town, and then things start to fall apart - but it was interesting to discover that it did well in this slightly unusual test. My TD-3 is boxed up right now, but Iām going to put that through the same wringer and see how it does.
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Uh, sold one of those babies to a nice forum member some years ago. Sometimes I really miss it.
Would be cool to hear a clip and compare to my own machines!
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The 777 has never sounded really 303-ish to me. Sure itās a sequenced mono with an accent, but if you want to make something that sounds like a hardfloor release, nah.
Donāt get me wrong, that doesnāt make it a bad synthesizer, itās just not a 303, really. A lot of the 90s mono synth stuff (or polysynth really) tried to pass itself off as a 303 clone (see also the novation bassline, korg ea-1, etc).
It was a product from a different time.
So I recently became interested in getting a 303 for live improvisation (thanks to 999999999). What are peoples experience of the various 303 clones for live performance? The TD3-MO looks like it has some nice features but the sequencer is a bit basic. The TT-303 looks good in terms of sequencer tricks and so does the Avalon, but the latter seems to be prohibitively expensive now.
Thoughts?
The TT-303 is a winner. real analog, sounds great and sequencer is best of the bunch. Downside is rather unresponsive customer service and lack of proper CC.
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this (apparent) 303 clone from Donner dropped this week but so far nobodyās been able to find a video of it actually playing. so impossible to know how competitive it will be against the TD-3/Bass Bots etc. but at $168 bucks, itās priced between those two and not a high-risk purchase. hopefully some early adopter will have a playthrough on YT soon
(also a vote for Bass Bot 303 as the closest on a reasonable budget. i might shell out for a Din Sync Re-303 someday but only if someone competent at putting kits together built it for me)
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