FB-3300

Name: FB-3300
Author: Full Bucket Music

by Full Bucket Music · Synth · KORG PS-3300 emulation

Not rated yet

FB-3300 is a free emulation of the KORG PS-3300 from 1977, a fully polyphonic semi-modular synth with three independent synthesizer blocks.

It has band-limited oscillators, two-pole lowpass filters, a resonators section, modulation generators with sample and hold, and micro-tuning; it is free.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Ambient & Cinematic.

Keywords: hardware emulation, free, 70s, polyphonic, analog, resizable UI, basses, leads, modular, pads, retro, subtractive, tempo-synced, textures, vintage, fat, paraphonic, sound design.

What it does

FB-3300 is a free simulation of KORG's PS-3300 from 1977, a rare, large polyphonic synth with three full synthesizer blocks and a patch panel. The developer aims for "close emulation of behavior and all controls of the original hardware".

Three synth blocks: three independent polyphonic blocks, each with 64 voices and its own stereo panorama, mixed at a global output.
Oscillators: band-limited oscillators with triangle, sawtooth, square, rectangle, pulse and PWM waves at 16', 8', 4' and 2' footages; as on the original, each key has one top-octave oscillator and lower octaves are divided down.
Filter: a two-pole lowpass per voice with Peak (resonance), keyboard tracking and modulation from the envelope or MG1; it does not self-oscillate.
Resonators: three parallel bandpass filters per block with tunable centre frequencies and an Intensity control, modulated by MG2 or the patch panel.
Modulation: two modulation generators per block (MG1 with triangle, saw, square and pink or white noise up to 1.6 kHz; MG2 triangle), both host-synced.
Envelopes: an ADSR-type envelope per voice with Damp, Half Damp and Release settings, plus a paraphonic General Envelope Generator (AR/AD).
Patch panel and tweaks: menu-based patching instead of virtual cables, plus extras such as sample and hold, voltage processors, lag processors, attenuators, MIDI CC sources, host-synced clocks, per-key micro-tuning and MIDI Learn.

The current version is 1.2.5 (30 Aug 2024); the standard builds have a resizable UI. It is a free download, and the developer accepts donations.

Source: Full Bucket Music product page

When to use it

FB-3300 is the better pick when you want deep, patchable vintage polyphony without paying for it. Compared with Diva, it is far less immediate, but its three stacked blocks, resonators and patch panel reach organic, slowly moving textures that a standard subtractive layout does not. Next to CS-80 V, it trades expressive performance controls for semi-modular routing and three layered engines. Unlike Hive 2 or Sylenth1, it is not built for quick preset browsing; it rewards time spent patching.

Best for: huge layered pads, resonant textures, analog-style basses and leads, retro effects and patch-panel experiments.
Genres: ambient, electronic, soundtrack and experimental music.
Look elsewhere if: you want a fast, preset-driven workflow (Hive 2 or Sylenth1) or modern wavetables and effects (Vital or Pigments 7).
Tip: start with the presets to hear what the three blocks can do, then dig into the patch menus for your own sounds, as Bedroom Producers Blog suggests.

What producers say

It is seen as one of the strongest free virtual analog synths, with only an old stability report against it.

Bedroom Producers Blog (2017) called it "one of the most powerful freeware virtual analog synthesizers around", covering mellow leads, fat basses, retro effects and huge pads.
KVR users rate it 4.67 out of 5 from 3 reviews, calling it "a wonderful instrument" and praising the resizable interface.
Criticisms: one KVR user (2020) reported crashes in Komplete Kontrol and Reaper, and the 2017 article noted the then fixed-size GUI was awkward on both small and UHD screens, since addressed by the resizable UI.

Where to buy

Full Bucket Music: Free

Tutorials and reviews

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