Acid house is built on the Roland TB-303's electronic squelch, developed by Chicago DJs in the mid-1980s

Acid house is the house subgenre built around the distinctive electronic ‘squelch’ produced with the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer-sequencer. It emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic, trance-like style, often using samples or spoken lines in place of traditional lyrics. The squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by Chicago DJs who experimented with the TB-303. This makes acid house a key junction between early house and later rave/trance culture, and the first house subgenre defined primarily by a single instrument’s sound rather than by tempo or geography.

Examples

The TB-303’s cutoff, resonance, accent, and slide controls, when swept over a looping bass sequence, produce the characteristic acid squelch that names the genre.

Assessment

Explain what distinguishes acid house from other house subgenres, and name the instrument responsible for its signature sound.