ReBirth RB-338 (1997) was an early software emulation of the TB-303 and TR-808/909, democratising the classic techno sound

In the latter half of the 1990s, demand for vintage drum machines and synthesizers motivated software companies to produce computer-based emulators. The most notable was ReBirth RB-338, produced by Propellerhead (Sweden) and released May 1997. Version 1 featured two TB-303s and a TR-808; version 2 added a TR-909. Sound on Sound called it ‘the ultimate techno software package.’ Keyboard Magazine asserted it ‘opened up a whole new paradigm: modeled analog synthesizer tones, percussion synthesis, pattern-based sequencing, all integrated in one piece of software.’ ReBirth was discontinued in September 2005, then made freely available via the ‘ReBirth Museum’ website.

Examples

ReBirth’s success triggered a wave of software synthesis, leading to Propellerhead’s Reason (2001) — a full software studio with mixer, synth, drum machine, sampler, and step sequencer.

Assessment

Explain why software emulation of hardware instruments like the TR-909 and TB-303 mattered for the accessibility of techno production in the late 1990s. What did it enable that buying the original hardware could not?