D-Lusion interactive media built the first TB-303 software synthesizer for PC in 1996, years before software synthesis became standard. The company, founded by Boris Diebold, Toine R.M. Diepstraten, and Thomas Holl, released three connected pieces of software: Rubberduck (the bassline synth), Drumstation DT-010 (the drum machine), and the Digital Audio Server (the glue that synced them together). All three were made freeware by 2006 and the company is defunct. The installers here are clean copies downloaded directly from the original d-lusion site when it was still up, hosted as a preservation resource.
Downloads
Windows 95/98/XP era software. Runs on older Windows versions natively. On Windows 10/11 try compatibility mode (right-click the exe, Properties, Compatibility, Windows XP SP3) or run inside a virtual machine.
Rubberduck: the first TB-303 synth for PC
Rubberduck arrived in 1996 as the first software implementation of the Roland TB-303 bassline sound on a standard Windows PC. The TB-303 had become the defining instrument of acid house and techno after producers in Chicago and Detroit discovered that its squelching, resonant filter could be coaxed into sounds Roland never intended. By the mid-1990s original hardware units were already scarce and expensive. Rubberduck gave bedroom producers that same acid character in software, at a time when real-time software synthesis on a consumer CPU was genuinely impressive. A variant called Rubberduck H3O+ followed in 1999 with expanded features. D-Lusion made Rubberduck fully free in 2005.
The synth engine is built around a 24 dB resonant filter, four waveforms, dual oscillator, real-time delay and distortion effects, MIDI control, and velocity sensitivity. The interface is tactile and visually engaging in a way that a lot of early VSTs were not. You step-sequence the bassline the same way you would on the original hardware, programming notes and accents into the pattern grid, then tweak cutoff and resonance in real time. The beat-matching feature for the sample decks was ahead of its time in 1996. I used this a lot and the filter on a well-programmed acid line held up against anything else available at the time.
Drumstation DT-010: TR-909, TR-808, and TR-606 in one box
The Drumstation DT-010 shipped alongside Rubberduck as D-Lusion's companion drum machine. Where Rubberduck focused on the bassline, Drumstation handled rhythm, modelling the Roland TR-909, TR-808, and TR-606 drum sounds in a single interface. It has eight channels that can run either sample playback or synthesis, a step sequencer, and per-channel effects including reverb, delay, flanger, filter, and distortion. The installer includes a comprehensive sample library covering the TR-606, TR-808, TR-909, Yamaha DPM-48, and DR-101. D-Lusion made the Drumstation free in 2006.
The loop slicing and stretching in Drumstation was genuinely useful for a late-1990s drum machine. You could import your own samples, slice them, and have them play back at the project tempo without pitch shifting, which was not a given in software of this era. Running it alongside Rubberduck through the Digital Audio Server gave you a complete acid techno production setup in software for free at a time when that was a meaningful thing.
Digital Audio Server (DAS): the sync layer
The Digital Audio Server v0.90b was the piece that made Rubberduck and Drumstation work together properly. Without it, the two apps shared nothing: separate audio clocks, separate soundcard access, no timing relationship between them. DAS solved this with a client-server architecture that shared the soundcard and locked all connected apps to a single sample-accurate clock. Up to three DAS-aware applications could run in sync, with MIDI clock support for locking to external hardware. The architecture predates ReWire, which Propellerhead and Steinberg formalized in 1998, and works on the same principle: one server process owns the audio device, client processes route audio through it and share its timeline. Install DAS first, then launch Rubberduck and Drumstation, and the two snap into sync immediately.
Frequently asked questions
What is D-Lusion Rubberduck?
D-Lusion Rubberduck was the first TB-303 bassline synthesizer for Windows PC, released in 1996 by Dutch developers Boris Diebold, Toine R.M. Diepstraten, and Thomas Holl. It modelled the acid squelch of the Roland TB-303 in software with a 24 dB resonant filter, step sequencer, dual oscillators, and real-time effects. D-Lusion made it freeware in 2005. The company is defunct and the original site is offline, making clean copies of the installer hard to find.
What is the D-Lusion Drumstation DT-010?
The Drumstation DT-010 is D-Lusion's companion drum machine, modelling the Roland TR-909, TR-808, and TR-606 in eight channels with a step sequencer and per-channel effects. It ships with a sample library covering five classic drum machines and supports custom sample import with loop slicing and tempo-synced stretching. It was made free in 2006 and pairs with Rubberduck via the Digital Audio Server for sample-accurate sync.
What does the D-Lusion Digital Audio Server do?
The Digital Audio Server (DAS) v0.90b is middleware that enables sample-accurate synchronization between D-Lusion applications. It acts as a single server process that owns the soundcard and shares it across up to three connected client apps, with MIDI clock support for locking to external hardware. Without DAS, Rubberduck and Drumstation run on separate audio clocks with no timing relationship. Install DAS before launching either app. The concept predates ReWire by roughly the same year.
Do these run on Windows 10 or 11?
They are Windows 95/98/XP era software. Many users report success on Windows 10 using compatibility mode (right-click the executable, Properties, Compatibility tab, set to Windows XP Service Pack 3). For reliable results, running inside a virtual machine with Windows XP is the most consistent approach. The software is 32-bit and may require additional steps on 64-bit systems.
Is it legal to download D-Lusion software?
D-Lusion interactive media is defunct. The company released Rubberduck as freeware in 2005 and Drumstation as freeware in 2006, and the Digital Audio Server was distributed freely. There is no active rights holder pursuing enforcement. The installers here are preserved as a resource for users who remember the software and cannot find a clean copy online.