MIDI bass?

jmjbassplayer · #1 01-31-2011, 04:53 PM

Hey people,

Anyone know of any cool and cheap bass to MIDI converter that actually works? That Sonuus thing looks like it doesn't track that great. Any alternatives?

Thx,
JMJ

pbass2 · #2 01-31-2011, 05:45 PM

I'm told the Axon thingy works well--it's what Squarepusher uses (which would suggest it might track pretty snappily)
But, it appears to be discontinued . . .

http://sewelldirect.com/Terratec-Axo...53572d35393231

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AX100mkII/

Lorenzini · #3 01-31-2011, 08:07 PM

I wish I could help you, or put some input in for you!

The Axon thing looks the best to me, personally...

alexgeddy · #4 01-31-2011, 08:17 PM

Hi,

I just put a roland GK3b on my 4 string bass. I run it into a GR20 and it tracks pretty well. Some things it gets a little finicky about like playing piano notes. It has something to do with Just and tempered tuning the owners manual said... Roland is coming out with a new GR55 processor...

To answer your question the GK3b outputs a Roland proprietary signal that is not midi, but roland has a module that converts the GK3b to a pure midi signal and then you can use any sound module you want. for a bass system I think this would be a good choice. Not too many out there!

Good luck ..if you want more info feel free to PM me

voodoobassist · #5 01-31-2011, 08:46 PM

I think the roland set up will do just about as well as any midi converter will. I'm running a GR-20 and the GK3b pup. You DO have to tweak it, get the height from the strings just right, close to the bridge, etc. etc, but it does a pretty good job of tracking if you put the time into it.

That said, some sounds are just prone to lagging. Piano's or anything with a hard fast attack and a complex tone structure just don't seem to react as quickly. The other problem is how well it tracks on your lower notes. If you're at the 12th fret and above, life is beautiful. If your hanging around your F and G on the E string, or even worse, C and D on your B,....well,.....it's a crap shoot.

I've also noticed that some of my basses track better than others. My Modulus Q5 always seems to track well, while my Conklin 7 always seemed to have more lag. It might be because I didn't get the pickup set up as well on the Conklin, or maybe it's because the Modulus is such a clear solid instrument from the graphite neck. Hard to say since I'm just a hack bass player.

My overall feeling is, midi bass is a ton of fun and allows you to do some pretty interesting stuff with our instrument of choice, but it's a long way from perfect. If you can handle the flaws that exist with the system and use it for sounds that are more non-lag friendly, you can be pretty creative and have a lot of fun with it. Good luck on the midi journey. It's a pretty cool tool, especially for writing.

alexgeddy · #6 01-31-2011, 08:57 PM

Voodoo..I agree with you...Only problem the OP has is finding a GR20..roland discontinued them and are pushing the GR55....You can't get a GR55 yet and it's hard to find a GR20..I like the GR20, and from comparing it to the Gr55 don't see any reason to change....

voodoobassist · #7 01-31-2011, 09:34 PM

^ Theres a used one at GC in Fresno Cali right now for $349.99. Betting there's more than a few on the good old evil bay as well. I wouldn't think they would be TOO hard to find.

gumtownbassman · #8 02-01-2011, 11:42 PM

I would get the new Roland GR-55, they say the tracking is 40% better, plus you get multi-effects based on the GT-10, two independant fully editable PCM synths with 900 sounds each, and to top it off, you get COSM modelling of both the VG-99 and the VB-99 all in one box.
And it does midi out too..
Can be switched between bass mode and guitar mode, so it's two units in one..

got me one on order already..
It's going to replace my GR-20/GT-10B units.

jmjbassplayer · #9 02-02-2011, 09:50 AM

Yup. I'm going to get a GR-55. Good call. I need good tracking, and to drive my own synths well, so it seems to be the ticket. And it's nice and small.

Pirkka · #10 02-03-2011, 05:06 PM

So, when you get that midi converter and your sound libraries together we may hear that "Ring modulated bass clarinet on P-Bass...."

alexgeddy · #11 02-03-2011, 05:28 PM

nope i'm doing buddy rich!!!

colicab · #12 02-04-2011, 03:30 PM

...or just track down a Peavey Midibase!

jmjbassplayer · #13 02-05-2011, 10:56 AM

ewww!! I mean: oh - cool! But not exactly my cup of tea.

colicab · #14 02-05-2011, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

ewww!! I mean: oh - cool! But not exactly my cup of tea.

You might dig the updated version of that short-lived Peavey thing that the inventor has just put out through his newly-founded company, Industrial Radio. The Industrial Radio Midi Bass:

check it: http://www.industrialradio.com.au/index.php

**john turner** · #15 02-05-2011, 03:36 PM

if you are going to rig out an instrument, i'd suggest using the rmc system : http://www.rmcpickup.com/

specifically this :

http://www.rmcpickup.com/polydrivei.html

the output is the 13 pin roland standard. i've used them on my basses for over a decade, and they rock (with an older axon).

it is installed in the instrument, coupled with the onboard piezo buffer and piezo pickups in each bridge saddle. it's going to track better than any gk-style non-piezo pickup (i've got both and have compared them), and it's not hanging off the face of your instrument either, so that's a plus.

Derek DiFilippo · #16 03-04-2011, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colicab

check it: http://www.industrialradio.com.au/index.php

I'm not sure what JMJ is looking for here & maybe I'm off course & late to the party.

I saw Little Dragon at a club in Vancouver back in January this year. The bass player, Fredrik Källgren Wallin, was playing one of these Industrial Radio MIDI basses and he DESTROYED the rickety shack that housed my concept of MIDI bass and rebuilt that into a mountain-top temple of desire that I am still trying to process. May need therapy.

They are not cheap... $4k? But the bass playing I heard that night made me seriously consider investing in one. The playing was rhythmic, gritty, synthy, deep, not glitchy or fake... he was really playing that thing... but the sounds were not anything like what I thought was possible. He was blending the MIDI sounds with more trad stuff like a boss OC-2 (I think that's what it was), some fuzzes, FX, etc.

The demo videos on the Industrial Radio site do not do this thing justice, in my opinion.

Based on what I heard from Little Dragon that night you could lay down some articulate, ghost-noted, and *thick* Stevie-moog, DX Lately, old-school prophet-V stuff, etc. etc. with one of these.... I'm talking deadly serious BASS... not pan flute or string patches...

Ok, will email the therapist to set up another session.

brianrost · #17 03-04-2011, 01:24 PM

I have one of these, picked it up 2-3 years ago for only $400.

Works really well but playing synthesizers from a bass is definitely weird

I only use it because my keyboard chops are so bad

jmjbassplayer · #18 03-04-2011, 03:22 PM

I've seen Little Dragon a couple of times, and the bass he was playing looked way less retarded than the one in the photo. It looked like a Pbass with a midi pick up...did he change his steez?

jmjbassplayer · #19 03-04-2011, 03:34 PM

Actually, maybe that was his bass...looked like a slightly different style. I suppose I could forgive the heinous headstock if it works amazingly well.

Derek DiFilippo · #20 03-04-2011, 09:12 PM

Hey JMJ... I feel you on the heinous headstock.

Some Flickr links to shots from the actual show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caswell...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caswell...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caswell...n/photostream/

To all appearances, he was playing a regular bass. You know what I mean? He wasn't having to babysit the thing. Just jamming away on it. The live sound was a bit hazy, even through that I could hear that his bass was responding quickly and articulately when needed.

I'm not sure what your goals are. For me, if that bass plays the way it appeared to the first thing I would do (with all humility) would be to shed some of those Stevie Wonder bass lines that I am constantly listening to and playing live on p-bass/flats/sometimes-foam... and bring that sound to the table for some original projects. It's not just the synth sound. It's the fast attack fast decay thing Stevie has going on that makes it so greasy with ghost notes. I've never got attack/decay that out of any pedal (many) or the roland MIDI (only one) I tried.