Roland VB99

[k dave]

Just bought a Roland VB 99. A couple demo videos convinced me to take the plunge, especially the acoustic string bass sounds, Got it home, plugged in and huge dissapointment!!! Not only couldn't I get those sounds but there were many other sounds I couldn't get. When I dialed in for these sounds all I got was just a very plain bass sound in fact it sounded like a dry sound of my bass. Can I be doing something wrong ? Accessing these patches seems to be a pretty simple thing. I don't have the special GK pickup, could that be the problem?? Musicians Friend told me that you didn't need the pickup for that application. I didn't try any of the amp or bass modeling. Could somebody help before I send it back. k dave

[sevenorchids]

You need to have the Roland pickup installed on your bass in order to access the COSM voices.

Once you get that done, it's well worth it.

Without that, you just bought a very expensive effects box.

Grab a Roland GK-3B for around $185, install it per the instructions, and prepare to spend about three hours just playing through the presets and having a great time doing it.

Good luck!

[fokof]

You should tell the store guy to quit his job or to get into rehab.


Seriously , yes , like sevenorchids said ,you absolutly need a GK pickup to have all the advantages of the VB99.
And the pickup has to be adjusted properly too !

[k dave]

Thank you sevenorchids and fokof, I suspected that the pickup was my problem. But before I spend the extra bucks I want to be sure of it. Idon't know much about effects, been playing many years and have only used a sans amp di. To be honest I've no idea what COSM is. I deceided on the VB99 after seeing some videos and was blown away with the acoustic string bass sounds and those are some of the sounds I couldn't access. Why was I able to access some of the patches and not others? k dave

[sevenorchids]

ALL of the sounds that you heard on the demo were most likely built off of a COSM bass sound (or two, since the VB-99 has 2 COSM basses available per patch).

Think about the VB-99 this way. There are the COSM bass and amp sounds. Those are triggered ONLY by the information sent via the Roland pickup. This is just a standard magnetic pickup that provides the VB-99 with information from each string on your bass. In addition to the COSM bass and amp sounds, the VB-99 has a bunch of effects based off of Boss and Roland pedals and rack units. Those effects can be used and accessed by plugging into the VB-99 like you did. Again, most of the "magic" of the VB-99 lies with the COSM basses and amp modeling. So, a preset that uses a COSM bass (or two) into a COSM amp model then through a reverb emulation will just sound like YOUR bass through a reverb pedal, since you aren't using the Roland pickup. For those purposes, a Boss GT-10B will be sufficient.

If you do plan to get the GK-3B, also look at the Roland GR-55. It has only 1 COSM bass model at a time but also comes with built in synth sounds. It requires the GK-3B but is significantly less expensive than the VB-99 while providing some of the COSM fun. You might be able to get the GR-55 and the GK-3B both for less than the price you paid for the VB-99. The VB-99 is a fantastic unit but VERY deep and it takes a LOT of work to get it dialed in sometimes. It is not a plug and play device by any means.

Here's a thread on the new GR-55:
Roland GR-55 ( GK Guitar / Bass Synth plus Cosm Effector )

Here's the thread on the VB-99:
Roland VB-99

[fokof]

Just a tiny clarification if i may , the GK pickup give access to the COSM basses , synths , guitars and acoustic basses.
The amps emulations and all the FX (except the Poly) are available with or without GK pickups.

[k dave]

Thank You again sevenorchids and fokof!!! You just saved me a lot of time, grief and a lot of money. I'm returning the vb99 and ordering the GR55 and GK3B. Accessing acoustic bass sounds is one of my reasons for wanting the vb99.
Thanks again
k dave

[sevenorchids]

Before you do that, please make sure that the GR-55 will meet your needs. Here is the link to the Owners Manual.

http://www.rolandus.com/support/owners_manuals/?group=3

It looks like the GR-55 has a subset of the COSM sounds found on the VB-99. Not sure if it has the Acoustic Bass COSM sound. Tried to go through the list of tones, but ran out of time.

Also, go through that GR-55 thread and see who has received their GR-55. I think Gastric has one. I'd send a PM to verify that an plausible Acoustic Bass is possible with the GR-55. It does exist on the VB-99.

[fokof]

I confirm that there is no Acoustics in the GR55 (page 30 in the GR55 pdf ),
also the synths in the GR have a lot more latency than the COSM in the VB99.

The VB99 is the best bass processor in the universe , and beyond

[alexgeddy]

what I heard is that roland is putting out a GR55 that inckudes synth bass with the VB99 and all the effects.. Might be worth looking into!!

[k dave]

Sevenorchids and fokof thank you again!! Seeig I already have the VB99 I'm going to bite the bullet and get the GK3B pickup, it seems to have all I want and more. Any advice would sure be appreciated. Like I said, the only effect I've ever used is a sansamp di. k dave

[sevenorchids]

Good luck with the GK-3B. I am sure that you will enjoy working with the VB-99. Any questions, just ask.

[k dave]

I feel really stupid. Although I don't have the pickup yet, I deceided to mess around with the unit. Read the manual, messed around with the functions but couldn't seem to access the bass or amp modeling section. Am I correct, I should be able to pick a Fender jazz playing through an SVT, for example? I can't seem to find anything in the manual pertaining to this. Thanks.............. k dave