Roland VG-99 with a bass guitar..?

giovabass · #1 03-17-2008, 10:05 AM

Has anyone tried a Roland VG-99 with a MIDI equipped bass, does it work? Just curious... if yes it would be cool for doing "guitarist gigs" with a bass

Crazy idea, i know. I have to stop with drugs...

Swimming Bird · #2 03-17-2008, 11:02 AM

Not sure. It probably shouldn't work well, but it may matter less than you'd think as it isn't a synth. Dunno exactly what the GK is doing on these. Give it a shot and let us know.

giovabass · #3 03-18-2008, 07:08 AM

If I have an occasion I'll do it for sure.

Benjamin Strange · #4 03-18-2008, 09:13 AM

Of course it would work, and I'm sure it would be extremely cool. I've used the other guitar units with bass, and it was quite a bit of fun.

It's not a synth in the sense that it's triggering sounds - it's merely applying an algorhythm to the original signal and warping it beyond all recognition. That said, it doesn't matter if it's a bass or a guitar being used.

**Marcus Willett** · #5 03-18-2008, 09:24 AM

According to Roland (I've contacted them on this) the V-Bass pickups (GK2B/3B) are not compatible with the VG series.

Benjamin Strange · #6 03-18-2008, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Willett

According to Roland (I've contacted them on this) the V-Bass pickups (GK2B/3B) are not compatible with the VG series.

That's hogwash. I've used them and they work just fine. The only issue I can see in not being compatible is how the strings correspond to the models, which can be easily rectified with a bit of programming.

**Marcus Willett** · #7 03-18-2008, 09:47 AM

Just telling you what they said. It's true that the parameters for string length and whatnot would be wrong but it might not matter too much.

You're saying you actually used the output of a GK2B/3B into a VG99?

If so, perhaps letting Roland know might be in order so they can increase their market for these products. That would be a win-win all around.

giovabass · #8 03-18-2008, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

I've used the other guitar units with bass, and it was quite a bit of fun.
... That said, it doesn't matter if it's a bass or a guitar being used.

Cool, did you use stuff like the VG-88 with bass? If so perhaps even the VG-99 with some adjusting (e.g. setting string parameters) can be used... let us know what guitar hardware you used with bass and what you did to make it work

elros · #9 03-18-2008, 11:06 AM

This is the thread for you:
roland vg99 with bass guitar?

In summary: the VG-99 will work with bass guitar, sort of. But it still models guitars, not bass guitars.

Although Roland says that bass won't work with the guitar synths.... it sort of will. The GK system is the same for bass and guitar. It's just that the algorithms in the VG-88 and VG-99 are made for guitar and won't work correctly with bass.

And, the GK system is NOT a MIDI pickup!!! I'm not angry.

giovabass · #10 03-18-2008, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elros

This is the thread for you:
roland vg99 with bass guitar?

In summary: the VG-99 will work with bass guitar, sort of. But it still models guitars, not bass guitars.

Although Roland says that bass won't work with the guitar synths.... it sort of will. The GK system is the same for bass and guitar. It's just that the algorithms in the VG-88 and VG-99 are made for guitar and won't work correctly with bass.

And, the GK system is NOT a MIDI pickup!!! I'm not angry.

Thank you elros, in fact i suspected that... Of course it doesn't have all the bass sounds that the V-bass has so it wouldn't be a substitute of it, but i think that it would be very cool to use for "guitar-like" stuff, like this (yes he is playing a bass

):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTWts...eature=related

this guy has an 8-string bass, but i think that a 6-string tuned EADGCF you could have the same "guitar-like" effect... perhaps useful for recording purposes too (guitar tracks).

Benjamin Strange · #11 03-18-2008, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by giovabass

Cool, did you use stuff like the VG-88 with bass? If so perhaps even the VG-99 with some adjusting (e.g. setting string parameters) can be used... let us know what guitar hardware you used with bass and what you did to make it work

Yeah, I've used the VG-8 and the VG88 with a bass. I was using a Yamaha midi pickup - same as the Roland, just a tiny bit smaller. It didn't take much to make it work; just some parameter adjusting to make up for missing two strings.