Midi USB into Windows XP to record ?

[luknfur]

From what I can gather looking below the surface, XP has a driver called DirectMusic API that supports midi. I’m trying to record a V bass to the laptop through the USB port but can’t figure out how to make the connections internally from port to internal recorder.

Any ideas?

[Danimal00]

Originally Posted by luknfur

From what I can gather looking below the surface, XP has a driver called DirectMusic API that supports midi. I’m trying to record a V bass to the laptop through the USB port but can’t figure out how to make the connections internally from port to internal recorder.

Any ideas?

Hi luknfur,

I assume that you are talking about the Roland VBass. The Roland VBass does not do an Audio to MIDI conversion. The MIDI in and out of the VBass uses the MIDI i/o for other things, such as Firmware updates, patch changes, ect.

The only way to get audio out of the VBass is via the analog audio outputs. If you want to generate MIDI from the Notes you are playing to record the MIDI data, you will need something such as the GI-20 from Roland. That is a Pitch to MIDI convertor. The GI-20 has a 13 pin input and a MIDI output as well as a USB output that will transmit the MIDI notes.

I've personally used the VBass, VG8, GR33, and the GI20. The GR33 and GI20 are the only two of these four units that do the pitch to MIDI conversion, and the GR33 is geared towards the guitarist. The GI20 has a switch to change it from guitar to bass use.

I hope this helps.
Dan

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by Danimal00

Hi luknfur,

I assume that you are talking about the Roland VBass. The Roland VBass does not do an Audio to MIDI conversion. The MIDI in and out of the VBass uses the MIDI i/o for other things, such as Firmware updates, patch changes, ect.

The only way to get audio out of the VBass is via the analog audio outputs. If you want to generate MIDI from the Notes you are playing to record the MIDI data, you will need something such as the GI-20 from Roland. That is a Pitch to MIDI convertor. The GI-20 has a 13 pin input and a MIDI output as well as a USB output that will transmit the MIDI notes.

I've personally used the VBass, VG8, GR33, and the GI20. The GR33 and GI20 are the only two of these four units that do the pitch to MIDI conversion, and the GR33 is geared towards the guitarist. The GI20 has a switch to change it from guitar to bass use.

I hope this helps.
Dan

Yeh the V bass, thanks.

It does help in confirming the thought that a controller would be needed.

The laptop only has a mic in other than the USB which I’ve gathered sucks compared to a line in. I’ve ran the bass through the mic-in on the computer but I haven’t tried running the V bass to the computer through the mic-in. I’m guessing I could drop the output enough to get a useable result. Or maybe using the headphone out into the computer mic-in might work? Seems some guys have done that with amps. I’ve never messed with digital recording. All I want to do with the stupid thing are some brief 5-10 second clips and it's like some major event.

I’ve been thinking about a synth extension as well but there’s the tracking issue. Even thought about using long scale piccolo bass strings to try and get around it but apparently that’s not too impressive either. How was your experience with bass tracking on the GI20?

[Danimal00]

Originally Posted by luknfur

Yeh the V bass, thanks.

It does help in confirming the thought that a controller would be needed.

The laptop only has a mic in other than the USB which I’ve gathered sucks compared to a line in. I’ve ran the bass through the mic-in on the computer but I haven’t tried running the V bass to the computer through the mic-in. I’m guessing I could drop the output enough to get a useable result. Or maybe using the headphone out into the computer mic-in might work? Seems some guys have done that with amps. I’ve never messed with digital recording. All I want to do with the stupid thing are some brief 5-10 second clips and it's like some major event.

I’ve been thinking about a synth extension as well but there’s the tracking issue. Even thought about using long scale piccolo bass strings to try and get around it but apparently that’s not too impressive either. How was your experience with bass tracking on the GI20?

Pretty decent, I thought that the tracking was the fastest of the Pitch to MIDI convertors i've tried, but it still didn't feel right to me on the lower strings. It has to wait for 1/2 the waveform to get enough information to generate a MIDI note. The VBass triggers faster since it does not have to do this, but then again it does not do the MIDI thing either.

Dan