Itll definitely sell for that the day after it sells out but what will it cost retail? Fool me once letting the Gen Loss pass me by.
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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread
- Thread starter ttasselm
- Start date
Itll definitely sell for that the day after it sells out but what will it cost retail? Fool me once letting the Gen Loss pass me by.
@cosmicevan -- some Beebo questions for you. At first I was all like "no way because there's a touchscreen and I wear gloves" but it appears that it's easy to assign parameters to external controllers. I could see using a Faderfox box with 1/8" MIDI to 1/8" MIDI if I wanted to tweak a lot of stuff in real time.
How stable is the Beebo? Have you run into "surprise" issues where things don't work like they're supposed to?
Have you tried hooking up any external MIDI controllers and have they worked consistently?
Is there a looper module on there? There isn't one listed in the manual but I read that it's not up to date.
What's the processor power like -- can you run a few loopers into a granular module?
Is there an active user community anywhere? Facebook looks pretty dead.
Can the USB port act as a USB host port/provide power to a controller?
I have a Eurorack synth and some of the Mutable Instruments modules, so I am interested in it in part because I already understand some of what it does.
Thanks for any light you can shed.
How stable is the Beebo? Have you run into "surprise" issues where things don't work like they're supposed to?
Have you tried hooking up any external MIDI controllers and have they worked consistently?
Is there a looper module on there? There isn't one listed in the manual but I read that it's not up to date.
What's the processor power like -- can you run a few loopers into a granular module?
Is there an active user community anywhere? Facebook looks pretty dead.
Can the USB port act as a USB host port/provide power to a controller?
I have a Eurorack synth and some of the Mutable Instruments modules, so I am interested in it in part because I already understand some of what it does.
Thanks for any light you can shed.
whether or not you’re a fan of mr swallow, he has some really interesting things to say in this interview. he delves into some things that might be pertinent to folks here.
Steve Swallow in Flight
Steve Swallow in Flight
Huge Steve Swallow fan over here.
Crazy underated.
My favorite recording of his is the live album "en route" with Scofield and Bill Stewart.
Will watch link for sure. Thanks for sharing
Inspiring read. I feel like I’m just learning to practice as well.
his thing about the electric bass as being a blank slate was resonant for me.
Indeed. He was one of my major influences in my formative years along with Bob Cranshaw. The blank slate thing really hits the target.
I used to get ALOT of crap from the jazz police purists since also gave up upright bass and only played electric.
They (Bob and Steve) where the ones that kept me going forward and not let anything get in the way.
Side note: he mentions playing the cello suits. I wonder in what key he plays them in???
Original, oct down, transposed!??!!?
I have very little understanding of how the Beebo works beyond the basics, so I will do my best to answer these questions.
Stability - it gets updated so regularly that when I got it, it was already several versions behind. I updated mine and before I could even explore the changes in the new version...let alone explore the device itself, there was already another new version with significant changes. Most recently, he added a sequencer!!! I have heard a looper is on the list.
Surprise issues - when I first got it and was exploring it, I found that some of my intuitive workflows weren't supported and I ran into one or two times that I had to reboot and I wasn't sure what I had done. I now leverage the back buttons and do things very step by step as opposed to trying to jump around really fast like I would on vetted tech. I'm a bit of a techy person so I tend to explore advanced functionality...I'm a keyboard command guy on a computer type of geek
All that said, the device is complex and there are concepts about controllers and modules that I need to really wrap my head around to take full advantage of the pedal so some of the "surprise issues" could be my lack of knowing what I'm doing. The concepts available for building blocks go WAY beyond my existing knowledge of music and synthesis...but like a chase bliss pedal, you can still do crazy things without even touching a dip switch (I haven't explored dip switches on any of my Chase Bliss pedals to date either).I have not explored external MIDI devices, though I've seen some youtube videos with folks leveraging & controlling external devices successfully. I have no idea about the USB port. I have not really pushed the CPU processor, though there are some presets that have an insane amount of delays and LFOs and none seem to get close. The extent of my programming thus far has been exploring the basic stereo imaging using basic effects. I'm pretty in love with the rotary and the modulation in general is really nice, so I end up making a little effect while trying to learn the device and then jamming it and that's the progress for the day so I haven't had a chance to get very deep with it. I'm mostly impressed when I add an LFO to control a parameter and it does what I wanted or I find a happy accident. It's really just an incredible pile of potential more than anything else, and getting one now is just coming along for the full journey. Like you said, manual isn't up to date, so how does one learn about it? Loki does youtube live streams and if you jump on live, he'll address whatever you ask him, but for the most part, they are really long sessions to sift through and the entire thing is a tremendous investment of time. As you've seen, I'm a GAS factory so I split my time across all these projects so to me learning it is a marathon. I don't expect it to live on my board at any time in the near future, but rather be something I pull out to work with independently with an instrument. As for the community, there are some very active youtubers who regularly make videso about the device and show cool ways to use it making learning easier, but you really need to spend time with it. If you got one and got vocal within a community at this point, you'd literally be able to steer the way the pedal evolves to ensure it meets your needs. It's exciting to be a part of the journey, but I don't think the pedal is gig ready unless you want to just set it and forget it or set it and toggle a param.
Thanks @cosmicevan . Very helpful. Sounds like I should write them. When you say it’s not gig ready, is that because it’s unstable or because you feel like you don’t fully understand it?
I love all these “modular in a box” pedals — Beebo, Zoia, Mod Duo — except they all seem like there is something they have promised but not delivered. Time may solve it though.
I love all these “modular in a box” pedals — Beebo, Zoia, Mod Duo — except they all seem like there is something they have promised but not delivered. Time may solve it though.
It's been a glorious couple of days.
Same w Zoia. Well, sorta. It loads quickly, but no trails/transition.
And my Zoia is now exhibiting a common problem with some of the early production runs (mine was ordered very early). The “shift” button has stopped working, practically making the entire box a $500 paperweight. It still functions with existing patches, but no more new ones for me.
The good news is that this looks to be a common enough problem that there is also a solution. I need to contact Empress for a few replacement parts, and then I’ll be back in business.
The good news is that this looks to be a common enough problem that there is also a solution. I need to contact Empress for a few replacement parts, and then I’ll be back in business.
Still, disappointing. Nothing frustrates me more than troubleshooting taking up music making time.
Until the touchscreen fails, at least.
I know. It’s always a tradeoff.
I emailed Empress. Let’s see what the CS options are like.
