Dr. DIMENTO’S V-BASS PICKUP EXPERIMENT

[luknfur]

I find now after a couple years of having all the bands full with user patches, that after a gig I still occasionally tweak a patch, knowing that I can make it do something a little better...Thanks for journalling, luknfur!

I hear ya on the tweaking, attack, trigger, and expression aspects. One thing that’s cool about the V bass is, like pickups, tones can sound very much the same but respond very differently depending on their application/execution. So it’s pretty tough to end up with two of the same patches. On the other hand, that also complicates the matter because a lot of variations are not night n day.

On the surface, the GR 20 seems like it would be an extension and compliment to the V bass. Seems next logical step in development and something that fits at this particular juncture. Also may make a great inclusion into this thread.

I’ve been pretty much a technique and EQ guy, not effects. I think a solid background in effects would take one to another level with the V bass. I’m not up for educating myself on effects at this point.

I’m not abandoning ship here, just changing course following the currents for a while with no particular plans to return to port. The tide for me changed with the V Bass once I reached the point of getting all the user patches playable. Basically what I’m doing now is playing all these patches to tunes to get a bearing on what can go - and that‘s going to be a while.

 

[luknfur]

FWIW:

For the record, I sold the V bass. I’d plateau’d on it. Not to imply I’d exhausted it’s capabilities, I‘d just given it my best shot. In terms of the resale factor, breaking even was the minimal goal but it ended up on the optimistic side at a 25% return over cost.

I then tried a Roland GR 20 which I kept briefly. In accord with Greenboy, I wasn’t up for the tracking issues. That in combination with the introduction of the Roland V 99 (think it is) sent it packing. But I did dink with it minimally and go through all some 400 presets, which is basically what the package is - a sampling of various instruments. I realized that although sax, piano, etc. is appealing to me as an option, it’s not of primary importance (and that’s assuming tracking wasn‘t an issue). My primary interest in them is for layering those tones in with a bass line not using them in their pure form.

I then bought a bass podxt, which I have now and I’m thinking of starting a similar thread to this for it in the Effects Forum. I'd had the original bass pod but wasn't impressed at the time.

I liked the V Bass enough to where I’d be interested if Roland put out an upgraded version. I do miss the fretless, ABG, and URB tones as the Bass podxt has no bass modeling - just amps/cab/effects.

 

[greenboy]

I kinda hit another plateau in the "blending" programming I've been doing, pulling off a few new tricks involving use of the GK volume control mapped to various parameters so that when blended the host bass is different than when not blended. Also found some nice EQ tricks as well using really narrow-Q gain or cut at various frequencies, that help a host bass get closer to the V-Basses in terms of ideal punchy tonal characteristics... some cool things going on in conjunction with the COSM Vari Bass model right now : }

The sound just keeps on getting better and more performance-oriented!

 

[luknfur]

Yep, the V Bass I could tweak till I was tone deaf. Some parameters seemed excessive while I'd wished it had more elsewhere. I miss some of the tones I got from it. I don't miss that GK pickup on the bass. I'd have to go with the internal job if I got another one.

 

[luknfur]

Continued Followup

Thought I would update a little on further related experiences I've had since the V-bass 6 month assessment of initial objectives.

For starters that assessment and the post synopsis' have turned out to be the end point review.

Follow-up Synopsis:

I did pick up a Roland Bass Cube 30 and later a Roland D-Bass 210 amplifier, as well as a podxt, pod x3, and pocket pod. Like the V-Bass, all of this units contain modeling in variations. Obviously the amps have different application than the Line 6 modeling units. Some general feedback on my experiences with each follows.

Roland Bass Cube 30 amp with COSM modeling. Great little practice amp. The quality of tone through it is not comparable to the COSM V-bass but quite flexible and useful not only for standard basslines but also beyond snce it has basic effects which are quite useful. It can also be used as a preamp via the record function. It's a bit noisy going that route but useful depending on your need. I've used it more in that mode than as a practice amp. It's purchase also allowed me to pocket a few hundred dollar difference from the sale of a 150 watt combo amp I'd used extensively but was for me too large as a practice as but not large enough for a rig amp.

I also did pick up a podxt bean which I like quite well and felt an improvement tonewise over the original pod I once had. The xt overall had more versatile tones than the V-bass, was more useful for typical baselines, but the sound quality was not up to that of the V-bass. The V-Bass is far more complex than the xt in terms of altering parameters and general use (took me months to learn the V-bass, a day or two for the xt). The xt manual also had a lot of interesting info. There are some plus and minus' of each (like LOTS of amps/cab combinations on the pod) but that's it overall. I sold the xt and bought a podx3.

The podx3 tone quality is quite comparable to the V-Bass. Although minimally a bass unit by design but primarily for guitar, it works quite well for bass. In fact overall I found the x3 far more appealing for bass than guitar. I only had the x3 for a few weeks and have poor recall but it seemed quite like the xt otherwise. There are some plus and minus difference though - like the x3 has more patch space.

All three of these units basically minimize to eliminate the need for multiple basses/pups. The sound of the bass itself has minimal to no impact depending on how you use these units yet the range of tones far exceeds what you'd get from an arsenal of basses. The pods also had some tracking issues on the synth patches. I had no reliability issues with any of these units. They also have fairly good and stable resale values (I'm in the black on these units as a group).

I also picked up a pocket pod. This unit was kind of cool for what it is but unlike the x3 I didn't find it particularly useful for bass. The song patches were a nice concept and one I'd mentioned in the V-Bass thread would be something to look at for bass patches (and the pods for that matter) - especially given the presets these units have.

I also bought a Roland D-Bass 210 combo amp which is all the rig I'll ever need and permitted me to move my QSC/GS112's on. The 210 is a light, compact, powerful, and versatile amp - particularly appealing when combined with Bass cube. I returned a Markbass LMII in favor of the 210. The x3 also was a good match with the 210. The 210 also has COSM modeling but it’s a different version than on the cube. It’s a plus when using them together cause it’s more versatile but to me a minus with the 210 only cause it’s not as appealing as that on the cube.