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Purchased Sonuus B2M Bass Midi Interface

WarriorJoe7

WarriorJoe7

Inactive
Mar 12, 2004
6,316
95
Syracuse, NY
www.myspace.com
#1
Just purchased 10 seconds ago. It's on the way. I also have a Peavey midibase so I have something to compare it to. Can't wait.

Downside is it's monophonic but that's fine for most bass playing. I wonder how it does with fretless and pitch bends (not my biggest concern though... tracking is.)

Joe
 
#4
Do you know what type of synth sounds will you be using? Are you looking to double your bassline in unison with a natural-sounding patch (such as synthbass, piano, or even kick drum), or are you planning on using it as a cool effect (similar to a synth pedal)?

I ask, because I fall into the 1st category (wanting to double my bassline with a synth patch), and it seems like most of the Sonuus demos I've seen are more in the "turn the bass into something cool and funky" category. I'd like to figure out, if the B2M is doubled with something like an acoustic piano sound from a keyboard synth or software sampler, and a simple clean, monophonic bassline is played (e.g. a scale played in 1/8th notes), will the piano patch sound like an actual piano being played along with the bass, or will it sound like a funky chicken?
 
#5
I don't think the Sonus will be any better than any Roland or Axon setup.
I use a Roland GR-20 with the GK-3B pickup, and the best sounds are the ones with a slow attack, like your synths and pads. If find things like Piano sounds a bit twitchy and suseptable to false triggering if your playing technique is not perfect.
With the Sonus pitch-to-midi, you will need a midi sound module or computer midi interface and softsynth.
I too would like to hear about anyones experiance with this device.
 
#7
my first impression is SUCK!

but I will try out a few more basses with it and look for some tweaks before I do a good review.

First impressions are that it's glitchy bpuncing between octaves, but maybe because I am an average bassist. If my playing was super clean it would probably work better. When I play slowly it works decently but the delay is still much more noticeable than the midibase. I just got an axon setup too but I am waiting on the hexpander pickup, so I can't test it yet. If the axon is not better than this then I will get rid of both and feel that lucky I snagged a working midibase.

Actually another thing i noticed is that if I play just notes on one string then I have less problems, probably because it's impossible to play 2 notes at once on one string. If you are going to play multiple strings it's probably best to play cleanly and staccato, so that you have no overlap between notes. Also I think the delay though in my opionion not that great is better at high strings.

I might decide to string the bass an octave up.

There is 1 thing it does better than the old midibase and that is slide. Hammerons on the midibase didnt work very well, on this one it does but very glitchy.
 
#8
Alright justmessin, I am just messing around with it for now and I have a small alesis nanobass module that I got with the midibase that works ok. I didn't try doubling it with the bass yet.

I clearly like the midibase better but it's out of production. My next comparison is going to be against an axon ax50b into the same alesis nanobass, but I am still waiting for the graphtech shadow hexpander setup to arrive (it was out of stock.)

I plan to be able to do both of your ideas JustMessin and I did do that before with the midibase. With the midibase I once played the organ intro of this song Link Removed . I had the bass doubled with an organ patch with heavy distortion, octave down, and flange added. It was freaking awesome.
 
#9
Tracking of the correct note is ok unless you accidentally have even a slight overlap of 2 notes, then it goes to hell. Play cleanly and staccato.

I am not happy with the delay. I guess they took advanatge of the fact that youtube usually doesn't have a perfect sync between picture and sound.

Like I said I am going to experiment probably this weekend with more basses.

Oh yeah I must mention that I didn't try it with a pick and I am not a pick player.

Does anyone know anywhere where anyone posted tweaks to optimize your bass for this.
 
#12
try running through a graphic EQ and knock out all the highs and extreme lows, before going into the Sonus, or tuning down the tone control on the bass. This will help with the false octave triggering.
Remember these are only monophonic, so it can only analyse one note at a time.

I'm running a Roland GR-20 with the hex pickup, and it rocks !! But there is still a noticable delay on the lower notes, this is due to the laws of physics, the time it takes for a string to vibrate from one side to the other is slower on the lower registers.:bassist:
 
#13
WarriorJoe7 said:
If the axon is not better than this then I will get rid of both and feel that lucky I snagged a working midibase.
Click to expand...
My predictions ; you will :smug:

I tried an AX50 before buying a GI20 and it really s***.
I found the GI20 to be better and bought one , but it still s***ed.


Maybe you'll have better luck than I did.

The ONLY thing i found that really works for "synthish" sounds without much glitches and no latency is the VB99. Limited but it works.

I would sell my soul for a working Midibase.
PS; I don't have the budget for this http://www.industrialradio.com.au/ My soul isn't worth that much....
 
#14
I have 2 working midibases and a cyberbass. I may be selling one soon.

fokof said:
My predictions ; you will :smug:

I tried an AX50 before buying a GI20 and it really s***.
I found the GI20 to be better and bought one , but it still s***ed.


Maybe you'll have better luck than I did.

The ONLY thing i found that really works for "synthish" sounds without much glitches and no latency is the VB99. Limited but it works.

I would sell my soul for a working Midibase.
PS; I don't have the budget for this http://www.industrialradio.com.au/ My soul isn't worth that much....
Click to expand...
 
#15
I'll chime in here and agree with WarriorJoe7 for the most part. I have the Sonuus driving an Alesis Micron keyboard. I tried it with four basses -- Dingwall Combustion with rounds, Lakland 55-94 with flats, OLP TL Signature, made fretless, with rounds and a Hofner Icon with flats. First impression: not what I had hoped for, but what I expected for $100.

Tracking is pretty awful unless you play very slowly. Lots of octave jumping, even when played cleanly. Running the active basses flat didn't help, nor did cutting tone all the way. Even the Lakland in passive mode didn't help, but I'll have to say flats work better -- probably because of fewer overtones.

You have to be VERY careful of your technique. Damping can produce overtones that the Sonuus picks up, causing a lot of glitchy jumps. I also have trouble getting the correct octave to sound on the Micron. It has a five octave range via pushbutton switches, and no matter what I set them at, the MIDI drives the same a octave.

I'm wondering at this point if the MarkBass SuperSynth wouldn't be better for someone who wants to do normal bass lines. I don't need the Sonuus for sustained synth --I have Roland bass pedals for that. The Sonuus is so glitchy that I'd rather play simple synth bass lines on the Micron.
 
#16
I ordered one of these devices (B2M) and it should be in my hands by Tuesday (5/11).

My expectations are low. I have a Moog Taurus 3 that I would like to play from either my BB5000 or NXT EUB. Most likely some long tones with slow attacks.

I have a 2nd BB5000 that is being de-fretted and I plan on using E, A, D, G and C srings. If the B2M does work, it could be an interesting sound/effect with this bass and a synth backing.

I have experience with the GK-3 on my Stick. I mostly (95% of the time) use the synth sounds to add color behind the Stick sound. The inherent delay is not an issue as the frequencies are much higher than a bass.

We'll see/hear what happens.
 
#17
I received the B2M today.

So far... a C-.

I tried it with a Yamaha BB5000, Steinberger NXT EUB and a Chapman Stick (bass side).

It skips around a lot. Mixes up the octave. Fast playing is not going to work.

Having said that, a slow attack sound on the Taurus T-3 (even tried a GR-20 guitar synth) will work most of the time. Was able to get it to follow my electric upright with pitch bending/sliding pretty well (+/- 2 steps). Worked okay when I bowed long notes.

I have a GK-3 on the Melody side of my Stick so I am familiar with this pitch-to-MIDI stuff. The Sonuus B2M does NOT work anywhere near as well as the Roland GK-3/GR-20. But it was only $100 from Sweetwater. I was NOT expecting this device to work any better than it does.

I'll keep working it... there IS a place for it in my arsenal. Just going to have to learn mostly what it won't do.
 

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