Roland Announces New V-Bass VB-99 !!!

[wiro]

Line up, I was first!

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

What's the guess on the availability date?

 

[boomski]

Two words - String Modeling !!!

Two more - Polyphonic Effects !!!

This is gonna be soooo sweet !


Holla !!

 

[Wilbyman]

I was literally just talking about how Roland needs to put out an updated version of the V-Bass with Wilbyman about a week ago. I'm assuming that your presets can be changed via a MIDI foot controller? I'm not sure how this thing would work, as it's not meant for the floor, and the controls are obviously not geared towards being rack mounted (the D Beam shows that- my Roland Handsonic has one of those as well). I can't imagine that many bassists would want a separate unit on a stand.

Yup! Weird! It really cool and expensive. I'm not sure I would splash out for it a $1300 (actually, I'm sure I wouldn't), but it looks awesome.

 

[greenboy]

Let me know if I've got this right. You tape the pickup to your bass, and you can generate MIDI sounds via what you're playing on the bass ... so, you can play "trumpet" solos with heavy reverb on them, for example?

Hey SMASH,

I've been using a V-Bass since 2003 as my preamp (and effects). It's NOT MIDI though - it can use MIDI only for continous controller transmission and sysex patch dumps (as said above, the upcoming product also includes an internal pitch-to-midi convertor which can be used to drive synths/samplers). What the unit does besides allowing a host-bass's magnetic pickups to be preamped and run through COSM amp models and EQ and effects, is to use the GK-2/3B to model basses and a variety of synthy models whose parameters can be mapped to footswitches/pedals for real-time changes, and those to can be routed through the amp models and effects modules. The routing is fairly flexible, allowing any signal chain order. The host bass magnetics and the COSM basses can be routed semi-independently- foreinstance the host bass can go through an amp model first while the COSM bass model being driven by the GK pickup can bypass this. Blends of COSM basses and one's own bass can be achieved and modulated in realtime.

How was the tracking before

COSM tracking of bass guitar models is so good you often feel as if you are playing those actual basses, and every gestural nuance of either hand changes the sound dynamically. This is NOT like midi with its glitch-prone delay and less dynamic nature. Even the standup models can be tweaked into patches that respond almost like you are playing a doghouse. Some of the synth models are very close to this level of playability, though a couple can ocassionally glitch until you get used to how they respond.

Any bass tuning and any magnetic string and gauge choice works well (I've tuned as low as an octave below normal low E and up into guitar range). I've found that going to lighter gauges helps me increase the scope of the sounds due to being able to use more "guitarist" techniques however - tapping, sustained guitar leads, etc - wihtout making the bass sounds any less awesome. I've used nickel and SS rounds and SMith or GHS compressed wounds (very cool for this).

and any idea if this is an improvement?

Remains to be seen, but knowing Roland they've improved both hardware implementation and modeling algorithms - they are big into R&D.

More simply, what does it have trouble doing?

If you want to do more complex synthesis, or pianos, trumpets, etc, you need to be looking at adding MIDI modules. The original V-Bass (and I would guess its predecessor) concentrates on pluckedstring stuff just as the guitar units (GR-99 etc) do. And because of the routing of GK and host bass magnetics, one can in effect do a two-rig system (as if one was running two separate signal chains and rigs) through one rig. I really leverage this ability in my patches.

As far as effects, the modulation stuff, the autowah/envelope filters, the manual wah, the choruses, the overdrives/fuzzes/distortions, the EQs, the delay, the tremelo, the reverb, the amps and cabs, are all very flexible and sound great. ALmost any have wet/dry mixes and many have adjustable high-pass filters to keep the low end intact. The COSM-whammy/pitch shifting is really good, but the second effects-section pitch-shifting module that can be applied to the host bass magnetics is only good for smaller intervals or barber-pole flanging or detuning. I hope that in this newer version that they've improved it for octaves and such.

Will that pickup fit a 6-string?

Yes. I use 5- and 6-string fretless basses for my main hosts. I only bring one bass to any gig or jam, but I have two basses outfitted. By the way, the fretless COSM model does a mean Jaco or Bakithi Kumalo or whatever, driven either by fretted or fretless host.

If I'm any indication, and I am a willing target audience for this with cash in hand, people want a simple plug & play kinda deal. Even when I use MIDI modules/controllers, I basically want to press "on" dial in a good preset, and start playing. Total opposite to the real tech heads that want to edit, etc. I'm not a MIDI junkie and don't aspire to be. I just want to make some cool sounds.

I'm guessing that the factory presets on the new unit will have some real mind-blowing stuff and also some great simulations of meat-and-potatos basses and rigs, but as with all programmable units, one can fit what they want to do all the better if at least modifying some of their favorite patches. For me, that usually entails making more use of footpedals and footswitches and the controls on the GK pickup to change things up in realtime.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

The thing is, this guy is a black hole. First you drop 1300 on it, then another couple hundred for the pickup, then another couple hundred on the foot controller, then you still hang on to your old pedals because there is some tone you can't get with the 99, then you decide that there is a whole world of A/V coolness that you never explored before, so now you load up on big screen TVs..... and you can't forget about the THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON MIDI COMPATIBLE GEAR [now taking recovery breaths].

I'm certain there are possibilities for how to spend money with this guy that I haven't even thought of.

I still want one, but I don't know that I'll ever be able to justify dropping the bones to get one.... and all the other accessories to go with it, too.

 

[greenboy]

Also a note on the "Classic" V-Bass. As a multi-effects unit it does real good even without a GK-3B on the face of one's bass. You still have all the effects, the amp/cab models, the routing order flexibility, and the footcontrol - you just don't have the COSM bass models. The sound quality on all but the bigger pitch shifts is primo, and being able to (just one example of many) foot-treadle from a lot of reverb to a little whilst that simultaneously turns up the delay feedback and the overdrive (which can be had in both amp models and in the effects section) is where I really like this over separate stomp boxes or rack units. If it wasn't flexible or didn't sound good, this of course wouldn't matter - but it does have a rich sound and a lot of tweakability.

You can assign four effects sections to the 1/2/3/4 footwitches and thus in manual mode treat any patch like a bunch of stompboxes too...

 

[greenboy]

The thing is, this guy is a black hole.

Coming from a post in the EFFECTS forum, I just gotta chuckle ; } - I've seen guys spend twenty times as much on separates (or more than that on basses) as I did on the V-Bass, in the same period of time. And I've lived with it so long it's just as much part of me as my bass or my rig. It does my bidding.

EDIT: And actually because of this, I might never get a "V-Bass II" - I have so much time invested and so little frustration and the sounds always wow people. SO even though the new one should be able to do more, and be improved in some areas, it's also a lot clunkier, larger and heavier if I want footcontrol and not just static patches. Right now it's my preamp and pedalboard, slips in to my 4-space SKB at the end of the gig along with my one-space power amp, my bass stand and a bunch of cabling. I like it like that. I used to have effects filling several racks and all over the floor in a couple of big boards, and I'm not missing the hassles and the interfacing.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

Coming from a post in the EFFECTS forum, I just gotta chuckle ; }

I realize that is a little amusing, but I'm pretty cheap and the effects usually kick me in the head just a little at a time. One gig can usually pay for one effect, where I would have to show some serious restraint for a while to walk away with that thing.

 

[Ba55Man1ac]

EDIT: And actually because of this, I might never get a "V-Bass II" - I have so much time invested and so little frustration and the sounds always wow people. SO even though the new one should be able to do more, and be improved in some areas, it's also a lot clunkier, larger and heavier if I want footcontrol and not just static patches. Right now it's my preamp and pedalboard, slips in to my 4-space SKB at the end of the gig along with my one-space power amp, my bass stand and a bunch of cabling. I like it like that. I used to have effects filling several racks and all over the floor in a couple of big boards, and I'm not missing the hassles and the interfacing.

Hey greenboy you just typed exactly what I was thinking while reading through the VB-99 info. I've been gigging hard with my V-Bass for 5 years and it still amazes me every time I power it up! So they take away the on-board expression pedal and expect you to buy that humongous FC-300 monstrosity! I'll wait until I have a read through the user manual before I make my final verdict, but for now it looks like my V-Bass 'mk 1' will not be retiring for a long time yet...

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

The fact that the new one is controlled by a MIDI foot controller is a bonus to me. You don't have to use the Roland MIDI controller for it, although that's beneficial if you want your patch names to be transferred to your controller. You could use a Rolls MIDI Buddy, a controller that is FAR smaller than either the V-Bass or the Roland FC-300 along with an expression pedal or two of your choosing. Less expensive stuff on the floor to break is a bonus in my book as well

 

[greenboy]

So they take away the on-board expression pedal and expect you to buy that humongous FC-300 monstrosity!

Looking at the back panel, I guess we could at least put a treadle and two switches on the floor and directly into the unit though I would miss not using MANUAL mode to turn 4 effects modules on and off as well... And then, instaed of an IEC cord you have a line lump for power. Bleh.

200 factory and 200 user patches!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, sometimes I go entire weeks on 4 patches. Admittedly I program mine so each patch can cover a broad range and quickly default to something non-effected and meat and potatoes in all but a few cases where a patch is maybe pretty effects-driven and designed for just one song or an intro or for solo performance. at a jam I can pretty much live in any patch for most styles of music, clean or distorted (I usually dedicate one switch to toggle between more subtle and more radical distortions/ODs/fuzzes as well).

But I have to say there is a lot of additional sonic power in the VB-99 I'd like to get my hands on, knowing full well that to use it rightly will require great responsibility ; } ... Roland is going to continue to drag at least a few of us - kicking and screaming or not - into the future, with all their well-implemented R&D for various instrument families and for the composing and recording process.

 

[greenboy]

The fact that the new one is controlled by a MIDI foot controller is a bonus to me. You don't have to use the Roland MIDI controller for it, although that's beneficial if you want your patch names to be transferred to your controller.

Yeah, I've still got a couple of other MIDI controllers around, but it's sweet to be away from the rack and have that tuner display and patch-change name there...

 

[fokof]

I've been waiting for that for a year !

I was about to plunge with an 1st gen v_bass but , NOt.....

I already have the pickup , the FC300

Anybody wants to buy a GI20?

 

[ped]

Superb. I am a big Vbass fan and have been using one for a while now. Iam excited to see that Roland haven't forgotten about us - the Vbass is a criminally underrated piece of kit in my opinion. I will read through the info here and report back with some thoughts later.

I am so happy with the original Vbass that i am not sure I will want to 'upgrade' instantly because the new features aren't things I would benefit from especially, but I bet there are a whole bunch of extra bonuses hidden under the hood. The USB interface is a bonus too, I was used to using my rack pod as a recording interface and lost that ability whan changing to the Vbass, so this has good potential!

Cheers fellow Vbassers

ped

 

[ped]

Hey greenboy you just typed exactly what I was thinking while reading through the VB-99 info. I've been gigging hard with my V-Bass for 5 years and it still amazes me every time I power it up! So they take away the on-board expression pedal and expect you to buy that humongous FC-300 monstrosity! I'll wait until I have a read through the user manual before I make my final verdict, but for now it looks like my V-Bass 'mk 1' will not be retiring for a long time yet...

Ditto, and also to the original comment by Greenboy. It is still very exciting, but like you, I have just got so settled and cozy with the 'version 1' that changing it is just asking for trouble

Never seen this chap before ---->

 

[fokof]

So they take away the on-board expression pedal and expect you to buy that humongous FC-300 monstrosity!

The FC300 is actualy smaller and lighter than the vbass mkI.
I bought it as a MIDI controller for my laptop and I can tell you that it's a very nice and complete controller.

I can visualize the mkII in a drawer in my rack and the FC300 on the floor. Haven't had a GAS attack that big for a long time

 

[ped]

I actually bought a very sturdy Quik-lok sheet music stand for holding my Vbass, as on stage I often use it direct to the PA and to drive my IEMs. On the whole though I prefer it on the floor.

I am really interested to see how the computer editing software shapes up. Although I hate getting computers involved if I can help it, I did enjoy the pod version because I could back up my settings just in case. At the moment I have written down all my main patches on paper, some go on for pages!!

ped

ped

 

[greenboy]

I am really interested to see how the computer editing software shapes up.

Should be decent - I think the VB-99 and VG-99 architecture are similar and the VG has been out for awhile with software.

Although I hate getting computers involved if I can help it, I did enjoy the pod version because I could back up my settings just in case. At the moment I have written down all my main patches on paper, some go on for pages!!

You can do sys-ex dumps for backup. But it's kind of a pain to live without Librarian features to order patches, save alternate additional versions, etc. Roland really left us hanging. And everyone who claimed on the V-Bass forum I moderated/admined that a librarian wasn't enough - an editor was a must - and by god they were going to make that happen. I cautioned, take things by steps, get usable librarian results before trying to provide an alternate programming interface... Each party that claimed they were going to make it happen went silent after a period with nary a screenshot or beta.

I think Roland does good interfaces and organizes the architecture better than most; one can program up a V-Bass patch in detail with nary a mistep if they halfways learn the puppy. I don't consider being chained to a computer to do the same to be any big advantage. But I sure do want backup and patch organization!

 

[greenboy]

The FC300 is actualy smaller and lighter than the vbass mkI.

They are so close as to be not worth an argument, but the real point is the V-Bass is a self-contained unit and then is considerably smaller and lighter than the newbie with footcontroller. I gotta say I'm not real happy about 5 rack spaces so if I do get a VB-99 it'll live on top of the rack at gigs and not waste so damned much space.