NoirBass

Yeah, I’ve tried what was suggested above and no, it doesn’t work. You can detune a Variax guitar by about a maximum of a fourth down (Or up) on each string, any more and it just gets really warbly. Even tuning down a forth you’re going to want a good bit of drive on it to mask the pitch shifting.

Pretty close I recon, but you’d need to find instrument ir’s?

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

How complex is the modelling on them out of interest?

The piezo pickup on each string allows a profile of various instruments to be superimposed. This works really nicely with very little latency and keeping a lot of the dynamics and resonance of the modelled guitar. It all hinges on how well the profiles are taken, for example the Stingray and Rickenbacker models on the VB-99 pretty close,  you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference blindfolded. However for me the P basses on both units are a long way off.

Where the VB system really shines is that you can assign 2 separate signal paths (with 2 different modelled basses, synths, upright or "guitar"). You can then independently pitch shift or add effects to either path. The poly effects in the VB allow you to assign different effects to each string! Add to that the amount of assigns you can attach to either a footpedal or the controllers on the unit and it becomes a very powerful tool. It's a really well thought out and incredibly deep system once you start to delve, but not without its faults.

16 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

The Boss GT10B pedal has some emulators in it to make a rosewood board sound like maple and vice versa and emulate some bass types like music an and I think Rick's...

These just add eq shapes and don’t really work like the modelling on the Variax and GK bass.

That is a absolute stunner mate. If things were normal I’d be seriously considering this.

7 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Surely the Roland VB system is just as obsolete as the Variax Bass? 

I totally agree, but if the original poster wants to go down the instrument modelling route these two are the only options. I'm just saying I think the antiquated Roland system is better than the antiquated Line 6 one. Both are very cumbersome in their own ways.

Everyone will be on about triggering MIDI in a minute 🙂

Just to chip in on this as I own both the Variax bass and the VB-99 system:

Firstly, the Youtube video posted above is the most flattering demo I've ever seen of the abilities of the Variax bass. Whilst I don't deny that what you see in the video is possible it'll take a monumental amount of tweaking to get it. Line 6 rather left the Variax bass behind when they went to the POD HD and so you miss out on all the really cool workbench stuff. The Variax bass is a clunky, ungainly instrument too and really heavy!

The VB-99 for me is the better option and has all the customisation you'll ever need. With a GK pickup it would will work nicely with you existing bass and you can blend the direct bass signal. I'd have to agree with the previous posts that for the amount of money you'll end up spending on transplanting a Variax, you could put a GK-KIT-BG3 pickup in your bass and get either a VB-99 (good luck finding one of those!) or an SY-1000.

Either way your in for a fair bit of expense, If you're ever in North London and the lockdown has been lifted your welcome to come and have a try of both systems.

Day 44 - Wolfgang 1969

Cool, looks to be based on the MIM P Bass Jr?

Day 40 - Can't Stop Loving You.

Day 39 - Judith Owen

Day 38 - Amanda Marshall

19 minutes ago, bigthumb said:

Day 37 - BB King

Just sublime playing on the Hofner. Sorry to jump in @NoirBass but couldn't resist posting.

 

Hey, no problem. Many thanks.

14 hours ago, Bassduckk said:

Looking to get my first multi fix pedal. Thoughts on the line 6 m5 ?

It’s a good pedal, defiantly worth a look. I’d probably encourage you to get the m9 if you can afford it. My  reason for this is you can combine the effects on the M9, the M5 is purely 1 effect at a time. The Zoom stuff is great too for entry level and will include amp modelling too. The Boss GT-1b is also a great entry level unit. You’ll probably get a bunch of people chiming in with loads of different options.

Day 36 - Barefoot Servants

Day 35 - F & R...

Day 34 - Dance

Day 33 - Stella

Agreed, although I think what he’s saying is that he tries to be spontaneous and as such isn’t trying to remember what he’s playing at the time of recording.

10 hours ago, rmorris said:

Right. I'm going to ask the question that never gets asked?

We play (relatively large) bass guitars - often through even larger/heavier amp/speaker/combo rigs - so why the obsession with the size of relatively tiny effects pedals ??? Yeah - I know stage sizes etc but really ...

For me it’s that I often have to travel on the tube to gigs (or did!). A pedal board with a load of full sized pedals gets really heavy, particularly when you add in the cables, psu and pedal board. If I can make it more compact and lighter, I will.

Day 32 - Immediate Family

Day 31 - Sunday

Day 30 - Grinnin' Face

Brilliant isn't it.

Day 29.5 - No Music