DanOwens

+1 on the Roto TruBass strings; especially if you want an 'upright' type of tone.

DaN

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='12413' date='Jun 5 2007, 12:11 PM']Whats involved in installing a MIDI pickup on a bass? How do you go from taking out of the box to making noises? Do you have any opinions on how the Roland, Axon and Yamaha systems compare to one another?[/quote]

Hey Steve,

It's such a very detailed process, not to mention that every piece of equipment used is different, that its difficult to describe how one goes about it all. One thing I would recommend is 'MIDI for the Professional' by Lehrman and Tully ([url="http://www.amazon.com/Midi-Professional-Paul-D-Lehrman/dp/0825613744"]Amazon Link Here[/url]). It'll help you get up to scratch on CCs and the like (if you need it, and I did despite using midi for a good few years).

As far as pickup installation goes, it's really a question of whether you want to drill into the bass and be able to adjust pickup height or just use double-sided sticky tape. Personally, if I was to buy another midi system it's HAVE to include the Hipshot Ghost system and lose the hulking bit of plastic that hangs of the bass.

Unfortunately I have had only second-hand experience of the various midi systems on the market. "Roland is good to a point, no-one uses Yamaha and Axon is the best" are generally the opinions I recieve (to be very blunt about it).

DaN

For anyone wanting more info, here's the PMs I sent to Steve:

Hi Steve.

Re: sounds, if you know of any midi synths (Korg MS series, novation K station etc), you'll know that the quality of sound from the box is amazing. As long as you know about synthesis you can make pretty much any sound you want (patching an envelope generator to the filter cutoff via the modulation matrix will create a filter sweep).

The Axon's onboard GM card is pretty sh#te and I defo recommend getting a synth too!!

DaN

Hi Steve.

The Axon is pretty good at handling the lower notes. Timing-wise it's not bob-on but its pretty close, defo close enough for live work. There are some problems with the system that are unforseeable and VERY annoying. I did a gig on Thursday night and my reoccuring problem of 'double triggering' crept up again. This is when the note sounds when the 'note on' message is played but doesn't sustain; it also plays a staccato note when the 'note off' message is sent. VERY ANNOYING!!!!!

It's absolutely fine with chords because each string has it's own pickup (I use the roland GK3b).

In summary, it's not perfect, but I can't get sine waves that low with a bass guitar so I put up with it!!!

DaN

Wow guys. In Wigan (my home town) they seem to suffer similar problems, but generally the most difficult thing is apathy from the audience. There's two guys in Wigan called Lupine Promotions and due to their hard work, we've had pretty much EVERY breakthrough Indie act for two years (Arctic Monkeys, Libertines, Babyshambles, Dead 60s, Jamie T, the list goes on), but when the crowd get there they stand by the bar at the back until the DJ comes on and they can have a dance.

The cheek there is that 3 months down the line, when said act has made it and the DJ is playing their tunes, the same apathetic no-hopers are asking for the guy back. It's a real shame. Thank god I live in Liverpool!!!!!

DaN

PS. Only ever gigged the Charlotte in Leicester and despite the very difficult sound engineer I had a reasonable amount of fun in front of a reasonable amount of people (we did have management and were touring though!!)

I used to use two for my solo sets. They're amazing pedals. They can do pretty simple delay sounds to complex monsters, and the loop function's great for practising!!!

DaN

My 4u has my Axon Terratec Pitch-to-Midi convertor and my Novation Supernova Rack synth.

It's a killer box of tricks that can produce more low end than any 'real' bass!!! (Except maybe the Doodle).

DaN