Mini Mono Synth Module

[unimpressed alf]

hey

i like experimenting with my sound, ive got abit of pedal board going on with an EHX bass synth pedal et al, my band plays hefty rock with electronic overtones so i like to contribute by having synthy bass sounds but im finding the EHX bass synth to be a little limited recently...

i cant stop thinking that getting a midi pickup mounted on my bass and sending that through some kind of soundmodule could really be what im after... thing is, up until a few years ago i was completely anti-synths so i have very limited knowledge on all things midi and sound moduley but i figured that it cant be that hard... can it?

does anybody else have this kind of midi pickup set up? if so, do you have any advise?! the obvious of the shelf package would appear to be the roland GR20 cos this comes with the pickup and looks like a normal multi fx, but ive heard the demos on youtube and im not interested making my bass sound like a crap GM sax or making my bass sound like a sitar or banjo or whatever!

i guess what im looking for is a sound module that creates dirty filthy wet squidgy bass sounds - i just dont know how to find these, or if i have found them online already i dont know if theyd be suitable for my potential set up....

any thoughts??

[phil.i.stein]

don't know if this is still about, might be worth enquiring.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=82429&st=0"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=82429&st=0[/url]

[DanOwens]

You can read my blog post about MIDI systems [url="http://mrdfowens.tumblr.com/post/2623154214/thats-not-music-its-just-ones-and-zeros"]HERE[/url].

It's worth pointing out that you'd need a pickup, convertor and module for what you want to do. I use a GK3b into a AX101 into a MicroKorg (although I've used a variety of hard and softsynths in the past.

I play live DnB, btw.

Dan

[Ghost_Bass]

Search youtube for reviews of the Markbass Supersynth and of the Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer.
I had snatched a MicroSynth from fleabay and can't wait to get it in my hands. It was a close call betwen that and the Octavius but in the end i found the Microsynth to be more directed to the tone i'm after.

Oh! You could always drop £600 on a Deep Impact if you can find a listing for one...

[unimpressed alf]

Hey Dan

Thanks for the info… although not quite what I wanted to hear! I was hoping that I could just get a GK3b, plug it straight into something like a MFB Nanozwerg and then off I go, sounds like that’s not the case tho

So whats the deal with convertors? Is it possible to get a unit that is a dedicated converter without having any onboard sounds itself? Im thinking about keeping costs down here!

It sounds like the Sonuus B2M is such a device, but from reading your blog I get the impression that they arent very 'musical' in the way that they handle the incoming signal.

Just to aid my understanding though, hypothetically, would the following setup be functional?

Bass (without midi pickup) > Sonuus B2M > some kind of midi controlled synth module (the above mentioned Nanozwerg for example) > Amp

Are there any other dedicated midi converters out there?

[xgsjx]

There is the Godin A4 or A5. Semi acoustic, fretted or fretless & has a 13 pin MIDI jack. My singer has one of the guitars (not sure which model but it's slightly similar to a tele shape), he plugs it into a Roland GR20 & then into a MicroKorg. Sounds pretty good & doesn't seem to have much in the way of tracking issues (tho I can't guarantee there aren't any as I haven't had a play on it).
Downside, not a cheap option.

[DanOwens]

A cheap option would definitely be the B2M but as I've said, it has issues. You will find them secondhand on here every so often and that'd be dirt cheap (and would operate according to your example).

I'd start there since your module is interchangeable and you could sell the B2M on. Also, buy an LS2 so you can layer synth and live-bass. Seriously good idea.

Dan

[GarethFlatlands]

[quote name='DanOwens' post='1092806' date='Jan 17 2011, 05:34 PM']It's worth pointing out that you'd need a pickup, convertor and module for what you want to do. I use a GK3b into a AX101 into a MicroKorg (although I've used a variety of hard and softsynths in the past.[/quote]

I had a look at your blog but I'm pretty dumb about this kind of thing. Would that setup work plugging into any midi capable synth?

[DanOwens]

Once your guitar is converted to MIDI data (using the Axon, Roland, Sonuus or similar) then you can trigger any number of MIDI devices with the MIDI signal via a MIDI cable.

This can be a MIDI module (such as the Novation Supernova), a MIDI keyboard/synth (such as a Korg Microkorg) or softsynths (Such as Native Instruments' Massive).

Dan

[unimpressed alf]

cheers Dan!

just wondering what kind of signal comes out of the midi pickup if it still needs go through a converter? surely in an ideal world, the raw signal from midi pickups would contain the note on, velocity and note off info?

[DanOwens]

I think the problem lies in the complex technology used to convert the pickup signal to MIDI. The pickup works just the same as a guitar pickup, ie: magnet wrapped in wire. But instead of 2 contacts like a guitar signal (hot and ground) it has [b]13 [/b] - I'm assuming there's a live and ground signal for each string ( it's a 6-string guitar-based piece of technology) and one spare for common ground - I have no clue on this though).

This means that when using MIDI conversion (the B2M is an exception here) you can process each string separately, and the brain doesn't get confused by cross-talk between strings. If this sounds complicated, its because it is; MIDI conversion is a complex beast and that's why you generally can't do it in the little box on your guitar.

In an ideal world though (and maybe the world as envisioned by [url="http://www.industrialradio.com.au/"]Industrial Radio[/url] is ideal by this measurement) your bass would indeed just output all the data needed. That way we wouldn't be carting racks of gear around just to get a decent Reece.

Dan