Roland GR-20.

[6stringbassist]

Anyone tried one on bass ?.

I've been looking at the V-bass, but I don't want all the modelling sounds.

What I do fancy though is the synth pad sounds and piano and such like, they'd be great with my new looper, and would be useable in my one more experimental jazz trio.

How well do they work with bass ?

[velvetkevorkian]

Funnily enough I've just been searching eBay for one. The reports I've read suggest it tracks quite well, particularly on the upper strings.

[Low Down Dave]

I think with the new GK3B bass pickups and updated V2 software the internal sounds are usable but the midi tracking is still quite poor.

[6stringbassist]

Not too good then ?.

[Hamster]

If you have a look, I think volume has one for sale

[6stringbassist]

[quote name='Hamster' post='434966' date='Mar 14 2009, 11:58 PM']If you have a look, I think volume has one for sale [/quote]

Thank you !.

[YouMa]

Midi tracking was just the same as a normal pickup for me,i just got bored of playing sitar on my bass and sold the lot,if you have spare cash its good fun though,in a way i wish i had kept my set up, i used to control vsti,s with mine. Theres nowt like playing a minimoog on your bass!

[slystewart]

I used the GR20 on guitar first and could get by using in the band I was in then 2 guitars ,bass and drums most keyboard sounds like organs some brass and one or two effect type sounds...piano and sharper sounds were no good due to the feel the GR20 seemed to laging behind.
In a live situation on the whole it worked well...so when I moved to bass I got the bass Type midi pickup and tried it ...to be honest it was not to good the lag seemed worst on the bass..just my view Stewart

[YouMa]

I got bored of mine,seemed like a good idea at the time.I had to much money then.

[sub-a-dub]

Hi all,
I hope ye don't mind me putting in my tuppence ha'penny worth?...

I have recently started to use the V Bass and the GR 20 in tandem with the Roland midi A/B box at some gigs - not a lot yet mind (not too many gigs where I get to try this lot out!...) but enough to get a good feel for them. I run the V-bass in stereo through the GR-20;stereo monitors (when needed); and then in stereo through the PA. I run a direct signal through the lot into my amp and feed this seperately into the PA.
First of all - when these work properly they are awesome - the sound is huge an the quality is outstanding -especially in stereo!! The units themselves haven't given any problems - it's just that there is a lot to get your head around when using them in a live context... Regarding the GR 20 specifically: After the initial messing about, I have found maybe twenty usable sounds, but these are so good and usable, that I will keep the unit for these alone. Most of the sounds are good, but I said to myself at the outset that if I could get a handfull of really useful sounds, that I would keep the unit. This is for live use - in a studio setting (especially for demo-ing etc..), the full palate would probably come more into play...
RE tracking - I have found that there is no comparison between the two units regarding tracking; IMHO THe V-Bass wins hands-down!! (More later...) On tracking, the GR 20 is apparently the best regarded of Rolands synths and it does perform very well. It is great for pads, strings, synth sounds and there is a great "breathy sax" (et al...) that is very usable, but the main problem I have found is with the unintented triggering of "phantom" sounds when using certain patches. Over time this problem has lessened a little, largely because I suppose I have had to both tidy up my technique and I now approach using the GR-20 in a different light to normal bass use; the bass is just the trigger and you need to adapt the left and right hand technique to tease a little more out of the more challenging sounds. The unpredictability still remains however, no matter how careful I am, and can be particularly apparent - surprise, surprise! - on the lower frequencies... Pick-up set-up and sensitivity settings etc are important and I spent a lot of time trying to get this as good as possible, with positive results, but I would still be hesitant using some of the more unpredictable sounds live. THis is more to do with the fact that I am no virtuoso though (more enthusiastic and maybe moderately competent on a good day, cough-cough! ...but I still get "the call" from time to time...), and I will try to persevere with working on the technique required to get a little more out of the sounds...
In the meantime, understated use seems to be garnering positive feedback, and our guitarist has since purchased a GR 33 which is now mounted on an acoustic, so fun-and-games await no doubt... The V-Bass tracking is outstanding, as are the sounds and the effects - I'd imagine the synths, fretless, double bass would be hard to beat..., and I'd love to share a bit more of my experience with this and find out a bit also if any-one is interested?... I must have a look in the forums for other threads...

BTW: I bought both of these units (and the 2 GK3B pups which are mounted on a fretted and fretless jazz bass) very reasonably - there is no way I could have justified shelling out the bones of a grand and a half on a whim, and to me this is the crux of the matter - having now used both units, on reflection I would probably have shelled out for the full price of a V-Bass; it is worth every penny!!! The fact that I picked a 3 month old GR 20 up for less than 250 quid (incl PUP) certainly justifies keeping it in the arsenal - I just don't know would I pay out for a new one...
All the best,
A slightly tipsy sub-a-dub... Now where is my hot-water-bottle?...