BigRedX

My understanding is the the Roland modelling system works by processing the audio from the individual strings rather than converting the pitches to drive VCOs/DCOs (which is always a problem on basses due the conversion time being a minimum of 1.5 cycles of the fundamental note) and therefore can sound as synthetic (or not) as you want. I think another problem is that these systems tend to get evaluated just by being played solo, instead of seeing how valuable the sound adjustments are in getting the right sound in the overall context of the band/arrangement/production. Have a listen to some isolated bass tracks on YouTube and hear just how different (and often how horrible) the bass sounds on its own, compared to how well that sound works in the overall song mix.

Thanks very much for that. The problem for me is that I'm hoping to use this with the Eastwood copy of the Shergold Bass VI (when it arrives some time next month) and that has a reported string spacing of 65mm which falls between the maximum of the GK-3 and the minimum of the GK-3B. The alternatives: The Squier Bass VI would be OK if it didn't have such a skinny neck (it's actually narrower than any of my guitars which makes it a bit of a struggle for me when fitted with bass VI strings), and the Burns Barracuda would need the vibrato mechanism re-engineering to allow the pickup to placed close enough to the saddles. I think ultimately I may need to look at piezo saddles if I can find some that will fit the instruments I want to use it with.

Haven't we seen this before?

Thanks!

But if the neck/thru body was starting to fold up at the pickup route then you would be able to see the centre section of the body coming away from the wings irrespective of whether it's been painted or not.

Are there string spacing specifications anywhere for the GK-3? I've scanned through the manual and there's nothing like the section in the GK-3B manual that Ped linked to. However it does say that the pickup must be no further than 20mm away from the witness point on the saddles, which rules out using it with the Burns Barracuda, unless I re-engineer part of the vibrato mechanism. The Eastwood looks more feasible, but until production models actually start shipping and I get mine, I won't know for sure. The alternative would be to use piezo saddles but I neither bass looks as though it uses standard types.

A photo of the back showing where the neck joins would be useful.

I don't understand how neck bow can be fixed with a shim...

Where would you like me to start? 😉 Unless you are under 10 or on holiday somewhere hot, no-one wants to see your pallid, hairy legs and knobbly knees. Keep the covered up in public, and while your at it go and tidy your bedroom. It's a mess!

Very much this! I've said the same about amp and cab sims. I really don't care if they are perfect reproductions of "the real thing". I'm much more interested in the versatility and range of tones available and the fact that they are all instantly and accurately recallable at the touch of a switch/button. After all there is no bass/amp/speaker combination that sounds perfect without some fiddling with the pickup balance, EQ and gain structure.

Brilliant! Thanks for taking the time to test this for me. Just need to find a suitable pickup which can cope with 10.5, 11.5, and 13mm string spacing over 6 strings.

That makes a lot of sense. Since I want to use it in a way that hasn't really been considered by Roland/Boss, it would probably take a little longer to set up and find which of the (wrong) settings works best with my wrong system. What I really want to be able to do is have bass (guitar) type sounds on the lowest 3 or 4 strings and more guitar-like sounds on the 2 or 3 higher ones. It will depend on what song I'm playing whether I need it split 4 + 2 or 3 + 3, although what I've seen from the SY1000 manual those settings appear to be per patch and not global (I hope I've understood that correctly).

Thanks Ped. That's what I originally thought, but then there's a whole section in the SY1000 manual about specifying the pickup type, position (for the bass pickup) and scale length of the instrument. Or do these setting just activate a set of pre-sets to get you close to the settings you need for the pickup sensitivity? And apologies to the OP as usual with Basschat we've gone a bit off topic...

Every answer that forum gives throws up another question! So yes EADGCE tuning might be fine. The device can handle unto 3 semitones down from the expected pitch but I'm tuning up a semitone from B to C. Also a Bass VI being an octave down from conventional guitar tuning doesn't fall into any of the supposedly allowable 6-string instrument ranges. I think I'm going to have to try and get directly in touch with Boss and see if they can answer my questions

I think if I can't use my preferred tuning on the Bass VI, then the whole thing is a non-starter, since the tuning difference between the string and the processed sound would drive me nuts when I'm working stuff out at low volume. Does this tuning problem extend to the SY1000? because none of the available 6 string modes (standard guitar or B-C 6-string bass) match the Bass VI for tuning? Besides I thought that in modelling mode it was simply processing the string sound. Really confused now.

Thanks Pad. It's not individual strings that I need, It's the ability to send different combinations of strings through different instrument/effects combinations. Usually split 4 lowest and 2 highest or 3 & 3.

Interesting. I'm intending to use this with a Bass VI. So by using the individual string volumes for each instrument block I could have the highest 2 strings only being processed by Instrument 1 and the other 4 only processed by Instrument 2? The block diagram in the SY1000 manual seems to indicate that the instrument and FX blocks of the same number are always linked. Is this not correct? One more question (at this stage): Does sending the device tunings from the controlling instrument other than what it is expecting cause any problems? For instance with the Bass VI the strings are EADGBE (the same as a 4-string bass with two higher strings) while the six string bass option appears to imply a tuning of BEADGC and the guitar option would expect the strings to be an octave higher. Also just to maybe make things more complicated, I actually use EADGCE because I require a drone C on a couple of the songs that we play. Edit: And another question: How much lag is there when you change patches? Do things like delay tails pass through a patch change un-effected?

Thanks @Woodinblack Having had a quick scan through the manual it looks as though there is an editor program for the SY1000, and it looks as though you can assign the panning of each string so hopefully I could pan some strings hard left and others hard right to achieve what I want. And according to the black diagram in the manual each "patch" is made up of 3 instruments each feeding their own effects block. Also it appears (if I have understood this correctly) that the level for each individual string can be adjusted in each instrument, so as long as you don't need all 3 three instruments for a sound, you could set some strings to zero on Instrument #1 and the others to zero on instrument #2 and therefore have some strings being processed by Instrument/FX1 and the others by Instrument/FX2? Or have I completely misunderstood? Or do you need to have all 3 instruments assigned to a string in order for it to sound any good? If that works then I just need to find a suitable 6 string pickup...

I've just had a look at the Boss web page for the SY1000 and I'm intrigued. I'd originally written it off as yet another guitar synthesiser with all the problems that pitch to VCO/DCO/MIDI conversion brings (especially for bass guitar), but it looks as though it does modelling by signal processing each individual string as well. However the description is rather coy as to how the different sounds are achieved. So some questions for SY1000 users that I can't find answers for on the Boss web site: 1. Can you apply different processing to individual strings (or groups of strings)? 2. Can you route individual strings to different outputs for processing via external effects? 3. How much can you alter the input sound without using the synthesis engine? For instance can you apply an alternate tuning via modelling? 4. Is there a computer-based editor for it? 5. Is the USB connector the only digital output? If so does anyone make a USB to S/PDIF converter with close to zero latency? 6. Does anyone make custom pickups for this with non-standard string spacing - specifically I'm looking for a 6-string pickup with 11-13mm string spacing. Thanks!

Surely the Roland VB system is just as obsolete as the Variax Bass? Don't get me wrong I've seriously looked at the VB (and the Variax Bass) several times as a possible answer to one of my band's sonic requirements, but I can't bring myself to invest in some fairly complicated technology that is no longer being supported by the manufacturer.

Not at all. All the good ones have individually adjustable saddles for each string in a course.

I think my attitude is slightly different. Being self employed allows me to work when I want as long as I deliver on time. Even when I am having time off from work, I always have time for a quick email to acknowledge the receipt of anything that has been sent. Edit: Also I work in a "creative" industry (as I would count someone who does guitar finishing) designing packaging for other small businesses, and often my customers/clients are busy creating/producing what they do during the day and only have time to look at what I have done for them afterwards (evening and days off), when they will reply with comments. IMO it is good business practice to send them a quick acknowledgement that I have seen what they have sent me and will be attending to it during my next work period.

IME the popularity of a band has very little to do with whether they play covers or originals and a lot to do with how entertaining they are. In this respect covers bands should have a head start as they have a vast selection of crowd-pleasing songs available to them, but in actual fact lots of covers bands make poor set choices and then stand in the stage area in jeans and t-shirts taking up valuable drinking space in the pub while delivering little in terms of entertainment that couldn't be bettered by a well chosen iTunes playlist being broadcast over the venue speaker system. As a punter, I find nothing important about live music per se so, if I'm going to pub with live music on, then I want some visual entertainment to go with the sounds.

I'm self employed, and while I don't respond to work emails 24 hours a day, I would take the time to reply (especially to a new customer enquiry) ASAP even if it was only to say that I had seen the email and will give a more comprehensive answer on my next working day, and let them know when that will be. I suppose it might be down to how many of these "refinishers" do it as a hobby rather than making a full time living out of it, but if you are offering a paid-for service then it is poor business practice IMO not to reply reasonably promptly. Maybe they are best avoided - after all if they can't find the time to answer a simple email, who knows how long they will take to refinish your instrument, and how easy it is going to be finding out how things are progressing while they do?

More importantly with only a single saddle per course how do you play it in tune above the fifth fret?