Roland G77 Bass

[TheGreek]

I really wanted one of these back in the 80s...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-1980S-ROLAND-G-77-G77-G-77-GR-77-ELECTRIC-BASS-GUITAR-SYNTHESIZER-/291181212819?pt=Guitar&hash=item43cbc0b493

[BigRedX]

Unfortunately it's fairly pointless as anything other than a weird-looking but average sounding bass without the connecting cable and foot controller/synthesiser unit.

While the tracking won't be up the standards of the most recent models the all-in one controller/converter/synthesiser unit does have the advantage of being able to leave out the MIDI conversion when using the built-in sounds which removes a layer of latency that the more modern pitch to MIDI units suffer from.

[chaypup]

It does say in the main description that you get the foot controller and cable too.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1406821845' post='2515054']
It does say in the main description that you get the foot controller and cable too.
[/quote]

So it does and if you scroll right down to the bottom of the page there are some photos too.

I wonder how many people do what I did which is just look at the eBay photos and the basic description and ignore everything beneath it?

It is US voltage only so would need a step down transformer to make it work in this country.

[Bassassin]

Cool - haven't seen one of these in years. Didn't want one back then, don't have GAS for one now but that's a pretty unique piece of vintage JapCrap. I think these were built by Fujigen - well, the bass bit anyhow. If I remember, Roland had a deal with Kanda Shokai, and certain Roland controllers are pretty much re-badged Grecos with extra electronics. Not this one, obviously, but it still ends up being strangely related to MIJ Fenders. Funny old world...

[ash]

I had one - Dalek's handbag - the bass was quite nice to play but the electronic gubbins never tracked correctly. Invariably it was left in its rather fetching pink lined case and my Moog was gainfully employed instead! It weighed significantly more than a Triumph Dolomite.

[the hand of john curley]

[quote name='ash' timestamp='1406839274' post='2515278']
I had one - Dalek's handbag - the bass was quite nice to play but the electronic gubbins never tracked correctly. Invariably it was left in its rather fetching pink lined case and my Moog was gainfully employed instead! It weighed significantly more than a Triumph Dolomite.
[/quote]
😆😆
I remember watching TOTP and seeing Sigue Sigue Sputnik using one of these.....Love Missile F1-11
Classic tune with deep meaningful lyrics 😁

[BigRedX]

Sigue Sigue Sputnik used the guitar version driving the synth sounds an octsve lower than normal in an attempt to overcome the tracking and latency issues. Even so Tony James daid that he still had to learn to play slightly ahead of the beat in order for the synth sounds to be in time.

[the hand of john curley]

Ahh-then I stand corrected !

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Would I be right in saying , something like a bass/synth wan pedal is better in terms of functionality? The bass does look cool tho'.
Think I saw one used on rocks hool back in the day.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1406889135' post='2515596']
Would I be right in saying , something like a bass/synth wan pedal is better in terms of functionality? The bass does look cool tho'.
Think I saw one used on rocks hool back in the day.
[/quote]

No. The best thing to use in terms of accuracy and functionality is a keyboard synth, and one with patch memories.

I haven't yet tried the [url=http://www.industrialradio.com.au/index.php]Industrial Radio MIDI bass[/url] which is supposed to be the best in terms of tracking and latency, but all the others (including pedals) have required me to modify my playing technique to such a degree that I found it quicker and easier to learn a bit of rudimentary keyboard than to persevere with trying to use a guitar or bass to get synth sounds.

I've seen some bassists do fantastic things with MIDI and pedals, but even with my very primitive keyboard skills I can get the same things quicker, more accurately and with greater constancy using something like a Nord Lead keyboard.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Thanks brx what if you just wanna use bass+synth effect instead of keyboard ?

[BigRedX]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1406925011' post='2516027']
Thanks brx what if you just wanna use bass+synth effect instead of keyboard ?
[/quote]

You could if you really wanted. In the past I've put a lot of time and effort into trying to make my bass sound as little like a bass as possible, and TBH other than for the gimmick factor I think now that I probably wasted a lot of time and money doing things that keyboard synths and sequencers would have made a much better job of.

[ash]

There's an easy way to get this kind of sound - MOOG