Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 Has anyone installed the Roland pickup in an active bass? The instructions don't answer some of my questions. Where does the Roland board get its power from? Via the 13-pin cable and floor synth? Will it work with active pickups on 18v? The power for the active preamp/pickups are turned on by the regular jack, so how would power be turned on when using the 13-pin out? The kit has a 3 way switch synth/mix/magnetic, so I am guessing you no longer need the jack. But I will need to get power to the EMGs!! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 I’ve done it twice but only with an active preamp. Yes the power comes from the 13 pin cable. You can choose which bits to install, I normally have the up/down switches and assignable knob but not the LED. Not sure regarding active pickups; maybe you’d need a dummy 1/4” jack to activate them but I have a feeling it will work from the GK supply. If you post the installation pdf here I’m sure someone will be able to tell you. Good luck - what are you putting it in and what are you using it with? ped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 Hi Ped, Its going in a custom build. I am going to mess around with a GR-55 and SY-1000. Do you know what voltage it runs at? EMG pickups and preamp can run 9v-27v. I would prefer to run at 18v. It would be crappy to have to plug a jack plug in just to power up the magnetic side of things! But might be the only way. Its a shame you can't just ask Roland a technical question. You have to go through the Tribe community, and doesn't look like people respond to a lot of threads. Here is the installation PDF. Thank you GK-KIT-BG_OM.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 How did you turn on you active preamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 Just now, Chopthebass said: Hi Ped, Its going in a custom build. I am going to mess around with a GR-55 and SY-1000. Do you know what voltage it runs at? EMG pickups and preamp can run 9v-27v. I would prefer to run at 18v. It would be crappy to have to plug a jack plug in just to power up the magnetic side of things! But might be the only way. Its a shame you can't just ask Roland a technical question. You have to go through the Tribe community, and doesn't look like people respond to a lot of threads. Here is the installation PDF. Thank you GK-KIT-BG_OM.pdf 127.68 kB · 0 downloads Great! Tell you what, if you don’t get an answer here try the Vguitar forums. It’s very active and there are some super knowledgeable people on there. They helped me out a lot 🤟🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 Great - I will search that forum out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 1 minute ago, Chopthebass said: How did you turn on you active preamp? With the GK in ‘mix’ mode (where I leave it, I don’t install the switch because I can switch it via the VB99) the pre-amp works when I’m using the magnetic pickups. Not sure how, I just followed the instructions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 2 minutes ago, ped said: With the GK in ‘mix’ mode (where I leave it, I don’t install the switch because I can switch it via the VB99) the pre-amp works when I’m using the magnetic pickups. Not sure how, I just followed the instructions! That's interesting. I am looking at the instructions and can't see how a preamp would get its power from the Roland kit! Obviously it can be done!! Anyway, I have registered with the Vguitar forum. Looks pretty good on there, so I am sure I will get the answers. I am looking forward to SY-1000 reviews in March. I believe it is a different approach to the GR-55. Three engines etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 The active preamp doesn't take its power from the gk, but there's a switch on the board which you can use so that powering up the gk also makes the necessary contact to switch on the active. When not using the gk, the active is switched as usual, ie the jack. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 Thanks Hub. I just discovered that the GT version has a connector for use when the guitar uses a battery. Problem solved, provided the BG version has the same. I see the latest Bass version is called BG3. But, the instructions are still for BG. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 Yup, it's the bg I have in one of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 27 minutes ago, hubrad said: Yup, it's the bg I have in one of mine. I guess they realized the issue with active guitars and created the BG3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 Hey Ped how do you get the 8-pin pickup connector to the control cavity? It would need to be a big hole to thread that through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 I think I made a big hole. The 13 pin connector I mounted on a plate to hide the hole. I’ve got a pic somewhere, I’ll add them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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