Roland GR77 ... the Odd Bass!

[WHUFC BASS]

Not eBay but Reverb. I remember when the guitar version came out in the 80s and I just didn't get it. Anybody got/had one ? Also, what's a midi pickup when it's at home?

 

https://reverb.com/uk/item/51512512-roland-gr77?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1726164661&utm_content=campaignid=1726164661_adgroupid=70264195649_productpartitionid=1651608931582=merchantid=218269047_productid=51512512_keyword=_device=c_adposition=_matchtype=_creative=391637461803&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ayUBhA4EiwATWyBrgD3SGPGHPr7oa3SVahYmTw62CWC7d7EGZTO-2wMoV-mCqjzrvpFWxoC2VQQAvD_BwE

[alyctes]

That's a gratuitously silly shape.  Fabulous

[BigRedX]

Technically speaking, it's not a "MIDI pickup". It's a 4-channel pickup that when attached to the correct hardware via a special multiway cable will allow the bass to drive a (MIDI) synthesiser.

 

Having said that without the required cable and foot controller this instrument is nothing more than a standard J-bass with a weird shape.

[Franticsmurf]

I had the guitar version - GR707 and the GR700 floor unit to go with it. As I remember, the floor unit was basically a Roland JX3P synthesiser. The cable was almost as thick as a transatlantic cable and had large computer style connectors either end (not the standard MIDI plugs). Tracking was ok for the day (I got mine second hand in the early 90s) but you had to alter your playing style to make sure it tracked well. The guitar itself was really nice to play. The bar (to stabilise the neck, I was told) didn't get in the way. I gigged it for about a year but slowly the songs I used it on fell off the setlist and I sold it on. 

 

I'm guessing the tracking on the bass version would be less accurate.    

[BigRedX]

IIRC the bass version which came later than the guitar had the more powerful JX8P synthesiser in the floor unit.

[Franticsmurf]

4 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

IIRC the bass version which came later than the guitar had the more powerful JX8P synthesiser in the floor unit.

I'm guessing the tracking was improved as well if it was a later model? 

[BigRedX]

Just now, Franticsmurf said:

I'm guessing the tracking was improved as well if it was a later model? 

 

I've not personally tried one, but if the various reports on the internet are to be believed, then not really. Plus the lower notes took longer to register with the pitch to MIDI conversion (you can't beat the laws of physics).

[Bunion]

 

[PaulThePlug]

Remember the ads in Music UK with Jimmy Page and real dodgy worn out trainers!

 

Oh! and Siq Siq Sputnik on TOTP!

 

Think there was a similar post a year or so ago..

[Franticsmurf]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

I've not personally tried one, but if the various reports on the internet are to be believed, then not really. Plus the lower notes took longer to register with the pitch to MIDI conversion (you can't beat the laws of physics).

With the guitar, I used to mix in some of the 'normal' pickup sound to cover any glitches. 

[rushbo]

3 hours ago, Bunion said:

 

Very nice indeed - thanks for sharing that.

Edited May 23, 2022 by rushbo

[Woodinblack]

The floor controller on those was absolutely massive. Played the bass (not with the controller), played well.

[prowla]

Super-cool 80's bass; that was when I realised that the Japanese didn't just make copies.

[BigRedX]

10 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

Remember the ads in Music UK with Jimmy Page and real dodgy worn out trainers!

 

Oh! and Siq Siq Sputnik on TOTP!

 

Think there was a similar post a year or so ago..

Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik used the guitar version with the synth tuned down an octave, as the tracking was better and the latency not too bad. However he said he still had to learn to play slightly ahead of the beat for it to be in time.

[Burns-bass]

I sold one of these to Phil Oakey from the Human League. It was (and I think still is) used on their tours. I lost a fortune posting it as it was all flight cased.

[BigRedX]

1 minute ago, Burns-bass said:

I sold one of these to Phil Oakey from the Human League. It was (and I think still is) used on their tours. I lost a fortune posting it as it was all flight cased.

 

Last time I saw The Human League they were using keytars for the couple of songs where the synth players come to front of the stage.

[WHUFC BASS]

13 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

I've not personally tried one, but if the various reports on the internet are to be believed, then not really. Plus the lower notes took longer to register with the pitch to MIDI conversion (you can't beat the laws of physics).

I remember I had a Boss Octaver pedal in the late 80s and it also had problems with low notes - it'd freak out on a low E note, like my missus trying to make her mind up whether to stay in or go out.

[Burns-bass]

8 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

Last time I saw The Human League they were using keytars for the couple of songs where the synth players come to front of the stage.

I did sell it 20 odd years ago, so it’s likely broken by now!

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

On 24/05/2022 at 08:26, BigRedX said:

Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik used the guitar version with the synth tuned down an octave, as the tracking was better and the latency not too bad. However he said he still had to learn to play slightly ahead of the beat for it to be in time.

I always assumed he was miming to a sequencer while trying to look as cool as possible despite having a pink shaztree growing out of the top of his head.

[BigRedX]

7 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I always assumed he was miming to a sequencer while trying to look as cool as possible despite having a pink shaztree growing out of the top of his head.

 

I'm sure that on the recordings it was all sequencer, because even in 1986 it would have been trivial to do and would have taken a fraction of the time compared with trying to get a decent take using the guitar controller. When I saw them live (some time in the 90s) he was most definitely using the GR707 to play the synth sounds.

[ped]

On 24/05/2022 at 18:05, Burns-bass said:

I did sell it 20 odd years ago, so it’s likely broken by now!

I saw them in 2005ish and they were using one then. Pretty cool to know it might have been from a BCer, which was Bassworld back then!

[prowla]

I've got one of those synth pickups to put into a Ric bass when I acquire a suitable bass to hack.

I let one of the other conventionally shaped Roland bass synth guitars go by a couple of months ago; it was on ebay with a BIN of £350 and I think it may be back up at £850 at the moment.

[BigRedX]

What are you intending to use it with? A Roland V-system unit? Or are you going to try it with a pitch to MIDI (or even CV) system?

[prowla]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

What are you intending to use it with? A Roland V-system unit? Or are you going to try it with a pitch to MIDI (or even CV) system?

I've got a Roland GM-70 MIDI interface which I'll give a go; I hear there may be some latency though.

TBH, I don't really have an intended use as such; it's just one of those "because I can" type things.

[BigRedX]

4 hours ago, prowla said:

I've got a Roland GM-70 MIDI interface which I'll give a go; I hear there may be some latency though.

TBH, I don't really have an intended use as such; it's just one of those "because I can" type things.

 

There will be quite a bit of latency. The GM70 is only one generation ahead of the pitch detection system that was designed to go with the bass we're discussing in this thread, so it's still relatively primitive. The very best systems (which unfortunately does not include your GM70) require at least one and half cycles of the fundamental to detect the correct pitch which for low E on a bass is a minimum of 37ms, and approximately twice the delay of a typical slap-back echo. And that's before you factor in the the additional latency generated by the MIDI conversion and processing, since the GM70 has no built-in sounds of its own.

 

To give yourself an idea of what it will feel like, get a delay pedal and set it to 40-45ms delay with no feedback and with the direct signal turned off so you're only hearing the echo. Then try and play along with something...