Workshop ®ÂØÒňΠ® VB-99 V-Bass System Pickup Settings © 2009 Roland Corporation U.S. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Roland Corporation U.S. The trademarks listed in this document are trademarks of their respective owners, which are separate companies from Roland. Those companies are not affiliated with Roland and have not licensed or authorized Roland’s VB-99.
About the Workshop Booklets Roland’s VB-99 V-Bass System is, simply put, the most powerful bass processor ever made. It’s the second-generation V-Bass system from Roland, and it offers an unprecedented set of creative sound-making tools for the bassist.
A divided pickup is also sometimes called a “hex,” “hexaphonic,” or “polyphonic” pickup. See the VB-99 Workshop booklet Introduction to the VB-99 for more information on the benefits of using a divided pickup with the VB-99. Using Regular Bass Pickups with the VB-99 You can use the output from a regular electric or acoustic-electric bass—or any other electronic instrument for that matter—with the VB-99. Just plug its output into the VB-99’s rear-panel 1/4-inch BASS INPUT jack.
Editing a GK Setting Regular Pickup If you want to use your normal bass pickups—and you’re not sending the normal pickup signal along the 13-pin cable—plug one end of a standard instrument cable into your bass’ regular output jack, and plug the other end into the VB-99’s rear-panel BASS INPUT jack. To the output jack on the bass You may need to make some measurements on your bass for some of the following settings, so have a metric measurement tool handy.
• PIEZO G—Choose this setting if your bass is equipped with a piezo-type divided pickup manufactured by Graph Tech Guitar Labs. There are also a few short cut settings for the scale lengths of popular instruments: • • SHORT—which is equivalent to 760 mm. PIEZO R—Choose this setting if your bass is equipped with a piezo-type divided pickup manufactured by the RMC Pickup Co. (such as the Brian Moore iBass). • MEDIUM—which is equivalent to 812 mm. • LONG JB/PB—which equivalent to 864 mm.
When the GK PU TYPE is set to GK-3B or GK-2B (Step 5), the GK PU POS setting should mirror how the pickup is physically installed on your bass in relation to the strings. The available settings are shown below. When the GK PU TYPE is set for a piezo-type divided pickup (Step 5), the different GK PU POS settings are for how the saddles are physically wired to the 13-pin jack in your particular instrument.
12 Roland’s GK-3B and GK-2B divided pickups—as well as most non-Roland divided pickup systems—have two onboard switches for controlling various VB-99 functions remotely from the bass. The S1,S2 POS setting allows you to reverse the control functions assigned to them if you wish. Press the F3 button to choose the desired setting: NORMAL or REVRSE. 13 If you’ve selected GK-3B or GK-2B in Step 5, use the PAGE buttons to go to Page 4 in the display. If not, skip ahead to Step 15.
The Play screen is the VB-99’s “home” screen. It’s the screen that’s displayed after the VB-99 finishes its power-up sequence. You’ll usually want to return to the Play screen when you’re done editing any VB-99 functions. Naming a GK Setting You can name GK Settings to keep track of settings for the different basses you use with the VB-99.
• AUTO—With this setting, the VB-99 automatically detects whether a 13-pin pin cable is connected to the GK IN jack, and adjusts the GK Connect accordingly. Use this setting if you alternate using a bass with divided pickups and a bass with regular pickups, or if you’re using both jacks simultaneously. GK Setting Mode Use this to choose whether the GK Setting is set globally for all patches, or selected on a patch-by-patch basis.
Turn the F1 knob or press the F1 button to set the desired GK VOL behavior. Turn the F6 knob or press the F6 button to set the desired S1 and S2 switch behavior. 1 • OFF—This setting disables the GK VOL knob or S1/S2 switches. • ASSIGNABLE (PATCH)—With this setting, the parameter (or parameters) controlled are determined by settings made in each patch. • A specific parameter—When a specific parameter is chosen, it’s used globally by all patches. Press EXIT three times to return to the Play screen.
