| I've got one, my band uses it when we need a second guitar, so we program the
bass part.
My overall impression is if you've already got a capable synth (e.g., DX7
or MKS-80) you can do the same thing the MIDIBass does without forking over
400+ bucks. (There's also a two sound version that's a little cheaper.)
The sounds are very good, but of limited range (typically about 2 to 2.5
octaves). The bass sounds that mine came with are far too bright (like
a Rick) for my taste, and EQ doesn't do enough.
The machine can listen to any of MIDI channels 1 - 14 (sorry, no 15 and
16, don't ask me why). The chips are replaceable, but only one of them
is mounted in a ZIF socket - the other three have to be pried out. There's
an enormous set of chips available, they're about $40 each I believe.
I've been waiting three months for Fender P-bass, acoustic pizz. bass,
and tympani sounds.
The thing will only play one note at a time, and will not listen to any
MIDI commands while it's playing (i.e., the only thing it hears after a
note on is another note on or note off). None of the sounds has any sustain
level - i.e., they all decay eventually. You can run it in last note, first
note, or lowest note priority. You can also tell it to ignore any notes above
a specific pitch.
My guitarist (who has it just now) claims it hums too much, but I haven't been
able to confirm this and when I was using it in my home studio it sounded
quiet enough for me. ?
It's pretty neat, but chips are hard to get and it is a little pricey given
what it does.
All things considered, I like mine. I wish it was rack mountable though.
len.
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