Input Signal Strength

The B2M™ Universal Bass to MIDI Converter.

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barrybass
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:56 pm

Input Signal Strength

Post by barrybass »

Hi,

I am not having as much success with the B2M as I had intended. I have read many posts and reviews and seen most all of the demos on YouTube. I am a pretty experienced bass player and am able to play monophonically. The latency seems to be very low so I am getting a good response. I am suspecting that the output level on my MusicMan 5-string may not be strong enough because at full volume on the bass, I am unable to get the clip light to go on so I suspect my signal may be too weak for the notes to be more reliably converted to MIDI. I get a lot of output notes an octave lower, sometimes the notes sustain where a note off signal is not sent and i need to lightly tap on a string and mute to get it to stop. any suggestions for me? How can I determine if the signal strength is good enough for your unit? I really want to use this but at this point it is way too glitchy for me to consider it.

Thanks,
Barry
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james
Site Admin
Posts: 1866
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Re: Input Signal Strength

Post by james »

It's possible that the output is very low, but it's not usually a problem. We've used Musicman Stingray basses (which have active pickups) and they have a large output signal (can get the clip LED to light). I also have a Fender Jazz bass with passive pickups an the output from that is much lower, but that still doesn't have problems with the B2M.

If you play a single note carefully, how long does it take before the note will disappear (i.e., you get a Note-off sent)? If it cuts off quickly, this is a signal of too low a signal level. If it sustains for a decent length of time, then it suggests the signal level is ok.
I get a lot of output notes an octave lower, sometimes the notes sustain where a note off signal is not sent and i need to lightly tap on a string and mute to get it to stop. any suggestions for me?
Usually a note an octave lower is caused by two strings being played at the same time (even if one of them is at a very low level). When you don't get a note-off, this is because a string is still vibrating so it's still tracking the note from that string (or the note it "assumes" is from that string). When you have to mute a string to stop it, is this the same string you played, or another one? When you play just one string, the other strings can start to vibrate in sympathy (more of a problem on bass than guitar) so you can end up with more than one string playing even though you only actually hit one string.
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