Major problems with the B2M...

The B2M™ Universal Bass to MIDI Converter.

Moderators: johnmc, james

Post Reply
codemarla
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 6:43 pm

Major problems with the B2M...

Post by codemarla »

... currently I am feeling like I have been completely conned into buying the B2M.
I read that a lot of other people were having problems, but I decided to trust Sonuus in that they were probably doing something wrong so went a head and bought one anyway, really wish I didn't as it is terrible. I know it is cheap, but I would say that this isn't even worth £1 as it literally doesn't work at all.

I am linking mine into Ableton and trying to trigger the Ableton software synths. The synths are all set up correctly as I can trigger them using my digital piano in the same way and it is perfect. When using the bass and B2M however I get wrong notes, double notes, octave shifts or no triggering at all.
I have been playing bass for 11 years and know how to play clean. To reduce the possibilty of interference from bad play I even taped down threee strings so that only one would register... and I still have exactly the same problems.

If anyone can advise me on how to make this work (I dont want to play anything complicated, mostly just 4 or 5 notes a bar and let the modulation in Ableton do the complicated stuff) then I will admit that I am wrong and praise you for creating such a fantastic device... but currently I feel like this company is some sort of scam.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thank you

Cj
Last edited by codemarla on Fri May 25, 2012 7:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
james
Site Admin
Posts: 1866
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Re: This may be the worst thing to waste money on...

Post by james »

Lots of people have had great success with the B2M. It's definitely NOT a scam!

Maybe you have a defective unit? (Though there haven't been many bad units.)

More likely MIDI-conversion doesn't suit your style of playing. Maybe you can send us a simple recording of the clean bass signal and a matching MIDI file from the B2M and we can check what is happening. We can then analyse the bass signal and see what's going on and also see if we can reproduce the problems you are getting.

Where did you buy the B2M? If you're not happy you might be able to return it for a refund. If it's a bad unit, it can be swapped for a working one.
codemarla
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 6:43 pm

Re: Major problems...

Post by codemarla »

That would be fantastic. As I am so agitated by it at the moment (in case you couldnt tell) Thanks for trying to help me out, I really REALLY want it work as it would completely change how I play my music live. I'll do some recordings and post them here in a mo.

Cheers.
Last edited by codemarla on Fri May 25, 2012 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
codemarla
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 6:43 pm

Re: Major problems with the B2M...

Post by codemarla »

Ok... I officially take back all bad things that I said in my rage, as I am now convinced that my unit is actually broken and I will return it.
My reason for coming to this conclusions is that it just randomly started working for about 15 minutes... and it was great fun. ... but now, having changed nothing whatsoever, it has stopped working again.
codemarla
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 6:43 pm

Re: Major problems with the B2M...

Post by codemarla »

Infact I have another question... As I'm returning the unit, maybe I should get the I2M as a replacement (now that I'm happy that the products fo what they should when not broken)... what are the differences? Does it track better? Have less lag?
User avatar
james
Site Admin
Posts: 1866
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Re: Major problems with the B2M...

Post by james »

I'm pleased to hear you at least had 15 minutes of fun. You should return it and say it's defective. What's the serial number of the B2M? This will let us track it when it gets returned.

It you are connecting to a computer (which you are), I would recommend the i2M for a few reasons.

For latency, there are some subtle differences. USB can get the MIDI data to the computer faster than 5-pin MIDI, but it's a small difference (a few ms). The i2M also has different instrument modes: guitar, 4-string bass, 5-string bass. The 5-string bass setting is the same as the B2M. However, the 4-string setting will still track a low-B, and the guitar setting will track a low E although the pitch-accuracy on the lowest notes isn't quite as good it's usually good enough. Different modes can give faster tracking: 4-string bass often feels faster than 5-string bass. So you can experiment with it.

The MIDI configuration is also more comprehensive, so you can layer up different MIDI channels with different settings and setup zones where different notes do different things.

The i2M can also have it's firmware upgraded, so we can add new features and improvements. Only yesterday we released an update with a couple of improvements suggested by users.

For audio, the i2M has a USB audio input so you can mix the bass sound with MIDI. The front-end has the same Hi-Z input as the B2M so it doesn't affect your tone so you can still tap the signal using a "Y-cable" (so it works like the B2Ms through connection). This gives some flexibility for how you use the dry signal. Many musicians use the i2M when touring so they don't have to take much gear for laying down ideas: an i2M, laptop and a guitar/bass.
jimmyjack
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 7:01 pm

Re: Major problems with the B2M...

Post by jimmyjack »

Hello,
I just bought (2nd hand) a g2m (v1). I was already quite satisfied with a i2m, but needed an audio to midi convertor without a computer. That's why I thought a g2m would be the way to go. However....

- Why doesn't the g2m produce the note that i am playing? The A (440Hz) seems alright. But other notes are horrible off tune. However the i2m (on guitar setting) does produce the correct note. This makes a really crazy. Even recorded both midi signals in Cubase and it does differ very significantly. Is there something that I could do to improve performance of the g2m. I've tried neck fret and playing with hands and playing without clipping.
User avatar
james
Site Admin
Posts: 1866
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Re: Major problems with the B2M...

Post by james »

If the note is wrong, it should correct it by pitch-bend so that the final pitch of what is played is correct. There may be slight differences in the G2M V1 and the i2M, but they should still be in tune with each other.

Is the i2M in the standard guitar mode (the out-of-the-box "green logo, not flashing" setting with pitch-bend)? Is the synth using pitch-bend set to +/-2 semitones? Check this is all ok first.

If you want to use the i2M without a computer, we recommend the Kenton MIDI USB Host (see here http://www.sonuus.com/products_i2m_mp_faq.html). It lets you connect 5-pin MIDI directly to the i2M and use it to control keyboards, and also to connect MIDI controllers (such as footswitches) to the i2M to control the hold and sustain functions.
Teenzraul
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2013 12:13 pm

Re: Major problems with the B2M...

Post by Teenzraul »

You can trust Sonus, the B2M is really good to use. I have been using this fromn long time and never experienced any problems. People have great success with B2M. So you do not have to hear one group only, let us go ahead and acquire it.
Sanyft
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 11:52 am

Re: Major problems with the B2M...

Post by Sanyft »

I'm not to a great degree gifted with Vst synths software, yet ordinarily you have to conform the Asdr and parameters to give quick playing reaction, and intensely change for pitch bow reaction which is generally a gigantic explanation for "terrible" Midi out exhibition if your pitch-to-Midi mechanism furnishes pitch bow whatsoever. Setup is both sound and Midi gave by means of the Gr-55 Usb into divide tracks in Reaper. I utilized Reapersyn with a 0ms strike.
Post Reply