Advance look at the gamechanger website

[adouglas]

Will you continue manufacturing HS basses when the same series also has an HH bass (i.e. Bongo 5 HS / HH)? If I understand GC, I can use an HH bass and use the bridge humbucker (both coils) and only one coil from the neck humbucker to emulate an HS bass.

I could let a StingRay equipped with a GC sound like a Sterling, since i can switch the bridge humbucker coils into series then. So a StingRay HH w/ GC can sound like all StingRay and Sterling models.

Bongo HH w/ GC can produce many sounds that were only possible with a Bongo HS. (Not all sounds because the pan poti works analog and and offers (in theory) an unlimited number of combinations). But Bongo HH w/ GC can NOT sound like Bongo H (because of other pickup location)

Are these assumptions correct?

BP is pretty busy right now because of NAMM… so I'll speculate on some answers. Probably wrong, but here goes….

I'm not so sure your Stingray/Sterling scenario is quite right. If I'm thinking of this correctly what the GC does is open up how the instrument is wired… the order and phase of the coils. I've not seen anything to suggest that it alters the characteristics of the preamp, and for sure it can't change the character of the pickup itself (no DSP, right?). It's a tool for routing the signal, not altering it.

Since the Stingray and Sterling electronics and pickups are different (alnico vs. ceramic), you're not likely to get identical tones.

The Bongo HH vs H scenario is, I think, accurate. I have both and the pickup location does make a huge difference.

The Bongo HH vs HS I'm not so sure about. I believe the location of the S coil on the HS is very close to where one of the HH neck pickup coils resides. If that's correct, there's no reason at all why you can't get an HH with Gamechanger to behave exactly like an HS in every respect. I don't really see how the pan pot would change that.

 

[guenter]

Since the Stingray and Sterling electronics and pickups are different (alnico vs. ceramic), you're not likely to get identical tones.

You and cellkirk are right of course. I missed that (alnico vs ceramic) point.

The Bongo HH vs H scenario is, I think, accurate. I have both and the pickup location does make a huge difference.

The Bongo HH vs HS I'm not so sure about. I believe the location of the S coil on the HS is very close to where one of the HH neck pickup coils resides. If that's correct, there's no reason at all why you can't get an HH with Gamechanger to behave exactly like an HS in every respect. I don't really see how the pan pot would change that.

I wrote that because I assume that a Bongo with GC will no longer have a pan pot, because the pan pot does some kind of analog wiring/mixing of the PUs which is now performed by the GC. And the GC can only offer a limited number of "pan settings" cause it's working digital and no longer analog.

 

[RocketRalf]

You and cellkirk are right of course. I missed that (alnico vs ceramic) point.



I wrote that because I assume that a Bongo with GC will no longer have a pan pot, because the pan pot does some kind of analog wiring/mixing of the PUs which is now performed by the GC. And the GC can only offer a limited number of "pan settings" cause it's working digital and no longer analog.

Wrong. The signal from the pickups always remains completely analog, so the GC and the pan can still coexist. The gamechanger would simply dictate which combination of coils go on each end of the pan knob and you would manipulate it as normal. It might be difficult to implement in a user-friendly way (the graphic part of it for the computer software) and I don't know if the current gamechanger would be able to or if it would require a slightly different version for the bongo, but it is perfectly possible.

 

[drTStingray]

You and cellkirk are right of course. I missed that (alnico vs ceramic) point.



I wrote that because I assume that a Bongo with GC will no longer have a pan pot, because the pan pot does some kind of analog wiring/mixing of the PUs which is now performed by the GC. And the GC can only offer a limited number of "pan settings" cause it's working digital and no longer analog.

also the underlying sound created by the wood used in construction wouldnt be affected eg stingray and sterling are fundamentally ash bodied and the bongo is bass wood. However from my limited understanding of what this thing does there are potentially thousands of combinations unlocked. Not sure if the pan pot would be made redundant anyway by this but as the GC is either on or off i cant see that the pan pot in normal non GC selected mode wouldnt remain. All speculation of course. I cant wait to try one of these.

 

[Jimmyb]

I wrote that because I assume that a Bongo with GC will no longer have a pan pot, because the pan pot does some kind of analog wiring/mixing of the PUs which is now performed by the GC. And the GC can only offer a limited number of "pan settings" cause it's working digital and no longer analog.

I think it's too early to make assumptions on how future models will be offered, after all, this is still a developing technology as has been hinted at by Sterling. The point about the pan pot is valid though, you can approximate analogue controls with digital devices, but I would guess (and it is just a guess) that as the development of the GC moves on things such as the pan control will be brought into play.

 

[guenter]

Wrong. The signal from the pickups always remains completely analog, so the GC and the pan can still coexist. The gamechanger would simply dictate which combination of coils go on each end of the pan knob and you would manipulate it as normal. It might be difficult to implement in a user-friendly way (the graphic part of it for the computer software) and I don't know if the current gamechanger would be able to or if it would require a slightly different version for the bongo, but it is perfectly possible.

I did not write that the PU output is converted to digital. Only that the behaviour of the pan pot is analog and that the GC has only a "limited" number of "mixer" settings.

(I have no idea how pan pot (as it is now) and GC shall co-exist. It is (imho) unlikeley that the pan pot output will be fed into the GC and vice versa)

 

[guenter]

also the underlying sound created by the wood used in construction wouldnt be affected eg stingray and sterling are fundamentally ash bodied and the bongo is bass wood. However from my limited understanding of what this thing does there are potentially thousands of combinations unlocked. Not sure if the pan pot would be made redundant anyway by this but as the GC is either on or off i cant see that the pan pot in normal non GC selected mode wouldnt remain. All speculation of course. I cant wait to try one of these.

Sure. We can only speculate... tet's see what the future brings... at least it will be very exciting!

 

[drTStingray]

Sure. We can only speculate... tet's see what the future brings... at least it will be very exciting!

definitely! I really want to try one or at least see a vid of one in action. I guess we wont have to wait long. Im guessing but i suspect the GC will have massive relevance to guitarists.

 

[Basswave]

Since the Stingray and Sterling electronics and pickups are different (alnico vs. ceramic), you're not likely to get identical tones.

So true...Maybe you will get close but not identical.

Maybe this is a little off topic but IMHO I don't think the GC is going to replace the classics just additional tool that is quite the Swiss army knife on steroids.

 

[adouglas]

I did not write that the PU output is converted to digital. Only that the behaviour of the pan pot is analog and that the GC has only a "limited" number of "mixer" settings.

(I have no idea how pan pot (as it is now) and GC shall co-exist. It is (imho) unlikeley that the pan pot output will be fed into the GC and vice versa)

I think you may be misunderstanding the function of the switch on most EBMM basses and the blend knob on the Bongo.

The Bongo is unique in the EBMM line because it allows you to choose the level of the pickups relative to one another. All other models only allow you to turn the pickup coils on or off in various combinations... there is no "mixing" or level control of individual coils or pickups.

The Bongo, on the other hand, does not allow any control over the individual coils, unlike all other EBMM basses. All you can do is alter the balance of the pickup output.

The GC doesn't "mix" in the sense that you state as far as I know. All it does is change the routing of the signal through the pickups, which is a different thing. There's no reason I can see why you can't also use a pot to set the output of the pickups relative to one another.

Like this:

Bongo HH

Coils 1 and 4 on -> blend pot balances between coil 1 and coil 4

Coils 1 and 2 on -> blend pot balances between coil 1 and 2

Coil 1 alone -> Blend pot does nothing, or behaves like a volume control




Seems to me the aesthetics of the Bongo would be compromised by adding the 5-way lever switch and toggle, but that's just MHO.

 

[hans]

ok, so how long does it take for Ed Friedland to show us and review all possible settings?

 

[guenter]

I think you may be misunderstanding the function of the switch on most EBMM basses and the blend knob on the Bongo.

No - that's absolutely clear to me.

The Bongo is unique in the EBMM line because it allows you to choose the level of the pickups relative to one another. All other models only allow you to turn the pickup coils on or off in various combinations... there is no "mixing" or level control of individual coils or pickups.

Exactly.

The Bongo, on the other hand, does not allow any control over the individual coils, unlike all other EBMM basses. All you can do is alter the balance of the pickup output.

Exactly.

The GC doesn't "mix" in the sense that you state as far as I know.

In my understanding, the GC does perform a kind of "mixing". I talk about "mixing" because I saw in the GC-movies that the UI of the software seems to allow to add the output of a coil by some to be specified level.

The GC not only allows to set a coil to on/off or put them in series or parallel. It seems to allow something like:

picture 1: coil 1 alone
picture 2: coil 2 alone
picture 3: coil 1 & 2 (parallel)
picture 4: coil 1 & 2 (parallel, 1/7 of coil1 & 6/7 of coil2)
[...tons of more combinations...]

And that what's shown in picture 4 is what I call "mixing". (And yes, I am aware that there's no DSP involved).

I assume that the following combinations of coil 1 and coil 2 are possible:

coil1 & coil 2
0/7 & 7/7 (only coil 2)
1/7 & 6/7
2/7 & 5/7
3/7 & 4/7
4/7 & 3/7
5/7 & 2/7
6/7 & 1/7
7/7 & 0/7 (only coil 1)

(you can also reverse the coils, put them in series and so on...)

 

[guenter]

ok, so how long does it take for Ed Friedland to show us and review all possible settings?

Several years

 

[Stereo_Monkey]

@Günni: Have you ever seen a mixer that allows to set the appearing order of the pickups in the signal?

 

[mynan]

In my understanding, the GC does perform a kind of "mixing". I talk about "mixing" because I saw in the GC-movies that the UI of the software seems to allow to add the output of a coil by some to be specified level.

I'm not sure that is correct, but admittedly I'm not clear on the subject. It seems to me that those indicators may have to do with series/parallel/phase settings, but I couldn't tell from the videos.

 

[syciprider]

Lets be nice to the competition...but thanks all of you for the nice comments

The exciting part is that we have so much more on the drawing board..like......

Ok I caught this. Like what Sterling?

 

[adouglas]

Ok I caught this. Like what Sterling?

Like... Sterling learned his torture skills from the Spanish Inquisition.

One of my favorite jokes:

The masochist screams "BEAT ME!"
The sadist says "...... no."

 

[iamcatwarrior]

I was watching the video documentary yesterday, and the entire concept blew my mind. It also might just be that the vast majority of my bass collection is now obsolete.... Truly remarkable.

Dumb question: Throughout the video, the coil diagrams that appear in the corner of the screen - what are those 8 vertical lines supposed to represent? Is that just the general wiring schematic for the pole pieces (from left to right, EADG)? Just curious.

 

[emptythevoid]

I just hope the webapp is Ubuntu/Firefox friendly. I would hope so, given that MM is pro-Linux

 

[Fuzzy Dustmite]

I love the fact that in the "2 or 3 weeks" that Tony Levin has had it, he's used it on 6 or 7 albums. Man that guy works!