Sonuus B2M User manual

B2M™
Universal Bass-to-MIDI Converter
Owner’s Manual
B2M™ B2M™ B2M™ B2M™
Congratulations on your purchase of the
B2M™. Please take the time to read
through this manual to ensure you get
the best from your B2M™.
What is the B2M™ ?
The B2M™ is a simple to use, but highly
effective, Bass-to-
MIDI converter. It is
“Universal” because it doesn’t need a
special pick-up mounted on your bass
guitar, but instead simply connects to
your bass like any other effects pedal or
tuner. However, this does mean that it
can only work “monophonically”, so
chords are not supported.
Specifically designed and optimised for
all 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-string basses to give
accurate triggering, with very low-
latency, it is a true plug-and-play solution
for monophonic
MIDI bass. It can be used
to sequence bass lines, add an edge to
your live performances and to open up
many creative possibilities.
Power
Your B2M™ is powered by a single 9V
PP3 battery (supplied). Simply connect
the battery observing the correct
polarity. If you connect it the wrong way
round it won’t cause any damage, but
the unit won’t operate until this is
connected correctly.
Because of its low power consumption,
the unit will run for many hours (typically
for more than 60) on a single battery.
When the battery is close to needing
replaced, the
LOW BATTERY LED will light. It
is not necessary to replace the battery
immediately since the B2M™ will
continue to function normally. When the
battery is nearly exhausted, the
LOW
BATTERY
LED will flash and the battery
must be replaced. If you need the B2M™
to work reliably for several hours (
e.g., a
recording session, or when playing live)
the battery should be replaced if the
LOW
BATTERY
LED is lit.
The B2M™ is switched on when a lead is
plugged into the
BASS jack. So, to
maximise battery life, this jack must be
disconnected when you are not using
the unit.
After 30minutes of inactivity the B2M™
will enter a low-power (but not fully off)
state to preserve the battery. To restart
the unit, simply unplug and re-insert the
lead into the
BASS jack.
Operation
Using your B2M™ couldn’t be simpler:
• Plug your instrument (electric bass)
into the
BASS jack socket. The POWER
LED
will light.
• Connect
MIDI - IN of your MIDI device (or
computer using a suitable
MIDI
interface) to the MIDI OUT socket.
• Adjust your bass’ volume control so
that the
CLIP LED lights only
occasionally while playing normally.
• Optionally, check your bass is in tune
using the built-in tuner (if you want to
tune to the standard bass tuning).
• Play your bass to send
MIDI to your
MIDI device (or sequencer, etc. ).
Chromatic Mode
The B2M™ accurately tracks the pitch of
notes and outputs pitch-bend
MIDI
messages but sometimes it is preferable
to send notes without pitch-bend
information (
e.g., when playing piano
sounds). This can be done by enabling
the
CHROMATIC switch next to the BASS
jack socket.
Tuner
For your convenience, the B2M™
includes a built-in tuner. This uses our
PULSAR™ tuning technology where the
POWER LED doubles as a tuning indicator.
This innovative tuner gives you a fast
and accurate way to tune your bass.
If there is no input signal, the
LED will
remain lit and indicates that the unit is
powered. When there is an input signal,
the
LED will pulse smoothly to indicate
tuning.
When the note is out of tune, the
LED will
pulse quickly. As you get closer to the
correct pitch, this pulsing will slow.
Eventually when you are perfectly in
tune, the pulsing will stop. Normally, as
long as the
LED pulses slower than once
per second, the tuning is close enough
for most purposes.
It is always best to start at a lower pitch
and tune upwards to the correct pitch. As
you get closer to the correct pitch and
the pulsing slows down, turn your tuning
head more slowly to avoid overshooting
the correct pitch. Because the tuner is
very accurate you will find that very small
movements may be all that is required to
move from slightly out-of-tune to in-tune
(or indeed, to go from in-tune to slightly
out-of-tune). With only a little practice
you will find you can tune very quickly
and accurately using the PULSAR™
tuner.
Instrument Thru
If you want to connect your instrument to
another device, or to your bass amplifier,
simply connect a lead to the
THRU jack.
The B2M™ has a very high-impedance
input and it will not affect the sound of
your instrument while it is connected.
MIDI
To make connecting to MIDI equipment
as simple as possible, the B2M™ has a
standard 5-pin
MIDI connector ( i.e., no
adapter cables are required). It also
provides standard 5V power and is able
to power self-powered
MIDI devices such
as
MIDI mergers and message filters.
For pitch-bend, the commonest setting
for most
MIDI devices is for full-scale
pitch-bend to represent ±2 semitones,
and the B2M™ is also set to this range.
To e n s u re y o u r
MIDI sounds are correctly
in tune with your bass, ensure the
MIDI
patch you use is also set to a pitch-bend
range of ±2 semitones.
Of course, you may want to experiment
with other pitch-bend ranges for special
effects.

B2M™ B2M™ B2M™ B2M™
Carry strap
Next to the BASS jack socket is a hole to
attach a carrying strap. You can use this
to make carrying the B2M™ much
easier: wear it on your wrist to free up
your hands; wear it round your neck so
it’s always nearby.
Usage Tips
Ensure your bass’ level is optimally
matched to the B2M™ by turning down
its volume control to avoid having the
CLIP LED flashing most of the time.
Occasional (or no) clipping will not cause
any performance problems and a high
signal level ensures that sounding notes
will sustain for as long as possible.
Slightly mute strings with your picking
hand. This helps prevent spurious
MIDI
notes when the wrong string is touched
lightly during playing. It also improves the
detection of rapidly picked notes
because notes can decay slightly faster
to give greater contrast between the
new note and the last note.
The B2M™ is great for sequencing
natural-sounding bass lines but if you try
to perform very fast notes on the lowest
strings, you may have some tracking
issues. To avoid this, play the notes on
higher octaves where tracking is faster
and latency is the lowest. Then
transpose the recorded notes in your
sequencer to use as a bass line.
If your songs require very fast phrases
but you are struggling to play them
accurately, record the section at a lower
tempo using the B2M™ then play it back
at full tempo. Because the phrase has
been converted to
MIDI , its timbre won’t
be affected by changing the tempo,
unlike the original bass guitar sound.
If you find that the wrong note (or
octave) is briefly detected when you
pluck a note, try the following tips for
your bass:
• Try using the neck pick-up.
• Turn down the tone control to see if
this makes a difference.
• Slightly adjust your playing style or
playing position. Often moving where
you strike the string by a small
amount can give good results.
Remember the B2M™ accurately
converts the pitch of your instrument to
MIDI messages. If your instrument is not
in tune, the
MIDI won’t be in tune either!
NOTE:
NOTE:NOTE:
NOTE: Many synthesizer bass patches
are programmed to play an octave below
the
MIDI note that triggered them. If you
find your synthesized sound is in the
wrong octave, check the patch you are
using is set to play in the same octave as
the
MIDI note!
Recommendations
Always disconnect the lead from the
BASS jack when you are not actively using
it. This will prolong the life of the battery.
It is a good idea to use rechargeable
batteries if you use the B2M™ often as
this is better for the environment.
When storing your B2M™ for an
extended period, we recommend that
you remove the battery. Batteries can
leak corrosive materials which could
damage your unit.
Do not expose to B2M™ to rain or
moisture. If this occurs, disconnect the
battery and allow the unit to dry out
completely before using it again.
Warranty
The B2M™ is supported by a limited
warranty for a period of one year from
the date of purchase. During this period,
any faults due to defective materials or
workmanship will be rectified (by repair
or replacement
*
) free of charge. The
warranty excludes damage caused by
deliberate or accidental misuse,
modification, or operation with an
external power supply or an incorrect
battery. It is the user’s responsibility to
ensure fitness for purpose in any
particular application. The warranty is
limited to the original purchase price of
the equipment, is limited to the original
purchaser, and excludes any
consequential damage or loss.
Proof or purchase date is required for
any claim under this warranty.
Warranty claims must be made through
the retailer from whom the original
purchase was made.
Community
To s e e w h a t o t h e r sonuus products
are available, please visit:
www.sonuus.com
To share your experiences, tips and tricks
with other B2M™ users, register on our
user forum:
www.sonuus.com/forum
*. A unit replaced under warranty may
be replaced with a reconditioned unit.
Specifications
The above specifications are subject to
change without notice.
sonuus , B2M™ and PULSAR™ are
trademarks or registered trademarks of
Sonuus Limited.
© Copyright 2009 Sonuus Limited, All
Rights Reserved.
Power 10mA using 9V PP3 battery
Auto Sleep (0·1 mA) After 30 mins of inactivity
Tuner notes B0, E1, A1, D2, G2, C3, F3
Tu n e r
accuracy
<1cent when pulsing at <1Hz.
Note range B0 to E5
MIDI latency 8ms(E5)
32ms(E1)
40ms(B0)
Pitch bend ±2 semitones /
None if
CHROMATIC mode on
MIDI power 5V (via 200 Ω resistor as per the
MIDI specification).
Size 83mm
× 58mm × 34mm
Weight 80g (without battery)
Inputs 6·35mm mono jack (switches unit
on when jack is inserted).
Outputs 6·35mm mono jack connected
directly to input jack.
Standard 5-pin
MIDI DIN socket.