Sometime last year I was talking with Joe from Blackbird and said, “You guys should make a uke that can get synth access.” His reply was, “we already have”. You just have to get the RMC preamp to convert to 13 pin. So I ordered one from him and it came in last week. A few days ago I got the RMC and have been trying to learn how to use the GR-55 pedal. This kind of stuff is a real toy, for me at least. I think some people would not be into this, making crazy sounds is not why they grab a uke. But for me it’s both fun and gives me an excuse for another uke. I only keep ukes that serve a different purpose from what I already have. And this is different.
So we have another on order with Blackbird. It’s not perfect tracking but I think I can learn the pedal better so it doesn’t stutter and has better balance. Thanks for checking out The Ukulele Review. Share your questions or comments below.
Aloha friends. A hui ho!
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Joe demo’d NAMM with a Roland VG-99, which is a much more expensive pedal but I’m pretty sure he said tracking is that much better through it. Others online also recommend getting a used Roland VG-88(the older previous model) if on a budget, that one also having better latency/tracking then the GR-55. Don’t trust what you read on the internet though this could just all be speculation. Hope it helps. May I ask you a question about the video released yesterday titled “Blackbird Tenor w: RMC Pickup”? That is the best sound I’ve ever heard, how did you go about getting that: I mean obviously it’s the RMC individual pickups ran through the 8pin cord to the RMC Poly Drive preamp but then what? Where does it go from there through what type of cable and how are you EQ’d? Thank you so much for your time, Aloha!
Author
Hi Dave, Yes, that is what was used going into an AER compact XL with the EQ flat DI out. I also had Schoeps room mics run into an A designs preamp panned. No mixing or EQ or any post production. That pickup through the RMC preamp rules. The GR-55 kills some of the greatness of that tone but I did get the tracking better after messing with the sensitivity and attack on individual patches. Just that RMC pickup through their preamp into a good amp is the best amplified acoustic tone I have heard. Thanks!
Thanks for the quick reply Andrew! Glad to hear a few tweaks cleared that up. And I thought the LR Baggs 5.0 was the top of the line. Yeah I am sold, just knowing my Blackbird could sound like that if plugged in is enough of an itch factor. My next upgrade will be sending in for the RMC pickups + Poly Drive preamp combo setup. I will tell Joe you/your sound sample sent me 😉
Aloha.
Author
Thanks Dave!