| Combines Features of Roland BC-13 with Expanded Footswitch Controls |
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Features of the BX-13:
- Adapts Vintage Roland Guitar Synthesizers to Control Modern Guitar Synthesizers
- Expands on Roland BC-13 Features by Adding Individual Footswitch Controls for Guitar and Synthesizer Output
- Powered by 13-Pin Guitar Cable! No External Power Supply or Batteries Required
- Rugged Stomp-Box Enclosure Design
- Backed by Five-Year Warranty
- Elegant Design
The New Link Between Vintage and Modern Roland Guitar Synth Technology:
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For about ten years, Roland Corporation and other manufacturers produced a range of unique, very high quality 24-pin guitar synthesizer controllers. With the advent of the contemporary Roland 13-pin standard, vintage guitar synth owners could only access the latest in guitar synthesizer technologies with the incredibly rare, hard-to-find Roland BC-13 Bus Converter.
The BX-13 is the answer for vintage guitar synthesizer players who want to access modern guitar synthesizer technology, and do not need the extra features of the DC-13 or SBC+. The BX-13 is more affordable than the typical "collector" prices on the Roland BC-13, and it has more features.
Expanded Dedicated Footswitch Control over Synthesizer and Guitar Outputs:
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The BC-13 uses the Resonance Knob (CV#2) in a way that is very similar to the Mode switch on the vintage GR-series guitar. But rather than having a three-position switch, the knob has three "zones." The first zone is guitar only, the middle zone is guitar and synth, and last zone is synth only. Confusing? Yes.
As you can imagine, it is almost impossible to quickly and accurately turn guitar and synth signals on and off. |
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| The BX-13 improves on the BC-13 by adding two dedicated footswitches with LEDs instead of using the Resonance knob. One footswitch is for Synthesizer Output, and one is for Guitar Output. Nothing could be simpler for controlling the outputs of your Synth and Guitar signal. In addition, the BX-13 in enclosed in a rugged, stomp-box type enclosure. The BC-13 is an in-line design, basically a giant lump in the middle of your guitar cable, much like the AC transformers popular with some manufacturers. | |||
Buffered Electronic Connections:
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The early Roland Guitar synth controllers, such as the G-202, G-303, G-505 and G-808, do not buffer the output of their volume controls. Later guitars, like the Roland G-707 and the Ibanez IMG 2010, added a buffer stage to their volume controls. As a result, early guitars tend to "load" the input to the Roland BC-13, resulting in only 80 to 90 percent of the full volume output.
The BX-13 solves this problem by adding an electronic buffer stage for the volume signal. The electronic buffer stage isolates the volume control signal so that any vintage guitar works smoothly with any modern guitar synthesizer. Rather than using a fixed value resistor in the voltage divider circuit, there is an internal trimpot inside the BX-13 so that the unit can be fine-tuned for the best possible response to volume signals.
- Does the BX-13 add any latency or delay?
- Will the BX-13 work with ANY Vintage Roland Guitar Controller or Guitar Synth?
- Does this unit require any power?
- Is this unit for sale?
- How was the BX-13 developed? Is there anything else like the BX-13?
- Where do you get the connectors? I thought they were discontinued by Roland a long time ago.
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Inputs and Outputs |
| Like a Roland BC-13, the BX-13 has a 24-pin Guitar Synth and 1/4” Guitar input jack, and a 13-pin Guitar Synth output connector. With only the 24-pin cable plugged in, the level of the standard guitar sound is always at maximum. If you want to vary the level of the standard guitar sound, then a second cable is connected from the 1/4” Guitar output jack on the Guitar Controller to the 1/4” Guitar input jack on the BX-13. This is the same design used by the Roland BC-13, but the BX-13 adds footswitches to switch the outputs on and off. |
QuickTime Video Demos:
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| With a BX-13 the Ibanez IMG-2010 guitar can access the cool sounds of the cutting edge Roland VG-88 Virtual Guitar System. In this short demo, the IMG-2010 is used to simulate a guitar with "Nashville" tuning, strings E through G tuned one octave up. By using the footswitch control found only on the BX-13, the direct guitar sound can be switched on and off. | |
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| In this demo, the BX-13 is used with the Ibanez IMG-2010 to play drive a Yamaha CS6R with a Roland GI-10 Pitch-to-MIDI converter. Notice how quickly the CS6R responds and how well it tracks both pitch bends and dynamic range. |
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NO! None of my processors add any delay at all. Like the GR-300 and GR-100, they are purely analog processors that do not suffer from the inevitable latency introduced by digital systems. Many players notice that their guitar synths actually play better, since the gain stages have been especially designed to deliver the best possible signal to the guitar synthesizer.
YES! I have tested this with the Roland G-303, G-505, G-707, G-808 and the Ibanez IMG2010. The BX-13 is also designed to work well with the Roland GK-1, and other third party controllers built by Gibson, Steinberger and others. The BX-13 has also been tested with the Roland GI-10 and VG-88.
NO. The BX-13 gets its power from the connection to the guitar synthesizer. This is the same approach Roland used for the BC-13, US-20 and GKP-4.
I have not built any BX-13s since December 2005, but I hope to be able to make another one or two units. Contact me if you are interested. The price will be $299 plus shipping, and I will warranty the unit for one year parts and labor.
YES! The BX-13 contains circuitry derived from the SBC+.
YES! Roland discontinued the connectors from active production about fifteen years ago. So the 24 pin connectors are virtually impossible to find. I bought as many of these connectors as I could from Roland a while back. Depending on availability, I also use connectors refurbished vintage guitars and synths. Either way, there is no new supply of these connectors, so all the processors I build have a very, very limited production run.
