How far are we away from having a dedicated Hex option that goes directly to USB?

21

Hi @Dutti, thanks for your quick replies.

Perhaps @sepereate-strings here in the forum as an electronic user could help you with a circuit for generating 9V for active pickups from a USB 5V voltage.

Again the question: Will your solution also work for basses?

22

most hexbox users will have phantom power at their fingertips, is it possible to use that?

the graphtech 13 pin solution uses a ribbon cable to connect the board to a 13 pin jack, this approach could give you a smaller final product and more flexibility as to installation options. especially if you used right angle connectors.

as is, it could be mounted externally near the strap peg like the tripleplay or the gk2/3. although getting the pickup output to it wouldnā€™t be pretty.

if mounted externally, it could be useful to include inputs for volume/patch control as on the gk2/3.

23

Hello @David_Marshall thatā€™s a bit early to say and we will offer options (just the box or adding a GK-3 or a Boss power supply unit), but just for the box Iā€™m targeting around/below 200USD, just to give you a house number. This is providing we must not make too many prototypes prior it works and not add too many features.

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24

@anjo I donā€™t see any reason at the moment why it should not work with a bass GK3 as well.

25

Hello @kimyo The HexBox itself draws the power from the USB supply, the Hex PU can be used passive (a GK is capable to do that in combination with MG3Hex) or it can be powered through the 13 pin cable connecting the Boss PSA-230S (part of any GP-10/SY-1000/GM-800) to the HexBox.

You need to have a GK-3 installed and therefore it might be possible to make use of the related hardware (Volume/SW1&2) but requires re-engineering to incorporate the connections and the functions.

26

i donā€™t think thatā€™s worth the bother.

will the boss psa work with graphtechā€™s hexpander?

27

I will check that out, it might have swapped polarityā€¦If so any other common 9VDC supply will do it for the Hexpander.

EDIT:

@kimyo I checked the hexpander documentation > it needs its own 9VDC battery power supply > there are no interconnections on the hexpander board from the 13 pin socket terminal to the supply voltage terminals.

28

unfortunately the graphtech page doesnā€™t go into specifics re: the power.

but if this is correct the gp10 etc puts out +7v and -7v on separate pins:

image

re: $200ish, thatā€™s pretty attractive, half the price of a typical 8 input audio interface and probably twice as convenient.

one issue is individual string volume settings, i adjust mine sometimes to suit the particular patch iā€™m using. perhaps this could be handled on the mg3hex side, with saved profiles boosting or unboosting various string volumes.

if jamo can read it directly with no asio then we have an entirely new paradigm.

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29

my hexpander runs w/o a battery when powered by the gk attached to a gr-55.

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30

Yes, this is the correct pin-out and the base for the PCB. I thought about volume pots but that makes everything just big / or ugly when used small screw pots. Iā€™m pretty sure that @JamO would find a solution for that prior he eats breakfast!

31

Ah, OK > I will double check it on my guitars having hexpanders (they all have EMG PUā€™s and I have always batteries in them). Then it will work with no modifications.

32

guys what about Fishman Triple Play ? am i missing something?

33

unfortunately the tripleplay does not output audio, which is what mg3hex needs.

i have read about people hacking their tripleplay pickups, but iirc it wasnā€™t that easy.

34

Dutti67,
Congratulations on your protype board. Must admit Iā€™m eating my words a bit after seeing your board - never liked the taste of laserjet printed paper. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Donā€™t want to dampen things, but you might want to consider a couple nasty hurdles, FCC export/import rules with computer peripherals, and Windows inability to run more than one audio device. Mac users donā€™t have this problem, as we know.

One other thing, I would go for a 13-pin socket with panel screw locking wings, or use a socket bracket. An unlocked 13-pin socket pcb tracks will eventually fail with up/down left/right movement.

Never mind me, congratulations :raised_hands:

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35

Yes, people ā€œhackā€ them, but typically only to replace the hex strip of a GK-style pickup.

Years ago I ordered a custom cable to link the FTP to my old GK-ready Strat so I could run the FTP in parallel to the GK stuff. The idea was to have the hex modelling of the guitar available along with the ā€œsuperior-to-Rolandā€ MIDI capabilities of the FTP in parallel. It worked, sort of, but the whole thing was too finnicky to justify maintaining.

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36

OOOOOH YES!! Exactly what I want.
If you need a tester on PC let me know.
How much and where can I send you payment :slight_smile:

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38

Iā€™ve hacked several FTP for the purpose of using the pitch to midi with my 13 pin equipped guitars. Basically cut off the pickup up and wire a 13 pin input in itā€™s place. It works, but my soldering skills arenā€™t the best and it is finicky to maintain. Hereā€™s a demo of my Godin playing into my FTP adapter into an iPad. https://youtu.be/qBsXT7qZN2c?si=igkg1Ms2IcjL6WTt

39

@Dutti67 I presume the hex board will be USB class compliant so it can be used with an iPad, the expectation being that @JamO will release an iOS/iPadOS version of MG3Hex?

40

@SnowBlack The Cirrus Logic chip we are using is class compliant. We will know after testing but it should work with iOS devices as well.

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41

Hopefully it will be possible to connect the GX-2 Gear Switcher to your USB Hex box? :+1:

Guitar to the GX-2 and then from the GX-2 to the USB Hex.

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