The true worth of this box is running the
VB3 organ/leslie simulation, and using a GX Labs hardware drawbar & button controller to control the parameters on the fly.
I am also primarily a horn player (saxophone) and I use the V-Machine to be a "one-man horn section". This is accomplished by playing along in unison (or in harmony intervals) with a good screaming "trumpet" VST. I am using a wireless pickup connected to a Sonuus i2M pitch-to-MIDI converter/controller to drive the GSi "MilesTone" VST in the V-Machine. I also use a
Line 6 FBV Express MkII MIDI-controller pedalboard with the V-Machine to control
the trumpet's parameters in real time.
Upgrades:
I had already ordered and installed the 1Gb memory and 8Gb CF card upgrade as shown in the upgrade video by Matszh on YouTube. This upgrade is easy and works very well. Concerning the upgrade parts, I used the same parts from the "Matszh" video, which is the Hynix 1GB DDR2 RAM PC2-5300 200-Pin Laptop SODIMM, the Transcend 8GB 133x High Speed CompactFlash CF Memory Card, and the 2" 44 Pin IDE Laptop 2.5" Hard Drive Ribbon Cable.
Another point is that not all thumb drives work with this thing. Save yourself some headaches, and use Sandisk Cruser USB 2.0 thumb drives.
A lot of posts around have asked about upgrading the processor. ...well unless you are super-tech, that's not going to happen. ...but if you want the specifics, the processor (CPU) is a VIA
VX700 and could be replaced with a VIA VX900 (they are out there for about $40 to $50), but the problem is that 1) the CPU chip is soldered directly onto the circuit board and is not installed in a socket. The CPU does not have "pins", but instead has "solder balls" that you have to heat (melt). Unless you know how to perform delicate hot-air soldering with CPU chips with little tiny solder-balls, ...forget it! ...AND 2) a chip upgrade from
VX700 to VX900 would also possibly require re-programming the unit with new drivers for the new CPU.
Matszh has two other upgrade videos for replacing the heat-sink and fan, and installing Bluetooth midi, and also pots/knobs in place of the buttons, but those mods are more complex and require cutting/modifying the case of the V-Machine.
