guitar midi then what?

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snapper

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Ive noticed several guitar builders are offering a midi model. So here is my question and bear in mind I no next to nothing about midi. If I wanted to add strings such as violins and chelos to some recordings via something like the e-mu virtuoso 2000, would this type of guitar ( lets say the parker midi model) allow me to do this? How does this work. Does it just interpret the note and translate it to a sound module through midi? Does the guitar just act as a keyboard controller?
 
Think of it as MIDI controller, but the triggering is kind of analogic, I mean, in a keyboard you have aftertouch but the signal is digital, on/off, while on the guitar it's an actual vibrating body which sends the signal. I have a Roland GK2A and GR30 setup and it's just wonderful! Most of the time I don't believe it's me who's playing! The tracking is less than perfect but you can sequence and post-produce what you played, adding any missing notes. The real bonus is a creativity boost; not all patches allow you to play virtuoso style, but once you *feel* the sound's personality you'll find plenty of ideas. And once you have a MIDI recording, you can make tracks sound with any of the patches your synth provides, be them cellos or shattering crystals... In a few words: a MIDI guitar is a 21 century instrument.
 
The guitars with the built in synth output still require the midi converter. They won't do anything direct into a synth, which has a midi connector, these output via a 13 pin connection.

I just ordered a Yamaha G50 midi converter which will then trigger sounds from any external midi source. In my case, that will be a Yamaha MU-50 Tone generator.

I purchased the special pup last night, and got it installed. The G50 unit is sheduled for delivery on Monday.
If you're interested I'll post a short review of the unit.

ZZounds is blowing the G50 out at 339 bucks for an advertised "used" unit.

GP
 
I'm also interested in the Yamaha.
Eagerly awaiting your review. TIA.
Pay attention to how well it handles chords and combinations of fretted and open strings.
I've played the AXON and it RULES, but it's also over a grand with the pickup.
 
Regarding my review of the G50:

I installed the G1D pup last Thursday and was unable to test it, as the G50 wasn't scheduled to arrive until this Monday. The installation went off w/out a hitch. The controller I attached via the strap lug, and the pup via dbl. sided tape.

I got home last night and hooked up the G50 to an MU50 Tone Generator via midi cable, and to my patchbay via 1/4 in cable. I fired the unit up and was literally blown away by the quality of sound and tracking speed.

I didn't do any tweaking to the presets, just used what was already there. Other than stopping for dinner, I played for about 3 hours. Everything from horns to organs. I did not discover any tracking problems. I'm not Yngwie, but I was able to do some pretty fast riffs and the unit kept up everytime.

Initially I had the pup set for synth only and played around with a lot of instrument sounds. Slap bass, horns, choir ahs, bird whistles, strings, woodwinds, pianos, etc., all sounded good.

I then thought to myself, what would the synth and guitar sound like together, so I switched the pup to both. Whoa! What a powerful sound. I played the opening to Saturday in the Park and adjusted the horns volume down a bit, and was truly amazed at what came out of the monitors.

Regarding recording, it was really neat to play a riff, melody, etc. and see the notation to it show up in my midi software. Gone are the days of entering the notes by mouse.

Problems? Not really anything major. When holding a chord and just letting it fade naturally, it'll die off one string at a time and sound kind of strange. Yamaha offers a sustain pedal, so that shouldn't be a problem. Occasionally I would hear a ghost note, and once I adjusted my playing to be a touch more precise, end of problem.

I even had trouble sleeping last night, that's how excited I was about this unit. Simply amazing. I can't wait to get home tonight and start working on an arrangement I've had on hold for a while.

I purchased this unit "used" at ZZounds for 339.00 bucks, and it's worth every penny. Best gear purchase I ever made.

Would I recommend this unit? Without a doubt.

Thanks.
Guitar Synth Player


To answer a specific question mentioned prior to this review: It handles open strings in combination with fretted strings w/out any problems that I could hear. I frequently play an Am open chord shape at the 5th and 3rd frets, with all of the other strings open and didn't notice anything at all.
 
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