midi-guitar

virtualstudio · Post by **virtualstudio** » Sun May 30, 2004 10:30 am

Hi,

I know some of you use midi guitar, any tips on buying a set. Wich pick-up wich convertor?
Years ago I played on a Casio (of all) midi guitar I would like to get my hand on one off them now.
so maybe still good(but cheap) midi-ready guitars around?

thanks

firubbi · Post by **firubbi** » Sun May 30, 2004 11:55 am

i'm using a converter (roland GI-10)..also had used Roland GR-1 some years ago.
what i can tell you that you have to very good at your playing also you need a good guitar(coz its a pitch to midi converter... so pitch has to be as close as possiable)The recent guitar synth is GR30 or GR33(roland)$under500.
Thanks

Post by **garyb** » Sun May 30, 2004 3:25 pm

best one to my knowledge: http://www.shadow-pickups.com/midi.html

blazesboylan · Post by **blazesboylan** » Sun May 30, 2004 5:08 pm

I've heard very good things about the Shadow but have never used it.

As for the Roland GK-3 / GI-10 combo (I think the more contemporary model is the GI-30 or something like that)...

If you use thin strings you'll get better tracking. As Firubbi says, you also have to play *very* cleanly to get good tracking.

But for me, I use the thickest strings I can find (13-56) and I'm very sloppy. So after a while you learn to actually use the delay and stuttering to your advantage, as sort of an effect... Cool effects sometimes, especially on monophonic patches.

I only ever used guitar synth as sort of a guitar effect anyway, to really fatten up leads: keep the level just under the level of the guitar and you can get a fantastically thick sound.

Roland actually made a guitar several years ago with the pickup built into the guitar. I saw a used model in a music store for something like $150 Canadian. Probably a crappy guitar, but that's a cheaper option than buying the GK-3 pickup. Yamaha and Godin and I think Parker have similar options with heftier price tags.

The one thing I hate about the GK-3 pickup is the placement of the volume knob / up-down MIDI program selectors. A MIDI pedalboard is a must to use your synth to its full potential.

Incidentally there's an interesting alternative option. Never tried it, but it looks like it would be fun to play with. (Even if it makes your guitar look like a kid's toy... Or something out of a heavy metal nightmare.

)

http://www.jambass.com/

Have fun with it Virtualstudio!

- Johann

Post by **hubird** » Sun May 30, 2004 5:14 pm

blazesboylan · Post by **blazesboylan** » Sun May 30, 2004 5:22 pm

OK somebody please post a tip in the "Tips'n'Tricks" forum so I can figure how y'all get these wacky smilies!!!

Johann

- deficient PlanetZ'er

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Sun May 30, 2004 5:27 pm

On 2004-05-30 11:30, virtualstudio wrote:
...Years ago I played on a Casio (of all) midi guitar I would like to get my hand on one off them now...

hi,

I have the Casio DG20

which isn't really a midi guitar, but a keyboard with a guitar trigger.
There is no note conversion as the frets are just a special kind of rubber keyboard.
Not a bad approach, but the trigger isn't velocity sensitive and there's no bending at all (unless you use a midi pedal or wheel for pitch bending).
The most problematic parts are the neck and the plastic strings, aside from a horrible feeling it's just not solid enough.
Imho Casio came up with an interesting design idea, but abandoned it half-way.
For a real guitar player like you it's probaly too limited.

Casio also built a Strat like midi guitar (MG series - you probably had this one ?) which uses hexacoil pickups like Roland and has the midi conversion unit built right into the guitar corpus.
These also have a regular pick up and can be played as usual - when they show up on eBay they are a good alternative to Roland.

cheers, Tom - passionate Casio collector

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: astroman on 2004-05-30 18:30 ]</font>

Post by **hubird** » Sun May 30, 2004 5:50 pm

On 2004-05-30 18:22, blazesboylan wrote:
OK somebody please post a tip in the "Tips'n'Tricks" forum so I can figure how y'all get these wacky smilies!!!

Johann
- deficient PlanetZ'er

No problem, my wife makes them:

http://www.dirkorte.de/cart178.jpg

virtualstudio · Post by **virtualstudio** » Sun May 30, 2004 6:26 pm

On 2004-05-30 18:27, astroman wrote:
Casio also built a Strat like midi guitar (MG series - you probably had this one ?) which uses hexacoil pickups like Roland and has the midi conversion unit built right into the guitar corpus.
These also have a regular pick up and can be played as usual - when they show up on eBay they are a good alternative to Roland.

cheers, Tom - passionate Casio collector

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: astroman on 2004-05-30 18:30 ]</font>

yeah that's the one.
And I'll tell you that guitar was not bad at all!

thanks for the quick info guys.

rodos1979 · Post by **rodos1979** » Sun May 30, 2004 6:53 pm

On 2004-05-30 18:50, hubird wrote:

No problem, my wife makes them:

http://www.dirkorte.de/cart178.jpg

lol

siriusbliss · Post by **siriusbliss** » Sun May 30, 2004 11:39 pm

THere's a whole yahoo midiguitar forum with veteran users and builders.

Personally I'm using a Brian Moore guitar with a Roland GR-33 and an Axon AX100 going to my Pulsar.

Still looking for some THICK sounds rather than all these glurpy techno sounds <hehe>.

blazesboylan · Post by **blazesboylan** » Tue Jun 01, 2004 2:15 am

Still looking for some THICK sounds rather than all these glurpy techno sounds <hehe>.

Well apart from the obvious options (CW synths!!!

) a used E-mu Morpheus is real cheap these days and is thicker than George W. It has a lot of pads and fat synth leads that work really well in a mix with guitar.

If anyone wants to buy mine for the $1400 I paid for it, I will gladly sell it to them...

Johann