/Wide
guitar to midi
I'd like know if there's a way of controlling a midi sound module with the guitar. I know Roland produces a midi pickup, but can you control any sound module with that pickup and some sort of guitar -> midi converter? Or does it just work with special Roland guitar synths? How much would such a solution cost me? I mean, if there's just a pickup and converter that work with any midi sound module.
/Wide
/Wide
# 1
The Roland midi pickup (GK2A) only connects to Roland products (all VG range and GR33 guitar synth). In England, this suff is priced at around £140 for the pickup, and the VG range is: VGA5 65-watt modelling combo around £600, VGA7 130-watt modelling combo around £1100 (some dealers will include the GK2A in this price!). The GR33 guitar synth is around £400 and the VG88 guitar synth is around £700-£750.
There is a Yamaha unit called the G50 Midi Convertor which requires the Yamaha G1D midi pickup. There is a dealer in London advertising the complete package for £450 - check at http://www.sohosoundhouse.com for more details.
Nobody seems to make a simple, cheap midi pickup which you can fit to any guitar and connect to any midi device! Does anybody know why? Or does anybody know of such a device?
There is a Yamaha unit called the G50 Midi Convertor which requires the Yamaha G1D midi pickup. There is a dealer in London advertising the complete package for £450 - check at http://www.sohosoundhouse.com for more details.
Nobody seems to make a simple, cheap midi pickup which you can fit to any guitar and connect to any midi device! Does anybody know why? Or does anybody know of such a device?
;) Reelin' in the years...
# 2
I read in "guitar techniques" about english country guitarist Lee Hodgsons and he seems to be playing "MIDI guitar" in his band, Memphis Roots. Anyone who knows what kind of things he is using?
# 3
Wide - you might try emailing Lee at the Memphis Roots Web Site:
http://www.geocities.com/memphis_roots_band/
http://www.geocities.com/memphis_roots_band/
# 4
A little more about Guitar to Midi. I only use Midi with keyboards and to control my DG-Stomp, but I have followed the Midi Guitar controllers for a number of years.
The main problem is that the mechanical signal of a vibrating string produces an analog electrical signal than conveys pitch, volume and dynamics information. Converting the analog to digital has become routine with today's computers, but going one step further to convert a digital signal to Midi note and controller information is more difficult.
Midi conversion has to determine which note is to be played from the frequency content of your guitar. If your guitar is not exactly in tune (are they ever?) then the coverter must make a guess at which note is intended. If you bend a note or add vibrato, the converter must add the appropriate pitch-bend controller information. The converter must also determine volume and dynamics from the signal. Volume is probably easier than dynamics. Did you pick hard or soft, do you want the signal to decay like the normal guitar signal? Then you have to multiply the problem by six (a signal for each string).
The older midi converters did not have enough processing power to provide all of these conversions in real time, so you often had to contend with delays and tracking (wrong note) problems.
The good news is that the current generation of midi converters are much more powerful and robust. This is a direct result of more powerful processors. Roland pickups use a 12-pin cable to the converter but the processors have standard 5-pin midi connections so that you can control other midi devices, such as keyboards and sound modules. Shadow makes a midi converter that provides 5-pin midi to control other devices without the processor that Roland uses. I think that the Shadow costs around $750 US. Several guitars are now available with either direct midi control or Roland-compatible pickups (Brian Moore, Godin, even Fender).
Another thing to keep in mind; guitar midi converters go obsolete very quickly due to fast-changing technology. I think that the technology is fast enough now that I might risk buying a Roland VG-88 or GR-33.
The main problem is that the mechanical signal of a vibrating string produces an analog electrical signal than conveys pitch, volume and dynamics information. Converting the analog to digital has become routine with today's computers, but going one step further to convert a digital signal to Midi note and controller information is more difficult.
Midi conversion has to determine which note is to be played from the frequency content of your guitar. If your guitar is not exactly in tune (are they ever?) then the coverter must make a guess at which note is intended. If you bend a note or add vibrato, the converter must add the appropriate pitch-bend controller information. The converter must also determine volume and dynamics from the signal. Volume is probably easier than dynamics. Did you pick hard or soft, do you want the signal to decay like the normal guitar signal? Then you have to multiply the problem by six (a signal for each string).
The older midi converters did not have enough processing power to provide all of these conversions in real time, so you often had to contend with delays and tracking (wrong note) problems.
The good news is that the current generation of midi converters are much more powerful and robust. This is a direct result of more powerful processors. Roland pickups use a 12-pin cable to the converter but the processors have standard 5-pin midi connections so that you can control other midi devices, such as keyboards and sound modules. Shadow makes a midi converter that provides 5-pin midi to control other devices without the processor that Roland uses. I think that the Shadow costs around $750 US. Several guitars are now available with either direct midi control or Roland-compatible pickups (Brian Moore, Godin, even Fender).
Another thing to keep in mind; guitar midi converters go obsolete very quickly due to fast-changing technology. I think that the technology is fast enough now that I might risk buying a Roland VG-88 or GR-33.
# 5
