I've
been playing Chapman Stick for 24 years and from the very beginning,
I've had a keen
interest in not just effects processing, but also guitar
synthesis. In this
time, a lot has changes and improved about what can be
done with guitar
to midi and synth performance.
Often times, products
that convert guitar to synth create demos which gives musicians the common
impression that this technology is primarily used to
mimic another instrument
like a piano or harp. Or that you can somehow also
take on the other
musician's role in the band with a flute patch! Personally,
I think the greatest
strength with this technology is the ability to expand your
sound with lush
pads and leads and to blend the sound of the instrument with
true synthesis.
Not to mimic, but to expand.15 years ago, products like the
Roland GI unit did
the basic job, but their tracking was limited and a hit and
miss. Then
Axon technologies expanded this by allowing a lot more control customization
and individual string control that made things better (and more
complicated).
Today, guitar synth
is still a niche market. Although it is continually getting
better.
I personally still love my 10 year old Roland VG-99. Because it's
a
guitar processor
and a synth emulator, there are no tracking issues and it
allows for the blending
of various guitar tones and synth emulators. When
these are combined
is where things get very interesting.
Also, newer units
like the boss SY-300 which I also use are great because
no special pickups
are necessary and it's essentially evaluating the notes
to convert to synth
emulation. Much simpler setup, although the polyphony
is limited.
Where things get
really interesting is triggering external synth modules and
having control over
an actual synthesizer. I used to use an Axon AX unit with
an Access Virus
which gave me some really lush and expansive sounds.
Now, with the advancement
of soft synths and their continually improving
sounds, as well
as ease of editing and price point, there are many more
options and the
possibilities are really limitless.
Pickups like the
fishman triple play are popular for guitar to MIDI conversion
to allow for control
of soft synths. However, my personal favorite is the Jam
Origin MIDI guitar.
This is a plugin software that analyzes a guitar's input
and lets a musician
use their favorite soft synth and DAW.
I currently use
a combination of all of these processors with Apple's MainStage
which is a true
gem. Setup can become quite complicated, but it's all a
matter of how much
control and customization you want to have. If not,
processors like
Roland's GR-55 make this process easy and fun and the
BOSS SY-300 make
it painless without the need for any special picks.
Or, you can simply
try the Jam Origin MIDI guitar plugin to gain access to
all those cool synth
sounds on your computer!
Here is an example
of guitar synth being put to work on my live setup on
my SG-12 Stick :
https://vimeo.com/162869068
.
Thanks Nima for sharing
your extensive experience with guitar synthesizers
and their interfaces.
Both hardware and software
Epakta.
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