Anyone used a guitar midi pickup?

[celebritymusic]

Hi

I need to put down some basic guitar parts, but I can't afford an amp, and my guitar is a little dodgey sounding anyway, so I thought I'd try uising a midi pickup and some of the different guitar synth software packages.

Has anyway used this setup? IWhat should I look out for, and what are the limitations?

I'm thinking of using Mastertones guitar synth software.

Cheers!

Shaun

[I C LIGHT]

Boy woulden't a midi system cost as much as an amp. Roland gi 20 an gk 3 pickup.
Then agin you may get much better sound using the Midi. More options crystal clear recording. no pre or mic. humm anybody. Under the saddle may be more refined string sensitivity pick-up. That ghost system maybe. Ask your local repair guitar man.

[cramseur]

Yeah, a midi system costs as much as an amp. The GK-3 pickup is about $200 itself, then you'd need the GI-20 converter for about $400. And don't forget the guitar software (to actually make the sounds).

Of course you'd be able to play any synth/sampler/softsynth sounds with that, not just guitars.

But it's not as easy as that either...you then have to set the string sensitivities and play in a more stilted manner (to avoid mistriggers and ghost notes), then edit like hell (to get rid of double triggers and ghost notes).

Midi guitar is really like playing a variant of guitar. Not perfect, but worthwhile if that's your desire.

I wouldn't use a synth guitar to replace a real one. If I had no amp, i'd just di and use amplitube, guitar rig or something like that...or even a Pod.

[Jim Williams]

If you want to do midi guitar, the Axon AX100 is the best option. This thing tracks incredible. You can strum, pick harmonics, play slide, anything. Try that with a Yammy or Roland!
You can also set different patches and access by where you pick, imagine a strat and you pick over each of the 3 pickups all switching to a differnt patch.

You can use it with bass, banjo, acoustic guitar, cello, must I go on?

BTW, it's only $650.

You can feed it via any roland compatible pickup or use piezo bridge saddles. Fernandez sustainer guitars offer the best options as the sustainer circuits eliminate the midi note off problem when the string decays. With that set up, Hammond patches ring as long as you want, like holding down a keyboard key.

Fernandez sells the Roland pickup set to be installed internally for about $180. Or slap on the controller box and pickup that's sold by Roland and Axon.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[cramseur]

Yeah, I'm waiting for my Axon AX100MKII to arrive.
It will replace my Roland GI-20.

[gsilbers]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

If you want to do midi guitar, the Axon AX100 is the best option. This thing tracks incredible. You can strum, pick harmonics, play slide, anything. Try that with a Yammy or Roland!
You can also set different patches and access by where you pick, imagine a strat and you pick over each of the 3 pickups all switching to a differnt patch.

You can use it with bass, banjo, acoustic guitar, cello, must I go on?

BTW, it's only $650.

You can feed it via any roland compatible pickup or use piezo bridge saddles. Fernandez sustainer guitars offer the best options as the sustainer circuits eliminate the midi note off problem when the string decays. With that set up, Hammond patches ring as long as you want, like holding down a keyboard key.

Fernandez sells the Roland pickup set to be installed internally for about $180. Or slap on the controller box and pickup that's sold by Roland and Axon.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

i thought all the sensitivity problems where cause of the pickup. i have the roland gi10and i wished it coud be better, it tracks notes i havent played... u know the harmonics, when sliding to another chord etc

how will the axiom be better if its using a roland pickup?

and how do you guys make it sustain, for example , on string patches. ?

[Jim Williams]

Originally Posted by gsilbers

i thought all the sensitivity problems where cause of the pickup. i have the roland gi10and i wished it coud be better, it tracks notes i havent played... u know the harmonics, when sliding to another chord etc

how will the axiom be better if its using a roland pickup?

and how do you guys make it sustain, for example , on string patches. ?

Re-read my previous post carefully. The pickup has nothing to do with tracking speed, it's a pickup and only needs to be mounted correctly. It's the detector that does the work, it's not in the pickup or pickup box.

Sustain is obtained by using a Fernandez Sustainer guitar. In fundamental mode, the note rings forever, chords ring forever, it's a 6 string E-bow.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[airexmusic]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

If you want to do midi guitar, the Axon AX100 is the best option. This thing tracks incredible. You can strum, pick harmonics, play slide, anything. Try that with a Yammy or Roland!
You can also set different patches and access by where you pick, imagine a strat and you pick over each of the 3 pickups all switching to a differnt patch.

You can use it with bass, banjo, acoustic guitar, cello, must I go on?

BTW, it's only $650.

You can feed it via any roland compatible pickup or use piezo bridge saddles. Fernandez sustainer guitars offer the best options as the sustainer circuits eliminate the midi note off problem when the string decays. With that set up, Hammond patches ring as long as you want, like holding down a keyboard key.

Fernandez sells the Roland pickup set to be installed internally for about $180. Or slap on the controller box and pickup that's sold by Roland and Axon.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

Hi Jim,
I was thinking of adding the Sustainer or sustainiac to my guitar w/ my GK3 midi pickup. Dos it work really nice? Do you have any info on which sustain unit is better? I'm trying to research before I buy. I lefty too, so trying it out somewhere is probably out. Any good articles to point me to?
Thanks
Eric

[10 Dollars]

The main thing that bothered me with my Roland pickup was that it was impossible to palm mute. I would palm mute the strings, but the midi pickup always sounded the same.

[Jim Williams]

Originally Posted by airexmusic

Hi Jim,
I was thinking of adding the Sustainer or sustainiac to my guitar w/ my GK3 midi pickup. Dos it work really nice? Do you have any info on which sustain unit is better? I'm trying to research before I buy. I lefty too, so trying it out somewhere is probably out. Any good articles to point me to?
Thanks
Eric

I have both. The Fernandez works best. It has a better drive pickup, better shielded from magnetic feedback, the humbucker helps. The sustainiac system is hit or miss, mostly miss as some notes die off quickly. It relies on Fender strat pickups as the driver/pickup. They also have magnetic feedback problems. It requires cutting out a bit of the body to fit.

Both systems filter out the highs to prevent magnetic feedback, the Fenandez is a dark sound, I opened it up a bit by relaxing the low pass filter. They are best used as a controller rather than a straight guitar sound. If you remove the filter, distortion harmonics are heard via magnetic feedback.

If an extra pole is available on the pickup selector switch, that filter could be bypassed when the sustain function is off.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[airexmusic]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

I have both. The Fernandez works best. It has a better drive pickup, better shielded from magnetic feedback, the humbucker helps. The sustainiac system is hit or miss, mostly miss as some notes die off quickly. It relies on Fender strat pickups as the driver/pickup. They also have magnetic feedback problems. It requires cutting out a bit of the body to fit.

Both systems filter out the highs to prevent magnetic feedback, the Fenandez is a dark sound, I opened it up a bit by relaxing the low pass filter. They are best used as a controller rather than a straight guitar sound. If you remove the filter, distortion harmonics are heard via magnetic feedback.

If an extra pole is available on the pickup selector switch, that filter could be bypassed when the sustain function is off.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

Very helpful. Did you get the Fernandes 401 or the 101 kit? Are they the same except for the pre-wired harness?
Eric

[rack gear]

Another happy Axon user here. AX50, I have plenty of synths so I didn't the added sound module in the 100. It tracks amazing.

I'm running a Roland Ready Strat, stock. For me - just cleaner than adding a Midi Pick-Up to one of my existing guitars.

But if you're looking for actual guitar sounds - I'd suggest investing in a better amp/etc. I don't know that I'd want to play a guitar to trigger guitar samples via midi. Interesting approach.

Fender Standard Roland-Ready Stratocaster | Sweetwater.com

Axon AX 50 | Sweetwater.com

[Jim Williams]

I have a Fernandez Dragonfly, ver.1. It came built in. I have the sustainiac system wired into a Roland Fender strat, it does not track that well compared to the Fernandez. It's a cheap guitar with poor bridge parts and cheap wood. The pickups are also cheapo Japanese jobs with steel poles and a ceramic magnet, not close to the original fender Alnico 5 sound.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades