odibrom
.
Please elaborate a little more on this, how is it wired / how does it work?, like only 6 strings work at a time?
7 string Midi guitars?
- Thread starter etrotter
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
Please elaborate a little more on this, how is it wired / how does it work?, like only 6 strings work at a time?
This site may earn a commission from merchant links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
It says it doesn't do pitch to midi conversion but still it looks fun. You should try it and let us know. You go first. lol. : )
Not sure about bostjan's but a lot of them used 2 hexpanders and two 13 pin jacks. I remember seeing Conklin doing it a few times. You set one converter for bass mode like on the Yamaha and Axon's for the lower string.
I wonder how the Acoustiphonc sounds in comparison to the LR baggs preamp for the double edge piezo's though. Right now mine are running on an old Bartolini preamp which I liked better than the LR baggs. It was just a little fatter and more clear sounding but mostly it was nice and quite on the noise floor.
Last edited:
Fox Dieane
Fart Huffer
I didn't read too much into it, but that's a bummer if true. I remember looking into them a while back and only checked the website when I made my first post and saw the seven saddles and figured they'd updated it to work with 7 strings.
I never pulled the trigger on it, but it seemed like a really cool system if you wanted to put the effort into making it work.
At any moment, yes. So, for instance, if you play on the low b and high e at the same time, the note will not track, but if you played one then the other just a moment later, it would track both. If you do a lot of walking bass stuff, that could be a problem, but, honestly, it was very rarely an issue for me, to the point where I never really thought about it.
In my old band, I used a Brian Moore 6 string midi guitar into a Roland floor unit, and a regular seven string BCR MB7, so I never considered it necessary to split 8 strings into 2 midi channels. I then started doing more and more stuff at home through a GK13-Midi5 converter (which, ironically, despite being 20% of the price of the Roland, tracked even better).
odibrom
.
Nope, but with pitch to MIDI plugins associated with each string, a computer and an audio interface coupled with the CycFi system may open the guitar synth world quite a bit and into MIDI instruments and what not..
Regarding me diving heads first into this... just let me go and buy a wining lottery ticket...
I have some guitars with the LR Baggs (in LoPro and EdgePro trems) system and others with the Graphtech's (in fixed bridges). All with each proprietary preamps, so LR Baggs piezos with LR Baggs preamps and Graphtech's ghost saddles with Graphtech's Accousticphonic preamps.
I personally prefer the LR Baggs sound, which feels to have more mids on tap when the Ghost's sound feels more "V shaped", probably due to the Teflon finished Ghost saddles...
However, the LR Baggs sound is divided into 2 options regarding the Ibanez guitars, the 1st and the 2nd batch. Their preamps are totally different, specially on the prestige models in which the preamp came with active Treble and Bass Boos/Cut... which does have quite an impact in changing the piezo tones.
So, if I understand correctly, for chord stuff it would kind of fall behind, but for single note lines it would track things ok...?
@Fox Dieane let's see if Graphtech updates their game in this product line. As I understand, the Hexpander board DOES NOT convert the string's signal to MIDI, as it Emulates the Roland's GK pickup system, while the real processing is done at the pedals... as for the traditional approach. This new Roland's one seems to be a bit different, so let's see how it develops...?
::::::::::
Question for those who use/used these rigs.
How is the rig setup? there are 2 different signal paths - MIDI/synth and regular audio - that merge before the poweramp, right? And one then would have to manage when to use or the other signal source, right? Obviously things can get a bit more complicated with FXs acting over both signal types, but that's the gist of it, right?
I can't remember where the hexpander generates the midi but I think it's just raw signal then converts at the unit. This would be better usually I'd think as it travels faster than midi. Midi even runs into issues with basic patch changes on long cable runs without a signal driver like a midi solutions box or something.Nope, but with pitch to MIDI plugins associated with each string, a computer and an audio interface coupled with the CycFi system may open the guitar synth world quite a bit and into MIDI instruments and what not..
Regarding me diving heads first into this... just let me go and buy a wining lottery ticket...
I have some guitars with the LR Baggs (in LoPro and EdgePro trems) system and others with the Graphtech's (in fixed bridges). All with each proprietary preamps, so LR Baggs piezos with LR Baggs preamps and Graphtech's ghost saddles with Graphtech's Accousticphonic preamps.
I personally prefer the LR Baggs sound, which feels to have more mids on tap when the Ghost's sound feels more "V shaped", probably due to the Teflon finished Ghost saddles...
However, the LR Baggs sound is divided into 2 options regarding the Ibanez guitars, the 1st and the 2nd batch. Their preamps are totally different, specially on the prestige models in which the preamp came with active Treble and Bass Boos/Cut... which does have quite an impact in changing the piezo tones.
So, if I understand correctly, for chord stuff it would kind of fall behind, but for single note lines it would track things ok...?
@Fox Dieane let's see if Graphtech updates their game in this product line. As I understand, the Hexpander board DOES NOT convert the string's signal to MIDI, as it Emulates the Roland's GK pickup system, while the real processing is done at the pedals... as for the traditional approach. This new Roland's one seems to be a bit different, so let's see how it develops...?
::::::::::
Question for those who use/used these rigs.
How is the rig setup? there are 2 different signal paths - MIDI/synth and regular audio - that merge before the poweramp, right? And one then would have to manage when to use or the other signal source, right? Obviously things can get a bit more complicated with FXs acting over both signal types, but that's the gist of it, right?
- Things like that Fishman wireless were pretty impressive looking too but ultimately there will always be latency. I'm just glad someone isn't letting this tech die. It's cool stuff. I still have more hopes in the poly stuff that doesn't use a special pickup though. I want one like those EHX one's but with like Kurzweil and Korg string samples. Maybe Axe Fx will incorprate guitar synth. I emailed Cliff about that during the Axe II era and he said you never know.
Using these pickups on a break out box system would be nice though to get combinations of effects and channel. For example disotrion on the low 3 or 4 strings wihout effects and cleans or grit on the high strings with delay or chorus, or different amps/chains per string.That'd be handy. Maybe a Clean bass on the low two and dirt on the top. Stuff like that.
- I agree on the preamps. My Bartolini also has a kind of V cure to it. I never ran into the phase issues everyone talks about with this system though, but I use Emg's so maybe that's something to do with it. The LR Baggs do have the nice mids. I love using mine on a heavy channel and it's basically a really sick fuzz pedal sound. Or picking near the saddle sitar or dulcimer type sounds on cleans.
Regarding rig setup the signal paths are seperate, but some of the pickups can also carry the normal guitar signal into the converter. It's usually best to not use that and use the normal guitar cable to the rig as normal. The second signal path is the converter to the synth to usually a mini mixer of some type to the PA. Or, the guitar minus power amp section also to the mixer blended to guitar or both to PA. If you setup a swicther many options can be had at once because synth through guitar cab isn't the best and guitar to pa isn't either. If you mix it well enough though it works fine. I used to have a Rolls mini mix for it through the guitar rig which at the time was a Peavey Classic 50/50 power section with Rockmaster pre and Kurweil. Then I upgraded to a System mix plus with Mesa 50/50 and it was much better, I tried it through Pa and it's much harder to blend with a guitar rig that way. It's just how you'd normally blend synth and guitars. It's hard to make it sound good. Like drum machines. Its all dependent on the rig. What matters is the tracking/latency glitchyness, and the quality of everything. This stuff starts sounding like a toy real quick. If you have good sounds to use then it's awesome. Kurweil strings and piano expansion is great and the FM synths are cool too. It even has an internal sequencer. Nowadays though I'd be more interested in triggering analog modules or something like that that isn't converting to midi just using the magnetic signals seperated so there's no issues. That glitchy crap was it's downfall. Can't wait to see how things progress though.
Chords that use the high A or low B and no muted strings won't track properly. Low chords and high chords or regular cowboy 6 string chords work fine.
odibrom
.
... as long as you don't play the 8th and 7th string or the 1st and 2nd simultaneously, it's all good... that's about it, right? I think I remember you writing something about that some time ago...
swimrunner
Member
Depends.
For the GM-800 and external GK5, yes, you need to run a parallel chain for your standard pickups. There are a variety of solutions for this, and I would say start from how your monitor yourself (i.e. in-ears vs on-stage amplification) and work backwards, as most PA systems can handle a few extra inputs. I will echo c7sphere's comment that you generally want to hear these sounds flat like you would through studio monitors. Getting them to work through guitar cabinets is doable but comparable to piezos - you're making it harder for yourself.
The earlier Boss units (SY-1000, GP-10, VG-99, etc) do have amplifier modeling and take standard pickup signals at the same time through the 13-pin cable. There are some restrictions compared to the GT-1000 or other flagships i.e. AxeFX, Helix, Quad Cortex, but I can get sounds that I am happy with.
The future SY/GP-type successor should have this as well, and the internal version of the GK5 kits will let you once again do standard pickup signals over the new serial cable. So the answer to your question depends what sounds you are interested in. I don't use the MIDI side of these pickups, but if you do (GM-800 or VST plug-ins), then yeah, you'll need a way to hear both.
