Guitar Type Controller

["Gary Lehmann" <healthquestrecruiter@earthlink.net>]

 Nick Schillace wrote:
> >
> > guitar synth is pretty limited compared to a keyboard
> > synth...which is exactly why i haven't bought one yet.
> >
So am I kidding myself if I think a guitar synth will control some
hardware/software synths effectively? I understand the limits of midi 
guitar
in general, but I really do not like playing on a keyboard. I feel much 
more
creative with the guitar.
N.Schillace

I gotta say--make sure you aren't wanting to play guitar with synthesizer
sounds.  Pitch to voltage works ok for that, but you gotta put up with the
glitches--and forget about the bottom string.
If you truly want to control a synthesizer with a guitar type interface, 
the
Ztar is hard to beat.  For its price range there's really nothing 
else--it's
like a working man's SynthAxe.  Harvey is now shipping a new operating
system with all kinds of new features, including an onboard looping
sequencer, complete fretboard remapping (handy for drum kits) and 
(finally!)
MIDI input, so you can trigger all the onboard sensors from another
controller.  the reason it works so well is the neck doesn't have
strings--it's all switches (little buttons) so there's no latency at all.
Just don't try to play blues guitar (although, Harvey was telling me
something about Gigastudio with a National Guitar sample and Mode 4--what
the heck is mode 4?).  It's really a synthesizer controller--if you can 
play
guitar and want to make that sound, it makes sense to do it on a real
guitar.
OTOH, there's lots of optional controller stuff he puts on the Ztar (he
practically custom builds each one--no two alike)--volume pots (just saw a
model with 7 of 'em), sustain pedal, ribbon controllers, breath control,
joysticks, electronic whammy bar, those pads he's got all over the thing,
not to mention string triggers AND pad type triggers to play the "strings"
(I don't have these on mine, so I can't play the open "string"), so if
you're talking about modifying the sound of a synth, all those things make
it possible to do so.  He even puts a USB port in the damn thing if you
want.
Peter Einhorn is also on this list--he plays Ztar (he's on the demo).  And
Jon El-Bizri has a Mini-Z that I want to buy when I get the scoot (I really
need it for two handed playing!).
All that being said, what about the Parker Fly?  How does it track?
Gary