Re: guitar synthesizers

[Eric Williamson <erwill@suitandtieguy.com>]

On Saturday, June 14, 2003, at 02:43  AM, Mark Sottilaro wrote:
> One word of advise, when looking for a synth, try and find one that 
> will allow a 24 + or - pitch bend range for the best results.  My 
> Roland XV-5050 does this, but my Korg MS2000R does not.

my friend Jim (an Axon owner) is convinced the coolest synth for guitar 
use is the Korg Z1. it can do a multi with 6 parts, does +/-24 steps 
bend, and has VA/FM/physical modelling sounds.

unfortunately it doesn't fit in a rack. it's quite the bummer ... i 
could use a whole rack of Z1s. not for guitar synth, though ... that's 
what my GR-300 is for :). too bad none of the guitarists i play with 
like my 300. it has this really shitty strat body with a japistrat neck 
and a humbucker in the middle position. the LFO depth doesn't work, and 
it doesn't seem as bright as the 300 should sound ... like the filter 
cutoff stops at 8k or something. the handles are also missing from the 
top of the floor unit. it's pretty ghetto.

also, my favourite current guitar synth is the Boss Wave Processor 
pedal. it's about 200-250 bucks, it's small, it tracks well (it's more 
like a miniVG than a GR), and has the cool sawtooth wave. if i were i 
guitarist (and i didn't have a 300) i'd probably have one of those and 
use it as a sound source with a modular synth. it's also got a cool 
fake sitar mode which sounds pretty cool.

although, when i was trying it out at the music store, some weird drunk 
dude with a mullet came up to me and said "why'd you want that!?!? it 
don't have HORNS!!" and i said "what do i need horns in a guitar synth 
for? i want a guitar SYNTH," to which he replied "so you don't have to 
HIRE them!!! horns are expensive!!!"
---
Eric Williamson
www.suitandtieguy.com