Re: OT: Guitar Synth

[Richard Sales <richard@glasswing.com>]

The old Roland synth guitars (without the module) aren't that expensive.  And the touch LFO is amazingly cool - you can get absolutely wack sounds with it.  I have the GR808 and GR 303 I think the numbers are.  Jimmy Page used the 808 and Fripp/Andy Summers etc used the 303.  Word on the street at the time was that the 303 worked better.  I liked both of them.  Bought the 303 because the 808 cracked at the neck laminations (vibration from flying) and I sent it back to the factory and they said it would be months, which it was, before I'd see it again.  And they're very decent sounding guitars too.  I think they're re-tooled Ibanez gtrs. I think I'd do that rather than change around an existing guitar that you're happy with.

I've seen em on Ebay for less than a thousand bucks. 

I used it a lot on our too far ahead of the times "Circus Underwater) 1981ish album.  It's a monster sound when you get all the stars to line up.  With the module and the transpose functions you can do inhuman stuff.   I used it with an Ibanez UE400 effects module and tape echoplex direct. 

Axon is shipping their new MIDI pickup as we speak.  I wanna try one on my acoustic guitars.  Let me know if any of you do or have done this already.

richard sales
glassWing farm and studio
vancouver island, b.c.   
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On 19-May-08, at 11:16 AM, Kevin Cheli-Colando wrote:

> I sometimes feel like I ask far and away the most off topic questions here and yet, I find this community to be one of the best resources of information about a wide variety of things so I can't think of a better place to start most times.  That said, I wanted to ask any of the guitar synth players their advice on the best options at the moment.
>
> I'm completely new to this so I'll have to start from scratch with the pickups and then the synth itself and so on.
>
> What I'd like ideally is a way to use the guitar as a trigger for a wide variety of odd sounds and percussive elements.  I really love the feel of the guitar and like to play it in non-traditional ways (more like a stick with long strings instead of as a melodic instrument) so I would need something that can track odd strikes and picking strength and the like, something that can register a wide dynamic range.  Tracking doesn't have to be perfect or lightning fast but it would need to be 'musical'.  And how far back can I go in the technology and still have something that doesn't seem horribly dated or overly limited?  Oh yes, and price is always a concern.  The cheapest route is always best for me I'm afraid, but I don't want to waste the time and money on something that is too limited either due to its being inexpensive now
>
> And then there is the pick-up/interface, what is the best way to get into the synth (GK pick-ups or pre-wired guitar) and so on.
>
> So if anyone feels like having a go of this question and offering their opinions, that would be greatly appreciated.  I know I could look at guitar synth sites and forums, but I feel like the people on this list are coming from a pretty sympathetic space musically and all share an expansive view of the possibilities of music that I'm not sure really is as common out in the larger on-line world which is why I'm asking here first.
>
> And if not, so it goes, I hope another OT question doesn't offend.
>
> Thanks
>
> Kevin
>
>
> -- 
>
> Till now you seriously considered yourself to be the body and to have a
> form. That is the primal ignorance which is the root cause of all trouble.
>
> - Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)
>
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