ok, i'll take this one for my 2p...
well, I own 2 guitars with hex pups, (One GK3 one Yamaha) and an old roland GR09 I would say pickupwise they both track as
would have expected, no more no less. they are however easier to set up then i thougth and cope with picking, finger picking and plucking with a differance in volume but very even response times. the latency is good enough for me , but then im a slow player and the pickups cope very will with chords as well as individual notes.
the gr09 was a steal for me at just over £100 used on ebay with a pickup, the samples have a little hiss to them but really once they have gone through my fx, that makes no differance at my top end synth does too!!
as far as what you are looking for i would imagine you would get more milage out of the VG series as these constantly track the hex signal and apply modelling to achieve differant timbres rather then using the clean signal of a guitar string to trigger a stored sample. the benifit of this is the vg modellers can track changes such as pick scrapes, extreme bends and otehr similar things where as the gr series are just looking for a deffinate fundemental to trigger the relevant sample.
the other non midi think that can give unusual sounds is the line 6 variax series, these can be tuned up and down elecronically but rather convincingly from within the body of the guitar (U NEED THE RELEVANT SOFTWARE TOO) they model a large range of guitars including a pasable acoustic and banjo these plus your techniques could yield some interesting possibilities.
anyways, just some ideas to start you off.
Phill
Date: Mon, 19 May 2008 11:16:53 -0700
From: billowhead@gmail.com
To: loopers-delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: OT: Guitar Synth
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
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