What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

[larry_emder]

edumacate me here; i have NO idea what i'm looking for....all i know is that i want my guitar to sound like other things!

[Rushfan2112]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=592&ParentId=53

[tone4days]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

depends on how /where you want to deal with it ... the least expensive option would probably be the roland GR20 ... single pedal - plug n play ...

there are used options (e.g. gr33, etc)

the GI20 is a unit that is half width rack mountable - it converts the signal coming from the 13 pin output to midi and USB ... then you can pair it up with any midi capable synth ... or you can hook it to a laptop and use soft synth

if i were getting into the synth game today instead of 4 yrs ago, i'd buy the gi-20 and a rack mount synth module or two ... i never fully understood how nervous i'd be with my gr-33 on the floor of a bar for drunks to step on / spill on

[MojoMonster]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

Check out the Terratec Axon MkII: http://audioen.terratec.net/index.ph...=100&page_id=6

Used to be the Blue Chip Axon: http://www.musicindustries.com/axon/

Combine that with a Graphtech Ghost system and synths of your choosing and you should be in synth nirvana.

MM

[Mincer]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

First, do not buy anything unless you understand your needs and how midi works...you will get very frustrated- there is a great Yahoo group (midiguitar) with lots of info.

The Roland floor boxes are good, cheap ways to getting into synth. Downside is that it is on the floor, you step on it, and is more likely to have something go wrong. Also, and this is the biggest- the sounds have little programability and don't really compare to rack synths due to limited sample memory. In other word, the sounds, um, aren't that good. And you can't add any more. The soundset is fixed.

I recommend a Roland GI-20 (I use a GI-10) and synth of your choice. I use a ROland XV-5050. The Axon converter is good, but expensive. It also comes with a cheesy sounding synth built in. Stick with Roland. Now after you have the synth and midi interface, you need a rack to put it in. Add some $$ for a midi pedal to control it - I use a Behringer FCB1010. Oh, don't even think of running the synth sounds through a guitar amp. Add some $$ for a keyboard amp to bring to gigs too- or just run it through the PA. This all assumes you have a midi capable guitar.
This is a serious commitment in time and money. Even once you get it all set up, you gotta program, and learn to play- you can't play guitar licks using a piano or sax sound. It is all in the phrasing if you are planning to emulate other instruments. Learn their ranges and how they make sound. Good luck!

[larry_emder]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

Hey mincer, thanks for all the info, your website has heaps of handy detail, appreciate it.

Say i want to use a sound sample that i've got.....lets say a snare drum .wav file on your pc......with your setup, can you load it into your machine and trigger this with guitar live? or are you limited to samples that are in the box?

[larry_emder]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

bump

[Mincer]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

well, i have about 14 different snares in my setup, so it is unlikely that I couldn't make use of one of them, but as far as your question:
What you are looking for is a sampler, not a synth. My synth plays sounds that are inside it, and you can't add your own (true of most synths). You can, however, accomplish this: bring out a laptop live, and midi your synth to the laptop, and trigger it that way...get a separate sampler in addition to your synth, or get a sytnh with sampling capabilities- the Roland XV5080 or the newer Roland Fantom XR will do this with no problem, and have more than enough wonderful sounds to keep you busy for awhile. They store imported samples on cards.

[larry_emder]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

Your opinions on this roland, crew?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Roland-GR-50-Guitar-synthesiser_W0QQitemZ200004122823QQihZ010QQcategoryZ41421QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Mincer]

Re: What synth box thingy to go with said synth guitar?

Older technology with sounds from the early 90s. Personally, I would look for a used GI-10.