Guitar Synthesizers

The central ingredient of the sound of the artists on Hekaloth Records is a nifty little device put out by Roland called the GI-10 Midi Interface. The GI-10, illadvisedly, is currently no longer being made by Roland, having been replaced by the Roland GI-20, a device that sadly lacks one of features that made the GI-10 so great. The feature in question is a 1/4 inch mic input which allows the users to plug their guitar directly into the device without having to use a special hex or midi pickup. These pickups, in my opinion, are more a part of the problem when comes to playing guitar synthesizer than they are part of the solution. Granted they allow one to play polyphonic passages, i.e. chords through a guitar synthesizer, but they create problems in that the more notes one simultaneously enters into a pitch to midi conversion device, the more one has to deal with latency, inaccurate pitch to midi conversion etc. Besides if you strum your guitar through a guitar synthesizer, it really doesn't sound much better than someone strumming a guitar through a bunch of effects peddles. Guitar synthesizers are lousy rhythm instrumens. Where they really shine is when it comes to playing melodic lead passages. There they can produce a far more realistic recreation of wind or string instrument than any keyboard controlled synthesizer can. So why complicate things by trying to play polyphonic passages on a guitar synth. Keep things simple by playing monophonic lead passages. You will encounter very few problems if you do this and the results will really be quite amazing.
If you plug your guitar cord directly into a Roland GI-10, for the best results roll the volume knob on your guitar back to about "3". This eliminates the overtones and harmonics your guitar can produce, which pitch to midi conversion will translate into unwanted notes that will impaire the guitar synth passages you will produce. You might also find that you have to modify your guitar picking style somewhat. With conventional acoustic or electric guitar, the general rule is the harder you strike the strings bigger more powerful a sound you get. With guitar synthesizer, the harder you pick your strings the more chaos you will get in terms of unwanted notes, inaccurate pitch to midi conversion etc. To play a guitar synthesizer effectively, you must learn to develope a light touch. Alternatively, it helps to develope strength in your fretting hand so that you have a good vibrato technique that you can get the optimum sustain out of the notes you play. To get the most out of a guitar synthesizer you need the combination of a strong left hand anda gentle right hand technique when you play.
Center> When it comes to playing melodic lead passages, a guitar makes a far better synth controller than a keyboard. Whereas a keyboard is a lifeless piece of plastic where every note will sustain for aslong as you hold down a key, with a guitar, the acoustic properties of the instrument's wood will cause certain notes to sustain more brilliantly than others. This gives you a contrast of bright notes and dark notes which creates a more natural sounding feel. Ideally the guitar you should be using as a synth controller should be a solidbody. Hollowbodies and semi-hollowbodies have a tendency to feedback and feedback have disasterous consequences on the pitch to midi conversion process. For the best results, try using a guitar with a maple top when you plug into a guitar synthesizer. Maple top Deans and PRS guitars are what I would reccommend.
For the best pitch to midi conversion, try to keep your playing above the 7th fret on your guitar, preferable between the 9th and 15th fret. The higher the pitch of the input note, the more quickly the pitch to midi interface can make the conversion. If you want to play lower pitched passages, switch the guitar to midi interface or the synth module down an octave or two but keep your actual playing high up on the neck.
As a demonstration of what a guitar synthesizer is capable of, here is a twentysix minute four movement classical symphony created on guitar synthesizer. The piece was composed in 1999 using a software synthesiser found on a galaxy soundcard on a NEC Pentium computer. It was recorded on Cakewalk Professional 6 software using a Dean guitar running through a Roland GI-10 guitar midi interface hooked up directly to a PC computer.

First movement of E minor symphony: 6:34 minutes/3.01 MB at 64 kbps

Second movement of E minor symphony: 5:12 minutes/2.41 mb at 64 kbps

Third movement of E minor symphony: 6:34 minutes/3.01MB at 64 kbps

Fourth movement of E minor symphony: 8:10 minutes/3.47MB at 64 kbps

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