Guitar To MIDI Recommendations

GotMetalBoy

Power User
I'd like to be able to convert my guitar playing into MIDI. The last time I tried this was around 10 years ago with a Roland GK pickup and I think the GR-55. I ended up returning it bc it couldn't track very well and kept playing wrong notes, even when playing slowly. I'm sure I didn't set it up correctly, especially after watching setup videos on YouTube. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos and looks like there's a lot of different choices and they seem to track pretty good. I play rock/metal music but nothing really fast. Seems like the majority use either the Roland GK-3 pickup and GR-55 or the Fishman TriplePlay.

Is it possible to palm mute, hammer-on, pull-off, slide and vibrato? I'd like to be able to Notate or Tab my riffs/songs too.
 
Check out Midi Guitar 2 by Jam Origin.

Works very well and requires no special pickup. It's true pitch to midi using a standard guitar cable.

I use it on iPad and it can interface easily into your Axe Fx rig if you want.

I do bends, slides, hammer/pull, etc and it's very good at tracking.
 
I get at least as good or better with MIDI Guitar 2 than any of the Roland stuff I have used. It surprised me how clean it tracks. Nothing is perfect yet, but if your technique is clean it does the job for most anything I throw at it.
 
I wouldn't recommend any roland guitar synth, I'd chose the Triple play today.

I liked the GR-33, I liked the GR-55- I love everything boss but I think in a few years, Fishman killed 30-40 years of rolands synth stuff

Also I'd recommend a Godin or some sort of guitar with a pickup built in- it will track better than a surface mount GK
 
I wouldn't recommend any roland guitar synth, I'd chose the Triple play today.

I liked the GR-33, I liked the GR-55- I love everything boss but I think in a few years, Fishman killed 30-40 years of rolands synth stuff

Also I'd recommend a Godin or some sort of guitar with a pickup built in- it will track better than a surface mount GK

Have you ever tried the Jamstik Studio MIDI Guitar? I like how it doesn't need a 13pin cable and has USB and a MIDI out port right on the guitar.

https://jamstik.com/products/studio-midi-guitar

I'm also going to try out MIDI Guitar 2 by Jam Origin. I had tried it a while ago when it was first released.
 
I've not tried it...
But I'd say- I like using guitars I like, and putting them on.

But you do get great results with a built in 13 pin guitar- like a godin

I have to say- I've never had much need at all for midi guitar because I've played piano since I was 4 and I am pretty good at transcription and music writing/engraving - so I haven't had the need to use the guitar for transcription.

I've never seen/played a jamstik so I don't mean to talk bad about something I don't know much about- but it looks like a $200 guitar with $100-150 in electronics for $799- sure the usb/midi out is good- but- you're stuck on that guitar

There's like a straight up plastic guitar with buttons for strings and frets that's like $100 that has a midi out for transcription I've messed with.
 
Is it possible to palm mute, hammer-on, pull-off, slide and vibrato? I'd like to be able to Notate or Tab my riffs/songs too.

Palm muting on MIDI Guitar is for nothing but to send a MIDI_Note_Off command. It suddenly stops the note

The notation from a MIDI guitar cannot differentiate if the transition from one note to other was caused by a hammer-on, pulling-off, sliding, tapping, or simply picking one note after the other. You may have to enter these details manually

The only thing a MIDI guitar does is to trigger notes On/Off at different volumes (in steps from 0 to 127) and capture pitch_bend events

Jam Origin MIDI Guitar is the perfect solution for home/studio, because it doesn't require special pickups or hardware. It is polyphonic, and it tracks as well as any hardware device.

https://www.jamorigin.com/
 
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Been doing the Guitar to Midi for 15+ years. I have owned and currently own*

Roland GK2 and GK3 pickups
*RMC piezo pickup to 13 pin connector built into a Brian Moore iguitar 8.13
*Jam Origin Midi Guitar 2 Software
*Fishman Triple play Pickup

Roland VG8, Roland VG99 guitar processors *Roland GR3 , Roland JV010 *Roland Integra7 synths
Non Roland Rack mounted synths , Proteus 1 , Kawai K5000R, Akai S2000 sampler
*Numerous Software Synths : Omnisphere, Analog Lab 4, SynthMasterOne , Reactor, M-Tron Pro, Reason and a few more

I have used them live for playing keyboard parts , Sax solos etc. I have used them for home recordings as well.

Here is what I have learned :
  • You have to adjust and tweak the sensitivity to your playing style - Midi Guitar 2 has a global setting , Triple Play has a per string setting and some other global settings as well. IMO Triple play is more flexible here
  • You have to modify your playing Technique to reduce mis-triggered notes.
  • Playing at full speed creates tracking issues and glitches . I have found the Triple play to track the best .
  • Special Pickups and the bulky controller can be cumbersome. The built in RMC/piezo system eliminated this but alas it is still a 13 pin Roland compatible system. ( But at least I was able to sell all my GK pickups :) back in the day) Midi Guitar 2 is great in this regards works with any guitar
  • Triple play has the least amount of conversion latency and just feels better as I don't have to modify my playing style as much as say Midi Guitar 2
  • Triple play pickup can easily be removed and move to another guitar as long as you have extra mounting HW - not true with GK pickups
Final Thoughts
  • I use the Triple play 95% of the time these days as it performs the best for me. I got a smoking deal on a used Triple Play pickup and floor controller FC1 for $242. Way less then a new pickup only ($400) let alone the combo ($600). It was at a price that I could not resist - I got lucky with an Ebay auction.
  • Midi Guitar 2 is $100 - combine that with some low cost soft synths and you can get into this at a very low cost . Get that and see if you are happy with it and if not bargain hunt the Triple play.
  • Stay away from the GK/Roland stuff - it is a dead product and the 13 pin cable is a real pain as they tend to short out over time.
  • Regarding your question to notate - I have had little need for that and when I played around with it I was not happy with the results with the Triple play sw bundle - note that SW has since been discontinued . I just upgraded my DAW to Studio One 5.1 and it has the ability to notate the midi - I should give it a try :)
  • Hooking an expression pedal into the midi controller opens up some fun options - pitch bend , mod wheel, volume swells etc
  • Lastly don't forget to play with the AxeFX3 synth block it is capable of great sounds - it is monophonic but still usable. I use it to play a few horn parts and the song CARS in my current band
Again this is just my experience over the years - Things have gotten better and cheaper along the way.

I hope this helps - and it was fun going down memory lane - thanks for asking
 
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Get an old Axon.
Had one...sold it...I’ve had all the pitch to midi solutions and let’s be honest, they all suck.
We can certainly say which one works best...and the axon was good, but until industrial radio in australia or the guy in nashville who was working on fret sensing get their act going, I’m better off with a keyboard or a linnstrument.
Actually, fret sensing with pitch to midi assistance and auto-tuning seems correct.
 
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