New Guitar Synthesizer

Jipps0525 said:
This seems pretty cool.

https://www.boss.info/global/products/gm-800/

I wonder if it can do guitar sounds with alternate tunings? Haven’t been able to find that yet.
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I agree, it does look promising. I've used several guitar synths in the past and they can be great for some things in the right circumstances. I got out of using them for the last 5 years or so but I am a bit intrigued by this one. Alternate tunings are a big draw for me and a feature I could actually use so I am interested to see if this model has them. Tracking speed and accuracy is also a big key and unknown at this point. It will be interesting to see what the in-hand demos show.

It might be great paired with my FM9...maybe...
 
grandinq said:
I had a GR-55 years ago. Looks like this is finally the successor to it.

I know there is no way around it but I just don’t like the eyesore that is the mounted pickup.
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Godin still makes some very nice guitars with hex pickups built-in. A couple even do piezo too. I have one with a hex pickup. Mine is a Freeway SA. The tracking is fantastic - better than a GK2 or GK3, and even better than MidiGuitar especially on polyphonic stuff.

Mine is the same as this one (image links to guitar on Reverb):

1689890671998.png

Unfortunately they don't make the Freeway SA anymore. But Godin still makes all of these (images are links to Godin's website):

1689890356394.png 1689890401685.png 1689890486699.png

The only downside which I have chatted with @unix-guy before about, is the 13pin cable. It is fine in the studio but I would not want it on stage. I only use mine in the studio. We have a keyboard player so I don't want to step on his toes and where we need it we double unison parts.

There's also a wireless Fishman (no 13 pin cable!). But I have never used one.

Amazon product ASIN B00BHCMFXU
Having an actual divided pickup is one of the best composition tools ever for me. I can play keys, but I suck on them compared to guitar. Being able to play different patches by individual strings is a very creative way to compose parts on your guitar. Then I just hand off the charts and everyone else goes crazy with their own added sugar.
 
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There is a new 1/4 inch jack on that GM-800 for GK in! So I'm not sure what that is all about.

Looks like the new GK5 uses different cabling. So maybe no 13pin cable to your guitar? But then I'm not sure if anyone makes a built in hex pickup with that cabling besides Boss/Roland. That means you are back to an ugly wart stuck on your guitar.

https://www.boss.info/us/products/gk-5/

Edit: Looks like if you have a 13pin guitar (like one of the Godins above) then you also need one of these to work with the new 1/4 inch serial cable for the GM-800.

https://www.boss.info/us/products/gkc-ad/

I wish they still made something similar to this:
https://www.roland.com/us/products/gi-20/

That is what I have. It has no built in sounds - just a 13pin input, direct guitar out and midi in/out. It is perfect for the studio and tracks very fast (maybe since it isn't bogged down by sound engine?). I can use it with any VST instrument so the sounds available are only limited by your VST library.

It was only ~$200 brand new. They are on reverb now for a little over $200.
 
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Rex Rox said:
There is a new 1/4 inch jack on that GM-800 for GK in! So I'm not sure what that is all about.

Looks like the new GK5 uses different cabling. So maybe no 13pin cable to your guitar? But then I'm not sure if anyone makes a built in hex pickup with that cabling besides Boss/Roland. That means you are back to an ugly wart stuck on your guitar.

https://www.boss.info/us/products/gk-5/

Edit: Looks like if you have a 13pin guitar (like one of the Godins above) then you also need one of these to work with the new 1/4 inch serial cable for the GM-800.

https://www.boss.info/us/products/gkc-ad/

I wish they still made something similar to this:
https://www.roland.com/us/products/gi-20/

That is what I have. It has no built in sounds - just a 13pin input, direct guitar out and midi in/out. It is perfect for the studio and tracks very fast (maybe since it isn't bogged down by sound engine?). I can use it with any VST instrument so the sounds available are only limited by your VST library.

It was only ~$200 brand new. They are on reverb now for a little over $200.
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The product description calls it "GK Serial"... The specs say the ports are TRS (BGK cable).

I'm guessing it's some form of "encoded" signal. Something like FASLink, where a standard cable type carries a proprietary data stream.

Probably better than 13-pin but still a non-standard cable.
 
$800 for the unit and $300 for the pickup. Uhg!! This stuff has gotten priced out of my comfort zone. Plus I’m familiar with the Roland cloud which is another way to syphon dollars. Don’t mean to be such a downer because I like exploring guitar synths and have always thought Roland did a decent job. I’m sure it’s fun to mess with.
 
GitGuy513 said:
$800 for the unit and $300 for the pickup. Uhg!! This stuff has gotten priced out of my comfort zone. Plus I’m familiar with the Roland cloud which is another way to syphon dollars. Don’t mean to be such a downer because I like exploring guitar synths and have always thought Roland did a decent job. I’m sure it’s fun to mess with.
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I agree. It wouldn't motivate me to move from the midi guitar solution I have now.

There is also MidiGuitar 2 which is software only - no hardware required and it is very affordable ($150). Works with the guitars you already own too - no special pickup required. It comes with some built in sounds, but it will also drive any of your VSTs. I checked out the trial and I was impressed with MidiGuitar's tracking. Not quite as fast tracking as my Godin but still accurate without being irritating for lag and latency.

The free trial is worth checking out:
https://www.jamorigin.com/
 
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i'm liking the boss product demo, have had a few Roland synths in the past fortunately fractal has filled in the void for me, would love to take for test drive, though need a built in pup imo, cant stand the external pup wart they have...
 
I'm still using the GR-55. I don't have "wart" on any guitar because all of mine have integrated pickups (Godin and Kiesel). I'll reserve judgement on this new product, but from the 3 vids I've watched so far and looking at the manuals, I'm not ready to give up my GR-55 anytime soon. One really glaring difference I noticed is any apparent ability to blend the guitar's pickups with the synth, which is a deal breaker for me.

Another thing I've noticed over recent years is that for guitar synths you have the Boss lineup and the Roland lineup (even though both companies are essentially Roland) and for whatever reason the Roland lineup always seems better, but that could just be me.
 
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Rex Rox said:
I agree. It wouldn't motivate me to move from the midi guitar solution I have now.

There is also MidiGuitar 2 which is software only - no hardware required and it is very affordable ($150). Works with the guitars you already own too - no special pickup required. It comes with some built in sounds, but it will also drive any of your VSTs. I checked out the trial and I was impressed with MidiGuitar's tracking. Not quite as fast tracking as my Godin but still accurate without being irritating for lag and latency.

The free trial is worth checking out:
https://www.jamorigin.com/
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I almost pulled the trigger on MG2 a 1/2 dozen times. If I didn’t already have a workstation keyboard and a Nektar controller for VST’s it would be a much easier decision. The lack of independent string triggering through a hexaphonic pickup is sort of a put off. I agree the MG2 is probably the most accessible and cost effective way to get into guitar synth. I sort of sufficiently get my guitar synth fix from the FM3 for right now. I might give the JamOrigin site a look again. Thanks!
 
Jipps0525 said:
I wonder if it can do guitar sounds with alternate tunings? Haven’t been able to find that yet.
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What you are looking for is the Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000, or Roland VG-99 (discontinued, but still killer). These are true guitar modelers with pure sound (not a pitch-to-MIDI converter triggering samples). They do allow alternate tunings, as well as many other amazing things, and they work very well.
 
Piing said:
What you are looking for is the Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000, or Roland VG-99 (discontinued, but still killer). These are true guitar modelers with pure sound (not a pitch-to-MIDI converter triggering samples). They do allow alternate tunings, as well as many other amazing things, and they work very well.
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True I have a Shuriken Variax already. Just always hoping a new advanced/updated guitar modeler/alternate tuning system will shock the world haha
 
I believe that the GM-800 can do alternate tuning just like the GP-10. You can download and run the GM-800 “Tone Studio” software with nothing connected to preview the available functionality of the GM-800. It does show alternate tunings and pitch change capabilities per string.
 
guitarno said:
I believe that the GM-800 can do alternate tuning just like the GP-10. You can download and run the GM-800 “Tone Studio” software with nothing connected to preview the available functionality of the GM-800. It does show alternate tunings and pitch change capabilities per string.
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Surely it can, like all guitar-to-MIDI converters with a hexaphonic pickup, but it is triggering sounds; it is not a guitar modeler
 
If you look closely though the “Tone Studio” software, it has a laundry list of acoustic and electric guitar sounds listed, just like the GP-10. Sure looks like guitar modeling to me, but I can’t verify anything not having one. Hopefully the details will come out soon enough.
 
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