yup.I read this with great interest. I have long dreamt of how to use a simple guitar to get SynthAxe like sounds but have never been satisfied with Roland's pitch-to-MIDI solutions for reasons that probably don't require explanation here.
Bradlake & Jzucker, MIDI Guitar 2 really does require some sensitive tweaking to get usable/comfortable performance when executing rapid consecutive note events so I can see that some people would potentially not vibe with it until they get that spot on. Having said that, the actual VST/synth you use is also quite significant. I can't get the same performance level with all VSTs but when I do get the right match with MG2 it's crazy good.
It's worth considering that some power users have combined technology for optimized performance:
-Hex-equipped Guitar/Boss GP-10/6 separate instances of MG2 in their VST host;
-Hex-equipped Guitar/Boss GP-10/Bidule or Audio Mulch for multichannel rebalancing and mixing/MG2.
This can achieve some pretty impressive results. Pop over to the Vguitar forum and do a few searches. I just put up a post last week where I show MG2 outdoing the GP-10's direct pitch to MIDI over USB (and coming in very close behind FTP). Food for thought.
On the topic of the synth block in the Axe-FX III, it certainly would be very cool to get polyphonic on that and it would certainly have its uses. Imagine Simeon's synth block patches gone polyphonic...that would be wild! Still, they wouldn't perform anywhere near the level of the FTP.
What I think is potentially very cool is that if we can route USB audio from a DAW back into the FX grid in real-time now we'll have the possibility of a very simple routing process to apply wicked fractal FX to our outboard VST synth gear in tandem with everything else the axe is doing to your guitar signal. Of course, this can already be done via multiple inputs but it's finicky at best, requiring non-intuitive settings and extra bits and pieces of hardware to achieve the routing.
So, as no one has answered the original question yet it looks like the Axe III won't have a polyphonic synth block
we don't know until it's released
Having a true poly synth would be great if the tracking is equally improved.
It does seem that way.
I love my AXE FX 2, I'm on the waitlist for the 3 in two different countries... BUT,... I know this wont go down well on this forum, I think it has been a very poor "Launch / Announcement" of a high end, eagerly awaited (on a global scale) - product.
More in-depth videos of the product working needed really... But hay, ho.
They announced it and within an hour had hundreds, if not thousands, of people all on the wait list, $2499 in hand, screaming “take my money”, as well as a masSive number of new threads all about the product.
I think cliff and Fractal have proven themselves quite well, and I for one would gladly buy it without playing it, and without needin to see a video etc.
I think you overestimate the size of the organization.But I have to try and imagine the "round robin" with the directors of Fractal before the launch...
Midi Guitar 2...terrible? I've been using it, and it is easily better than my Roland hex pickup pitch to midi converters. MG2 is cheap, only requires a standard guitar cable, tracks polyphonic material well, and is fast. It might not be the best pitch to midi solution in existence, but I can't name a single other product that is better at midi conversion from a standard guitar. Not one. At any price. And, as I said, it beats my Roland hex systems. Hands down. "Terrible"? Compared to flawless, perhaps; but not by any objective standard for pitch to midi devices. Only my Fishman Triple Play performs better.sorry that program is terrible.
Agreed. I stopped using the Axe synth block because of that. Too much artifacts and extra noises. It's a bit unpredictable. I have tried adding drive and compressor blocks and everything. But in the end it was not to my liking. I hope the synth block will be improved in the future. More like the EHX synth pedal stuff.