What's the best guitar synth unit?

S

Sten

Inspired
I had a GR-1 in the mid 90s; it was okay. I've always heard the Axon was best, but haven't had the opportunity to try one. Is the Axon pick-up best with it?
 
You should check out the Jam Origin MIDI Guitar. It's still in beta but shows amazing promise and value. I used to have a GI-20 and VG-99. In terms of overall simplicity AND tracking speed, it's surprising how solid it does the job. I was holding out for the Fishman Triple Play... not anymore

MIDI Guitar
 
adamqlw said:
You should check out the Jam Origin MIDI Guitar. It's still in beta but shows amazing promise and value. I used to have a GI-20 and VG-99. In terms of overall simplicity AND tracking speed, it's surprising how solid it does the job. I was holding out for the Fishman Triple Play... not anymore

MIDI Guitar
Click to expand...

Yes, if we talk about software solutions, that one is absolutely amazing, since it does not require a Hex-pickup. And it really works polyphonic!!!!

I don't know how they have programmed it, but it really discerns which notes are you playing from a 6 stringed chord :p

I have tried it in test mode, and I am waiting for the implementation of pitch bending detection before I purchase it.

Worth to try for those of you that do not have a hex-pickup but would like to enter into the guitar-to-midi world. It's free to test! (one minute intervals for external synts, and unlimited time with a factory piano preset)

ps for newbies: you will have to redefine your playing technique in order to play midi guitar with accuracy
 
Last edited:
I guess it's off topic a bit, but since this is the Axe forum...I have to say that you can get some very synthy sounds out of the Axe!! At least if you're going for ambient type stuff. Now, if you really are after MIDI output and making your guitar sound like an oboe, then yeah, you need MIDI. The synth is cool. I know a guy who has one and I've played it a bit. It's trippy. But a lot of the factory presets (Rainbow Splash, Crystal Reverb, Crystal Echo, etc) do a great job of laying down synth-style stuff.
 
Piing said:
If you mean a guitar-to-midi converter (with no internal synth sounds) the Axon AX100 MKII is one of the fastest and most accurate.

Piing said:
ps for newbies: you will have to redefine your playing technique in order to play midi guitar with accuracy
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The Axon unit is long out of production, and while superior tracking is amongst its many features, the preset patches on that unit, at least in my opinion, sounded terrible.

Right now, I believe the best move for anyone wanting to get their feet wet with guitar synths would be to pick up a used Roland GR-33. Great sounding patches, twice the features of the GR-20, a relatively easy learning curve, and they can be had for around $300 (+/-).

And yes, one definitely has to redefine one's playing technique when using a guitar synth. They are most unforgiving, a fact which I suspect is responsible for most of the bad guitar synth reviews I've read, i.e., people bad-mouthing their synth unit when the real issue is sloppy playing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JTI
i was going to suggest the gr-33 as well. great unit and a bit underrated, imo. the ability to layer two sounds and some fairly deep editing possibilities make it a winner...especially for the price you can pick them up for
 
  • Like
Reactions: JTI
You could layer two sounds on the GR-1. But none of them were what I wanted. I think I need to create my own sound (I need only one) via software - hence need a unit that has the greatest tracking and expression, and trigger a virtual synth on a PC/laptop. The AX50 is a smaller unit that has native USB, and usually costs less than an AX100. There are likely sites with those who have much more experience with various units, but thought I'd ask here, too.
 
What are the opinions here about the Roland GR-55? I have read it tracks better than most other guitar synths (?). But the sound I have heard on youtube sound a bit artificial and too neat for my taste. Also it has amp models and guitar Fx which of course us Axe users don't need. They probably sound not even close to the Axe fx.
 
The Axon is great,but if it breaks your screwed as there are no known schematics available should it need servicing,The new badass in town is the Fishman Triple Play.It is not a synth unit, it is just a pickup/converter.(like the gk3)You still need a computer and a sample library to produce sound.I've owned them all from just about every roland synth,casio,and two axon units,and nothing else compares.The Triple Play is far more accurate and better at deciding what is a glitch and a pure tone than anything that has come before it.
 
First, it completely depends what you plan to use it for. Live performance, recording...etc.

I currently still have an axon ax50 with motif rack setup that i use. While the motif sounds are much better than anything else guitar synth for the most part. Its a pretty complex setup. I did use it live for organ, trance dance and strings. It worked pretty well. Took it out of my rig though since April. My caveat was that i was having less fun at my shows performing because I was so concentrated on whether i had the right preset, right switch on the guitar (guitar, midi or both) and piezo. It was just more fun to play all the parts rocking on the guitar. Still haven't given up but its all sitting around. Godin - Axon AX50 - Yamaha motif rack es.
 
3 words....

Fishman Triple Play.

A non intrusive midi pickup that works wirelessly to a USB dongle that triggers synths/samples/whatever you like.
 
Bodde said:
What are the opinions here about the Roland GR-55? I have read it tracks better than most other guitar synths (?). But the sound I have heard on youtube sound a bit artificial and too neat for my taste. Also it has amp models and guitar Fx which of course us Axe users don't need. They probably sound not even close to the Axe fx.
Click to expand...

I'd say it's a definite improvement over the GR-20, which I owned before the GR-55. Piano & keyboard sounds track far better than the 20. Strings, although they sound more "real" on the 55, need a lot more fiddling to be usable when just strumming chords. My description would be that the 20 was more of a guitar synth and the 55 is more of a regular synth. The 55 has tons of deep editing of the synth voices that I'm just starting to scratch the surface of.

The guitar amps & effects in the 55 are typical Boss. Absolutely usable, but they pale in comparison to the Axe (we're spoiled :) ). It does make a nice practice/rehearsal/backup unit to the Axe, though.

I'm very happy with the acoustic guitar modeling of the 55. It's better than anything I was ever able to get with piezo bridges.

Oh, and modeled bass sounds are very usable. Modeled - not synthesized - so no latency.
 
Fabio KTG said:
3 words....

Fishman Triple Play.

A non intrusive midi pickup that works wirelessly to a USB dongle that triggers synths/samples/whatever you like.
Click to expand...

Looks very promising! Is that only a pickup? or does it come with sounds of it's own? How is the tracking?
Is it easy to operate compared to the Roland machines? the nice thing about the Roland is that it is an all in one machine. For the Fishman you will need a laptop and a foot controler and softsynth module in order to use it live.
 
Last edited:
I have the Axon-50, which for me is now a doorstop. It's out of production and if you're on a Mac it won't work at all. I never paid attention to built in patches. I just needed something that triggered hardware or software synths. So like you, tracking was important. And I was never interested in using it live. I just used it in the studio to produce tracks, play piano, synths and samples without having to play a piano keyboard. Axon did this pretty well. I used GR-1, GR-2 and Axon was def better than those. Now if I need to play synth type parts I record guitar with a clean signal and convert that to midi with Melodyne.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
I haven't bought a Fishman Triple Play yet, I already own several guitars with Midi piezo bridges but devices like GR-55 and FTP force users to abandon their piezo equipped guitars. (you can buy a sub sonic filter for Roland VG-99, GR-55 from RMC $$$#) I couldn't sell my GR-55 fast enough.

I still have a GR-1and a GR-33, (both don't see much use at all) a few months back I bought a used Axon AX100 mkII, yep internal sounds are crap but it does a decent job when I use it to trigger Spectrosonics Omnisphere or Trilian plus other VSTi's. Which reminds me I need to unrack the AX100 and replace the battery before it leaks acid.
 
Last edited:
I tried all the Guitar Synth stuff- hated it and got rid of everything.

Also keep in mind the processing unit itself is what transcribes the hex pickup signal (so when comparing the pickups it doesn't really matter- but an installed one in the bridge is much better than a under the strings one)

ANYWAY I ended up buying 6 different units (sold 'em all)

THE BEST UNIT of all of them
BY FAR was the Roland GR-33
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom