carrmar Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Does anyone use a midi-pickup-device on their guitar? It seems like an excellent way to control "Sculpture" and other Logic synths from a guitar. I recently noticed Axon came out with the AX-50, a new guitar to midi converter. And its supposed to track well. Any experience? Anyone controlling Logic's synths from their guitar? Bad experiences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllyMusicGirl Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I'd like to know too - easy peasy please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarekith Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 When i was looking into this last year, pretty much everyone I talked to said the Axon was the way to go. I hope to get one someday too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PP1965 Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 There are some Roland products on the market too, these are GI-20, GR-20 and GR-33. You have to use them with GK2-A or GK3 hexa pickup. Unfortunately I have a lot of problems with my GR-33, I can't setup the tacking correctly. Strings and pads work good, but if I use piano or bell like sounds, not only the plunked notes will sound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrmar Posted May 29, 2007 Author Share Posted May 29, 2007 I have heard the GOOD combo to use is a Graphtech Hexpander pickup with an Axon guitar to midi converter. However, GOOD is only relative to the state of the art, and midi guitar playing is still in its infancy. I want to see how well midi guitar can track. But there are no demos online anywhere!!! Apparently, no one is confident enough in their product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PP1965 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=592&ParentId=53 See video tab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrmar Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 I stand corrected. As freakish as this may sound, I actually JUST got back from demoing THIS product at Guitar Center. I don't think the pickup is smart enough yet. Is there a midi pickup that SMOKES all other competition? The effects were cool, but I don't care about those. The only thing that matters is the response of the pickup to my playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTheDog Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Hi Guys, I have been playing midi guitar for a few years (around 20!) and currently use a Brian Moore i13 with piezo pickups with an Axon AX100 mkii. Midi tracking is much better than it used to be and the axon played with a pick tracks very quickly, having a play with one in a shop is usually a disapointing experience as there is alot of setting up to do to get these things to work well and they are never setup correctly in a shop. With guitar to midi converters you are never going to be able to play a synth as if it was a guitar, midi is just not expressive enough but you can still get some pretty good results. As an example there are a couple of movies here http://www.marcschonbrun.com/media.html of what a well set up system with a good player can sound like. Cheers Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cf7 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 The Axon AX100 mkII is IMHO the best tracking unit to date, and I can assume the AX50 is just as good as it uses the same note detection system which tracks the note transient, which is the beginning of the note. The two Axon systems offer different options, so check out what best suits your needs. The Roland system takes longer to track since the string has to cycle before it can surmise the pitch. This is especially poor on the lower strings since they take longer to cycle. Yamaha also uses the original Blue Chip (now owned by Terratec) Axon tracking system except their system is not software updateable. Bridge mounted piezo pick-ups seem to work better than the regular hex pick-ups although I have witnessed unbelievable performance from them if set up correctly. The Axon smokes any Roland system by far. Specs are everywhere on the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Wikman Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I just got my AX-50 yesterday. I own the AX-100 ...which has sounds included for those who want to play live without a computer. I am now selling AX-100, so PM me if you'd like it. I can tell you that this set-up is great. They use Nueral Net Technology (sorry about the spelling)... to detect the string pick transient & note. It picks up vibrato... string slides... all very nice. It's all in the software set-up sensitivities and your guitar set up with the distance between your strings and the pick up. Of course you do have to adjust your playing a little. Strumming is a problem, but clean chord comping is good. It makes you play cleaner too. This unit... a sustain pedal... and the pad/airy vocal preset is a dream! Opens up a whole new world for guitar players. Also.. I bought it a RSPE.. where David had the last Logic Users Group. Nice people there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrmar Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 Great to hear. I guess I long for the day when the pickups don't just respond to a "plucked string," but to the actual changing of the notes. Wouldn't it be cool if you were using a vox synth with your midi-equipped guitar and you could use a whammy bar like a pitch bend wheel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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