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Controlling Analog Synths e.g. Minitaur, Behringer Model D, Minilogue, etc. with Midi-Equipped Guitar or Bass


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I am a complete Noob when it comes to midi and synths....... I currently own a few of them - Behringer Model D, Volca Keys, Volca Beats. Using an Arturia Keystep as my controller. I want to buy more! Probably a Dreadbox Hades and a Minilogue. And a Minitaur and a Korg MS-20.

 

My primary instruments are bass and guitar, and I'm not the most savvy with keys.

 

I would like to bridge my love of guitars with my newfound interest in synths...

 

Been looking at the Roland midi pickups and the Willcox Saber Bass Hexfx series.

 

I would love to be able to plug a midi-capable bass or guitar into any of my synths and jam away.

 

Been trying to do some research on Youtube and simply do not find people doing this.... which if it's possible to do, why isn't it more popular? And if it's not possible, how come a midi signal from a guitar would be incompatible with a Behringer Model D or any other synth with a midi-in port?

 

With the Roland GK pickups, you only see people plugging them into Roland synth modules. Are they compatible with other synthesizers - specifically analog?

 

Does anyone here have experience with what I'm describing above? Tips or tricks?

 

If it is possible, what would be an ideal equipment setup to get it going?

 

Thanks for the help!

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Yes, it's possible to use a guitar synth controller with the synths you mentioned, but there are several caveats - first of all, the controller (or its associated control unit / synth) needs to have a MIDI output jack on it and needs to transmit MIDI in real time. You can't just plug straight out from a Roland compatible guitar with a GK-2 in it straight into a MIDI synth.

 

Secondly, you have to remember that you're talking (for the most part) about mono synths - you won't be able to play chords - only single note lines.

 

If you need something you can use along with a computer, you might look into a Fishman TriplePlay, but you'll need a MIDI interface for the computer too if you go that route - but the TriplePlay is a really cool MIDI interface for the guitar.

 

If you just want to do basic monophonic pitch to MIDI, you can look into something like the Sonuus G2M...

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/G2MV3--sonuus-g2m-v3-universal-guitar-to-midi-converter

 

 

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I have been that route and back. This may be a little long but it is a lot more complicated than it seems. I have 3 guitars with the 13pin setup. Two Carvin and one Godin ACS Slim, which is a nylon string chambered guitar with a slightly thinner neck than standard classical style instruments. Of the three, this one tracks the best. You can bend a note on any of these but depending on how far and how much you are doing any tremolo with it, the controller might not do it as you expect. I also have guitar 13 pin to midi systems. The oldest being an Axon AX100 MKII and the newest being the Roland GR-55. And like the Godin, the older Axon rack was much better but required a lot of setup and testing. The software was better too. Which is why I never parted with it.

 

The GR-55 was much better using its internal modeled guitar sounds than any of its other istrument sounds. The Axons internal sound was not exactly inspiring being standard a GM sound set. But coupled to a Proteus 2000 module or later a Roland Bk-7m arranger module, much more inspiring things can be done. First thing you will find is you have to play very precise or it won't track well at all. Mono sounds require single note lines with no other string noise. Which is much harder to get used to than you think. The best sounding and tracking mono sounds seem to be flute or flute like sounds and sax. String instruments, a cello sound can be very very convincing. For fun try it with an Ebow! You cannot however get the full expression on a wind instrument that a wind controller would have. But if you want to do something like play the intro to 'Turn the Page' by Bob Segar or the flute in 'Nights in White Satin", no problem.

 

UPDATE: I must add here percussive sounds, like a piano or any patch remotely resembling a piano or electric piano are near impossible to accomplish. The envelope of these is very short and it doesn't translate well from a string. It can be done with something like a short riff but its best to avoid any sound that doesn't ring out like a bell or have a long sustain. Analog leads work but again you have to be precise. Coupling the guitar sound with a slightly delayed analog lead works great for riffs and slower leads. But if your trying to shred, good luck! Because the tracking can be hit or miss, and the faster you play the more it will miss.

 

The easiest thing to do, is set the controller to play and hold a pad sound when you engage the sustain pedal and play another sound over it. This could create huge sounds. This was dead simple to do with the Axon, I never tried it with the Roland. To be sure the GR-55 is a guitar sound system first and a midi system a distant second.

 

The Roland GI-20 was arguably the best Roland unit for flexibilty but required a sound module because it was just a controller. But if you can find one on ebay, this would be a good one to experiment with especially because the usb midi connectivity make using software plugins easy. Another variation I tried was using the BK-7m module with the Axon. With this I also used a set of Roland organ pedal controllers. This after much more fiddling the midi settings, allowed me to play arranger styles controlled via the bass pedals and other patches controlled via the guitar. Viola! Instant one man band. And unlike many arranger keyboard players I have heard, this did not sound cheesy!

 

In the end, I out grew my obsessive experimentation and went back to play keyboards and guitars as separate instruments and focused more becoming a better player. Though I currently am doing a lot of patches on my Deep Mind 12. Some things you just can't let go!

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I have an old Roland GI-10 - I hear the GI-20, which is similar to the GI-10 is a better unit with some improvements over the one I have, but the GI-10, along with a GK-2, is a decent MIDI guitar controller. FWIW, I like the TriplePlay a lot more than the Roland, but it does require a computer, and the Roland has the advantage of being a stand-alone controller that will work with any synth with a standard 5 pin MIDI input jack.

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