Dhwanii - Issue 2

You can Compose - I

- Dr. Pradeep Immanuel

• A guitar’s natural sound can be layered with a synth pad that has been transposed down to give a rich thick sound that just might shake your boots!
• Try sequencing a guitar track in sync with the audio tracks and you can change and shape the sound in mix down.
• If you are an on-stage guitar player , you can radically switch between guitar voices from the synth or sequencer or by simply stomping on a MIDI foot controller

MIDI guitar

Digital guitar or MIDI guitar is the most modern guitar set-up today to play ,compose ,sequence and program music with a guitar in association with a MIDI interface or a computer .Many of the capabilities that MIDI has to offer are now available to the electric guitarist .Due to advances in guitar pick-up and microprocessor technology ,the notes and minute inflections of guitar strings can be accurately translated into MIDI data .To know what is MIDI ,read my article at http://www.dhwanii.com/issue1/ezine_ucancompose.html

MIDI had been quite unpopular with electric guitarists although Casio , Roland and other leading electronic musical instrument manufacturers had introduced Guitar Synthesizers even two decades ago. Guitarists have always been conservative with their instruments and like them to be simple. No wonder , MIDI guitar is still unpopular in India. Nevertheless, MIDI is indispensable to any guitarist who is upgrading himself to composing and sequencing music.Guitarists in India can now feast on the numerous links that I gathered by research from the web on the various options of a MIDI guitar setup.

Go Digital

The easiest and most popular way to go digital with your guitar is by attaching a ROLAND GK-2AH MIDI pickup(app. US $ 200).Roland-Ready Fender and Ovation guitars are also available in the market.

The GK-2AH can be wired to a ROLAND GR-33 Guitar Synthesizer(app US$ 600) or the V-88 ROLAND GUITAR SYSTEM(The most advanced guitar effects processor available).The GR-33 is equivalent to a JV-1080 sound module!A MIDI interface like ROLAND GI-20 can also be used.

Check out ROLAND’s MIDI guitar equipment here :
http://www.rolandus.com/products/subcategory.asp?catid=6&subcatid=0

Shadow pickups offer MIDI guitar systems the most popular being the SH 075 MIDI converter which can be fitted to any guitar.Check Shadow MIDI pickups here :
http://www.shadow-pickups.com/pp/midi/body_midi.html

MIDI-Ready Guitars

Guitars with in-built MIDI are offered by the following manufacturers:

Virtual DSP corporation offers the Revolutionary MIDIAXE technology for MIDI guitars. iGuitar and Parker MIDIfly guitar use this technology.

iGuitar- by Bryan Moore guitars uses MIDIAXE technology :
http://www.brianmooreguitars.com/iGuitar/iGuitar.asp

If you are looking for the best MIDI guitar on earth ,go for the Parker MIDI Fly using MIDIAXE technology(Hold your breath !It will relieve you by 2400 sterling pounds) :
www.parkerguitars.com/pdfs/MIDIFly%20Manual.pdf

Godin Guitars with Synth Access(Over 9 models) :
http://www.godinguitars.com/godingman.htm

Timtone Custom Guitars :
http://www.timtone.com

Ztars
-Space Age Guitar-like MIDI guitar controllers. Available only from their factory :
http://www.starrlabs.com

MIDI Guitar Resources

MIDI Guitar unofficial homepage by Joel B.Christian
www.epix.net/~joelc/midi_git.html

Troubador Tech Page (with history of MIDI guitar) :
http://jpsongs.com/troubadortech/mgtr.htm

Harmony Central
http://www.harmony-central.com/MIDI/