hi to everyone,
I'm a guitar player. What's the best way to trigger the synth sounds in logic pro 7: a synth guitar (Roland, Ztar) or a keyboard (and which for little $)?
thanks
Pierpaolo
lynnmonk
Since you are a guitarist, the obvious choice for you would be a midi guitar. With this you'll be able to insert slurs, tremolo, pitch bend, and other nuances into the midi data with ease.
A midi keyboard can do these too, but unless you're a good synth player already, you'll find it very difficult or time-consuming to get the same feel to your tracks.
A good tip to keep in mind when playing various instrument sounds via midi is to try and put yourself into the shoes of someone who would normally play that particular instrument. In other words, if you are playing strings, play something that a string player would play, not what a guitarist would play.
The downside, of course, is that a midi guitar will cost considerably more than a basic velocity-sensitive keyboard.
Lynn
spatty11
I bought a Yamaha kit that was meant to "seamlessly convert my electric guitar into a MIDI controller. I wasn't cheap. It was the G50 -- rack mountable, and all that. But THEN I get the special pickup that reads the strings and sends the info to the G50 which converts it to MIDI code. They actually wanted me to drill holes in my guitar to attach this thing! I'm not rich, it's my only electric guitar. So, I choose their alternative method, which consists of layering padded stickers under the strings until the special pickup, itself, can be stuck to the stickers, the proper distance from the strings. It was the most jury-rigged contraption I've put together. Then, after all that, it doesn't work. It picks up sympathetic vibrations from neighboring strings, it can't translate string bends or slides, or hammering. I thought I was getting ready to play my VST instruments with the virtuosity of my guitar capabilities, and all I could do was produce cacophonic, dis-chord. I would try to play a melody, and the same note would just repeat itself. I'm telling you...if you want to use a guitar as a controller, do not go with the Yamaha G50. It was like $700 wasted. Maybe there are MIDI controllers made to look like a normal guitars. If there is a product like that, I would take that route.
I hope I've helped...I'm just teaching myself the keyboard. I know...the guitar is like having six hand-held keyboards, and then some, but I just couldn't figure out how to create synthesized music by plucking trings. I wish I could have.
