A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities.
Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnership) such as Hammond Innovex and Ovation, Ludwig, EMS, 360 Systems, Norlin Music and Maestro, Ampeg and Hagström, Arp, Roland Corporation and FujiGen (GR-500 [6] and GR-300), New England Digital, Electro-Harmonix, Casio, [6] Terratec/Axon, Starr Labs, Ibanez, Holt Electro Acoustic Research, Zeta Systems, and Yamaha.
In the early days, there were three main types of guitar-synthesizers:[ citation needed ]
Later, the multi-effects type evolved into modeling guitar, and the other two types evolved into current devices.
Presently, there are two main groups:[ citation needed ]
Both types have advantages and disadvantages.
Though the term "MIDI guitar" is sometimes used as a synonym, MIDI is not the indispensable feature of guitar synthesizers, especially after advances in DSP technology. Software-based guitar synthesizers without any special pickups have appeared, featuring polyphonic audio recognition (recognizing polyphonic pitches of each string, and possibly able to distinguish combination of fret positions and strings). [7] [8]
Typical instruments in this category consist of:
This digital output can be stored or input directly to a synthesizer that generates corresponding notes made audible through an amplifier and speaker.
These components may be integrated into the instrument body or modularized in different ways. The hexaphonic pickup may be a separate component added to the guitar, or it may be built-in. Earlier guitar-synths required the musician to use a proprietary guitar with an integrated hexaphonic pickup.
Roland developed its GK series of hexaphonic drivers, consisting of a divided pickup and associated electronics (essentially a buffer preamp for each string signal). These were used in two ways, either with pickup and buffer module mountable to the guitar, or as a "GK-KIT" intended to be fitted into a guitar body by a luthier or manufacturer.
The initial GK-1 had 24 output pins, with a resultantly bulky interface cable. The design evolved into a smaller 13-pin format, used in the GK-2, GK-2A, and GK-3 pickups, as well as the GK-3B bass pickup.
Guitar manufacturers that offered models with the installed "Roland-ready" pickup kit include Switch Music, Washburn, Fender, Squier, and Ibanez (RG420GK). Fender released their Fender VG Stratocaster, a Standard Series instrument with inbuilt GK-2A hexaphonic pickup kit. Fender had previously offered a short-lived American Series version in the mid-1990s.
Godin and a few other guitar manufacturers have offered guitar models with an integrated "RMC hexaphonic pickup and preamp system" that is compatible with Roland devices. The RMC system uses piezo-crystal pickups built into the saddles of the guitar bridge, which conduct the vibrations of the strings as a signal that can be converted into a (13-pin) hexaphonic synth signal. This setup can be found in the xtSA and the LGX models. [9]
The GK drivers or compatible controllers are connected to a dedicated synthesizer module like Roland GR-1 or Roland GR-55 via a cable with 13-pin connectors. The module sits on the floor and has the appearance of a large effects unit, with footswitches for the selection of sounds and memory banks.
Usually, a cable connects the hexaphonic pickup to the converter. This allows the guitarist to be unencumbered by an on-board converter. However, several Casio models in the PG and MG product lines integrated the guitar, the hex pickup, and the converter as a single unit. Casio remains the only manufacturer to try this approach. The advantage of this arrangement is that a MIDI cable can be plugged directly into the guitar. Disadvantages include weight and the need for an external power supply.
In addition to these configurations, the converter may also be combined with a synthesizer. The earliest models[ citation needed ] were combination converter/synthesizers, and this type is still produced.[ citation needed ] As the early integrated models predated the MIDI standard, their components were not interchangeable; the guitarist's only option was to use whatever synthesizer came with the converter, and vice versa. By the 2000s (decade), however, all converter/synthesizers were MIDI-compatible, so any synthesizer with MIDI-input capability (the vast majority since the 1990s) can be used. Stand-alone converter units also drive synthesizers via MIDI.
Among the advantages of synth guitars are that the musician can play either the guitar or the synthesizer alone, or blend the timbres of both together in any ratio. Many models can be used with almost any guitar, with the addition of a hexaphonic pickup. In the early systems, there was a detectable latency, especially at lower pitches, between playing a note on the guitar and the note's sounding on the synthesizer, but this was remedied in 2000s-era instruments. While this type is also somewhat prone to note-tracking glitches, the problem can be overcome by adjusting the sensitivity controls of the pickup or converter—and by playing more precisely. Another possible disadvantage is that not all of the variable performance parameters available on a synthesizer can be actuated from a guitar; a synth guitar lacks assignable controls to open a filter in real-time, for example. Nevertheless, contemporary synth-guitar designs often include an expression pedal for such purposes.
Some systems consist of two separated parts, the guitar controller and the interface and sound module, where the former controls the latter (as in Roland instruments). One of the challenges of guitar synths is that not all performance techniques can be smoothly translated into MIDI and resulting sound. Harmonics, palm mutes, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and pick slides are not easily picked up by guitar synths, largely due to imperfect fretting technique; with the exception of harmonics and palm mutes, these techniques can be achieved with a concentrated effort to maintain good fretting. Similarly, the synthesizer portion of a system often lacks the variety of controls (sliders, faders, knobs) for synthesis parameters that are normally available on a standard keyboard synthesizer.
Nevertheless, controlling a synthesizer with a guitar has some advantages over a keyboard. More expansive chords are possible, and some intervals are easier to reach. As well, guitar synths provide access to sounds normally available only to keyboard players and percussionists. A guitar player could play a flute part using a sampled flute patch, or play percussion by triggering synth drum voices. By blending the regular electric guitar tone with synthesized sounds, a guitarist can create a hybrid timbre. The guitar synth also enables a guitarist with limited or no keyboard-playing skills to provide MIDI input into digital notation programs such as Sibelius, Finale or MuseScore.
Some manufacturers of guitar-synthesizers wanted to eliminate the tracking and latency problems associated with guitar-based systems, while retaining the expressiveness of the guitar. They achieved this, to some degree, by redesigning the instrument part of the human-machine interface so that it was better suited to driving a synthesizer.
The 1980s-era SynthAxe was a futuristic controller consisting of a fretboard attached to the body at an obtuse angle. [10] The fretboard strings were used to indicate pitch and sensed string bends. A separate, shorter set of strings were used for picking and strumming. These triggered the notes fretted on the fretboard's strings. It also featured trigger keys that could be used instead of the trigger strings. A whammy bar was assignable to any MIDI parameter. The SynthAxe was prohibitively expensive and therefore not widely used. Two of the most famous SynthAxe users are guitarist Allan Holdsworth and percussionist Roy "Futureman" Wooten of the jazz quartet Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Wooten programmed his modified SynthAxe controller with a variety of drum kit and percussion sounds. The instrument was previously owned by jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour.
Yamaha originally entered the market with a guitar-like MIDI controller called the "G-10," considerably less expensive than the SynthAxe. The G-10 had two assignable knobs and an assignable whammy bar and it used six strings, all the same gauge (thickness), which sensed both right- and left-hand input. The fact that the strings were all of the same thickness made the instrument feel substantially different for a player, in contrast to the typical guitar, and may have hindered the instrument's acceptance.
Both the SynthAxe and Yamaha G-10 have been discontinued.
Beginning in the early 2000s, Yamaha has re-entered the market with simple midi guitars (EZ-AG and EZ-EG) these have illuminated frets to teach finger technique and 20 voices.
Starr Labs' Ztar is one of the few remaining guitar-like controller product lines still in production. A Ztar differs significantly from the SynthAxe and Yamaha G-10 in that the "fretboard" is covered with keys, not strings. Keys in the same row can trigger notes at the same time. This has no analog on a real guitar. It would be as if a single string were polyphonic. A number of variations are available, including an instrument that uses strings for strumming or picking, to trigger notes, whereas the pitch of the notes is determined by the keys that cover what would be a "fretboard" in an ordinary, stringed guitar. Starr labs recently introduced the Z5S, a simpler and less expensive version of the Z6S. MIDI guitar controllers have regained popularity due to the Z6 model, possibly because of its usage by Rob Swire of Pendulum, who uses it on songs where he is required to perform vocals.
The You Rock Guitar, introduced in 2010 by You Rock Digital, combines a MIDI guitar controller/recorder with a patented touch-sensitive fingerboard and an on-board synthesizer. The instrument supports not only strumming and picking, but also tapping and sliding techniques, and provides a whammy bar for pitch bending and a modulation. The You Rock Guitar is used by guitarists such as George Pajon Jr. (Fergie, The Black Eyed Peas) and Josh Kelley.
Rock Band 3 (2010) featured three guitar controllers. One was modeled after the Fender Mustang, with six string sensors stretching from the bridge to the location of the neck pickup of a standard guitar, and 102 buttons in 6 columns of 17 frets, which together create MIDI note data. A second was built with Fender as a fully functional guitar, with a bridge pickup "listening" to the strings and sending MIDI information to the MIDI port.
"You Rock Guitar" is compatible with Guitar Hero and Rock Band 3, including RB 3 Pro Mode. The guitar provides a number of features intended to help gamers become guitarists. The You Rock Practice Mode provides audible feedback when the user plays with the guitar's built-in song loops. The guitar can simultaneously drive a game system, an amplifier, headphones, a MIDI synthesizer, and music software via USB.
The advantages of the guitar-like MIDI controller systems are that the tracking (the speed and accuracy of the notes the instrument produces) is much better than guitar-based systems, which means that there is no noticeable latency or pitch glitches. As well, whammy bars and other controllers can be assigned to any MIDI function, which gives the performer more on-stage control of their sound. Further, these controllers offer playing options, such as the keyboard-like tapping style, that are not possible on traditional guitars. Finally, the instruments with touch-sensitive fingerboards never need tuning, and they are easier on the fingers of beginning and casual players.
The disadvantages for guitar players are that the controller is not exactly a guitar, and the feel is different. Some instruments are rare and expensive, which may make it difficult to repair or service them.
A number of well-known guitarists have used guitar synthesizers, often working in the jazz or progressive rock genres, or soundtrack composition.
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals, which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers. The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities from that of an acoustic guitar via amplifier settings or knobs on the guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb, distortion and "overdrive"; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music and jazz and rock guitar playing. Designs also exist combining attributes of the electric and acoustic guitars: the semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars.
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A plectrum or individual finger picks may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant chamber on the instrument, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier.
A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instruments and non-European instruments, frets are made of pieces of string tied around the neck.
General MIDI is a standardized specification for electronic musical instruments that respond to MIDI messages. GM was developed by the American MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee (JMSC) and first published in 1991. The official specification is available in English from the MMA, bound together with the MIDI 1.0 specification, and in Japanese from the Association of Musical Electronic Industry (AMEI).
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and is used to play bass lines, melody lines, chords, or textures. Designed as a fully polyphonic chordal instrument, it can also cover several of these musical parts simultaneously.
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fitted with an electric pickup of some type, although "amplified violin" or "electro-acoustic violin" are more accurate then.
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars.
Keytar is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held.
Jazz bass is the use of the double bass or electric bass guitar to improvise accompaniment ("comping") basslines and solos in a jazz or jazz fusion style. Players began using the double bass in jazz in the 1890s to supply the low-pitched walking basslines that outlined the chord progressions of the songs. From the 1920s and 1930s Swing and big band era, through 1940s Bebop and 1950s Hard Bop, to the 1960s-era "free jazz" movement, the resonant, woody sound of the double bass anchored everything from small jazz combos to large jazz big bands.
A pickup is a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations produced by musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, and converts these to an electrical signal that is amplified using an instrument amplifier to produce musical sounds through a loudspeaker in a speaker enclosure. The signal from a pickup can also be recorded directly.
The SynthAxe is a fretted, guitar-like MIDI controller, created by Bill Aitken, Mike Dixon, and Tony Sedivy and manufactured in England in 1985. It is a musical instrument that uses electronic synthesizers to produce sound and is controlled through the use of an arm resembling the neck of a guitar in form and in use. Its name comes from the words synthesizer and axe, a slang term meaning guitar. The system was developed as a joint venture funded by Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They most often use a musical keyboard to send data about the pitch of notes to play, although a MIDI controller may trigger lighting and other effects. A wind controller has a sensor that converts breath pressure to volume information and lip pressure to control pitch. Controllers for percussion and stringed instruments exist, as well as specialized and experimental devices. Some MIDI controllers are used in association with specific digital audio workstation software. The original MIDI specification has been extended to include a greater range of control features.
A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which the most common type is the musical keyboard. Another common way of controlling a sound module is through a sequencer, which is computer hardware or software designed to record and playback control information for sound-generating hardware. Connections between sound modules, controllers, and sequencers are generally made with MIDI, which is a standardized interface designed for this purpose.
Godin Guitars is a Canadian manufacturing company headquartered in Montreal that specializes in string instruments. The company was founded by Robert Godin, and is currently led by Simon Godin.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to guitars:
A wind controller, sometimes referred to as a wind synthesizer, is an electronic wind instrument. It is usually a MIDI controller associated with one or more music synthesizers. Wind controllers are most commonly played and fingered like a woodwind instrument, usually the saxophone, with the next most common being brass fingering, particularly the trumpet. Models have been produced that play and finger like other acoustic instruments such as the recorder or the tin whistle. The most common form of wind controller uses electronic sensors to convert fingering, breath pressure, bite pressure, finger pressure, and other gesture or action information into control signals that affect musical sounds. The control signals or MIDI messages generated by the wind controller are used to control internal or external devices such as analog synthesizers or MIDI-compatible synthesizers, synth modules, softsynths, sequencers, or even non-instruments such as lighting systems.
A solid-body musical instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on an electromagnetic pickup system to directly detect the vibrations of the strings; these instruments are usually plugged into an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to be heard. Solid-body instruments are preferred in situations where acoustic feedback may otherwise be a problem and are inherently both less expensive to build and more rugged than acoustic electric instruments.
The Roland GR-500 is a guitar synthesizer. Manufactured by the Roland Corporation and FujiGen in 1977, it was one of the first guitar synthesizers.
The Parker Fly was a model of electric guitar built by Parker Guitars. It was designed by Ken Parker and Larry Fishman, and first produced in 1993. The Fly is unique among electric guitars in the way it uses composite materials. It is notable for its light weight and resonance. It was also one of the first electric guitars to combine traditional magnetic pickups with piezoelectric pickups, allowing the guitarist to access both acoustic and electric tones. Production ended in 2016 and the company has not released a new model of any kind since.
The Yamaha Corporation is a multinational corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, motorcycles, power sports equipment and electronics.
