Moog Music Forum

Is it possible to hook up a midi equipped guitar through it's roland interface into a voyager to control its sounds via the guitar?

Surely any device that sends MIDI can be interpreted by a MIDI keyboard like the voyager?

I was actually considering a GK pickup and the Roland interface (GI-20) a few years ago as I was a bass guitarist "by trade", but decided that a keyboard was a more versatile instrument. Another reason was hearing those stories about terrible pitch tracking, misfired triggers and the like.

It sounds like several Moogers have tried (or have just talked about trying) using MIDI guitars to generate control signals by guitar->MIDI->CV. Just search "GI-20" on this forum.

The Voyager can be controlled from any MIDI source. Some Roland guitar synthesizers do string to midi conversion, so if yours has that feature, then it will work if you take the time to set it up properly - the Voyager is monophonic, so you'll have to adjust your playing to make sure it's only getting one note to track unless you like very unpredictable results!

New Roland VG99 does pitch to MIDI
Older VG8 and VG88 do NOT.
As mentioned the Roland GI-20 will convert 6 strings to MIDI, as will the older GI-10
Axon has a guitar to MIDI converter
Yamaha G50 is similar to the Axon
Roland GM70 is a string to MIDI for older 24 pin Roland GK pickups.

I get great results using the Roland GI-10 with the RME Voyager. I also have the Voyager simultaneously hooked up to the VX-352...so I can control parameters with Exp. pedals, hands free of course is great if you're playing a guitar....

I send the stereo output of the Moog into some multiFX and a looper.

Right now I'm on tour with this setup, (with Zappa/Mothers Of Invention Alumni/Moog Pioneer Don Preston) I get a lot of mileage having three pedals going into the 352>>Voyager, so that I control Volume, Cutoff Freq. and Pitch/ I could add a number of other pedals/parameter controllers.

It's about to get even crazier as i integrate my Roland FC-300 -- an excellent controller pedal. I use it to control the FX right now (a boss gs-10)

But --hooking up a MIDI-splitter box etc, and using MIDI CC#s, into the RME -I can control most of the Voyager's sweepable params, plus turn oscillators or noise on/off, add FM sync, etc

AT various times --I use this setup with a 1/2 dozen diff synths/samplers most "real" but including a soft-synth or two..-- but the RME voyager is really the best , for when I don;t need chords (which is usually). I'm not sure- but I get the impression is tracks so great because it's MONOPHONIC in terms of being able to play ONE NOTE AT A TIME (the audio is Stereo, which confuses some people...)

I think 'cos it is only looking to find ONE note the tracking/read time is instantaneous. It feels great, no lag time. And what can beat the access to the guts of each sound....tweaking for live performance...???

this guy I know from [url=http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f18/wante ... guitarhere[/url] made his own midi guitar over here, I'll ask him if he knows anything...

The problem when using a Midi guitar with a monophonic and not multi-timbral or multi channel synth is, that you don't get polyphonic playing as on the guitar. And also the pitchbend of a guitar is a polyphonic and needs to be transmitted per string (normally 6, right?).
So don't think a synth like the Voyager will get played as expressive as your guitar via these Midi guitars.
Simple melody lines should work fine.

Or get a Midi guitar and 6 Voyagers (or RME Voyagers)

if username : Mooguitar is in fact Andre Cholmondeley, then that stuff is the real deal..

We spent a week with him at Namm, setting up the sound stuff for him and ourselves..

The midi guitar to Voyager with the expansion boxes (251 351/352) sounds awesome doing leads and basslines...


i'd love to get a cheap midi guitar to plug into my voyager in a live gig, just to blow minds (especially guitar playing minds).. Also, to melt faces...

I'm sure there will be some crazy way to control the voyager with the Moog Guitar... Even if you have to add midi to it..

It might just be even more revolutionary!! Or maybe a midi out option/upgrade for the moog guitar so that you could control the voyager..

I'm sure there's plenty of arguments against that though..

But imagine doing some crazy moog guitar stuff while the voyager accompanies you note for note on bass (using a monophonic style of playing on the guitar of course!)..

Just some random thoughts//

It's easy -- just cut five strings off the guitar

On a side note, does anyone remember this? :



The bridge and each fret is divided, so when the string contacts the fret, a pitch CV is generated. This controls the onboard "organ."

[quote="Mooguitar"]I get great results using the Roland GI-10 with the RME Voyager. I also have the Voyager simultaneously hooked up to the VX-352...so I can control parameters with Exp. pedals, hands free of course is great if you're playing a guitar....

Oh, dude, sir!!! Please share your wisdom!!!

I'm using a GR-20 (or I could use my VG-99) to trigger my Minimoog Voyager. I'm getting a great sound, but I'm haunted by stray notes and half-step mistrackings, I lose track of what settings/patches on which unit worked and which didn't. Would you please lay it out for me? What are the critical settings that make the tracking/polyphony/stringbending work best?

On the Roland--is there a best choice for "feel" setting?

On the Moog--
Best setting for Pitch Bend?: seems to me that a 2-octave pitch setting matches the GR-20. Is there a way to set that globally, or shall I trudge through all patches?

Best setting for keyboard mode?
Trigger mode?

Please help. I'm learning slowly but fighting ADD--your mastership could really be a boon to me!

THANKS!
-Fat

latigid on wrote:It's easy -- just cut five strings off the guitar

On a side note, does anyone remember this? :



The bridge and each fret is divided, so when the string contacts the fret, a pitch CV is generated. This controls the onboard "organ."

that has been one of my dream guitars for years