13 Pin Midi Guitar Interfaces Check out my Axon Ax-50 review in Premier Guitar magazine As of Jan. 2010 we currently only have the Roland GR-55, Vg-99, Shadow's SH-075 and the Sonnus G2M available to buy as new. Everything else you have to buy used: Axon Ax-50, Ax100's, Roland Gi-20, GR-20.... :( Axon review
Axon Ax-50Axon Ax100SB Roland Vg-99Roland Gi-20 Sonnus G2m “Triggering MIDI events from a guitar has been a challenging engineering problem for 30 years. The key to that for me is a box made by TerraTec Electronics, the Axon AX 50 USB. It’s the fastest and most accurate guitar-to-MIDI box ever. - Pat Metheny.
Guitar Players - Why Not Guitar Synth?
Axon AX 100 BlueChip Guitar MIDI Converter. C $362.26; or Best Offer; Calculate Shipping. TERRATEC AXON AX100 MKII GUITAR PICKUP DATA CABLE 13 PIN DIN MIDI 15FT 5M METER. C $25.45; Buy It Now. Save axon midi to get e-mail alerts and updates on your eBay Feed. Search refinements. The ultra-fast AX 100 MKII guitar-to-MIDI controller in a single-unit rack mount has an early-recognition system which evaluates the impulses from the strings as soon as they are picked and converts them into values for pitch, dynamics and length.
Guitar Synthesizers have been around for years. I remember seeing a picture of Pete Townsend of The Who back in the early/mid-seventies with an ARP. Since then it has come a long way and still needs tweaking but it is usable.The technology is there. Use it. If you do not, you are missing a lot.Checkout Pat Metheny and others. You can't just plug your guitar's output into a box and get great synth sounds. You need a 13-pin connection. This is achieved by using a specially designed hex pickup that attaches to your guitar (Roland, Axon) or use a guitar that has it built -in already. The guitar option also comes in two versions-Hex pickups or piezo. The hex pickup is the same as the external pickups. The piezo version has piezo transducers in the bridge. The piezo built -in version is better, more accurate. It will also gives you an acoustic sound via the piezo transducers. This is a great option to have because you can have an acoustic sound through an amp without bringing an extra guitar to the gig or rehearsal and you can combine this sound with the electric tones and synth sounds. This is huge sound on stage! Coming from the pickup is a 13-pin din cable that plugs into a converter box. Again, Roland and Axon are the main companies with Axon being on the cutting edge for midi conversion.Depending on the box, you can get some with sounds, without sounds or USB connection for computer recording. Once you have this setup, you would have to tweak the settings in the box to how you play. Each guitar player is different. Each guitar is different. One guitar player could use different techniques (finger picking, hard picking, very soft picking, tapping, etc). Sensitivity, tuning, feel/picking are some of the settings to look at. Imagine recording a guitar track, then adding piano, bass, drums, strings, sax and more right from the guitar. Using a 13-pin guitar to access synth or samples sounds opens a whole world for expression, composing, recording, inspiration and more. It allows you to control software sounds in your computer that you already have but can't use unless you play keyboard. A lot of guitar players do not want to play keyboard! You can input notes into tab or notation. Play it back and print it out. A great tool for teaching!
The Axon AX-50 USB
Contact me with any questions! Ax-50 Midi Convertor
The speed of the Axon with USB output!!! Software editing-- Cool!! No more scrolling on the box. Still have all your splits: Pick, string and fret splits! Includes WAVE XTABLE VI software instrument with 128 professional studio sounds based on the renowned KONTAKT Player by Native-Instruments You will need a 13 pin guitar (Godin, the New Carvin NS-1, Brian Moore/iGuitar( out of production at the moment) or a 13 pin pickup by Axon or Roland. Graphtech makes a piezo system also. The guitars with a built in piezo system work better and you get acoustic sounds also. AXON AX 50 USB means easy operation and new connection options. The AXON AX 50 USB offers additional options, such as a USB port with four additional virtual MIDI ports, which makes it ideal for state-of-the-art, computer-based studios. With its 32-bit RISC processor, the guitar-to-MIDI controller immediately translates the vibrations from each string that you strike or strum and sends information about the pitch, dynamics and tone duration to the connected MIDI sound generator. The MIDI sound generator brings music to life using any sound a player chooses. Simply plug in and play to transform a guitar, bass or violin into a synthesizer, an electric piano or a saxophone. Anything is possible - even the simultaneous playing of several instruments. The AXON AX 50 USB allows to control an external instrument and up to four other software sound machines on the computer: a MIDI-OUT connector and four additional virtual MIDI ports via USB make all of this possible. TerraTec Producer also provides 128 sounds based on the renowned “KONTAKT” Player by Native Instruments for plug and play operation, and of course all the sounds are multitimbral. AXON AX 50 USB lets players divide fingerboards and strings into up to 12 play zones, making it easy to control an entire orchestra. The editor included in the package allows making changes right on the computer. Street price is around $499 Information on the Axon technology Key features & specific characteristics: Extremely fast guitar-to-MIDI controller Patented early transient recognition system (ETR) Software editor for PC and MAC USB full speed connection for MIDI Hardware MIDI IN/OUT/THRU Four virtual MIDI ports via USB Compatible with electric and acoustic guitars and electric basses Support for fret, string and pick-splitting (up to 12 play area zones) 128 programmable presets Bright 7-segment display (three characters) Built-in tuner Instrument output for magnetic pickup signal For the PC users, the CD also includes Fruity Loops Express as a basic sequencer. If you are on a Mac, you have GarageBand. Likes: USB output, tracking, splits, midi tuning, Kontakt player with sounds. Dislikes: amount of tweaking to get it to perform (but it is worth it/ “anything worthwhile....”), Sometimes the editor wouldn't open. I would have to 'force quit' the application and reopen it. Kontakt player can't load other libraries. No 13-pin cable included. System requirements/recommendations Windows XP SP1 or later Mac OS X 10.4 or later 1,4GHz / 512MB RAM 1x USB port 1x CD ROM drive for installing the software 1x DVD ROM drive for installing the WAVE XTABLE VI Guitar / Bass with hexaphonic pickup system & 13-pin Output Now I wished they would go back and include the automatic sensitivity setting that was in the 77! Buy @ Amazon Ax-50 USB midi convertor
Axon Ax-100
If you want Axon tracking with built in sounds, the Ax-100 is the way to go. For recording you would have to interface this with a Audio/midi interface( Motu 828, etc) MIDI and guitar – two different worlds until now. With the AXON AX 100 MKII, the technical problems involved in connecting electric or acoustic guitars and basses to the MIDI-fied studio world are finally a thing of the past. The ultra fast Guitar-to-MIDI controller in a single unit rack mount has an early transient recognition system (ETR) which evaluates the impulses from the strings as soon as they are picked and converts them into values for pitch, dynamics and length. A 32-bit RISC processor makes it possible, opening up a whole new world of music to the guitarist. Never again will you have to change guitars to produce a different sound or play with an alternate tuning – just switch the MIDI channel. On the AXON AX100 MKII, you can either choose from over 500 internal sounds, 10 drum kits and an SFX kit or trigger external sound devices such as samplers and synthesizers. Then, depending on the sound generator you are using, a guitar can become a synthesizer, an electric piano or a saxophone. Everything is possible – even at the same time. With the 12 play area zones, the AXON AX 100 MKII even makes your guitar multitimbral – you can play different instruments by splitting the frets, strings or even by the pick position! Optional connecting pedals and buttons add effects and even more variety to your playing – as does the built-in arpeggiator. * Extremely fast guitar-to-MIDI controller * Patented early transient recognition system (ETR) * Compatible with all available 13-pin pickup systems for electric and acoustic guitars and basses * Support for fret-, string- and pick position splitting (up to 12 play area zones) * Programmable MIDI output tuning for alternate tunings * 256 Presets (128 Factory / 128 User) * Over 500 high-quality sounds, incl.10 drum-kits (GM and XG-sound compatible) * Powerful hold mode with arpeggiator and drum sequencer * Software editor for Windows and Mac Buy @ Amazon Axon Ax-100 Also in stock at Guitarman in NYC 212-475-5150. Tell them Brian from Guitarhelper referred you.
Roland VG-99 Shop for the Vg-99 @ zzounds.com. Review of the VG-99
Since I was laid off from Brian Moore, I went to Namm '07 scouting jobs, handing out resumes etc. and of course looking at the new gear. The piece at the show I wanted (in addition to the AXON AX50) was the Roland VG-99!! MIDI and Audio down one USB cable!!! Sold!! My question is how good is the audio interface. I will find out and post info. One thought, it's USB. Not as stable as Firewire. Firewire transfers audio at a steady stream, USB fluctuates. I have use the Vg88 for recording for a long time. The thing I love about it is the front end portion-- the guitars! Now you can use Native instruments Guitar Rig for amps and effects but no one really has done the guitar as well as the VG. The tuning module is unique. If you want a 12 string, a classical, Gretsch, Les Paul, etc they are in there. You might have to tweak the presets. I like to record the 'guitar' then process the software amps and effects later. Why? During the mix or when you record other tracks a song might take a different direction or need a different sound so you still can change the amps and effect before to mix to stereo. Editing software is included. *Dual modeling engines allow guitar and amp models to be dynamically switched, layered and combined **Two guitar and rig setups at once** *New COSM® electric, acoustic and even bass guitar models, and new synth waves such as the famous GR-300 *Guitar to MIDI converter for direct connection to keyboards, sound modules, soft synths, computers, and other MIDI-compatible devices *Supports USB audio and MIDI for easy digital recording and sequencing *Dual GT-Pro-class effects processor enables unequalled flexible tone creation *Advanced performance controls, including D BEAM, V-LINK and Ribbon Controller take guitar performance to a whole new level *Simple and intuitive knob-based interface and new design support live performance *Graphical Editor software included to support sophisticated sound making *Versatile I/O, including USB, S/PDIF and XLR provide pro connections for virtually every type of music production and performance on stage to professional studio recording. Contact me with any questions! I'll get an answer!
Roland GI20 GK MIDI Interface with USB MIDI @ zZounds
If you're looking to enter the world of synthesis, sample-triggering or MIDI sequencing using your guitar or bass, then this is your box. The GI-20 GK-MIDI Interface detects the signal from any electric guitar or bass equipped with a GK-2A or GK-2B pickup, respectively or a 13 pin guitar. The GI-20 lets you trigger synthesizers and samplers, or even record your playing as MIDI data. Its built-in USB MIDI port makes the GI-20 is perfect for computer-based recording setups. Easy to setup and get going. I find it user freindly. You want USB connection with optional pedal control, this it. Contactme with ANY questions.