guitar or bass synthesiser effect

[gwEm]

this probably isn't the forum for this question, as we are mostly guitarists, and prefer more conventional tones... thats cool - i do as well :) anyway, i'm fully expecting this post may go unanswered.

but i also make alot of electronic music and some friends and i are starting a sort of live breakz (ahem) band.

i may need to play bass in this band, which is cool as its just for fun. i was thinking of livening things up with a Boss SYB-3 or SYB-5 pedal which are meant to make a bass guitar sound like an old analog synth.

based on the clips i heard, they appear to sound pretty good, but i didn't actually see one used with a genuine bass guitar - just for adding effects to exisiting electronics.

has anyone used one of these pedals, any impressions? is there something else i should consider?

what about guitar synth devices? there is an electro-harmonix micro-synth for example. and how does the roland GR-20 / GK-3 work? do the guitar synth devices produce lower frequency sounds too?

i've seen digitech do two synth wah effect pedals for bass and guitar, any thoughts?

100 questions - cheers!

edit: i'm after more techno synth sounds than cheesy 80s ones or real instruments.

[Mr Ed]

Apparently, these are shite hot:

[TwilightOdyssey]

edit: i'm after more techno synth sounds than cheesy 80s ones or real instruments.

there were no cheesy synth sounds in the 80s!!










PDT_008

[gingataff]

A mate of mine has a bass synth effectpedal from Digitech (or maybe DOD) and the clips on the BOSS site seem much better. I'm sure I tried it with a guitar and a bass but I can't remember if they both worked as well as each other. :oops:

[gwEm]

twilight: sorry, i forgot the 80s was a time of artistic restraint and good taste just let me add some more big reverb to my drums.

gingatiff: digitech do make them, but i forgot the check DOD, must do that

i scoured the web for clips.

the EH micro synth still sounds very guitar after the effect.

the boss pedals do sound great, but some complaints over tracking speed and sensitvity - i'd have to try one.

the digitech ones seem to sound a little cheap, but then they are cheap ;)

it should be possible to use the Roland GR-20 to trigger one of my external synths, and avoid the ...classy... internal sounds. that might be an expensive solution just to get some techno-y noises... also lots more gear to bring, i might as well play keyboard almost.

many people on other forums indicate the Akai 'Deep Impact' to be a fine choice, but its rare. i checked out a manual for one, and it seems to be sensibly designed at least.

[JDC]

bill bailey uses the roland gk-3 with a gr-33 on his part troll dvd

I got a few questions myself on these things since I discovered what bill used  a few days ago

1. do roland make any other similar pickups, aka ones that can be fitted properly in the guitar?

2. reading about it on bill's site it looks like the gr-33 can send the signal out as midi, is this true? if so does the gr-33 have it's own effects or not, or is it basically a gk-3 to midi signal box thingy?

3. does anyone else make these digital signal pickups? ie one that can actually put out a midi from the guitar itself (I wouldn't mind having such a feature on a guitar instead of using a keyboard :) )

4. oh ye and what's that black plastic midi guitar thing with buttons instead of frets and the strings are only in the picking area?

ps sorry for thread hjack :)

[sgmypod]

Brian moore guitars come fitted with a midi pickup and patch changer switches, but the axon stuff by terratec is supposed to be quicker easier to use and can select different instruments to different sections of the guitar


http://audioen.terratec.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=66

vids of a guy demo-ing them

[blue]

some Godin guitars also have synth pickups, although i think they're maybe just the hex pickup and it's 13(?) pin output, no other electronics.

[viking]

4. oh ye and what's that black plastic midi guitar thing with buttons instead of frets and the strings are only in the picking area?

Are you talking about the Synthaxe?It was used mainly by Alan Holdsworth.I used to play with an Ibanez Xing midi guitar (nice guitar always in tune) but the tracking was not so good in those days..Roland does make different pu models for midi guitars,like the one used for the digital Fender Strat .

[opprobrium_9]

i forgot the 80s was a time of artistic restraint and good taste

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[Johnny Mac]

The guitar Feline are making me is having a midi pickup fitted, it's the actual saddles that are the pickups.

http://www.graphtech.com/ghost_info.php

Then once that's all paid for I'm getting this to plug it into

http://audioen.terratec.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1

I've always wanted a guitar synth, I've tried a few of the budget ones and they are great fun!