Guitar Synthesizer

This is about synthesizers or synthesizer

controllers that can be played like guitars. For keyboard synthesizers that are held like guitars, see keytar.

A guitar synthesizer (also guitar/synthesizer, guitar/synth, g-synth, synth guitar, guitar-synth, or guitar synth) is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitar player to play synthesizers. While the term "MIDI guitar" is often used as a synonym for the field of guitar/synthesis or for a guitar/synthesizer, MIDI is not always used. While most synthesizers use a keyboard interface to allow the performer

to play the instrument, because synthesizers generate sounds electronically, a range of input devices can actuate them.[1] A guitar/synthesizer provides an interface that is familiar to a guitarist, allowing the guitarist to play synthesized sounds through the

guitar. This diminishes the need for the guitarist to learn to play a keyboard, and allows for musical effects natural for a guitar, but difficult or impossible for a keyboard.

There are two main types of guitar/synthesizers: those that are regular electric guitars equipped with electronic sensors that actuate a synthesizer, and those that are guitar-like MIDI controllers. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. Recently, software guitar synthesizers have appeared that require no special pickups (See the music game LittleBigStar). Also, not to be confused with true guitar/synths, some manufacturers of effects units market guitar/synth pedals that make a guitar sound more like a synthesizer.

Guitar-based models

1977 Roland GR-500 used by

Chuck Hammer to record "Ashes to Ashes" for David Bowie

The earliest guitar/synthesiz

ers were based on electric guitars. Roland Corporation developed the earliest truly functioning guitar synth system, t

he Roland GR-500, and remains a significant proponent for this form of guitar synthesis. Other notable manufacturers include(d) Arp, Terratec/Axon, Ibanez, Casio, Holt Electro Acoustic Research, Zeta Systems, and Yamaha Corporation.

Guitar/synths in this category consist of an

electric guitar or acoustic guitar with a hexaphonic pickup (also called a divided pickup), which provides an output for each string and a converter, which determines the pitch coming from each of the strings along with note start and stop and transmits this information to a synthesizer, which generates the intended note.

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. The earliest guitar/synths required the musician to use a proprietary guitar with an integrated hexaphonic pickup. Roland later developed its GK line of pickups, which could be mounted onto any guitar for use in a guitar/synth system.

Several guitar manufacturers, such as Godin, offer guitar models with in

tegrated "RMC hexaphonic pickup and preamp system," which is compatible with Roland guitar-synth hardware. The RMC pickup system uses a piezo crystal device built into the saddles of the guitar bridge that conducts the string vibration. This vibration is transferred to be converted into either piezo acoustic or 13 pin hexaphonic synth signal. Fender Musical Instruments released their version of the guitar synth, coined "Roland-ready": a Fender Standard Series Stratocaster that directly integrates the Roland GK-2 hardware. Fender offered a short-lived American Series version in the mid-1990s.

Usually, a cable connects the hexaphonic pickup to the converter. This allows the guitarist some freedom of movement, as he or she is not encumbered by the converter. However, several Casio models in the PG and MG product lines integrated the guitar, the hex pickup, and the converter into one unit. Casio remains the only manufacturer to try this approach. The convenience of the Casio approach is that a MIDI cable could be plugged directly into the guitar.

The converter may be a standalone unit or it may be integrated with a synthesizer. The earliest models integrated the converter and the synthesizer. Some models still do. The earliest integrated models predated the MIDI standard, so the guitarist was stuck with whatever synthesizer was integrated with the converter. 2000s-era integrated models include MIDI output, so any synthesizer with MIDI input (which is the vast majority since the 1990s) can be driven. Standalone converter units drive synthesizers via MIDI.

The advantages of this type of system are that the timbres of the guitar and synthesizer can be blended together at any ratio, enabling the musician to play electric guitar alone, guitar tone blended with synthesizer, or synthesizer alone. In many models, almost an

y guitar can be used, by adding a hexaphonic pickup. Some of the disadvantages with this system is that there is a detectable latency between playing a note on the guitar and the same note sounding on the synthesizer at lower pitches (this was remedied in 2000s-era instruments) and note-tracking glitches can occur. These glitches can be remedied by adjusting the pickup or converter sensitivity controls, and by playing more precisely. As well, not all the variable performance parameters available on a synthesizer can be actuated on a guitar. While a guitarist playing a standard electric guitar can control pitch and volume directly from the instrument, a guitar/synth lacks assignable controls to open a filter in real-time. Contemporary guitar/synth designs often include an expression pedal for this purpose.

Guitar-like MIDI controllers

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.[2] 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.

Yamaha originally entered the market with a guitar-like MIDI controller called the G-10. It was 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 were later discontinued.

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.

Yamaha have re-entered the market with a simple midi guitar (EZ-AG) that has illuminated frets to teach finger technique and 20 voices.

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. 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. The disadvantages for guitar players are that the controller is not a guitar, and neither does it feel exactly like a guitar nor make guitar sounds. As well, they are expensive, and their rarity may make it difficult for performers to repair or service them.

Guitar/Synthesis

Some guitar/synthesizers are two instruments, one controlling the other (as in Roland instruments). Guitar-like MIDI controllers are an interface to the synthesizer. One of the challenges of using guitar/synthesizers is that not all guitar-playing techniques can be translated into MIDI. Harmonics, palm mutes, hammer-ons (in which the fretting hand strikes the string onto the fretboard), pull-offs, and pick slides are not easily picked up by guitar/synthesizers, usually due to sloppy fretting hand technique. With the exception of harmonics and palm mutes, these other techniques can be achieved with a concentrated effort to maintain good fretting technique. Similarly, synth/guitars often lack the variety of controls (sliders, faders, and knobs) for synthesis parameters that are 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/synthesizers 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. As well, 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 program a sequencer and do MIDI input into digital notation programs such as Sibelius and Finale.

Guitar/synthesizer players

A number of guitarists have used guitar/synthesizers. Many are either jazz, progressive rock, metal or fusion/ Funk guitarists. Some well-known users of guitar/synthesizers include Matt Bellamy, Roger Troutman, Bootsy Collins, Robert Fripp, Mike Oldfield, Bill Frisell, Trey Azagthoth, Allan Holdsworth, Alex Lifeson, John McLaughlin, Amir Derakh, Pat Metheny, Andy Summers, Les Fradkin, Mike Stern, Jeff Baxter, Eric Clapton, Yannis Spathas, and Rob Swire. For a longer list of guitar/synthesizer performers, see the List of guitar/synthesizer players.

Guitar/synthesizer of PC

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By using modern computers, it was created much in the likeness of the guitar synthesizer technology Karplus-Strong string synthesis and worked as a standalone utility (soft) or as plug-ins VST Instrument (RTAS). There are a lot of synthesizers in the likeness of the guitar and really similar to the original sound of the guitar For example StringStudio of Applied Acoustics Systems, Slayer and Slayer2 of ReFX, VB-1 of Steinberg and others, there are natural and simple models of synthesizers, with the help of physical modeling, you can create a full computer model of the guitar and to sound like a very guitar that is the very tone of the sound coming of strings to create easy as in Karplus and other effects from a guitar that appear when playing the guitar, to make very difficult to achieve this should be a lot of work and require physical and mathematical modeling of the guitar itself and all that it is there and even the hand model and to all things that make real sounds, for example, recently (2009) was a VST synthesizer D-GTS from the author Kamal Zeynalov that when playing on the synthesizer sounds heard on both guitar and other sounds fret fx, here an example of the sound synthesizer D - GTS (synthesizer itself in design, sound is a demonstration not fully completed version of the synthesizer and then display only the Guitar fret). synthesizer from Example D-GTS shows us that it is possible to create a completely virtual model of the guitar.

References

^ In addition, not every synthesizer requires an integrated human interface (See sound module.)

^ Guitar Synth and MIDI. GPI Publications. 1988. p. 126. ISBN 0881885932.

below are : MIDI guitars and guitar-style MIDI controller

http://jpsongs.com/troubadortech/mgtr.htm

below are : synth axe

http://www.hollis.co.uk/john/synthaxe.html

A Brief History of Synthesizer

usic has its own unique appeal, which transcends boundaries and touches every single soul. The most versatile amongst all instruments, which have transformed the entire musical landscape globally,is the synthesizer. Synthesizers have the magic to bring life to any performance.
History of synthesizers is replete with interesting twists and turns. The mid 80s proved to be a booming phase for this magical instrument. The history of electronic music reached a new height with the emergence of the synthesizer.
Some of the synthesizer models which absolutely proved to be the delight of musicians are as follows
CZ-2600SCZ-3000CZ-101CZ-230SCZ-1000CZ-5000CT-6500
Types of synthesizers
Synthesizers are primarily of three different kinds, which are as follows
AnalogDigitalSoftware
There are also synthesizers, which are a combination of the above-mentioned kinds known as hybrid synthesizers.
There are many synthesis methods, which have gradually evolved over the years. Some of them are as follows
Frequency modulation synthesis Phase distortion synthesis Physical synthesis Sample-based synthesis Sub harmonic synthesisSubtractive synthesis Additive synthesis Granular synthesis Wavetable synthesis
Synthesizers first hit the market in 1971. It was then that the first pre-wired synthesizer made its maiden appearance in the musical circuits. However, it was then a much simpler device. It had monophonic features and had no memory unlike future synthesizers.
The late 70s and early 80s, there was a spurt of initiatives to build ones own synthesizer. Many media reports at that time also flashed designs that were published in hobby electronics magazines. There are also interesting anecdotes on how synthesizers were evolved in each household.
Some of the noteworthy synthesizer manufacturers who has contributed to the history were as follows
Access Music Alesis ARP Arturia Akai Buchla and Associates Casio Clavia
Further research in the field of synthesizers however, led to the emergence of a much-matured device in 1975, which had polyphonic features. This particular category of synthesizer was capable of playing 2-8 notes at one time depending on the model. This kind of synthesizers had amazing storage capacity with 16 separate memory slots.
The bass synthesizer was perhaps the most popular version of synthesizers, which has carved a niche for itself in the history books. This version of synthesizer was capable of producing new sounds for this version. What contributed greatly to the popularity of synthesizers were its unique features. Synthesizers could easily be integrated and synchronised with other musical instruments.
The year 1978 saw the emergence of the first fully equipped polyphonic synthesizers. This device was capable of producing 5 tones at one go. It also had increased memory capacity with 32 different memory slots. They later emerged as the most popular accompanier in the musical circuits.
However, the history of synthesizers underwent a paradigm change with the advent of lead keyboard. They were also known as analog synthesizers. These kind of synthesizers gave musicians greater freedom to editing.
Traversing a long interesting road synthesizers have emerged as the most popular musical instrument. It has become an integral part of the entire musical journey globally.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, and synthesizers. You can find the best marketplace for guitars, drums, and synthesizers at these 3 sites: guitars, drums, and synthesizers, keyboards, synthesizer history.