Best Strings for VGuitar and MIDI Guitar

Started by rhyane, March 26, 2009, 04:52:30 AM

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Machh_2


Toby Krebs

I am really liking the Cobalts after having problems with EB strings and not using them the last 2 years. The Jim Dunlops are also very good and are a nice compromise but I give the Cobalts the edge right now for my GK guitars. I don't like coated strings unfortunately. The tension is very different from non-coated even though the "expert" at GC says they are no different. He also teaches guitar and knows nothing about chord theory-notation-relative major key theory etc...but he wants to sell the heck out of those damn coated strings LOL!!!

montyrivers

Quote from: Toby Krebs on June 19, 2012, 06:40:23 AM
I am really liking the Cobalts after having problems with EB strings and not using them the last 2 years. The Jim Dunlops are also very good and are a nice compromise but I give the Cobalts the edge right now for my GK guitars. I don't like coated strings unfortunately. The tension is very different from non-coated even though the "expert" at GC says they are no different. He also teaches guitar and knows nothing about chord theory-notation-relative major key theory etc...but he wants to sell the heck out of those damn coated strings LOL!!!

I once took filled out the application to work at GC.  They asked me more questions about my pscyche than actual questions about music.

mbenigni

I used to work at Guitar Center.  The first question is whether your psyche can withstand working for peanuts.

Toby Krebs

Fret wear is relative to how often the instrument is used. Because it is so important re: any synth -VG work I keep a full set of files and dress-level-crown and polish etc...all my own instruments especially my V-use guitars. I enjoy the work and save a lot of money and do them the way I want them done.I too have avoided EB strings for a few years but I am liking the cobalts. When someone else offers them I will change brands.Too many problems with EB slinkys. The acoustics are okay though.

Elantric

QuoteToo many problems with EB slinkys.

Same experience here - I avoid them. (and I used to work there)
For Ball End Strings (for Bigsbys) use D'Addario

But everything else I use Fender Bullet 3250RH 10-52 

These are more stable in my Strat and Jazzmaster tremolo guitars.

And the Bullet strings are slightly polished round wound which reduces finger noise, and the frets are happier and last a bit longer 

They work for Larry Carlton.

Machh_2

#56
Hi all...

in your opinion and experience, what is the better string gauge to have a good tracking on GR55?

09 ? 010 ? 011 ?....etc

i believe than strings with high gauge maybe have more inercy, and perharps causes tracking problems...
i use 010, to play guitar is great, but to tracking i dont know...

[]´s

rolandvg99

#57
Heavier strings means a more stable initial tone when striking the string which again can/should lead to better tracking. Finger positioning, an even fret height, original guitar pickup height (especially with single coils), resonating strings behind the bridge and above the top nut, resonating tremolo springs and picking technique is, in my opinion, of more importance.
To V or not to V: That is the question.

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tekrytor

#58
Quote from:  rolandvg99 on July 05, 2012, 06:19:49 AM
.... original guitar pickup height (especially with single coils)...
Can you elaborate on this point? I agree with your other points, just not sure what you mean on this one.
BTW, +1 on your linked tunes!
SY-300/BeatBuddy/VoiceLive 3/GR-55(v1.50)/33/1/50/700/VGA-7/V-Bass, Yam-G10, GPK-4, DIY X-Bee HighlyLiquidCPU "Cozy-Lil-Footie", FCB-1010, other MIDI stuff, Godin Freeway SA and various other GK equipped controllers, Sonar X1, Audacity, KXstudio, Misc devices

rolandvg99

#59
I'm thinking about the phenomena often called "stratitis" where strings lose their intonation due to the magnetic pull from the single coils being too close to the strings. On a strat (or guitars with similar setups) this could cause a false triggering galore. Had that problem when using my old, now retired, GI-10 with my Lefty Japanese Strat before I changed to EMG's.
To V or not to V: That is the question.

My little Soundcloud corner

Elantric

#60
Quoteoriginal guitar pickup height (especially with single coils),

Good point that newbies tend to ignore or are not aware.
Typically Gibson style humbuckers or P90's have much less magnetic flux due to the iron bar loading in those designs.

As a teenager I used set my P90's in my '61 Gibson SG Special as close to the strings as I could, to get more growl in my tone.

However, after JEff Beck Blow by Blow - I had to get a Strat, but swiftly discovered these are very different animals. 

I discovered on any Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster with vintage style pickups where each string pole piece is actually a physical magnet, if you set the pickups too close to the strings, the mass of the low E, A, D strings is sufficient to be impacted by the high magnetic flux of the single coil pickups. 

The resulting problem of having single coil pickups set too closely to the strings is a periodic "beat" of going sharp - this effect can sound somewhat a bit as if you had a Jimi Hendrix Univibe always on. 
If you set the Neck single coil pickup too close to the strings, if you have a Strobe tuner and fret the Low E string at the 12th fret you can see (and hear)  a periodic "beat" as the string goes sharp with each vibration cycle, due to the magnetic flux of the pickup. Of course this creates glitching in Guitar to MIDI systems.

A few of us here understand this phenomena, and know its critical when setting up any guitar with Single coil Pickups, to lower the pickup away from the strings. This also actually increases sustain too.

Machh_2

i agree to all

Elantric In fact, I believe that pickups with very powerful magnets and adjusted very close to the strings, can pick up the sound with more intensity, but I think the magnets tend to attract to himself the strings, decreasing support.
I've watched a strato guitar pickups with the middle and upper arm producing semi-tuned notes, and the problem was at the height of the two pickups, it was found that the magnetic field of a pickup had more influence on the string than the other, when it was adjusted correctly the height between them, the problem vanished like a puff of magic.
So I believe the pickup GK2 / 3 is very close to a normal pickup with strong magnet, the magnetic field may be able to create a parallel field induced on GK producing a misreading of the rope, after the yoke of the magnet and the GK is much smaller than the normal refrigerator a pickup and this can be easily receive induction of magnetic fields greater ...

maybe I'm too much philosophizing, but the fact is that higher magnetic fields overlap the smaller fields ... this is science from primary school but it still works ...Desfazer edições

PD FX

the effect of string gauge is way less important than the amount of picking noise you make. Picking noise "hides" the tone to be detected. GR55 has a better pickingnoise filter, but is still noticeable, especially on roundwound strings. Thats why some players use flatwounds when they want to play with a pick, it triggers better on the wound strings. (flatwounds also have shorter sustain so that is a tradeoff..)  When you play with you fingers, there's no difference between flat or round wound.
Theoretically, thin strings create purer upper harmonics, but Roland guitarsynths dont use upper harmonics for detection.

For strings I would suggest a bit lower tension as on a normal guitar, just get the legato feeling working right. For GR55 or GR30 I nowadays use 10's dropped half a tone or 9's in normal tuning. Use Gr55's "playfeel" settings (make them higher) to make pullons and hammeroffs ") sound like they should and damp the open strings when your not using them. (a capo with softclothing on fret 2-3 will do nicely)
You may need to adjust the velocity cut too, to get rid of garbage because the system becomes more sensitive wit a higher playfeel setting.


tekrytor

Wow, great explanations guys! Thank you so much and glad I asked. Being more of a lifelong humbucker fan, I needed that. Now I need to reexamine my DIY SSH Strat now and see what I did with its two single coils. Great stuff!!
SY-300/BeatBuddy/VoiceLive 3/GR-55(v1.50)/33/1/50/700/VGA-7/V-Bass, Yam-G10, GPK-4, DIY X-Bee HighlyLiquidCPU "Cozy-Lil-Footie", FCB-1010, other MIDI stuff, Godin Freeway SA and various other GK equipped controllers, Sonar X1, Audacity, KXstudio, Misc devices

Toby Krebs

Playing Roland synths since the early days. Always have used 10-46. Worked with my technique to feed the device good information. When you are having a triggering-noise problem try first to modify and or clean up your left and right hand technique. String changed will only get you so far. At some point you have to figure out what the device wants. When I am playing a synth guitar rig my technique is much cleaner and more precise than when I am playing my conventional rigs.This is something I knew I had to evolve in my playing.

acousticglue

Question I ve always had is how the multiac works from Godin since has nylon strings. 13pin + nylon strings would not be right wouldnt it?

rolandvg99

The multiac uses piezo microphones which is pressure sensitive rather than magnetic and works with all types of strings.
To V or not to V: That is the question.

My little Soundcloud corner

Toby Krebs

Just an update. Happy to report that after 2 months of regular use on my Laguna electric with GK-3 the Ernie Ball Cobalts are still working great with my GR-55 and VG-8. I notice no degradation at all. This is while playing both PCM and COSM tones. I have only used them thus far on my GK equipped instruments. Through a tube amp with magnetics they might not be so good. Going to try that next.

erikbojerik

#68
So I am left wondering why the speed of the pitch-to-MIDI tracking is so much better in the upper registers of the guitar with my GK-2A.  Is it a frequency dependent thing?  Or does it have to do with the mass of the vibrating string?  It would be nice to get better tracking all over the guitar for improved triggering of soft synths.

This has me wondering if I should try stringing up my guitar with all single-strand strings - doing away with wound strings - and using Alt Tuning to get a standard guitar tuning.  I can get unwound strings up to 0.026" and could just go 10-13-17-26-26-26 and Alt Tuning the top 2 strings.  Has anyone tried this?

On my RR Strat today I dialed in a heavy distortion Les Paul patch and Alt-Tuned the wound D string by -1 octave and it sounded pretty good played in a normal way - same for the high-E string tuned down 2 octaves.  Definite strangeness though with palm muting and some pinch harmonics.  I might just try it for kicks though and see how it does with the soft synths.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried this.

Brent Flash

It is simple physics, the slower the cycle (frequency) the slower the device can figure out what note you are playing.

erikbojerik


Brent Flash

I don't remember what topics they are under here but many have discussed putting "high E strings" for all six on the guitar and then used "Alt tuneing" to tune them back to normal tuneing. It works, but I would not like the feel of that.

szilard

Not long after the GM 70 was released some people would string their guitars with b strings across the whole guitar and adjust the tuning accordingly. I never tried it myself.

Robert

PD FX

I've tested it this way with GR-55
-4,5,6th string tuned 1 octave up (ofcourse thinner Strings, plain ones )
-alt tune pitchshifts string 4,5 & 6 down 1 octave
-the GK distance setting from strings 4,5 & 6 should be doubled (e.g. 20 mm when actual distance is 10 mm)
-then the GR55 is much faster in the bass, COSM sound good enough.
-tracking string 4,5 & 6 much better.
BUT: you can not play higher than the 12th fret on strings 4,5 & 6

So, it is perfectly possible, but rather useless for me, and I abandoned further experimenting.








Elantric

Good info!  Matches my expectations.

QuoteI've tested it this way with GR-55
-4,5,6th string tuned 1 octave up (ofcourse thinner Strings, plain ones )
-alt tune pitchshifts string 4,5 & 6 down 1 octave
-the GK distance setting from strings 4,5 & 6 should be doubled (e.g. 20 mm when actual distance is 10 mm)
-then the GR55 is much faster in the bass, COSM sound good enough.
-tracking string 4,5 & 6 much better.
BUT: you can not play higher than the 12th fret on strings 4,5 & 6

So, it is perfectly possible, but rather useless for me, and I abandoned further experimenting.