Rob O'Reilly Guitars

Started by ctbarker32, December 03, 2013, 07:07:06 PM

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ctbarker32

I just stumbled upon this new guitar company and found this:



Wow!

The prices are in Pounds but it doesn't look too expensive.

Could be killer?

More investigation needed.

http://www.rorguitars.com/

Video:



-CB

supernicd

#1
Looks like a neat concept with some good features.

Hey CB, since this is your first post, can I assume you might have some kind of affiliation to ROR guitars?  If so, can you give us a few more details?  There's a lot I can't quite determine from the web site.

What kind of pickups are installed?
How are the pickups wired?  3 way selector with single volume and a tone knob for each?
Since the GK-3 is built in, does it also carry the "normal guitar" signal back to the GR-55, or does that require a separate 1/4" cable connection?
Does it have all of the normal GK-3 controllers built into the body somewhere (S1, S2 switches, GK-3 Volume, Normal/Synth/Mix 3-way selector)?
Is the iOS connector digital (30 pin or lightning) or analog (connect to Apple headphone jack)?
Does ROR sell some inserts to personalize the axe, or some blank templates that you can decorate?

Would like to see:
A video on changing the strings
Some sound samples of a clean guitar tone.  Just kind of wondering what it sounds like clean since there's no wood body.

Strat w/ GK-3, Godin LGXT
VG-99, GR-55, GP-10
---------------------------------------------------------------

ctbarker32

#2
Sorry, SuperNiCd, I have no affiliation with ROR guitars. I simply saw a news story in my Feedly RSS stream and tracked it down.

I've been a lurker here for several years and own a GR-55 and VG-99 plus several GK equipped guitars. I'm strictly a hobbyist!

-CB 

supernicd

#3
Hi CB, forgive my bad assumption.  Nice to meet you.  :)

And, agree this does seem worth further investigation.  Seems like this could be a good product, but not a lot of the finer details on their site.
Strat w/ GK-3, Godin LGXT
VG-99, GR-55, GP-10
---------------------------------------------------------------

Rob OReilly

#4
Hi Guys, great to hear your interested in the guitar! I just came across this forum about two weeks ago and really glad to see such a following for the awesome products Roland have out there. Another thread I posted to directed me to this.

To answer the questions below:
1/ Pickup is a 3 way toggle switch that has bridge/bridge+neck in parallel/neck. There is a single volume control and no tone control.
2/ There are two outputs, both the 13 pin connector and the 1/4 inch standard output. Both work independently or you can select to have both synth and standard output together.
3/ It has all the standard controls mounted on a plate at the top of the guitar just behind the red plectrum (including all the controls mentioned below controls)
4/ The iOS connector is optional, you can get the guitar with or without it. Basically, it has a 3.5mm jack on that same plate behind the red plectrum for your headphones. There is another 3.5mm jack (beside the 1/4 inch output and the 13 pin output). You plug a jack to jack cable from this to your iOS device to connect them together.
5/ You get 3 inserts with the guitar to personalise the guitar. Its really easy to make your own, just pull off a magnetic backing and you can basically put in whatever you like.
6/ You can hear clean guitar sounds on RORguitars.com. Just click on the BE Guitar page and then click on the 'electrifying sound' section. There's 6 sound samples there. We got a good review on Total Guitar a few months back they gave us 4 stars for sound.
7/ To change strings, you put them through the acrylic body and out the front. Then they run straight over the bridge and are as normal. Locking tuners also.

Hope that answers all your questions. Let me know if you guys want any more info.

Rob


Jimmyward

#5
549 Euro equals
749.71 US Dollar
Not bad

Elantric


mbenigni

It's an intriguing design, but for the life of me I can't see why you'd strip the forearm part of the body (which many players rely on for right hand technique) and keep the superfluous chunk of body on the opposite side, where there are no controls anyway.  It just seems a little backwards to me.  I know some people would want that support when they're sitting, but I'd argue that the shape isn't optimal anyway, and it's much easier to wear a strap than to try to compensate for no forearm support.

KuRi

I am thinking on buying one of these! Do we have some user here with one? Is it good? : )

KuRi

Ordering a custom one soon, with a humbucker (single coil format). Will let you know when it arrives :)

scratch17

#10
I've had various Roland guitar synths, and Axon Mk2, a Starr Labs controller (which I never liked) and now use FTP.

The videos (and described capabilities) of this new MIDI guitar show (IMHO) a real game breaker.


  • Zero latency.
  • In Pad mode: Left hand frets the notes; right hand works the built in control devices (pad, switches, buttons).
  • In one of the video demos, the guitarist modulates the synth by using his right hand to change settings on the computer, while fretting notes on the guitar with his left hand.
  • In tap mode: Both hands can fret notes. It is unclear as to whether the fret scanning technology will allow two (or more) notes simultaneously on one string.
  • You can't play MIDI (either through the USB or standard MIDI output) and standard (magnetic pickups) guitar simultaneously. According to the site, they are working to remedy this issue.
  • If the above issue is resolved, it might be possible to control outboard effects with the MIDI control hardware on the guitar. I'd love to be able to control my KPA by hitting a button on my guitar.

As of now, it is only half funded on Kickstarter. If it gets into production I will buy if it isn't ridiculously expensive.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/733246303/expressiv-midi-guitar-real-midi-real-guitar-real-c
Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio

MusicOverGear

Looks very interesting. I would love to mess with one and try to bond with it. The technique looks waay different from how I play guitar. Also they say nothing about getting velocity or vibrato with fingers on strings, so I'm assuming there's none. Still, it could be a really fun controller.

Anyway, it looks really neat-o at the very least. I would love to try one.

Elantric

More on the ROR Guitar used as the foundation here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=10024.msg72062#msg72062

Other than the fact this  Expressiv Midi Guitar System allow use of regular guitar strings and pickups - not seeing anything special regarding the Guitar to MIDI features that the You Rock Guitar GenII does not already cover, at lower cost

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=6204.0

Frankster

From the photos in the other thread about this, I don't think I would be able to play that guitar as I rest my fourth finger on the pickguard to play pick and finger technique. I get the impression that the recessed top of the ROR guitar would throw my playing style.

And I'll be honest, it looks plain ugly.

Quote... and for that reason, I'm out

scratch17

The Expressiv looks like a decent guitar, albeit an inexpensive one. The maple fretboard looks to be pretty playable.

Having said that, it isn't a guitar when functioning as a MIDI controller. It is a MIDI controller that has the same responsiveness (based on the video demos) as any keyboard based MIDI controller.

I said I never liked the Starr labs controller I once owned. I just couldn't translate my guitar technique to it. The same might happen with the Expressiv. I won't know whether I like playing it until I get to give it a try.

One of the things I hated about the Starr Labs controller was the neck didn't feel like a guitar neck, and there were buttons between the frets that activated the note on MIDI messages. It was like each fret had a key from a keyboard. It felt like a cheep plastic keyboard laid out like a guitar neck.

The Expressiv has a reel guitar neck that you play by fretting. It looks (to me) to be much closer than the Starr was to the way I actually play guitar. I'm not sure what effect strumming and picking the strings will have on MIDI functionality of the Exptressiv. I've submitted a question about that to Rob O'reilly (who is the inventor).

Even if there is no MIDI function derived from right hand strumming and picking, it may be that being able to do so on this controller (without affect) will make it seem more like playing a guitar than a MIDI controller. The strings on the Starr Labs controller were not real, and felt like a joke to me. Of course, all of this is total speculation on my part, but from the videos it seems likely.

As a first iteration, this seems to be an impressive engineering feat. Of course, improvements and refinements, as well as more features (velocity sensing from strumming and picking, a software editor, on-board preset memory for global settings, etc.) may come. Time will tell.
Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio


vanceg

I'm a little baffled by the choice of the body shape. It would seem that a lot of other shapes would have been more practical in terms of making the instrument playable in a seated position or to support your right forearm...but the feature set sounds nice. If they changed the body shape, I'd consider one.

Elantric

In early videos he explains the concept is match the appearance of eye glass frames.

mbenigni

QuoteI'm a little baffled by the choice of the body shape. It would seem that a lot of other shapes would have been more practical in terms of making the instrument playable in a seated position or to support your right forearm...but the feature set sounds nice.

Strongly agree.

admin

#19
http://www.rorguitars.com/expressiv-midi-guitar/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/733246303/expressiv-midi-guitar-real-midi-real-guitar-real-c/comments

Rob O'Reilly  - Expressive MIDI Guitar iPad Plug and Play


Real MIDI
Expressiv MIDI Guitar System is MIDI class compliant which means it works with any MIDI software or device.

Plug the guitar into any MIDI synth or computer via USB or 5-pin MIDI, and have access to limitless possibilities to create new sounds.

Smart fret scanning technology senses which note you play and instantly sends out a MIDI signal, similar to playing a keyboard or tapping a drum pad.

Mix sounds, sequence songs, record, compose, and perform music using any hardware or virtual MIDI compatible device.

And works with any MIDI software, such as Ableton Live, Reason, Cubase, ProTools, MainStage, Garageband, DAW's, and more!
Expressiv MIDI Guitar XY Touchpad controller


Real Guitar
Expressiv MIDI Guitar System controls the fretboard and strings to give you the same control normally only experienced on keyboards.

Touching the string on the fret creates a note event that tells the external synth which sounds to trigger.

So now, you can have all the power of technology at your fingertips without having to sacrifice your playing style, or your guitar!

Flick a switch to play through regular guitar outputs to your amp or to MIDI.

This dual functionality allows you play MIDI and standard guitar sounds at the same time.

Take your playing to a whole new level!
Expressiv MIDI Guitar assignable MIDI controls


Real Control
Expressiv MIDI Guitar System has 4 Play Modes:

Touch Pad Mode: Press the string and touch the touchpad to output the note. Moving your finger on the touchpad can bend notes, adjust note volume or control other assignable parameters

Tap Mode: Tap the frets to output notes; super-fast tracking allows you to play with two hands!

Guitar Mode: Standard guitar output from single coil pickups.

Pluck Mode (Optional): Pluck mode option requires adding a 6-channel pickup to enable pluck detection. Contact us for pricing and custom options for additional pickups.

germanicus

#20
Saw a tv program on CNBC tonight that had a guy pitch a midi guitar system to investors.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/733246303/expressiv-midi-guitar-real-midi-real-guitar-real-c/description

The show was called West Texas Investors (sort of a hokier version of shark tank).

Anyone play one of these?
My albums done with modeling/guitar synth at http://music.steamtheory.com

JTV69/59P/Godin LGXT/Multiac ACS/Variax 700 AC
Helix/FTP/GP10/VG99/SY1000
Traynor k4

CodeSmart

Regardless of functionality, or given it a try mentally, which is very unfair of me, my very personal and immediate thought is it's looking pretty ugly  :D
But I got more gear than I need...and I like it!

Elantric

Rob O'Reilly guitars (UK) offers the Expressiv Guitar to MIDi system

vanceg

Quote from: mbenigni on March 06, 2014, 07:16:42 AM
It's an intriguing design, but for the life of me I can't see why you'd strip the forearm part of the body (which many players rely on for right hand technique) and keep the superfluous chunk of body on the opposite side, where there are no controls anyway.  It just seems a little backwards to me.  I know some people would want that support when they're sitting, but I'd argue that the shape isn't optimal anyway, and it's much easier to wear a strap than to try to compensate for no forearm support.

Yeah - I have to agree. I design ergonomic guitars and it strikes me that this design keeps all the parts of the body shape that I want to get rid of first, and removes the pieces I want to keep.  I know my body shape designs aren't aesthetically to everyone's taste... but im' a bit baffled at this body shape.

Other than that, they seem really cool, though!  Also, it would seem relatively straight ahead to design a different body shape for the same general concept and electronics.

ZenSonic

In the case of this guitar I don't feel that form follows function.