Review: Fishman Triple Play

Started by volts3300, April 13, 2013, 11:46:17 AM

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volts3300

Hi,

   I just received my fishman triple play wireless guitar to midi converter today. I thought I'd share my first impressions of the device with you folks. The fist thing I noticed after unboxing was that it came with no installation cd's and a very minimal user manual. The manual directs you to the fishman site to download the software you need. I suppose that's ok but I would much rather have received discs so I could install the product right away. You get a copy of progression music notation software, komplete elements, sampletank, and the triple play user interface. I have a medium speed cable connect and google chrome is telling me I have four hours left to wait for the download. It has already been running for two hours.

   I was originally planning to install the device on my Ibanez prestige "S" but I will have to wait to order a new pickup ring for the bridge position humbucker. The hexaphonic pickup will not fit between the edge 3 bridge and the pickup ring. I am planning to replace the stock metal ring with a plastic one so I can cut it to make room. The supplied mounting hardware will not work in this situation so I will have to improvise another solution. Anyone have any suggestions?

   I did install the device on my gibson les paul. I have done minimal testing and it seems to work well. I have used it to trigger kontakt, Absynth, and FM8. The tracking seems decent as far as I can tell but I have nothing to compare it to. This is my first attempt at guitar to midi. I was going to buy a gr55 or vg99 but when I found this the wireless aspect of it and the price made my decision for me. I already use a laptop in my rig for guitar rig 5 so it realy was a no brainer for me.

   That's it to this point I guess. If anyone is interested or has questions let me know and I'll do my best to answer. I wish these downloads would finish so I could try the factory patches.

arkieboy

Don't hold your breath about the presets - you already have an excellent set of top class soft synths.  Havent run absynth myself but FM8 is a corker.  And I've always regarded sampletank as lightweight in comparison with kontakt


What you should find are more control options ...


Steve
Main rig: Barden Hexacaster and Brian Moore i2.13 controllers
Boss SY1000/Boss GKC-AD/Boss GM-800/Laney LFR112

Other relevant gear: Line 6 Helix LT, Roland GR-33, Axon AX100 MkII
Oberheim Matrix 6R, Supernova IIR, EMu E5000, Apple Mainstage, Apple Logic, MOTU M4

Now_And_Then

Quote from: volts3300 on April 13, 2013, 11:46:17 AMI was going to buy a gr55 or vg99 but when I found this the wireless aspect of it and the price made my decision for me.

The TriplePlay can not really considered a substitute for a VG-99 (or any VG for that matter.) I have not used and have no interest in the GR-55 but it seems to me that the TriplePlay can be considered a substitute/alternative for half of it.

arkieboy

A triple play box with a GK in and thru and a USB out would find an instant place in my rack ... add a MacBook Pro and you would make the GR55 look like an amateur rig
Main rig: Barden Hexacaster and Brian Moore i2.13 controllers
Boss SY1000/Boss GKC-AD/Boss GM-800/Laney LFR112

Other relevant gear: Line 6 Helix LT, Roland GR-33, Axon AX100 MkII
Oberheim Matrix 6R, Supernova IIR, EMu E5000, Apple Mainstage, Apple Logic, MOTU M4

volts3300

You are correct in your assertion that the triple play would not be a good replacement for a vg99 but I will saythat with the addition of electi6ity and acoustic legends hd I have a prety excellent set of modeled guitar sounds. I don't know how that stacks up to rolands cosm modeling but what I'm doing is triggering actual sampled instruments via the midi output. I can then effect the dry sounds with gr5. I am planning to ditch the fishman software soon in favor of ableton live 9. I plan to set it up as a looper for both the magnetic output and the midi side of my rig. As far as alternate tunings I can accomplish that on the midi side with midi effects in ableton. Max for live may be a possible tool to make all this happen. I'm still studying and learning though. Its hard to balance working on getting the rig set up and playing with the sounds because I'm having more fun with music than I have In a long time. Here is a link to my soundcloud. The triple play was used to create the most recent tracks on it. http://m.soundcloud.com/lester-paulson

vurnt99

      So I finally mounted & tested the Fishman Triple Play, & as far as soft-synth pitch to midi tech is concerned it literally is a Game Changer. Is it absolutely perfect? No, you can outrun it, but noticeably without warbly glitches or false overhanging notes! The Fishman's tracking is ASTONISHINGLY quick & it is particularly impressive on the Low E, A, & D strings. It is a staggering advance with regards to pitch-to-midi guitar & I'm saying that as a proud Roland user- I LOVE my VG-99 & I wish Roland would do more with their COSM modeling technology; I'm also very happy that Fishman, a company famous for innovation with acoustic pickup technology has SERIOUSLY upped the ante in the Virtual Guitar game. I wish I could mount BOTH pickups on my Parker (I think I may have a somewhat nutty solution for that problem come to think of it...). I installed the Triple Play on my McCarty semi-hollow PRS. The Triple Play is a no-drilling cleverly surface mounted GK reminiscent interface that communicates wirelessly with a USB receiver & comes bundled with software from IK Multimedia, Notion, Presonus, & Native Instruments. Triple Play has presets tied in to the bundle that illustrate some of what you can do with it. Its been great fun setting up Axonesque Fret Splits with a variety of VST instruments that I already own. The Triple Play doesn't make sound on it's own & thus is a very different device than the VG-99-(or the GR-1 through 55 for that matter-)It's not a VG-99 replacement but Fishman's Triple Play undeniably advances the prospects for the electronic guitarist in a lightweight package that's refreshingly innovative & easy to learn.

p.s.
To keep things compact I suggest looking into the the new iRig HD or Sonuus i2M for guitar audio computer interfaces. The i2M is also an excellent mono pitch to midi converter with unique programming software.

Elantric

Thanks for the review Vernon.
Matches my own experience with all mentioned hardware.