You Rock Guitar "Gen 2"

Started by RicardoLove, February 20, 2011, 11:51:01 PM

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Pin

I've just pulled the plug on a Gen2. Not lost interest in 3P in any sense but have been thinking of one of these for quite a while now. Handy for travel too and amusing myself in hotel rooms.

Machh_2

the speed MIDI comunication by DIN 5Pins is good?

Elantric

#52
Quotethe speed MIDI comunication by DIN 5Pins is good?

Yes very good and Very fast - because there is no string pitch to MIDI conversion step required.

Its as fast as a keyboard, and the Gen II version has upgraded velocity sensors on the right hand strings used for picking Volume dynamics.
.
But realize you must adapt your playing style to accommodate the YRG. And many cant, get frustrated and sell it.

Also YRG never supports any string bending, so if you are a blues player forget about using it as a controller with GuitarPro /Progression Notion to create transcriptions.


polaris20

Quote from:  Elantric on March 23, 2013, 07:05:14 AM
Yes very good and Very fast - because there is no string pitch to MIDI conversion step required.

Its as fast as a keyboard, and the Gen II version has upgraded velocity sensors on the right hand strings used for picking Volume dynamics.
.
But realize you must adapt your playing style to accommodate the YRG. And many cant, get frustrated and sell it.

I bought one from MF (there's my first mistake) and unfortunately got a defective one. Sent it back on their dime, but didn't want to deal with it for now, since shipping back and forth is a PITA. Now I see GC actually has them in store, plus I have a coupon. I might pick one up while I wait for the experts here to evaluate the FTP first before I jump in.

I'll be the first to admit I was a cranky bastard with the original, but also that the final revision of the firmware for the Gen1 had gotten quite good.

I only sold it because I wasn't using it due to my Roland gear.

Sometimes I really, really hate how easy the Internet has made it to flip gear!

Machh_2

Quote from:  Elantric on March 23, 2013, 07:05:14 AM
Also YRG never supports any string bending, so if you are a blues player forget about using it as a controller with GuitarPro /Progression Notion to create transcriptions.

so, this guitar is a bird than cannot fly...

Hopkins

Quote from:  Machh_2 on March 28, 2013, 05:31:28 AM
so, this guitar is a bird than cannot fly...

Yes, and like the Ostrich it can run faster and kick harder than most of the other animals, let alone birds, out there ;)

polaris20

Quote from:  Machh_2 on March 28, 2013, 05:31:28 AM
so, this guitar is a bird than cannot fly...

No, it's a MIDI controller shaped like a guitar, and responds to the same fingering.

Hopkins

*stops short of inserting new joke linking "birds" and "fingering"*

Sorry ;)

Machh_2

Quote from:  Hopkins on March 28, 2013, 05:37:29 AM
Yes, and like the Ostrich it can run faster and kick harder than most of the other animals, let alone birds, out there ;)
LOL..

Cuz this i never wants play piano... piano cannot bendings...

Who let the "birds" out ? hu hu..hu hu...

[]´s

Machh



res075oh@gte.net

Can you tell me if they kept the B-E-A-D-G-C alternate tuning [Number 65] on Gen two?  I use Gen one for 6 string bass practice [after setting the tuning down an octave].

Thanks,
James
.
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Quote from:  Elantric on November 19, 2012, 03:38:02 PM
I'm very happy with the "Gen 2" YRG  - its very versatile

Elantric

Create any tuning you want using the new Gen II GUI

res075oh@gte.net

Of course this is an old post; anybody got a link for this deal now?

Thanks,
James
.
.


Quote from:  Elantric on August 29, 2012, 11:26:28 AM
I attached the new owners manuals for the latest "Gen 2" You Rock Guitar as PDF.

And here are some demos of the new sounds.

Last I checked HelloMusic still had a few of these  YRG "Gen2" Limited Edition versions for $199
http://www.hellomusic.com/ec/DealMain.aspx?did=15433

res075oh@gte.net

Thanks, Steve; I found it.  It's now number 70; of course you have to then tune it down one octave.

Regards,
James
.
.

Quote from:  res075oh@gte.net on April 02, 2013, 10:09:12 PM
Can you tell me if they kept the B-E-A-D-G-C alternate tuning [Number 65] on Gen two?  I use Gen one for 6 string bass practice [after setting the tuning down an octave].

Thanks,
James
.
.

Elantric


Elantric





Don't miss out! tune in on:
Livestream.com/YouRockLive
at 10AM PST July 25th!

This months Webinar will be covering the following topics:

    The basics of Guitar to MIDI conversion including the three most common methods: pitch detection, segmented frets, button switches.
    The YRG technology and the YRG's advantages
    The fundamentals of navigation on the YRG
    Customizing and Building Presets

Please join us for our first live event hosted by musician and clinician Scott Von Heldt "SVH". We're looking forward to hearing from you and answering your questions. The event will be an hour long with thirty minutes dedicated to covering the YRG followed by a Q&A session thereafter. Questions can be submitted in the Livestream chat once the Q&A has begun.

polaris20

Just got one of these for a great price. The Gen2 is significantly better than the first, I'm quite enjoying it. It won't replace my FTP, but then again I see it as a different tool for a different purpose.

Elantric

#66
QuoteJust got one of these for a great price. The Gen2 is significantly better than the first, I'm quite enjoying it. It won't replace my FTP, but then again I see it as a different tool for a different purpose.

I agree on all counts.

Glad you gave the YRG Gen II another chance, they have improved and addressed bulk of the early 1st gen YRG issues.

Its still not a guitar - but is a good tool to own, considering its low cost.

http://www.amazon.com/You-Rock-Guitar-YRG-1000-Gen2/dp/B00903HPQ0




Actually the You Rock is only recommended if you can adopt a Chapman Stick two handed tapping playing technique for triggering external MIDI Synths.

If you prefer to play guitar in a traditional manner with left hand vibrato and string bending nothing beats the FTP for triggering external MIDI Synths.

by contrast if you can live with COSM    Synths, then try a Roland VG-8, VG-88, VG-99, Boss GP-10. No MIDI delays, no mis- triggering, zero latency, but restricted to the Roland COSM    Sound pallette of each product mentioned.

polaris20

Quote from:  Elantric on October 04, 2013, 05:37:03 PM
I agree on all counts.

Glad you gave the YRG Gen II another chance, they have improved and addressed bulk of the early 1st gen YRG issues.

Its still not a guitar - but is a good tool to own, considering its low cost.

http://www.amazon.com/You-Rock-Guitar-YRG-1000-Gen2/dp/B00903HPQ0

Even the first had gotten pretty good, with the last firmware. The only reason I sold it was because I wrongly thought it to be redundant with the Roland gear I had at the time. Now I know that this sort of controller is complimentary to pitch to MIDI, and they can both be very useful for different reasons.

Not to mention it'll be fun traveling with just a YRG and an iPad on business trips. Always nice to have something to do at night.

I've got the itch to someday try a Starr Labs Baby-Z, given how much I'm enjoying the YRG.

Elantric

#68
QuoteNot to mention it'll be fun traveling with just a YRG and an iPad on business trips. Always nice to have something to do at night.

I've got the itch to someday try a Starr Labs Baby-Z, given how much I'm enjoying the YRG.

Myself, I try to keep up and inform all about the latest tools that have merit and can be useful for guitarists, without being shackled to one company'e "hype machine"   Its healthy and important to share potential short comings and work arounds which every piece of gear suffers.
I do see the YRG as a stepping stone to Ztar, if that is a direction the individual wants to pursue.

Too bad there are known communication channels (Yahoo Groups MIDI Guitar) that actively subvert and block open exchange of all concepts above.

 

polaris20

#69
I can't be shackled to any one company. I get pissed off too easily. :lol:

I've always been honest in my viewpoints, while still obviously being my opinion. But I certainly refuse to sugarcoat anything I see as being a glaring problem. And I think the YRG had a good two years from release until it got pretty usable.

The problem with the Yahoo group is that there's a lot of fanboyism there. ZTar fanboy, YRG (well, not much anymore), Roland, etc.

I honestly don't see a lot of attempts at objectivity, or at least admission that one tool's good for one thing, another is good for something else. Even I'll begrudgingly admit Roland stuff is still better for live performance than the FTP.


===
Edit: Thread Title is now  -   You Rock Guitar "Gen 2"

admin



Jeremie Revel using a YRG Pro prototype, Launch Pad, and ableton to create an improvisational piece at Musikmesse 2013.

supernicd

I picked one of these up because it looks like a cool concept and the price is definitely right.  Have only played with it a bit, but its looking like I might fall into that camp of people that have to adjust playing style too much to make it really useable.

My intent here is certainly not to bash the unit but to find out what others have done to make it more usable.  Here are my initial observations:

1. The bridge mute hot spot is in a difficult to reach place.
2. Notes cut off completely when you lift your finger from the fret.  So if you're playing a chord and have to lift your fingers to change to another, you get an awkward silence.
3. The whammy bar seems to be in the way a lot of the time.  Using it to do a string bend seems to require too large of a movement.  You pull outward to bend up (normal guitar string bend) and doing that takes your hand pretty far away from the strings.
4. I'm not sure what neck this was based on but it doesn't seem to match the dimensions of any guitar I've played.  I'm not sure if the issue is fret spacing, the height of the fretboard, or if its just difficult to get bearings due to the lack of head stock.

The built in sounds are kind of uninspiring. My hopes and expectations weren't too big there, as I was actually thinking of this as more of a MIDI controller.

On the plus side the tracking does seem to be fast and fairly accurate, and I haven't made any adjustments to the settings yet.

So before I decide to return this, any tips or perhaps suggested applications are welcome!
Strat w/ GK-3, Godin LGXT
VG-99, GR-55, GP-10
---------------------------------------------------------------

Elantric

#72
I typically leave my YRG Gen i and Gen II in "Tap " mode and use it to drive external synths.

Its a handy device because it has a built in USB Class compliant MIDI Out interface - so i can plug straight into a mac. PC or Ipad and be productive.

The non standard fret spacing is intentional BTW - they tried to avoid the typical constricted upper fret access, but many dont care for that aspect.   

The YRG GenII sounds are better than the 1st gen - Avoid the 1st Gen You Rock (*its confusing because they look identical) and the GenII is the only one that has a robust YRG Editor for PC/Mac so YRG  can trigger many MIDI event types
as needed. 


The YouTube videos are best to see what can be accomplished with YRG
and this is a good resource when it gets back online -
YRG Forum:  http://www.yourockguitar.com/forum/

Its still not a guitar - but is a good tool to own, considering its low cost.

Actually the You Rock is only recommended if you can adopt a Chapman Stick two handed tapping playing technique for triggering external MIDI Synths.

If you prefer to play guitar in a traditional manner with left hand vibrato and string bending nothing beats the FTP for triggering external MIDI Synths.

by contrast if you can live with COSM    Synths, then try a Roland VG-8, VG-88, VG-99, Boss GP-10. No MIDI delays, no mis- triggering, zero latency, but restricted to the Roland COSM    Sound pallette of each product mentioned.

supernicd

Thanks Elantric.  This one is a Gen II.  I haven't really spent any time in tap mode yet.  I can see where that might be handy, and would free the right hand up to use the joystick, tremolo bar, buttons and knobs as CCs.  I'll give that a shot.  I was originally thinking iPad synth apps would be a good application for this so I'll try that out.

Do you have any iPad apps you really like using with this controller?  Thinking Animoog and Thor might be good candidates, particularly Thor with its robust mod matrix - those controllers could be assigned to do all kinds of expressive things.
Strat w/ GK-3, Godin LGXT
VG-99, GR-55, GP-10
---------------------------------------------------------------

Elantric

#74
All IOS Music apps( or Android Synths like FL Studio) /  that respond to external MIDI Input as an option can adapt to the YRG USB or 5 pin DIN MIDI Out. I get a lot of sounds with IK Multimedia SampleTank for IOS, and all the other IK Multimedia IOS apps - (got them during the spring  sale)

But often I will just use a 3.5mm TRS -TRS cable between my smartphone and the YRG External Line /MP3 Input jack, and jam- along  - or use Yamaha THR Session app to isolate guitars on tunes in mt iTunes library, learn guitar parts/ riffs, tabs for the Bass Player be fascinated that chord inversions on the D & G strings on the lower frets that always sound "harsh", suddenly seem inviting when played with YRG fretboard driving its internal synths -

To accurately model the sound of a "real" 1948 Martin D-28 Acoustic Guitar, with its soiid bone bridge at a "sorta intune/sorta out" angle carved in the rosewood bridge means that a trained ear can hear that the B strings sounds flat and the G string sounds sharp below the 5th fret , which actually speaks volumes as to how, say if you wanted to accurately "model" the sound of a real 1940's Martin Guitar its valuable to have a tool  / app ( perhaps an IOS MIdiBridge Template?) that could have real time support for unique separate micro-pitch MIDI messages for each individual string sound generated by Multisampled Acoustic Guitar "Rompler DuJour",  with real time micro-fine pitch adjustment to force the external /Soft Synth to play "out of tune, but sounds like fine ozark country music." The generated sounds play incrementally sharper / or flat"er" ) the higher or lower the actual frequency of the current vibrating string on your perfectly intonated PRS McCarty.  All above times 6 MIDI channels: One Channel per String.

Or just record real 1940"s acoustic guitar =done.

But it forces me to ponder if the angled wrap-around "Solid Bar" bridge of a 1957 Les Paul, with its  "sorta intune/sorta out" angle, forced the player to develop a good left hand tremolo technique or string bending style, just to sound in-tune with the Organ player.

Those were back in the pitch pipe - "pre-Conn Strobe Tuner" days, and you can hear that each old performer back then had a different concept of the 12 tone western scale pitch frequencies. Although today many pop records are intentionally sped up 15% from the original studio recording  - so these all add up to more  trivia to file away for later investigation.




Certainly bulk of above might at first appear to be completely off topic of the You Rock Guitar  - its just another MIDI message generator Controller,  with internal sounds that are "not too bad considering nothing was left in the budget" for a better tone generation engine - ( just feed YRG Out  into an M13 or Zoom MDR-70). Some of the built in grooves and rhythms are complete out of my territory, so I always learn something new when I pick it up.