Was: "Just bought an ATG-1 floorboard"

Started by DLC86, November 21, 2017, 03:05:53 AM

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DLC86

...for a good price (420€ shipped) and I'm really excited, can't wait to try it!

But I have a few questions and request for you while I wait:

1) I'm going to buy an internal GK3 kit, does anyone know if the 13-pin jack would fit in the jack cavity of a (warmoth) strat? I'm not going to use the standard jack plate obviously but a flat one like this: https://tshop.r10s.jp/kurosawastore/cabinet/ikou_20091014_013/mon-sltdpt-9511.jpg?fitin=330:330

2) Do you know if the midi in/out of a Presonus Firebox would be ok to perform the update and run Settings Manager? In alternative I also have an old Soundblaster pci soundcard with midi connections through a gameport adapter.

3) Could someone kindly send me the latest beta version of the Utility Applications (the one where you can select the midi ports)?

4) Given the size of the unit I'll probably try to rehouse it in a smaller enclosure or inside my guitar. About the latter option, has someone ever opened his ATG floorboard and knows if inside I'll find the same pcb of the luthier kit + the midi controller or is everything embedded in a single mainboard?

Thanks in advance!

PS: I know that officially after October 31st is not possible to update anymore, but apparently server is still online as cags12 told me. Juts hope they don't shut it off 1 hour before I receive the parcel  ::)

admin

Quote
1) I'm going to buy an internal GK3 kit, does anyone know if the 13-pin jack would fit in the jack cavity of a (warmoth) strat? I'm not going to use the standard jack plate obviously but a flat one like this: https://tshop.r10s.jp/kurosawastore/cabinet/ikou_20091014_013/mon-sltdpt-9511.jpg?fitin=330:330

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8888.0
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=8888.0;attach=7456

Quote
3) Could someone kindly send me the latest beta version of the Utility Applications (the one where you can select the midi ports)?

ill try to post a link soon

gumbo

Hi DLC...

You say:
"1) I'm going to buy an internal GK3 kit, does anyone know if the 13-pin jack would fit in the jack cavity of a (warmoth) strat? I'm not going to use the standard jack plate obviously but a flat one like this: https://tshop.r10s.jp/kurosawastore/cabinet/ikou_20091014_013/mon-sltdpt-9511.jpg?fitin=330:330"

I don't know the answer to that, because I don't have a Warmoth Strat, but I can tell you that the Roland 13-pin jack would not fit in that position on a Fender Strat, because I have two of them...   ;)

The Roland jack in an Internal GK3 Kit comes mounted on its own small-but-significant PCB with two multipin connectors to accept the two ribbon cables that connect the jack to the Roland mainboard, and takes up a reasonable amount of space.

One of the reasons I designed the Synth-Linx Jack...

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8888.0

...all those years ago was precisely to overcome the need to hack a great big square hole in the body of one's guitar in order to fit the Roland jack (apart from at the same time providing a better 'ground' connection within the jack so things didn't go haywire (or awfully quiet!) when you jumped around on stage and caused undue movement of the 13-pin jackplug in the Roland jack).

At one stage I was also playing around with a replacement mounting plate for the Strat which would allow the installation of a Synth-Linx Jack AND a 1/4" (switching) jack in the existing Stratocaster routing..

...but this particular exercise was put 'to one side' to concentrate upon making other variants of the Synth-Linx Jack (there are now about 11 of them!) so that people could obtain a unit that would directly replace the Roland jack, complete with pre-attached wiring and the correct multiplugs to suit GK2A & GK3 Internal installations and retrofitting to Roland-Ready Fender Strats, GC-1 Strats, GR-55 & GP-10 Synths, etc.

PM me on the Forum if you would like more information..
..I am currently experiencing a degree of unreliability of my email service provider.
Read:

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=22175.0

...so please avoid the email address in the earlier Synth-Linx thread, at least just for the moment.

I currently manufacture a Synth-Linx "Pre-Finished" Jack (model SL13JK3) which can be substituted for the Roland jack that is included in the GK3 Internal Kit, that includes a pre-attached cable (of equal length as the Ribbon cables in the Roland Kit) with the correct multiplugs to connect directly to the Roland GK3 mainboard...no soldering required.
This Synth-Linx Jack requires only a 5/8" diameter round hole to be mounted in the guitar body, with obvious clearance between that position and the cavity where you wish to place the mainboard, to accommodate the installation of the connecting cable and its multiplugs.

More specific information is available by contacting me (by PM, please, at the moment) but suffice-to-say it is a regular stock item, and costs  45 USD including shipping from Australia to most places in the World.

Delivery from time-of-order (via Paypal only) takes approximately 3 weeks.

The one thing I would point out at this stage, is that you may experience ergonomic problems with the 13-pin jackplug emerging straight out from the front of your guitar body, and if you choose to go down that train of thought, I would seriously recommend that you investigate Codesmart's 13-pin cables with a right-angle jackplug on the 'guitar' end..

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=13234.0

HTH you bring your project together....  My suggestions are but one solution to the exercise, and I'm sure other Members will have more to say.

...as did "admsustainiac" while I was typing this marathon post..   ::)

Cheers,
Peter (gumbo)




Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

DLC86

#3
Thank you very much guys for the precious infos!
The synth-linx is a neat solution and that would surely fit in the jack cavity.
My #1 goal atm is to try to fit the ATG board inside my guitar (I would have loved the luthier kit but it's impossible to find at this point) so I'll wait for it to arrive before ordering anything else. In case this won't be possible the goal will become to install the gk3 kit with as little permamemt modifications as possible to my guitar and I'll surely send you a PM to order a synth-linx jack.


Ps: I had already seen the angled 13-pin connector, that's actually why I had the idea of the flat jack plate.

Pps: the preassembled strat jack plate is an awesome idea ;)

cags12

Quote from: DLC86 on November 21, 2017, 03:05:53 AM

2) Do you know if the midi in/out of a Presonus Firebox would be ok to perform the update and run Settings Manager? In alternative I also have an old Soundblaster pci soundcard with midi connections through a gameport adapter.

4) Given the size of the unit I'll probably try to rehouse it in a smaller enclosure or inside my guitar. About the latter option, has someone ever opened his ATG floorboard and knows if inside I'll find the same pcb of the luthier kit + the midi controller or is everything embedded in a single mainboard?


2) I do not know but I have found a workaround that works for any interface by using MIDI-OX and MIDI York. The idea is to split the long Sysex messages with small several buffers. Will tell you more about this should you have issues upgrading.

4) Impossible to fit inside the guitar. See this thread: https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=21566.msg155971#msg155971

DLC86

Quote from: cags12 on November 21, 2017, 07:33:18 AM
2) I do not know but I have found a workaround that works for any interface by using MIDI-OX and MIDI York. The idea is to split the long Sysex messages with small several buffers. Will tell you more about this should you have issues upgrading.

4) Impossible to fit inside the guitar. See this thread: https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=21566.msg155971#msg155971

Thanks again Cags! I'll let you know if I don't succed with the update.

Those pics are what I've been searching for days and for some reason I always skipped that thread.. My bad.
As you say it looks like it's impossible to fit it inside a guitar. At this point I'm not even sure it could be resized, I just hope the main board (I suppose it's the smaller one) is fully functional even without the big board attached. Otherwise I'll have to find a way to place my AX8 on top of the ATG.

chrish


DLC86

Quote from: chrish on November 21, 2017, 08:37:23 AM
A few hacked up pedals to make them smaller here

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=21620.msg156006#msg156006
Nice hacks  ;D
I'd do the opposite though: find another enclosure where to fit the mainboard with just the expression pedal and (maybe) a couple switches, everything else would be recalled by the ax8 via midi.

whippinpost91850

Couldn't agree more about synth-linx jacks. I  now have them on  my guitars and GR55. I now no longer have any connection problems at all

gumbo

Quote from: DLC86 on November 21, 2017, 06:17:44 AM

Pps: the preassembled strat jack plate is an awesome idea ;)


Yeah I think I'll try to get back to that one at some stage..gotta find me the time in between all the other stuff!  :D



Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

chrish

Seems like you'd sell a bunch of those. Especially if it was compatible with cycfi 18 pin Jack.

gumbo

Quote from: chrish on November 21, 2017, 03:32:15 PM
Seems like you'd sell a bunch of those. Especially if it was compatible with cycfi 18 pin Jack.

...that's probably the killer; it was hard enough to get the Synth-Linx Jack to fit in there..  ..basically it's got to be about the same height off the pickguard as the tops of the control knobs, or things start to get pretty complicated ergonomically.

..but I will say that you have given me more food for thought..    ...damn!

::)
Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

FransFromBavaria

In case you still need a midi interface, i got a M-Audio Midiosport 2x2 around, which makes it 3 too many midi interfaces for me. For 20€+postage it could be yours.

DLC86

#13
I received the ATG-1 today, already updated flawlessly with my Presonus interface, but haven't tried it yet.. Guess why?
Finally I found someone selling a luthier kit a few days ago so I didn't buy a hex pickup and the floorboard will go back to the UK shop almost untouched (btw if someone's interested plase contact me before I send it back).
It's not the greatest price for the luthier kit, 600$ plus shipping, basically the full price of a new one.
But considering that's almost impossible to find and that the floorboard + gk3 pickup + a couple cables + a synth-linx would be about the same price I think it's ok.
What do you think? Am I making the right choice?

Elantric

#14
the ATG-1 floorboard is Stereo and allows individual string panning Left / Right / Center, etc. - but most consider it physically too large for its function.

the Antares Luthier Kit is Mono only , and will require an adapter cable for interfacing with a computer - or for implementing a QuiccoSound mi.1 wireless MIDI BLE adapter for editing with the iPad MIDI Designer

http://mididesigner.com/qa/6259/sharing-antares-template-iphone-potentially-other-models

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=21951.0

DLC86

Yes I was aware of that, even though the stereo functionality is great I'm not sure it's worth to double the size of my pedalboard (the atg-1 is actually the same lenght of my ax8+exp. pedal) and having to mess with 13-pin cables.
For the luthier kit I was already planning to install the quiccosound inside the guitar, and probably also buy a bomebox and a widi bud to control it wirelessly from the ax8.

https://www.bome.com/products/bomebox

http://www.cme-pro.com/widi-bud/

cags12

Quote from: DLC86 on November 28, 2017, 12:24:25 PM
I received the ATG-1 today, already updated flawlessly with my Presonus interface, but haven't tried it yet.. Guess why?
Finally I found someone selling a luthier kit a few days ago so I didn't buy a hex pickup and the floorboard will go back to the UK shop almost untouched (btw if someone's interested plase contact me before I send it back).
It's not the greatest price for the luthier kit, 600$ plus shipping, basically the full price of a new one.
But considering that's almost impossible to find and that the floorboard + gk3 pickup + a couple cables + a synth-linx would be about the same price I think it's ok.
What do you think? Am I making the right choice?

Man, if you can afford it, keep both.. You can sell either one later. I  might be interested in the future ;) if I do not get to install all the kits I have.
The luthier kit is a bit expensive but if you really want it and because is discontinued, it might be worth.

DLC86

Quote from: cags12 on November 28, 2017, 12:46:55 PM
Man, if you can afford it, keep both.. You can sell either one later. I  might be interested in the future ;) if I do not get to install all the kits I have.
The luthier kit is a bit expensive but if you really want it and because is discontinued, it might be worth.
Well I actually thought about that too, but I'm afraid it will remain unsold or that I'd lose money selling a discontinued product, I don't see a big market for this gear especially here in Italy. Furthermore, I already have a bunch of pretty expensive gear waiting to be sold, I don't want to add this one to the list.
Anyway, if you want to trade one of your kits for this floorboard PM me  ;D

cags12

Quote from: DLC86 on November 28, 2017, 01:01:37 PM
Well I actually thought about that too, but I'm afraid it will remain unsold or that I'd lose money selling a discontinued product, I don't see a big market for this gear especially here in Italy. Furthermore, I already have a bunch of pretty expensive gear waiting to be sold, I don't want to add this one to the list.
Anyway, if you want to trade one of your kits for this floorboard PM me  ;D

The "extra" kit I have is piezo based and I am planning on installing it as a external stompbox. If I do not have any progress with it on the next 6 month or so, I might consider selling it. So I guess, you should simply follow your original plan as obviously you want your kit right now!

DLC86

Quote from: cags12 on November 28, 2017, 01:07:06 PM
The "extra" kit I have is piezo based and I am planning on installing it as a external stompbox. If I do not have any progress with it on the next 6 month or so, I might consider selling it. So I guess, you should simply follow your original plan as obviously you want your kit right now!
Yes, I think atm that's the best choice.
Anyway my other strat already has graphtech ghost saddles installed, so if you ever decide..  ;)

cags12

Quote from: DLC86 on November 28, 2017, 01:17:15 PM
Yes, I think atm that's the best choice.
Anyway my other strat already has graphtech ghost saddles installed, so if you ever decide..  ;)

Sure, I will let you know.

What store in the UK you got the ATG-1 from?

DLC86

Quote from: cags12 on November 28, 2017, 02:31:47 PM
Sure, I will let you know.

What store in the UK you got the ATG-1 from?
Sonic8.com , they had the last one.

FransFromBavaria

As far as i know, Sonic8 still have some ex-demo ATG-1s left, so if somebody needs one....

DLC86

Quote from: FransFromBavaria on November 29, 2017, 05:19:01 AM
As far as i know, Sonic8 still have some ex-demo ATG-1s left, so if somebody needs one....
I talked a while ago with a Sonic8 manager who saw this discussion and he told me mine was actually the last one, they haven't got any ex-demo unit left.

DLC86

Hi guys, I'm currently evaluating various batteries to power the luthier kit, I've seen you have already gone through several options but can't seem to find an important info:
What's the cutoff voltage of the luthier kit?

This is important because it should avoid discharging too much the batteries to avoid damage. For example 18650s have a cutoff voltage of ~2.5V (so it would be 5v for two of them in series).