Roland VG-99 > VG-99 General Discussion

Sound Module Recommendations? (Like Yamanha Motif Rack ES) to use with VG99

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bbliss:
Brand new to the VG99 and absolutely loving it.  I am using a VG99 and Carvin Frank Gambale FG1-S combination.  I was curious if there were recommendations on additional sound modules like the Yamaha Motif Rack ES for additional keyboard / string / pad sounds to add via midi. I am trying to find a rack mount unit specifically to use (instead of a full keyboard).

Thanks.

arkieboy:
Hi bbliss

I've been kicking around pitch-to-midi from the release of the GR700 so I've tried and evaluated a lot of the synths you might consider, particularly if you like eBay!

Generally, when choosing modules for guitar-midi convertors (this includes almost all of the Roland GR, Axon or Yamaha units) you are looking for either (at least) 6 part multitimbral or midi mono mode (mode 4) capabilities - from here I'll refer to both as 'mono mode' as this is what the VG99 manual uses.  However, while mono mode is great for synth leads and 'featured' parts where the natural pitch variations of the guitar greatly add to the playability of the sound, for almost all other purposes it is simpler and easier to use a simple poly-mode setup, broadcasting a single stream of midi signals on only one channel.  In particular, editing the midi output of a multi-timbral stream from a midi guitar is a right royal PITA so when you're sequencing you'll want to send on a single channel.

You can also find quite a lot of useful information on the 'other gear' section of the axon forum http://www.axon-technologies.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=8.  Note that Axon users talk about common (poly) and separate (mono) modes.

If you stumble upon a synth and want to know what it sounds like, of course there's bound to be something on youtube, but you should also check out 'synthmania' too as this will usually be a preset-by-preset rundown of the sounds http://www.synthmania.com/

...

Anyway, enough with the meta points - you want to know about synths!!  I replied to a similar question on the Axon forum a little while ago, I've updated my response below...

The Yamaha Motif range works well, but be careful of the laggy midi response on the early units - there is a sound-on-sound review that describes the problem with the first Motif rack http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun03/articles/yamahamotifrack.asp.  I'm not a fan of the 'Yamaha sound' which seems (IMHO - feel free to differ) to take a very piano-oriented approach to synth sounds.  I like synths to sound like synths!!

Roland Fantom XR: multitimbral.  Basically an updated JV5080.  With the user sampling upgrade (FANUP1) + extra RAM + third party editor this is probably the best module you could get.  Medium-to-deep setup but you of course are familiar with Roland product manuals!!  The Yamaha racks don't have user sampling capabilities unlike the keyboards...

Proteus 2000/2500: multitimbral, flexible, easy but a little cheesy. You might want to check out the other P2K derived units such as the 'Orbit' and the later 'Vintage Keys' too... some of the sounds are re-released as soundfonts so you can demo the sounds without buying a unit.

Oberheim Matrix 1000 (my favourite!): Supports midi mono mode. Dead easy to set up. Sounds fantastic. Needs an external effects unit, and a computer to program.

EMu Ultra series samplers (I like these a lot too...): multi timbral, easy initial setup, lots of cheap sample libraries available and sounds fantastic. A bit big to carry around, probably need to learn a bit of SCSI. Deep but never unintuitive. FX passable. Essentially a Proteus 2K that you can fill with your own sounds.

The thing to remember about samplers is that you can sample poly mode only synths and then play them multitimbrally.  There - now you have an excuse to buy a Moog Voyager!

Supernova/Supernova II/Nova: multitimbral, relatively easy to setup and sounds great, and all those knobs! A bit big. Stunning effects. Tons of real time control options occasionally lead to unpredictable effects.  I have a SN2 in my synth rack at the moment.  Love it to bits!

Yamaha A series sampler: multitimbral, initial setup easy but becomes frustrating and ultimately limiting (esp A3000). Excellent effects. Slow patch changing. Sample library is more difficult to find and a little more limited than EMu. A3000 is as cheap as chips but make sure you get a mark II. A4000/5000 are about as expensive and not as good as an EMu Ultra series sampler.

Akai S5000/S6000/Z series samplers: multitimbral, easy to medium setup. If you are good with your samplers, a fully loaded Z8m with 512Mb RAM and a hard drive is probably all you need for a gig.

Korg Wavestation AD/SR: multitimbral, setup for guitar synth described in manual. Stunning synth, compact but a pig to program. Possibly not your first synth.

Roland D550: like many Roland synths of the time has midi mono mode. Dead easy to set up, loads of sounds available, still found in a lot of serious rigs today.

Roland JV/XV series: multitimbral. Fairly easy to setup. Very expandable. Later models still sound excellent but the JV1080/880 are a bit long in the tooth.

MOTU 828 MkII + 3 year old MacBook Pro + Logic 8/9 Mainstage: multitimbral/multisynth, medium difficulty to set up.  Mainstage (OS X only of course) is a £20 download from the app store and as such is fantastic value for money, even if you're not a Logic user.

Might also want to keep an eye open for a Yamaha TX802 (easy setup, loads of sounds, pig to program a bit 80s if that's all you have - watch out for the sounds programmed especially for the G10 midi-guitar), Yamaha TX81z (easy setup, inflated price as it has that 'lately bass' sound). Roland U110/U220 (multitimbral, easy and cheap ROMpler but nothing special). Korg 01/w and triton series - not played but spec looks fine.

Hope this helps!!

Steve

bbliss:
Steve,
Thanks for such a thorough response!  I will check out the various options you list out below. I have a chance to pick up a Motif Rack ES for $450....seems like a good deal. I appreciate the SOS article on that specifically. Apparently they fixed the latency problem with the ES versus previous model.

Thanks again for the great input.

Brian

Elantric:
Just a link to a thread with more External Tone Generators
http://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=6767.msg47015;boardseen#new

OldShepster:
Funny, I was looking for this sort of information last week...As usual, my timing was off, but this is sure good information.  I have a used Motif XS Rack coming sometime this week, so hopefully it isn't an early version with the glitch.  I so grateful that all of this information is available in one place.

Shep

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