Quickly switch from guitar to guitar synth & benefits of a Boss LS-2?

Started by Chumly, April 11, 2023, 03:50:20 PM

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Chumly

My objective is to be able to quickly switch from conventional electric guitar to guitar synth or mix the two, without overburdening myself with lots of floor gear for the small gigs I do.

I have a bunch of cool gear (too much really!) and one plan is to split the conventional analog output of my electric guitar as follows:

Electric guitar mono analog out > TC Helicon VoiceLive 3 Extreme (guitar input needed to track vocal harmonies) > Boss LS-2  > A & B

A goes to Boss-SY1000 for synth
B goes to Line 6 Helix Floor for guitar modeling (or in the alternative an actual guitar amp)

I figure a Boss LS-2 as second in line would do this pretty well, and having a stereo volume pedal after the Boss-SY1000, plus using the Helix's built in pedal similarly (or a volume pedal in the guitar amp's effects loops) would be a good way to do this.

I do use a GK-3 on some electric guitars and when I do, I suppose I would then not need the Boss LS-2? Or are there times when it's advantageous to have both the GK input and the mono analog input running into the Boss SY-1000, assuming you can do that?

I would prefer to not buy the Boss LS-2 (although there is one on the local Craigslist and they are pretty handy in general).

I would prefer not to take up space with a stereo volume pedal after the Boss-SY1000 (although I already have one).

I would prefer to use the Boss SY-1000 alone instead of in conjunction with a Line 6 Helix Floor / Stomp / actual guitar amp as it would then take up less space at gigs, but I'm much more comfortable with the Helix stuff for conventional guitar sounds.

I also have a Line 6  Helix Stomp I could use instead of the Helix Floor (it's much smaller). And a Roland US-20.

I don't mind not using any real guitar amps, and simply running stereo pairs to the mixing board and then on to the PA, as long as I can quickly switch from conventional electric guitar to guitar synth or mix the two without overburdening myself with lots of floor gear for the small gigs I do.

I also plan on triggering my Roland Integra 7 from either my Boss SY-1000 or my
Fishman TriplePlay but adding a FTP pickup plus a GK pickup on one guitar makes things pretty crowded.

Suggestions to keep things flexible, plus quickly switch from conventional electric guitar to guitar synth or mix the two, without overburdening myself with lots of floor gear for the small gigs I do, and would the Boss LS-2 be useful if I happened to not be using a GK pickup?
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman

gumtown

Without thinking it through,
my first thought is with the GK selector on the guitar, "guitar-mix-synth", if you can utilize that somehow.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

Chumly

Yes you can with the GK wart, and I have done this before with reasonable success but the problems are:

I do a solo act and I don't have time to be taking my right hand off the instrument to flip that awkwardly placed switch quickly.

I much prefer to enable changes as much as possible with my feet, as they are the least busy part of my extremities

I don't like to have my sequencer control MIDI functions of my devices too much. I like messing around in real-time i.e. I prefer real-time patch changes to MIDI sequencer driven patch changes. I know that I would be the poster-child for automating more of this stuff, but I already have all kinds of sequenced parts, and I like doing things in real-time when I can.

I don't always use a GK equipped electric guitar, sometimes I use a conventional electric guitar, sometimes I use my TriplePlay equipped guitar, thus I can't rely on having a GK wart switch available, even if I wanted to release my right hand from it other duties.
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman

gumbo

Hmm...I've done a bit of thinking about similar requirements when using my old GR-30s...could do something similar within carefully crafted patches that could give the opposing views at 'each end' of a (effective) singular patch by using an expression pedal to toggle between the two combined entities.

I at the time wanted a situation where I could step on a pedal (and hold it down for as long as I 'needed' the toggle) and then release it to go back to the guitar ( or synth, depending upon which way the patch was built)...I came up with the idea of rebuilding a (spring-loaded) keyboard damper pedal (Roland DP-8) and incorporating the on-off momentary nature of the pedal itself with the guts out of a LOOPI 'Dual Preset' pedal (which comes with a latching switch).

That I believe would have given me what I wanted for that particular situation (seamless switching between a normal rhythm guitar and the ability to slip in bits of 'orchestral' accompaniment)...the situation sadly changed for me on that one when COVID blew those gigs out of the water, and I haven't had the time to revisit it yet..must do it though as I'm sure I could get something to work..

Colin's thought (above) also made me think about putting a custom foot pedal 'in series' with the guitar (plug the 13-pin cable into the footswitch, and then another 13-pin cable out of it and into the synth) and interrupting the Pin-9 circuit within the pedal (along with the power supply) to duplicate the function of the on-board Mix Switch...

...always thinking about ways to use more Synth-Linx Jacks !   ;D  ;D

By all means let me know if you need buy some.. ;)


It will be interesting to see where this thread goes....

Cheers,
Peter
Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

Chumly

Interesting and thanks!

I'm not able to stay in one spot long enough to allow a momentary foot selector option. I don't want a continuous transition between conventional guitar and synth as enabled by a foot controller. I want to precisely and abruptly transition from conventional guitar to a synth tone and then back, hopefully without always having to rely on a GK wart to do this.

I want to be able to do all this (at least some of the time) without a GK wart because (for example) the SY-1000** accepts an analog mono input for some synth sounds. That means I'm not obligated to always have a GK wart on board.

**I have other analog mono input guitar synths I may use from time to time, mostly the EHX MEL9, EHX C9, etc. which I could put in the effects loop of the Helix Floor and/or the SY-1000 and/or...

As we all know, the EHX units are much better than the SY-1000 at producing realistic emulative sounds from an analog mono input, yet sadly the EHX units are one trick ponies with no patch change function (marketing department myopia).
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman

Chumly

I'm sorry to be a thread party-pooper but I just realized the solution (and then some) has been sleeping on my shelves collecting dust. I have a Boss ES-8!
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman

Hammerhands

The LS-2 is useful to have around.  It proves to be an answer to many problems.

I've used it with a wah pedal as a bypass and to add in some clean sound, as a mixer and as an A/B pedal. 

I was planning to use it as a way to create a feedback loop for a delay pedal, although I can't quite remember how I thought I would connect that together at the moment.  I think put the pedal in A+B Mix->Bypass mode, plug the guitar into A, send the output of the LS-2 to the delay pedal, send the output of the delay pedal to input of the LS-2, use A as the output, B becomes the feedback loop.

Chumly

Right you are, it is a flexible and small little feller and I might buy that used local one even though my Boss ES-8 is the godfather.
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman