SY-1000 - Guitar to MIDI with Multitimbral MIDI Synth Tone Modules

Started by admin, January 12, 2020, 09:33:18 AM

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To understand the SY-1000 Guitar to MIDI settings - review

Shawn's GR-55 Setups & Settings Hints
gr55-setups-1_130222.pdf
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=31




And Review the past Roland Guitar to MIDI Settings on Prior Products to understand the available User settings for Guitar to MIDI


QuoteTodd Madson It's the VG-99 Guitar to MIDI trick: set GK String Sensitivity to 22 for all strings and you're good. I bet it will improve things noticeably and also you should run MIDI over USB not use a MIDI interface but plug the SY directly into the USB port of the pc.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/roland-gr20-guitar-synthesizer

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=27760.msg201530#msg201530

Although sound-editing parameters are important, the real key to getting the best out of this kind of unit is to understand the Play Feel and Hold parameters, both of which are set individually per patch. On other GR models, you're also able to select whether the notes play in semitone steps or whether you can bend notes, but here the choice is made for you depending on the patch selected. For example, a grand piano has no pitch-bend unless you have a very large jack and a solid floor, so the piano patches tend to be chromatic!

Play Feel affects the way the sounds respond to picking intensity, where settings one to four give progressively less dynamic range.




Realize the SY-1000 Internal Modeling and Dynamic Synth are very fast , while triggering internal OSC Synth takes longer, then Guitar/Bass to MIDI over USB still longer , followed by Guitar/ Bass to 5 pin MIDI Out as the longest and highest latency .


Multitimbral Tone Modules 5-Pin MIDI
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=50.0






External multi-voice hardware Tone Generators for MIDI Guitarists
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=915.msg46894#msg46894





Roland BK-7m for Guitar
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=21797.msg157108#msg157108

arkieboy

Blofeld with the SL sample option.  Analogue, digital and (non volatile ram) sampling in two boxes.


End of.
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

hippietim


BROCKSTAR


plexified

ROLAND MC-707 ?

Can we get a hook up ?

So far I've asked the Retailers ...

As well as  sent ROLAND Press Release peeps an inquiry and nothing yet.

If they get this Synth Engine/Drum  access with appropriate MIDI control we are off to the races here everybody.

That also includes my forward thought regarding next level Looping fidelity and control.

If they can do this, We have a home run with the SY-1000 and the ROLAND MC 707 (Successor to the BOSS RC 505 and PCM Engine to advance the GR-55 ) / Zen Core Project.

The Synth/Drum Engine with Fidelity and Loop time capability is the Key here.

People have concern  about latency, we have to play before and after a beat all the time, but the looping factor and the drum kits here are through the roof.

Let me explain. If you want to pre produce, fine, then its no issue. Its a player adaption issue. We do it all the time , Live its character and post is just stretch/cut. We do it all the time.

I suggest you view the ROLAND MC 707 , look at the manual , effects, its direction and willingness to grow with it, THIS IS IT. IMHO. for those willing to open their minds here.

https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-707/

https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/mc-707/

gumtown

Korg Electribe 2 sampler

Wondering about this, the price is good, specs look good, and I could load my own sounds into it.
Sampler, plus built in sound generator with 400 waveforms.
and it's small !!

https://www.korg.com/us/products/dj/electribe_sampler/

Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

admin

Quote from: gumtown on January 12, 2020, 09:06:30 PM
Korg Electribe 2 sampler

Wondering about this, the price is good, specs look good, and I could load my own sounds into it.
Sampler, plus built in sound generator with 400 waveforms.
and it's small !!

https://www.korg.com/us/products/dj/electribe_sampler/



Was interested until I read the Parameter Guide

https://www.korg.com/us/support/download/manual/0/368/3174/

It only supports one MIDI CH at a time - so no independent string bending , and it seems chromatic mode only supported - so no fretless instruments playing chords with vibrato - but has a lot going for it for mono Bass use

arkieboy

Quote from: plexified on January 12, 2020, 07:33:29 PM
ROLAND MC-707 ?

Can we get a hook up ?

So far I've asked the Retailers ...

As well as  sent ROLAND Press Release peeps an inquiry and nothing yet.

If they get this Synth Engine/Drum  access with appropriate MIDI control we are off to the races here everybody.

That also includes my forward thought regarding next level Looping fidelity and control.

If they can do this, We have a home run with the SY-1000 and the ROLAND MC 707 (Successor to the BOSS RC 505 and PCM Engine to advance the GR-55 ) / Zen Core Project.

The Synth/Drum Engine with Fidelity and Loop time capability is the Key here.

People have concern  about latency, we have to play before and after a beat all the time, but the looping factor and the drum kits here are through the roof.

Let me explain. If you want to pre produce, fine, then its no issue. Its a player adaption issue. We do it all the time , Live its character and post is just stretch/cut. We do it all the time.

I suggest you view the ROLAND MC 707 , look at the manual , effects, its direction and willingness to grow with it, THIS IS IT. IMHO. for those willing to open their minds here.

https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-707/

https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/mc-707/


I suspect it will end up with some of the same compromises as the Korg above in that the sampling option is aimed squarely at rhythm sequencing, so if the 'curated' panel of sounds doesn't include the kind of (say) orchestral strings you need, then it won't be easy to load and use your own multisampled strings from some general third party sample pack. 


For me it's my Tron samples.  I have wavs of the tapes at full length which I cut up to fit the amount of sample ram available. 


That said if that beatbox workflow works for you then I can see the MC707 being just the ticket.
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

alfstone

What about Roland MC-101? Cheaper than 707, but the sounds are all there...

Alfredo

plexified

Definitely waiting on more from the Roland GrooveBox  101. gumtown and I are waiting on more. BUT, this is a fun vid to give you a real time snapshot of tools, in action here now. It shows some power, some promise. And the take away is the Powerplant is bad to the bone, Roland/BOSS knows this. They souped up the BOSS RC 505 with a massive control platform and a live support as a result of word of mouth. The results are epic. That tells me and shows us, they are going to, by design, and input from great platforms like this respond. Its fiscally prudent and works around an event like NAMM to wait for feedback. We get the source to listen , and they have. SY 1000 proves it, RC 505 proved it before and the BeatBOX world videos, that I posted also, show you  that. BOSS/Roland knows exactly what we want, the public responds to and we are watching it live time as they respond. The Roland MC 707 is stunning as is the SY 1000. NOW, imagine this combined. Dr. Mix shows you some stuff , after he affectionately walks the talk by RTFM, or Read The F*#%U(G Manual that he complies with in his edit. Nice tracks, SAMPLING!!!, and live performance. I'm at a loss of words here. Lastly, if your a synth person or Sy person or a GR person OR anything to do with synth, DR MIX is really quite remarkable to check out, I Love this guy (Claudio).


admin

Quote from: plexified on January 23, 2020, 02:21:00 PM
Definitely waiting on more from the Roland GrooveBox  101. gumtown and I are waiting on more. BUT, this is a fun vid to give you a real time snapshot of tools, in action here now. It shows some power, some promise. And the take away is the Powerplant is bad to the bone, Roland/BOSS knows this. They souped up the BOSS RC 505 with a massive control platform and a live support as a result of word of mouth. The results are epic. That tells me and shows us, they are going to, by design, and input from great platforms like this respond. Its fiscally prudent and works around an event like NAMM to wait for feedback. We get the source to listen , and they have. SY 1000 proves it, RC 505 proved it before and the BeatBOX world videos, that I posted also, show you  that. BOSS/Roland knows exactly what we want, the public responds to and we are watching it live time as they respond. The Roland MC 707 is stunning as is the SY 1000. NOW, imagine this combined. Dr. Mix shows you some stuff , after he affectionately walks the talk by RTFM, or Read The F*#%U(G Manual that he complies with in his edit. Nice tracks, SAMPLING!!!, and live performance. I'm at a loss of words here. Lastly, if your a synth person or Sy person or a GR person OR anything to do with synth, DR MIX is really quite remarkable to check out, I Love this guy (Claudio).



Similar can be done with John Mayers current favorite recording / songwriting platform - the Akai MPCX - which with its USB Host port becomes the ultimate Multitiberal MIDI Tone Module
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=289.0


plexified

 arkieboy talks about sounds near and dear to him, that's exacty the point of contact here. We are ALL collectors of TONE.

This DR. MIX video shows exactly that. A Master shows his own set up and in particular his collection of tones and how they apply to a modern performance.

This could be any one of us in our own application. We all collect tones, and the HUGE concept is how we apply them, access them, when, where and the end result. I hope you all like this content. I did not intend on stepping on conversation and flow.





plexified

Roy Smith, The Grail and Los Playboys was very impressive with his usage of the Akai and Roland platform as well. That's why I'm here, you guys always give us killer feedback !

admin

Quote from: imerkat on January 31, 2020, 10:15:25 AM
An arpeggiator that will follow chords and will change patterns by the order you play each note.

with DAW's and Synths this is almost standard. Maybe add a sample and Hold mechanics to extract the pattern but. Honestly adjusting 16 notes plus rise times etc. is such a chore. they way it's currently implemented is more music composition than a tool to perform.

Many will simply use SY-1000 GTR-MIDI , then a 5 pin MIDI from SY-1000 MIDI Out to a Blofeld MIDI In

admin



To use SY-1000 to drive iPad MIDI Synths , could use SY-1000 5 pin MIDI Out into the Korg PlugKey iPad DAC/ MIDI Adapter

iPad MIDI Synths
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=132.0

admin

Quote from: Nobulusprime on February 07, 2020, 11:19:13 AM

This is a bit worrying to me  :(. Have you tried the 5pin yet? I'm hoping for at least as good performance as my VG99 with guitar to midi which isn't fantastic! I've own a triple play twice but I didn't really get on with it as the software was a bit glitchy. I'd really like to hear some best results with this. I'd find it hard to believe that the performance would be any worse than the GP10 or the GR55 in this regard which were ok...

On Roland /Boss units with Guitar to MIDI function

Its CRUCIAL to understand each control parameter and adjust same which suits the external Synths and specific Patch

Read all the GR-55 Guitar to MIDI Docs  - same concepts apply for obtaining the best SY-1000 Guitar to MIDI settings
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=18


SY-1000 - Guitar to MIDI with Multitimbral MIDI Synth Tone Modules
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=27110.0



admin

Realize the Guitar to MIDI on GR-55 , SY-1000, VG-99 is a very separate function- and unrelated to any Guitar to internal sound generation on those processors

jassy

I would suggest a JV1010 or XV2020 , ultra cheap (around $150), ultra small and very good Roland sounds.
A good pcm complement to the SY1000

Brak(E)man

Quote from: admin on February 07, 2020, 01:58:38 PM
Realize the Guitar to MIDI on GR-55 , SY-1000, VG-99 is a very separate function- and unrelated to any Guitar to internal sound generation on those processors

Slightly OT but I always wondered what the main difference would be comparing the process involved in,
Guitar pitch to midi out ( not involving the receiving end ) and guitar pitch to pcm fi gr-55 or to OSC fi GP-10.
And I mean not the latency etc but the actual process of using a pitch from a guitar with a  hex pu and triggering  a osc or a pcm tone vs a midi signal

There's obviously similarities but ...

And I've search before but never found any good answers.

swimming with a hole in my body

I play Country music too, I'm just not sure which country it's from...

"The only thing worse than a guitar is a guitarist!"
- Lydia Lunch

jassy

Quote from: Brak(E)man on February 08, 2020, 02:18:39 AM
Slightly OT but I always wondered what the main difference would be comparing the process involved in,
Guitar pitch to midi out ( not involving the receiving end ) and guitar pitch to pcm fi gr-55 or to OSC fi GP-10.
And I mean not the latency etc but the actual process of using a pitch from a guitar with a  hex pu and triggering  a osc or a pcm tone vs a midi signal

There's obviously similarities but ...

And I've search before but never found any good answers.
I think that in fact its basically the same, only difference is the last step to convert the message to midi and send it out via midi cable.
In OSC from the GP10, although an internal sound source the results where disastrous, dont understand why.

Brak(E)man congratulations for your new unit (wow, first in Europe!?!), hope you can comment more about the consistency of the OSC, improvement in the Gr300 algorithm  (we have discussed about this algo in the vg/gr/gp units, concluding it has being improved over time, but that the attack phase was not really perfect), improvements in the dynamic synth over the sy300, and many other aspects of the new toy, because I think your use of those technologies is one of the closest to my own point of view.

admin

Quote from: jassy on February 08, 2020, 01:41:07 AM
I would suggest a JV1010 or XV2020 , ultra cheap (around $150), ultra small and very good Roland sounds.
A good pcm complement to the SY1000

and resource info
https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=171875

Brak(E)man

Quote from: jassy on February 08, 2020, 03:37:48 AM
I think that in fact its basically the same, only difference is the last step to convert the message to midi and send it out via midi cable.
In OSC from the GP10, although an internal sound source the results where disastrous, dont understand why.

Brak(E)man congratulations for your new unit (wow, first in Europe!?!), hope you can comment more about the consistency of the OSC, improvement in the Gr300 algorithm  (we have discussed about this algo in the vg/gr/gp units, concluding it has being improved over time, but that the attack phase was not really perfect), improvements in the dynamic synth over the sy300, and many other aspects of the new toy, because I think your use of those technologies is one of the closest to my own point of view.

There should be a similarity in the process , higher latency with midi can be explained by the receiving unit. But in most cases the GR units have in my experience had less mistrigs etc and lower latency.
The one gr unit I could not get to works satisfactory with fretted and not even unsatisfactory with fretless is the GR-55.
With fretless midi works in some cases great , I'm guessing due to more setting possibilities then in the internal, and depending on the reciving unit.
The best midi in terms of consistency are so far with my Casio MG510 and GP10
( and my first unit which I guess was a gm70 )

And regarding the SY-1000
I was as surprised as the local dealer when a Roland sent a special delivery.
( I got some reward for my hex SY-300 tests )
From where or whom or what I have no idea.
I'm in the middle of recording, producing , mixing and mastering an album , but this coming week I should get some time in to review the unit, but I'm a happy camper already.
( I'd wish it was a desktop unit as the vg99 but ...)

I can say already two things.
The dynamic synth is much smoother especially chords ( and of course real polyphony for the first time ) sounds so much better. Even solo lines seems smoother and better.

The complex sound " image " with three  synths , models etc + normal PU makes it possible to " hide "
flaws. So it's harder to judge basing it on the factory patches, which are at least better then the ones that came with vg-88. The worst  so far imho.
swimming with a hole in my body

I play Country music too, I'm just not sure which country it's from...

"The only thing worse than a guitar is a guitarist!"
- Lydia Lunch

bosetuno

Quote from: Brak(E)man on February 08, 2020, 02:18:39 AM
Slightly OT but I always wondered what the main difference would be comparing the process involved in,
Guitar pitch to midi out ( not involving the receiving end ) and guitar pitch to pcm fi gr-55 or to OSC fi GP-10.
And I mean not the latency etc but the actual process of using a pitch from a guitar with a  hex pu and triggering  a osc or a pcm tone vs a midi signal

There's obviously similarities but ...

And I've search before but never found any good answers.

AFAIK on pcm devices the attack part of the sound is first outputted independent of the pitch. This gives the unit some ms to calculate the pitch of the note without latency. I think Roland has used this method at least since gr09. Sounds with a more percussive and longer undefined attack may have better results than sounds with shorter attack part (piano being an example of the later)

Some years ago I heard of a pitch to midi method that analized only the attack part of the note with great results. The idea was that every single note on the guitar has a unique attack and once it was learnt it can be used to get the note info. The name Axon comes to my mind while remembering it but I'm not sure about it

The OSC synth and pitch to midi seems pretty similar processes to me.

admin

Quote from: bosetuno on February 08, 2020, 12:30:25 PM
AFAIK on pcm devices the attack part of the sound is first outputted independent of the pitch. This gives the unit some ms to calculate the pitch of the note without latency. I think Roland has used this method at least since gr09. Sounds with a more percussive and longer undefined attack may have better results than sounds with shorter attack part (piano being an example of the later)

Some years ago I heard of a pitch to midi method that analized only the attack part of the note with great results. The idea was that every single note on the guitar has a unique attack and once it was learnt it can be used to get the note info. The name Axon comes to my mind while remembering it but I'm not sure about it

The OSC synth and pitch to midi seems pretty similar processes to me.

from the Axon / Tripleplay developer Andras Szalay

---

http://www.panda-audio.com/midiguitar.php


Andras Szalay wrote>
MIDI Guitar FAQ
I spent most of the last thirty years designing guitar synthesizers. I developed several generations of devices from the Shadow GTM-6 / SH-075 through the Blue Chip Music / Terratec Axon until the Fishman Triple Play today. Over this period I answered thousands of questions from users who had some difficulties to understand certain features or behavior of their devices. Now, as I have here a web page of my company, Panda-Audio, I want to take the opportunity to summarize this information in the form of an FAQ. I hope I can help users of guitar synthesizers a better understanding of their devices with this information. While these answers are based on my designs, I believe most of the information here is true for Roland or other devices too. I will update this page time to time with questions whatever I recall from my memories, or whatever new questions arise.

Andras Szalay

Q: Why do most guitar synthesizers have an option to send the six strings on six separate MIDI channels? E.g. you can play polyphonically on a keyboard without restriction on only one MIDI channel.

A: When a note is started in MIDI the pitch of the note is determined by the note number of the Note On message. This pitch can be changed afterwards only with Pitch Bend messages. When you play polyphonically on a keyboard and you use the pitch bend wheel, it will bend all notes what you play by the same amount. In opposite, on a guitar it is absolutely natural that the pitch of individual strings can change individually, independently of the other strings. Since in MIDI the Pitch Bend message is common for all notes on a MIDI channel, individual pitch control of the notes for individual strings can be solved only if each string has its own separate MIDI channel. As a painful compromise it is possible to use pitch bend on one MIDI channel as long as the guitarist plays only a monophonic melody, and turn off pitch bend when he changes to polyphony. However, this can lead to contradictions that cannot be resolved in certain situations, e.g. when the pitch of a note is changed, and this note is sustained while another note is suddenly started. In this case, at the start of the second note the first one will have to return to its starting pitch, or it must be shut off early.

Q: OK, I do not bend the strings, so I could not care less. Then can I use my guitar synthesizer on one channel without compromises, yes?

A: No. A very important part of expressive guitar playing is legato. Guitarists very often do not pick every note of a melody, but notes get different accent if they are picked, or if they are played with hammer-on or pull-off. A guitar synthesizer can emulate this also with Pitch Bend. Although a special Legato Mode is part of the MIDI specification, most synthesizers did not implement it, so the safe way is to use Pitch Bend instead. Then we are at the same point as in the question before.

Q: OK, I do not use hammer-on and pull-off, I pick every note. Then I really do not need Pitch Bend, so I can use one channel only, right?

A: No. There are at least two important arguments why Pitch Bend should be used even if you pick every note.

1. Coordination of left and right hand.
If you play an ascending scale on a string, theoretically you should press the string to the fret with your left had finger (I mean this for right handed guitarists) exactly at the same time as you pick it with the right hand. Of course, this is only theory. In practice this can never be coordinated perfectly. If you are too early with your left hand, then you get a hammer-on to the new note first, and then a little bit later the note is picked. Even worse if your left hand is too late, then there is a chance that you get a damped note, because your finger already touches the string, but does not press it to the fret yet. To avoid the second situation which is much more annoying, guitarists play a little bit ahead with the left hand compared to the right. The question is how much, and how stable is this difference. When I analyzed John McLaughlin's test recording, it was amazing to see that pitch changes (left hand) were always just 5-10 msec ahead of the pickings (right hand). By average guitarists this can be 10 times more. Now, when the guitar synthesizer is sensing a hammer-on (which is not intentional in this case), and Pitch Bend is enabled, then it follows the pitch in a natural way, and then when the new note is picked additionally, it starts a new note at that pitch. In opposite, if Pitch Bend is disabled, then during the hammer-on phase the guitar synthesizer does not know that soon a new pick is following, so it starts a new note with a low velocity value. But very soon the new picking is coming (with a higher velocity value), and this results in an annoying double trigger.

2. Unintended pitch change of the sound.

When you pick a string, at the very beginning the pitch is always more or less higher than the intended pitch. I mean "intended pitch" here the pitch of the string as it is sustained for several seconds. This is where you tune the string to your reference. There are several physical reasons why the pitch at the very beginning is higher than the sustained value, sometimes by more than a semitone.
One of the reasons is well known in classical physics: the pitch of a string vibration has a steady frequency only if the amplitude of the vibration is negligible to the length of the string. If it is not negligible, then the vibration causes an increased average tension in the string, and higher tension means higher pitch. This effect depends on two factors:

  a. the tension of the string: thin strings have lower tension for the same pitch, so can be played with much higher amplitude, thus the pitch deviation is higher as well.

  b the harder you pick, the higher is the deviation.

There is another reason for unintended high pitch in the attack. The short picking pulse that started from your pick is propagating towards the point where you fretted the string. However, if the pulse is large (you picked hard), and the string deviation is large (light gauge string), and the string height is low, then the pulse slightly hits the fret that is one higher than the one that you fretted, simply because the string is so close to this fret. This results a reflection from this fret that appears in the first vibration cycle as a one semitone higher note. This happens only in the very first cycle of the vibration, since the amplitude of the pulse gets very much smaller even by the second reflection.
It is of course natural, if you do not get this problem with a Roland, since it does not recognize pitch from the first cycle anyway. Also, it is good to know that if you turn the pick sensitivity to finger picking, it will skip recognition in the first cycle, so this problem will probably not happen. With this knowledge, here are some tips how to eliminate this problem:

  a. First and most important: Even with a piano sound it is not necessary to play in Trigger mode. If you use Quantize to semitones then you get just as well quantized pitch like in trigger mode, but these glitches at the very beginning of the note will not be audible, if the synth has a good and fast response. Of course, this works really well only in MONO mode, on six MIDI channels.

  b. Use medium or hard gauge strings, no light or extra light.

  c. Adjust the string height to be as high as you can tolerate.

  d. Play softly, do not pick hard.

  e. Play with the tip of the plectrum, not with the flat part

  d. Finger Picking Mode, if the slightly slower response does not hurt.

Q: When I use Trigger Mode and I play a hammer-on, then I understand that I get a new note, but why is it slightly delayed?

A: See the first part of the previous answer about left-right hand coordination. In order to avoid a very annoying double trigger, when the system recognizes a hammer-on while in Trigger Mode, it will intentionally delay the new note, waiting a little bit if a new picking is coming or not. It will trigger a new note based on the hammer-on only if the picking does not come in the expected timeFrame.

jassy

Quote from: bosetuno on February 08, 2020, 12:30:25 PM
AFAIK on pcm devices the attack part of the sound is first outputted independent of the pitch. This gives the unit some ms to calculate the pitch of the note without latency. I think Roland has used this method at least since gr09. Sounds with a more percussive and longer undefined attack may have better results than sounds with shorter attack part (piano being an example of the later)

I don't think there is evidence of that, that would imply two independent samples in every sound preset in the unit, never heard about that. AFAIK there is only one sample triggered every time.
Another different thing is the method to detect the pitch described in the Szalay document used in the Axon you mentioned.