Guitar alternative to a keyboard workstation

[LiveMusic]

I have a Yamaha PSR740 keyboard workstation. It has an auto-accompaniment feature whereby there is a split point on the keyboard and the keys on the left of that point, you can play chords and you can choose from dozens (hundreds?) of different accompaniment choices. To the right of the split point, you can just play whatever voice you want... piano or whatever.

 

Is there anything like this in the guitar world? I know there are midi guitars; maybe that's the closest thing. I don't really know how they work but I understand you can trigger samples from the guitar somehow.

 

Is there anything along these lines that you could do with an acoustic? Seems somebody like Roland has a pickup you can put on a guitar. I don't know if you can put it on an acoustic.

 

This keyboard just blows me away at how much music you can make all by yourself. It's great fun and also great for songwriting... very stimulating, what with all of the various rhythms and voices. Just wondered what could be had in the guitar world.

 

BTW, this feature I am talking about with this workstation is NOT MIDI. It's auto-accompaniment. You can pipe in midi, too, but this feature I'm talking about is LIVE... it's playing the accompaniment based on the chords you play. It has pop, rock, jazz, reggae, country, you name it... styles.

[DC]

About the only thing that could come close is using a pitch to midi converter for guitar into a keyboard workstation or computer setup. You could conceiveably trigger different chord deals or rhythms with different notes played on certain strings and leave other strings unmidified to play leads.

 

There really isn't any sort of stand alone equivilent.

[LiveMusic]

Originally posted by DC:

About the only thing that could come close is using a pitch to midi converter for guitar into a keyboard workstation or computer setup. You could conceiveably trigger different chord deals or rhythms with different notes played on certain strings and leave other strings unmidified to play leads.

 

There really isn't any sort of stand alone equivilent.

 

Thanks. Say, what does a midi guitar do? If it doesn't do what I asked, what does it "do?" I understand the basics of midi but I've never used it, so I'm somewhat ignorant. I don't understand how a midi guitar would work.

 

You answered the basic question though... you do NOT know of an equivalent in the guitar world offering "auto-accompaniment" like my keyboard. Man, that's a shame. Seems like someone would have done that.

[strat0124]

if you have a synth or "keyboard" with midi in, a midi guitar setup will change those auto accomp chord changes.....I've done it many many times dickin around. I don't think I'd use that live unless the synth was a little more sophisticated, and you weren't stuck with oom pa pa type rythyms that most keys are famous for. You'd be better off recording parts to minidisc and playing against that, if thats your bag.

[michael saulnier]

Originally posted by LiveMusic:

Say, what does a midi guitar do?

 

Midi guitar interfaces allow you to trigger MIDI notes from your guitar. The interface translates the vibrations of the strings into pitch information, then sends that info to a MIDI sound module. You're basically making your guitar into a MIDI "controller".

 

There can be a bit of a time delay, because of the translations, called latency, that has been partly to blame for the lack of acceptance of these products for guitars. Also, MIDI sounds may or may not translate well for guitar technique. I've heard a few people use this creatively including Steve Morse and Al DiMeola... I've also heard some pretty awful uses...

 

As far as auto-accompaniment feature, these tend to be keyboard specific, not part of the MIDI standard in any way. So, even if you used your MIDI keyboard as the sound module you triggered with your MIDI guitar interface, the auto-accompaniment feature will not triggered by MIDI signals from your guitar interface, (just like they wouldn't be from another MIDI keyboard you were using as a "controller").

 

Also, if you decide to dive into this, keep in mind that there are guitar systems that can communicate in MIDI with any MIDI device, and some, like Roland's that have special connectors that only work with Roland products, not all MIDI products.

 

There are some makers like Godin and Brian Moore that now ship guitars with real capability factory installed. This includes acoustic guitars in the case of Godin. I saw Al DiMeola with a Godin nylon string with a MIDI interface and it sounded pretty cool. Al mainly used flute-type sounds and they sounded very interesting combined with the nylon string ones.

 

If you're looking for an accompaniment solution using MIDI, maybe you should look at a laptop with a MIDI output to a sound module. You can easily get MIDI versions of songs on the web, (of mixed quality), or make your own... and then play along with them in a performance setting.

 

There's also a product called "Band in a Box" that allows you to type in chord progressions on a chart, pick from hundreds of "styles" and then it automatically generates a MIDI song based on the progression you entered and the style information you selected. It's an interesting sketch pad for trying out chord progressions, and allows you to output a conventional MIDI file for further tweeking. Also, like the auto accompanyment features you've seen in the keyboards, it has pop, rock, jazz, reggae, country, you name it... styles. You can use all the instruments, or just limit it to the ones you want like drums or bass or keys or whatever. It's a bit "drum machinelike", but especially for jazz tunes, it's pretty cool.

 

All for around $150.

 

Have fun if you try it out.

 

guitplayer

[strat0124]

As far as auto-accompaniment feature, these tend to be keyboard specific, not part of the MIDI standard in any way. So, even if you used your MIDI keyboard as the sound module you triggered with your MIDI guitar interface, the auto-accompaniment feature will not triggered by MIDI signals from your guitar interface, (just like they wouldn't be from another MIDI keyboard you were using as a "controller"). end quote.

 

Nope.....using a GR-1 midi'd out to a ProE.....I am able to use my guitar to trigger auto accomp stuff that corrosponds to chord changes on the guitar......you might have to play with setup to get channels right...but it does work. I know of another guy who uses the Yamaha QY jobbie to do the same thing.