DIY Midi Guitar demo AX50

[caulinrocker1]

string machine reminds me of pink floyd welcome to the machine ... not the name ... the sound

[peskywinnets]

@caulinrocker1 it's actually a p1ss poor rendition of Jean Michel Jarre's Equinoxe pt2

[violinmyth]

Hi Pesky, did you ever tried the Axon 100 and do you know which Axon triggers better? I don't really need the onboard sounds since gonna use my computer as you do.Thanks in advance!

[peskywinnets]

@violinmyth I used to own an AX100 (old version)....but never tried the new version - I'd strongly suspect they all have the same detection algorithm, so if you don't need the (pants) internal sounds...then just go with the AX50.

[violinmyth]

@peskywinnets thanks for your reply. I just bought today the Ax50 and should have it in few days!

[tooslinamino]

is this just a computer programme?

if so where can i get it and whats it called? :)

thanx :)

[peskywinnets]

@southsidekre1 yes, you can use a midi guitar to control anything that accepts a midi signal (rason, FL studio etc)

[komaki119]

thats aw awesome that you built it im gob smacked what a result...nice work

[bergweg]

can you switch presets while in stand-alone mode?

[uverdadeiro]

What software are you using?

[peskywinnets]

@uverdadeiro That was Sonar 7 as the midi host software & Dimension Pro & Hypersonic to generate the sounds/

[peskywinnets]

@AonaranMan It was a poor snippet of "Merry Xmas Mr Lawrence"

[guibr18]

0:48 sounds like megalomania intro synth!

awesome

[peskywinnets]

@Kickass1234567 agreed - it ain't a cheap pastime!

[Kickass1234567]

how do i get all the stuff for this and price please? any info at all?

[peskywinnets]

@Kickass1234567 You need a guitar capable of putting out individual strings (midi pickup) ...I built my own in but guess these would start fro a $300-$400 - you then need a guitar midi unit to convert those six pickup signals into a midi signal (google axon ax50 etc) - these are about $500...and finally you need something to generate the sound (a synth module, or use your computer as a sound generator - I used Hypersonic & Dimension Pro VSTi...which are software instrumnts that run on a PC)

[1762Anders]

verrrry interesting

[dongatoysubanda]

wow, please, some advice or tuto or schematics on this, i have a variax 600 !!!

[peskywinnets]

@dongatoysubanda There is no schematic - this was a one off so I winged it wrt making a circuit! Also it's worth noting that the only 'Variax' aspect still in play here is the piezo saddles/bridge - the innards were ripped out & put into anothe rguitar.

[drpeppa2357]

This looks like one of the more aesthetically pleasing models, i gotta have one of these, they're so versatile

[09phillt]

do you like muse

[peskywinnets]

@09phillt Yes... Muse are great.

[race1717]

Do a difficult country-style solo on the chime effect!

[race1717]

Do a country-style solo with the chime effect! XD

[peskywinnets]

@YourPunisherOfLife No the guitar has simply been adapted to feed into a std midi guitar converter - an Axon AX100 - this then feed midi data into your PC to triggers sounds inside it (VSTis, soft synths)

[midiguitar]

Nice music!

Did you connect the 6 individual piezo pickups directly to the 13-pin plug?

I ask because now I have an AX50 too and an RMC piezo bridge outa Strat DeLuxe.

Maybe it could work without the electronics... ???

[peskywinnets]

@midiguitar NO - I made up my own little six channel buffer amplifier circuit - you cannot connect your piezos directly to the 13 pin.

[midiguitar]

@peskywinnets Do you have a link to the schematics, or you can mail me them?

[martietherocker]

i'v got that guitar plz tell me how you did it

[Zeinishe]

I want it!

[Calumoninc]

ahhh i would love one of thoesss

[Zemael]

Hello! Very nice Job!!!

Which pickup did you use?

Did you convert the LR-Baggs into MIDI? Thanks!

I've a GI-20 and a GK-3, which VST do you recommend? A hug from Brazil!

[peskywinnets]

I'm in Florianopolis right now (6 Dec 09)...I used the piezos that are in the LR Baggs bridge (it's a hex piezo bridge so there are six of them) & made my own circuitboard to interface these six piezos with the Axon AX50.

Abracos.

[Zemael]

Wow!!! Nice!!! I'm from Curitiba - Paraná. I was in Garopaba beach last year. I think you need to know it also! It's near Floripa!

Well, I want to buy an X-bridge soon. I need to emulate a realistic bass sound to play it live. Which VSTs do you recommend? Until now the VG-99 is the best choice I've found. But it is awessomely expensive.

Man, it's nice to talk with you! Your circuit works perfectly! Tchau!

[peskywinnets]

The best VST bass sounds I've heard were on a software synth - cakewalk's Dimension Pro (most of the sounds you here in my video were generated by it or Steinberg's Hypersonic). Tchau :-)

[DarkEgg11]

do you need special midi guitar or can you use normal for example epipone SG with some extra equipment?

[peskywinnets]

Yes, you need something called a midi pickup (google Roland GK3) & another box to convert that pickup sifnal into midi (google Axon AX50)

[ersemola]

hi. wich has better converter, axon ax50 or axon 100 mkII ? and wich midi pickup i can to buy for it? thx

[peskywinnets]

Not sure (I only own the AX50!). The AX50 is the more recent model, so I guess you could expect that it has the most recent technology inside. There is an Axon forum (can't post links in replies - so Google it)

[Synnergy08]

I really like the Nylon Guitar Sample... awesome... BTW I have the same keyboard :)

[SebastianGeffen]

I notice how careful you are with the Guitar due to the tracking - I have a GK-3 and its like dismantling a bomb .. scared to make it play a note which will mess up everything .. is there anything out there that tracks perfectly?

[peskywinnets]

Having played both GK & piezos midi pickups...piezos appear a little more forgiving in that respect - any carefulness you see in my video can be both attributed to not wanting false triggered notes, but perhaps more not wanting to look inept at guitar playing in front of a Global audience!

[ersemola]

hello. i want to buy the axon ax100 mkII. do you think has good sounds? maybe is not better a roland gr33? and is possible to create my personal sounds and to use with that rack "for example my voice" ? thx...

[peskywinnets]

I'm sorry, but I have no experience with the AX100 - just the AX50, which has no internal sounds.

[ersemola]

hello, i want to buy the axon ax100 mkII. do you think has good sounds? maybe is not better a roland gr33? is possible to create my personal sounds like for example my voice, and to use it with that rack? thx...

[peskywinnets]

In my opinion, the sounds in the Axon MKII are based on fairly old technology now - I reckon if you're home based, it's far better to use VSTis to generate sounds ...therefore unless you gig, I'd say buy an AX50 & put the savings towards your reinforcing your soft synth setup.

[ersemola]

thx you much. but i just buied on ebay roland gr 33 and pick up for only 215 euro " maybe something like 180 usd". i will tell you how it sound when come to me.. thx!

[pooyamm]

hey, I'm about to by an axon ax-50 or ax-100. which one do you suggest? and do I have to buy the PU-100 pickup separately or it comes with the packages?

Pooya

[peskywinnets]

I'm not that familiar with the AX-100, but the conscencus seems to be for a home setup with computer, then the AX-50 is more suitable, whereas for a live rig, probably go for the AX-100. The pickup doesn't come with the AX-50 package (I suspect it doesn't come with the AX-100 either)

[oskararnarson]

What if I'm looking for both. Say I want a midi interface for my guitar, to use VST plugins, both at home and live. Which is the way to go and why? (sorry if you've answered this question before).

[DarkEgg11]

whats the name of the song you playing on "Nylon Guitar"?

[peskywinnets]

It's my bad rendition of the final part of Hotel California by the Eagles (Acoustic version)

[DarkEgg11]

ah ye thanks

nah it isnt bad

[Amorphous333]

wow thats amazing! is it possible to buy this anywhere??

[peskywinnets]

Midi guitars exist to buy ....they're not particulalry cheap & you need some extra external h/w to allow yout to control synths. In short, it's not a cheap hobby.

Re the guitar I'm playing...at one stage it was up for sale (& had a lot of interest!), but I pulled the advert electing instead to keep it for now.

[peskywinnets]

Not sure what you mean - buy what? There are several things going on in that video - the guitar, the Axon AX50 (converts the guitar to midi data) & the sounds from VSTs

[HamishM150]

This is great! I do a lot of scoring in MIDI using Sonar... A midi guitar pickup could speed up my workflow a lot for scoring guitar parts, to bad they're sort of expensive.

[3zzzpmk]

The fact that you knew a good riff to play for each effect while recodring is amazing. Speaking of which, what were you playing during the Nylon Guitar Sample?

[peskywinnets]

Thanks.

The nylon sample is a bad interpretstion of Hotel California (Acoustic version) ...about 6m25 seconds into the song (available on youtube)

[3zzzpmk]

I knew I had heard that before!

[jtfles]

how much can i get one of them for and does it work with ableton? through an m-box?

[peskywinnets]

Midi guitars cost about £500+ (the guitar in the video is one I converted myself). You can add a midi pickup to a standard (they cost about £120 inc their associated electronics - Google Roland GK3)

You'll also need a device to convert your midi guitar pickup signal into midi data - these converters cost about £280 plus (I was using an Axon AX50 in the video).

I'm not familiar with Ableton, but midi guitars can work with anything that accepts a midi input...so yes, it'll work.

[peskywinnets]

Thanks...that Tele sample is a particularly good one (it's from a soft synth called Dimension Pro - the sample name is called "Raw Sheryl" ...I guess they've named it after Sheryl Crowe!)

[3Deity]

Jeeez - I thought that Telecaster at the end was the raw guitar output! I'm not easily fooled (I buld my own guitars and valve gear) but I suppose with correct string tracking the sample would sound 'correct' which it never can from a keyboard. Good work chap! :o)

[ragsradke]

So doe you still have all the Variax functions?

[peskywinnets]

No, I did mention in the info field (top right) that the original Variax electronics were transplanted into anther guitar. This mod was just to make use of the remaining 'carcass' (cos it seemed a shame to have a perfectly good guitar doing nothing!)

[jtpmm777]

is there chance that you make video tutorial how you

modify this setup? :-)

i'll be grateful to the grave, and many other :-)

greetings from croatia

[peskywinnets]

Ther's not a chance! (I don't have enoiugh time to make such a video..,.which would be quite technical, unless you had a fair degree of electronics projects experience).

Seriously, if my last reply, didn't provide enough info for you to seek out the circuits you;d need, then I doubt a ttorial would be at a high enough level.

Get googling (like I did), for piezo pickup circuits...then build six of them (it only need two ICs....TL074s...for the whole circuit).

[Geepsterr]

Very cool what you've done. In your opinion, aside from routing acoustical issues could the TL074s preamp IC's in your design get signals from an intact Variax without affecting it's normal functions appreciably. Thanks.

[peskywinnets]

Sure, if you use the TL074 in the right config, it'll handle the Variax signals well (& with no impact to the Variax whatsoever). The secret is where to tap off the signals on the variax mainboard (the output of the variax mainboard opamps) ...that gets a little a little 'hairy' (SMD)

[Geepsterr]

Thanks. I think I can find those points. So bad idea to try to grab signal parallel to variax inputs? Too much load on piezos I'm guessing.

[jtpmm777]

hello

can you explain how you do that:

"then converted what remained into a midi/piezo/ standard electric guitar"

nice playing

[peskywinnets]

Thanks!

Frankly it'd be difficult to explain here....it's not that complicated though. there are piezos in the Guitar's bridge ...one piezo for each sting. it's just a matter of amplifying these six piezo signals using a six channel preamp & then feeding the six signals onwards down a multicore cable for conversion into midi data using a unit like the Axon AX50.

[MushroomBerge]

How do you do this?

[peskywinnets]

The whole signal chain is as follows...

Guitar (with six individual piezo pickups in the guitar's bridge) -> into a small electronic circuit inside the guitar-> down a 13 core cable to connect the guitar to a -> Guitar to midi converter (which converts the analogue piezo signals into midi information-> into a sound generator 9in this case a soft synth)

[danofsydney]

Nice touch playing Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence on the Koto! :)

[peskywinnets]

Thank...the song is in my top ten of all time favourites. As it goes that koto sounds well out of tune, but since I'm playing a sample...it's the Koto sample not my tuning!

[danofsydney]

since you like the Japanese sounds/music have you heard Marty Friedman's "Scenes" album from around 1992, its awesome!

[peskywinnets]

It'll work in Cubase as it's supplied in VSTi format (as well as RTAS & DXi). One other option for these type of sounds is Virtual String Machine by GM Media - it's full of great sampled string machines (Solinas Elkas Logans etc) & has a great phaser to.

[johnbobpoker]

Hello friend.

Can you please tell me the name of the VST used in the "string machine" part. I m seeking this very particular sound.

Is that one of the sounds bundled with the axon kontakt library ?

Thanks.

[peskywinnets]

I made the video a few months ago, so off the top of my head I can't remember - but it'll have almost certainly been made with Dimension Pro (or possibly Hypersonic). To be honest though that particularly sound is fairly easy to find on a lot of VSTs. It's a fairly basic simple string pad (the older & cheesier) put through a phaser effect with a tad of reverb added. But I'll try & find the exact VST patch I used, & post the info here if I find it.

[johnbobpoker]

Yeah, cheesy like hell, i love it. Thanks for help.

Regards.

[peskywinnets]

Ok, just checked - I reckon it *was* Dimension Pro - there's a preset called Equinox (no surprises there) ...it's under the menu 'Electronic Collection' sub menu 'Pads'. In my clip, I didn't use the mod wheel but if you do, you can fade in some tweets that JMJ was so fond of on the Equinoxe Album!

[johnbobpoker]

Thanks for helping again ;)

Yeah it sounds like Oxygene and Equinoxe.. i realy enjoy this sound, i was seeking for some very very cold synth for some stuff. This one fits perfectly.

One last question, when i seek for it, i see "cakewalk" ... unfortunatly, i don't want to use that soft, can "dimension pro" be found in standard cubase compatible VST ?

(I own a Variax and a AXON AX 50 too that i use to compose musique. Midi guitar is the coolest thing on earth.)

Regards.

[peskywinnets]

I'm afraid there aren't many cheap solutions when it comes to midi guitar. The AX50 unit can be bought for about £245 here in the UK -so it's not *that* expensive...it doesn't have any onboard sounds (hence me triggering VST soft synths in the video)...the cost of a good piezo eqipped guitar can add up though (I'd advise everyone stay clear of the Roland GK2 pickups & use only guitars with piezo hex pickups...far better results)

[iets1243]

Dude!! Can this be done with VST instruments? That would be too cool! Or isnt that fast enough and do you need midi devices?

Thanx in advance!!

[peskywinnets]

All the sounds you hear in my video clip are generated by VST soft synths (with no discernible latency -but obviously you need a good soundcard)

[iets1243]

Thanks for the help :) But is there a cheaper solution? XD Axons are pretty expensive and Roland's sound banks suck in my opninion... And the tracking is worse than the Axons tracking too...

[nickwellings]

Wow! Very impressive...! The sounds seem superior to the Roland. I always heard that about Axons. I'm eagerly awaiting the Ebay auction (unles I missed it already?)

[peskywinnets]

No ...my playing is so bad, that I can make the end chord sequence for Hotel California sound like a Portishead track!

[meminesis]

is it Portishead single the second one?