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For those of you who play synthesizer in addition to guitar, what gear are you into?
I know it's not a jazz guitar specific question, but I ask because I respect this knowledge base.
I split time these days between synthesizers & guitar.
I'm also interested in the idea of "Acid Jazz", but I haven't really figured out what that genre is about.
If you think of a synthesizer as just another guitar pedal, really this is just another GAS post.
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08-29-2021 09:55 AM
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Guitar Synth or Keyboard Synth? If you mean Keyboard Synth, I don't even have my synthesizer audio output hooked up, and haven't for years. I only use it as a controller. All my 'sounds' are in the DAW. For example I use Apple Logic and its built-in synths.
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There have been many years in my past that I performed and composed specifically for electronics. Mostly processed-based (samplers, DAW, DSP) electro-acoustic music that would oftentimes utilizing my guitar signals as source material (along with many other signals). I always felt limited by keyboards and how they influenced my musical thinking, shied away from synthesizers, as so many of them were married to keyboards…
However, the last 10 years or so I’ve been really into modular synthesis and have a great eurorack system that I use for synthesis and processing guitar. Super fun and gratifying to grab knobs and get tactile control. More fun than pedals!
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Not good enough to gig on keyboards but I record with them all the time.
I still have (and use) my Roland Juno 60 which I bought new! I like having the ability to build a sound from the waveform up.
Nord Electro 3 for classic keyboard sounds. I like the Mellotron patches that came with it.
For more modern sounds I use software based synths on my computer.
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I’m a keyboardist/pianist first and guitarist a distant second. I’ve long ditched all of my hardware synths and prefer having the far larger VSTi collection I’ve cultivated to pull from. When I was using a selection of hardware synths, my favorites were my Nord Modular G1, Alesis ION, Virus Indigo g1, MS2000 and Waldorf Wave. Sometimes I miss the tactile integration of a really nice synth but I’ve got a few MIDI controllers that allow me to represent that experience to a close enough degree to satisfy the sometimes missing hands-on vibe. I’ve spent a pittance on virtual synths compared to what their hardware counterparts would cost me. For me, it’s a total win being ITB.
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I've used a Roland guitar synth for over 25 years and love it. I bought the XV2020 when it came out and carried it on gigs in a small rack case. It can assign a different instrument to each string, so I could be a horn section with sax, trumpet and trombone (which was very popular with blues bands). Most of the hundreds of stock patches are mediocre. But the alto, bari, and trombone are very convincing through a big enough amp and speaker(s). Some of the keys are OK, but there's no good rotary speaker simulator in it. So I had to use a real Leslie cab or suffer with a Rotovibe.
The GR20 floor synth is much better, so as soon as that came out I bought one and left the XV2020 in the studio rack at home. The GR20 has a mighty nice B3 with a Leslie sim that ramps the rotor speed up and down like a real one. The alto sax, bari, and Harmon muted trumpet are extremely good, and the vibraphone is absolutely convincing. There's a very good upright bass in it too. But It's important to know how the real instruments you're emulating are played, or they just don't sound right. Phrasing, timing, etc are critical to realism, as is an understanding of how the sound of each instrument is made and how the ASDR envelope looks, e.g. reeds don't have the sharp attack of a pick on every note. Pianos and organs can't bend notes or add finger vibrato. Horns have to breathe.
Here's an old demo I made years ago. Every instrument on it except for the guitars and Fender bass was played on the GR20 set up on my 7 string Les Paul. The bass is my '57 P-bass and the guitars were the LP and an ESP 7.
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I think the best bang for my buck I've ever got on musical equip, is my recent purchase of an M-audio keystation 49 keyboard controller with the included vst plugins software for download. Amazing what you get for $100.
You probably need to be using a DAW to run it though, not sure if there is any other practical way.
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Although many current MIDI keyboard controllers only have USB connectivity, you can still get many others with both USB and original MIDI ports. This lets you drive both computer based systems and MIDI synths, sound modules, and samplers. I’ve used my M-Audio Axiom both ways, and a module is a lot easier than a computer rig for many live performance settings. A DAW is the way to go at home. But if you have MIDI ports, MIDI modules are also fine and you can pick up good ones for very little money that were sold or traded in towards newer stuff.
Originally Posted by fep
I dragged the keyboard and/or guitar with Roland pickup, a laptop, DAI, stereo control preamp and power amp in a small but heavy SKB rack case, and a pair of speakers on many gigs. I ran Native Instruments B4, which is a wonderful B3 emulator that sounds as good as a real one, along with a good horn section plugin and some great samples. But unless you use a serious computer, a really good DAI, and a well designed system, latency can still be a problem.
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Roland GR-55 guitar synth, I use it mostly with singers, they really like the orchestrations I can create with strings, pads, and some horn combinations; and for certain commercial gigs, the steel drums and electric pianos are effective.
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Nope, but a big shout out for the free VCV Rack, a software "equivalent" of Eurorack, and especially the wonderful youtube tutorials and patches from Omri Cohen. There is a paid module that allows it to act as a VST host and you can interface with hardware. It can be a total rabbit hole so if you are frustrated that you aren't playing your guitar enough you might want to stay away!!
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Which pickup are you using - GK3? ghost? other? Originally Posted by ronjazz
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There are a myriad of inexpensive synths available for the iPad and some very interesting touch screen controllers available, like GeoShred.
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Super fun to see what people are up to !
I got a Novation Circuit Tracks Groovebox to make backing tracks for guitar (which works great BTW!) and since then my interest in synthesizers has bloomed. I personally haven't gotten into DAW as I don't want to spend more time on the computer, so I've been exploring the hardware synth route. I now have a decent little synth studio with a Korg Minilogue XD, Korg Kross 2, Roland JD-XI, Behringer Crave, a small mixer & a pair of studio monitors. A nice blend of analog & digital and all fairly inexpensive. It's a blast.
I have a lot of classical piano in my past, so keyboard is a comfort zone. Also, I took an electronic music class in college in the 1980's. We had a modular Moog set-up & learned manual tape splicing. The tech sure has come a long way since then.
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I have a Roland GR-20 that I occasionally play around with a little bit but that's about it. I don't have enough time to devote to it. Not jazz, but this guy does a nice job with it.
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But you have a grand in the house! Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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