It also adopts the relatively new MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) protocol, which allocates each MIDI note its own MIDI channel enabling per-note MIDI expression data (including pitch-bend), to be transmitted.
#East west hollywood strings midi software#
The bundled software provides configuration options for the pickup and, whether used stand-alone, or as a plug-in within your DAW, acts as a host for other third-party virtual instruments. The TriplePlay is both an elegant solution (it offers wireless connectivity to your DAW/sequencer via a USB dongle) and offers tracking that is both accurate and fast. The first of these is provided by Fishman’s TriplePlay MIDI pickup system (see Paul White’s review in SOS August 2014 issue).
#East west hollywood strings midi series#
The Fishman TriplePlay wireless MIDI guitar system.This is a problem still waiting for a better solution, and EastWest’s MIDI Guitar Instrument Series is attempting to provide just that. An inexpensive off-the-shelf solution such as Even Harmonic’s Gtak (now in v.5 but v.3 was reviewed by Paul White in the July 2009 issue) provides a shortcut to this process but is only configured for the sounds bundled with NI Kontakt outside that, you are on your own. Doing this manually for every sound you might wish to use is clearly a right royal pain in the posterior. However, most virtual instruments - synthesis- or sample-based - are not really designed to handle this multi-channel MIDI input.Īside from just avoiding string bends, a common workaround is to configure six instances for each virtual instrument sound, each set to respond to a different MIDI channel (guitar string). Unlike with a pitch-bend wheel on a keyboard, this then allows you to bend one string while the pitch of the others (transmitted on different MIDI channels) remains constant. Hexaphonic pickups allow each string to transmit its MIDI data on a different MIDI channel. As a player I’ve found that while this is still very useful technology, it is one with obvious compromises.Įven once you adapt your playing technique to the needs of your MIDI pickup system, perhaps a further limitation is the design of the majority of software-based virtual instruments themselves. It is also better suited to single-note melodic lines or chord arpeggios ‘strumming’ is a bit of a no-no with lots of spurious MIDI note data being generated.
In modern systems the tracking is generally very accurate and responsive, but playing technique has to be pretty clean.
On this front, hexaphonic pickups - where the pickup technology detects the vibration of each string individually, allowing its pitch to be calculated and then converted into MIDI note data - have proved to be the most popular technological solution. However, what most guitar players with an interest in MIDI really want is the option to play their standard guitar and generate MIDI note data. There have been some success stories, most notably when the aim is either a dedicated guitar synth (such as Roland’s various GR series devices) or a dedicated controller that is ‘guitar-like’ but not really a guitar (Starr Labs’ Ztar, for example). The various attempts to integrate MIDI technology and guitar technology have made for an interesting if often anti-climactic journey. So just where does EastWest’s new MIDI Guitar Instrument Series take us on our search for MIDI guitar nirvana? Six-string MIDI Therefore, when a sample library company as highly regarded as EastWest teams up with a guitar pickup company (including MIDI pickups) as innovative as Fishman to launch a new series of virtual instruments aimed specifically at guitar players, lots of folks are likely to sit up and take notice. This has been particularly true for guitar players and, while things have undoubtedly improved, we are still waiting for the MIDI guitar Holy Grail: the option to generate MIDI note data by playing your normal guitar without any technique compromises. For those whose primary instrument skills lie elsewhere, generating MIDI note performances from your (non-keyboard) instrument of choice can still be a frustrating experience. It is, however, a technology that is somewhat easier to capitalise upon if you happen to play keyboards. EastWest’s new instruments aim to put guitarists on the same footing as keyboard players when it comes to MIDI control.ĭespite its somewhat humble beginnings, MIDI has revolutionised the way we compose, re cord and perform music.
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