Another Brick in the Wall

[swarfrat]

A part of the plan that's been about 5 years waiting in the wings:

Hope it works, bought it "AS IS". Looks electrically intact, it's going to be an internal conversion , so I can probably still use it.

 

[DangerousR6]

You gonna attach it to your snare....? :icon_scratch:

 

[swarfrat]

Ah, no wonder it's not working. I was about to take the 2B's to it. Seriously jazzed about this aspect of 'the project' (that will not end).

 

[swarfrat]

*appears* to work. At least the tuner function on the Yamaha G-50 does, so it seems to be getting power and hex output. can't seem to get any MIDI out yet, and that part used to work (not well mind you, as it was piezo ehich this unit doesn't support.  But I got midii notes and triggered sounds. So I think its a cable/interface/config issue

 

[DangerousR6]

I still think you shoulda hooked it up to the snare... :laughing7:

 

[fdesalvo]

I still think you shoulda hooked it up to the snare... :laughing7:

Ha!


Following this!

 

[swarfrat]

I am in the process of making triggers for the drums too btw. Got my own design for the trigger pads which hopefully gives a nice head like response.  I have my kick brace, need to mount the triggers on it. My toms are a hard neoprene rubber sheet cut to a luan disk about 1/4" smaller than the inside diameter of the hoops. (I'm using actual triple flange drum hoops, and have staggered sizes that are larger than most pads, but smaller than my actual drum preference - it's 10/12/13 for the toms and a 12" snare.)  That is mounted via foam to an MDF backer.  The snare uses the same design, except the hoops are mounted on standoffs, and isolated from the MDF backer, and another luan disc with a cutout for the "head" mounting/sensor to pass through, with additional piezos on the "rim" disc.

But thats slow going, as right now we're having bedtime issues with my drummer taking forever to get to sleep and his manager usually needs some backup support in the evenings.  So I don't get a lot of workshop time, but I can tinker (silently) in the music room a bit in the evenings, so hopefully I can get the guitar-midi thing rolling soon here.

 

[swarfrat]

Temporary setback. it appears my PC's USB  MIDI port is dead. Does not work with FCB1010 controller either. one on the way from eBay...

 

[swarfrat]

Going on faith that 1) the tuner part is observed to work with the GK-3 pickup, and 2) the conversion part worked (albeit poorly) with the Graphtech Ghost,  I did some research, looking for a HW synth. My criteria was 1) cheap (hate to say it, but its a factor) 2) lots of channels and voices 3) 1U rackmount, 4) good sounds.

It turns out that rackmount synths have largely gone the way of the dinosaurs, but thankfully, there's this place called Ebay where you can find lots of dinosaurs for not a lot of money.  After some research, it started looking like the Yamaha Motif XS looked nice, as did the Roland XV-5050, but these run $300-500. (And someone at Warmoth is sitting by the phone waiting on me to call in my order for a baritone neck).

The Roland JV series is a little older, but still has good sounds (at least on the aftermarket cards), and they run for like $100 or so. And it's 1U. I could have been talked into 2U for the right features at the right price, but I'm really hoping I can throw the Eleven Rack, the Yamaha G-50, and the synth in a 4U case and have a highly portable self contained killer rig with MIDI synth capabilities. If my rig didn't already need 3 space, I'd be more open to a 2U synth.

A couple hours left on the auction, but currently looking good. If it gets away I might still consider other options.

Roland JV-880 at Vintagesynth.com
]

 

[bagman67]

Swarfrat, I can send you a photo later, but I have a bari neck that continues to not get used on anything.  It's brand new, Warmoth Pro, plain ol' maple with a a lovely red-leaning rosewood fretboard and cream dot inlays, drilled for vintage Kluson-style tuners (which I can also supply - tonepros brand, I think).  If you're interested I'm sure we can make a deal.

 

[swarfrat]

Sure, send me pics when you get a chance. I'm still waffling on the choices. Ironically, one thing puling towards the ebony board is ... I might have an easier time sneaking an ebony board in the house (especially if it were wenge neck).  Wife hasn't seen the neck in going on a year, so ... I doubt she'd notice it grew.  But I really wasn't trying to fork multiple threads, so I'll keep this one focused on the 13 pin aspect.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

E-Mu had some 1U rackmount hardware synths that were pretty cool too.
Should be able to find some of those on the bay, perhaps a Proteus rack would do nicely.

Such as:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EMU-Proteus-1-Plus-Orchestral-Sound-Module-Vintage-Rack-/111671341813?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1a002172f5

http://www.ebay.com/itm/E-mu-Proteus-FX-Version-4-0-Rack-mount-Synthesizer-/131507137939?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e9e6fad93

 

[swarfrat]

Those crossed my mind. They're a bit earlier 90's vintage than the 880 is. Sample size is much more limited as a result. Plus, I was looking for something that would use the JV or SRX Orchestral and Brass cards. Maybe I should hold off on the XV-5050 and a Brass card, but yikes that's several times more expensive.

 

[swarfrat]

Initialy I let myself get outbid, having 2nd thoughts about a 90's  Rompler vs a 2000 vintage synth, but I got the JV-880 for $115, and the XV-5050 goes for like $300+, AND the brass card is like another $200. If I'm gonna drop that kinda cash I'll be considering hacking together a 1U machine just to run Big Fish Vintage Horns. Actually, I think I can probably do that for similar money, but it's CERTAINLY way too much to be paying for something still not quite there.

Woohooo. The plan is rolling again.... I got excited enough today to dig the body out of the closet and start stripping HW off in anticipation of some more sanding, oiling and buffing. Ever since I saw Crash's Tru Oil Finish, it kinda bumped the bar a couple [dozen] notches.

 

[swarfrat]

Found the power cord to a D-50 a buddy gave me  (for fixing). Appears that it works. I think there's some intermittent connection on wire going from the pickup to the guitar mounted box. Only apparent when the box comes untaped from the guitar. Probably why it was "As Is*. But that's ok, as this was firesale and intended for conversion to internal mounting. Debating what to do about the board. Crack it open, make it fit, or DIY. DIY would have some advantages in placement for S1/S2. 

Now about those piezos....I cracked one on initial install. Still works but it pretty much means they're mine forever.  I have thought about summing the piezos, adding some custom filtering NOT intended to replicate fauxoustic guitar, and either blending them into the magnet signal or else running them out the pin 7 jack.  Actually pin 7 should probably carry the same thing as the 1/4" strat jack.  A midrange heavy piezo blend would rock for loud electric guitar. I played with it before with the stock voiced piezos and it definitely adds a lot of woody thump & knock when things get chunkified and cranked.  Or I still have the gold saddles, which would look nicer I think.

 

[rgand]

Woohooo. The plan is rolling again.... I got excited enough today to dig the body out of the closet and start stripping HW off in anticipation of some more sanding, oiling and buffing. Ever since I saw Crash's Tru Oil Finish, it kinda bumped the bar a couple [dozen] notches.

Very cool.

Nice light fixture.

 

[swarfrat]

That one's not mine.

One of the cooler features of the Yamaha G-50 is that you can actually use the pick location as either a patch change or a control parameter. And you can also use the string envelope as a controller. Which is really cool, because one of the better sounding horn/brass patch sets out there requires use of a breath controller, and it seems I can map the string's volume to that. It would be LOVELY of course, if I could mod it by the guitar volume knob so I could do swells. But at least I can play these patches (they require a breath controller or they are always 0 volume).

I'm looking into seeing if I can use the pick control parameter to blend (say blend a growl tone on saxes. Mellows out closer to the neck, barks closer to the bridge. That will largely be a function of the synth, the controller would let me do it.

 

[swarfrat]

JV-880 arrived... but the kiddo had his drum privilege revoked for a day...which unfortunately means I can't play with the new toy until he goes to bed. So glad its not a snare drum or Marshall half stack or other acoustic noise maker.

:binkybaby: :rock-on: arty07: :icon_scratch:

 

[swarfrat]

OK - WOW. Haven't even really got into the synth yet. For some reason it never occured to me that the G-50's ability to spit out MIDI continuous controls for Pick Position and Envelope never occured to me in relation to the Eleven Rack.  First thing I tried was mapping Pick Position to the JCM 800 volume knob mapping it from about 4 to 10. Fun, might be usable with a narrower range. But I think it could be really useful to map more mundane parameters (Wah is an obvious one, but tremolo or reverb intensity seem like good candidates. Or chorus width. Something sorta subtle but still cool.

Of course it occurs to me with this sort of variability I might never play an actual song again, descending into bit twiddling hell.  Now that I've verified MIDI works, I'm gonna have to screw that puppy down.

 

[musicispeace]

Initialy I let myself get outbid, having 2nd thoughts about a 90's  Rompler vs a 2000 vintage synth, but I got the JV-880 for $115, and the XV-5050 goes for like $300+, AND the brass card is like another $200. If I'm gonna drop that kinda cash I'll be considering hacking together a 1U machine just to run Big Fish Vintage Horns. Actually, I think I can probably do that for similar money, but it's CERTAINLY way too much to be paying for something still not quite there.

Woohooo. The plan is rolling again.... I got excited enough today to dig the body out of the closet and start stripping HW off in anticipation of some more sanding, oiling and buffing. Ever since I saw Crash's Tru Oil Finish, it kinda bumped the bar a couple [dozen] notches.

Definitely liking the Super Baritone neck in your signature picture but the ceiling light gloss finish on that guitar body surpasses any of my efforts.