Best Guitar System to Replicate Keyboards?

[migetkotla]

There's a graphtech ghost modular pickup system that produces decent organ/key sounds. 

Our band at the moment has 3 good guitar players and we are trying to find a system (from pups down to pedals) that best replicate a good keyboard.  We prefer a system that would come closest to producing a Hammond B3/Fender Rhodes voice.....all the way down to simple string background.....sweet if even could include bells and chimes.  :guitaristgif:

Hoping in today's world there is such a system......and if there is someone here knows where to find it?  Thanks!

 

[DavyDave53]

This should do a good job of replicating a keyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjIlXEAn46c

 

[swarfrat]

Head over to the vguitar forums and start reading. A word to you specifics though

I personally think that piezos have a lot to offer in terms of tracking, but many converters do not work with piezo systems, The ones which do are discontinued and getting harder to find. I hate to say it but I think magnetic is the only viable system right now.

Right now, the Fishman Triple play is the hot ticket item for conversion to midi. a lot of guys do some amazing things with hex processing of the actual guitar signal, but i think youre probably looking for actual MIDI note triggering of  an external synth.

 

[Hendrix]

I use  Fishman Triple play too .

 

[migetkotla]

Hendrix, do you have to do much computer work while actually playing/on stage?  Thanks....

 

[Hendrix]

I not use it for live , I just use it to record midi . and can make any sound out of it on soft wear like Mac logic pro .

it need a computer to play live . how much set up need , it depend how complex the soft wear is , some are simple

some review said it may have some time lag if you play something extreme fast ,  but I think it OK for must of common music .

some  time lag may cost by too many  complex effect done by soft wear processing ， and need more CPU power and RAM. but common build in sound sampler and sample  effect should be OK .

like this :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAFjqyU2jnQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgyvuAKO-PE

 

[stratamania]

Why not just get a Roland GR55. The graphtech stuff you have doesn't produce any sound itself and then you may need a converter to get the piezo stuff to work well. Here's a discussion on such a device.

http://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=b0cd9f7a308f62712c899c9b10560da4&topic=3236.0

If I wanted to do this for live use I  would just get a GR55 and a GK3 pickup either external or internal. It's over twenty years since I used a guitar synth set up in a cover band and I used some much earlier versions of the Roland products. I've recently been thinking about using one again so have been looking into the current options.

The Fishman system has good reviews but live it needs the laptop etc.

 

[Hendrix]

I like Fishman Triple play  because it wire less , small  , very easy to install on Guitar . easy and tool less to exchange between guitar .

 

[Ace Flibble]

The Graphtech Ghost system with the 'Hexpander' unit is the best item for retrofitting. The Fishman system works decently, too, the tracking's just not quite as good with looser strings and the battery runs dry a touch quicker.

The main problem with using guitars as synth controllers is that guitarists often don't understand what a synth controller is and does and they expect the guitar to be the thing that makes all the difference. Essentially, when you put one of these systems into a guitar, all you're making is a keytar. The thing which actually generates the tone—in other words, the quality of your organ sounds or your helicopter sound or whatever tone you want—is the synth, keyboard or computer you plug it into. All the guitar part is doing is telling the other system to produce an A3 or a C#4 or whatever note it is you choose to play.

So, if you want a better sound than what you've heard other people using, you need to invest in a better synth/keyboard/computer software. If someone uses one of these systems and it sounds bad or limited to you, it's because their patches are bad or limited, not because of anything to do with the guitar. The guitar is almost irrelevant. Buy a Squier or Epiphone, put a Ghost Hexpander in it and as long as the frets are level and the action is where you like it, the guitar is set.


edit: or just use a keytar like Lzzy Hale and Lights and get down with the kids.

 

[swarfrat]

Like I said - I like piezos. But currently if you go that route you're left to scouring ebay for maybe still working Axons.