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Thanks Ryszard,

That was what I was confused about. So what I think I need is an emulator then. One more question. I may be wording this question wrong but are these emulators or their programs that they come with capable of producing a midi format in note form which can be manipulated by dragging the notes with a mouse?



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What I am looking for is an interface that will hook up to a guitar and do the same thing that a midi controller does between a digital piano and a computer. Where the guitar can be made to sound like other instruments and notes corrected with the drag of a mouse. Is there any such animal?

Steve



What you need is what I described in my first post: A system comprising a divided, or "MIDI" pickup, a MIDI interface (technically, a pitch-to-MIDI converter, or PTMC), and an output device of some kind--a synth or sampler. With such a system you can play into a sequencer or DAW and have editable MIDI data as well as audio when you are through. Understand that audio and MIDI are two different data streams.

A company called Celemony is about to release a standalone program called Melodyne Editor, an audio-analysis utility which allows the user to edit audio recordings as if it were piano-roll data. You can do much more with this program, such as correct the pitch of a single instrument or voice line. Projected price is $349 in late summer of this year.

Money permitting, I would have a hardware guitar-synth rig, and Melodyne. But had I to make a choice, I would start with the hardware. Producing a quality result is not cheap. A used pickup and GI-20 interface run around $500 on ebay, and you still need a synth. The Axon AX 100 Mk II, an interface-synth combo, retails for $699, plus pickup. If you can find a Mk I (called simply the AX 100) it will run about half that. You MAY be able to find a synth-ready guitar for under $500. You can drive any synth with such an axe. Godin Guitars is the best-known manufacturer of these instruments, but a Roland GK-3 divided pickup can be added to any guitar, including acoustics. There is a bass version as well.

My Roland VG-88 uses a divided pickup but does not do PTM conversion and therefore will not drive a synth or produce MIDI output. It drives the guitar-amp-effect emulator only. (But does a HELL of a good job!) The combination ran me $525 on ebay. The newer Roland VG-99 comprises a PTMC, two guitar/FX emulators and processed guitar sound. Street price is around $1100. Requires a divided pickup.

Hope all this helps.

R.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."