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Post subject: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument?
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:13 pm
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Hello everyone,

I am a travelling musician, and everything I write starts on acoustic instruments but is then entered into cubase once all ideas are worked out.

This allows me to make changes with a little keyboard on the road, if I suddenly get a brain wave or whatever. It also helps arrange things more quickly.

Now, I cannot afford the cost or the extra baggage of humping around a guitar with roland sound module.

So, I came across the squire rockband controller.

The guitar will only be used for entering in guitar parts into cubase's sequencer while connected to vst bass and guitar instruments.

Would this be any good? Will there be too many latency issues or blips to use this as a serious traveling controller for sequencing and arranging?

Many thanks :)


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:07 pm
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That's a good question that there aren't any good answers to as of yet. Unless it's happened in the last day or so, no one's posted an extensive review of the Squier's midi capabilities.

It may be the only way you can get a satisfactory answer is to give one a tryout yourself if you know someone who has one. Most people that have them at the moment seem to be in the same boat as I am though. They bought them as controllers and/or guitars foremost, and either don't use the midi, or aren't talking.
I know that it will interface with midi software without the use of the Midi-Pro adapter. But I don't know of anyone that's done much more than plink around on it so far.
Keep your ear to the ground though, I'm sure someone will take a crack at it as soon as the new wears off a little bit. Best places to watch will be Youtube or the Harmonix forums.
All the midi info I'm aware of at the moment is in the manual. It claims that all you need to do is "Simply plug into any MIDI interface device you already own and use the guitar to record licks into your DAW of choice."
I don't know if it will help or not, but an online version of the manuals midi section can be found here...

http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... controller


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:33 pm
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Thanks gamer, I'll keep a look out then.

Seems quite strange how you cannot buy a single split pickup with a MIDI output. If you buy a Roland GK3, it costs £110, but that is merely a pickup. You have to then connect the pickup to a Roland Guitar Synth to have MIDI capability. I've seen those guitar synths at £500-£1000, so as you can imagine, the rock band squire guitar seems like a more sensible option.

Seems Roland are too short-sighted and greedy to fill an obvious gap in the market. I'm pretty sure someone will come along and fill this niche and Roland will have a load of GK3 pickups and guitar synths boxed up gathering dust.

Really, why force someone to connect a guitar up to one range of synths when quite clearly there is infinite flexability in creating a more simple cost effective guitar to midi solution?

If Fender can create a playable guitar with the afore mentioned guitar to midi conversion for around £200, Rolands stance can only be one of greed!

lol, sorry, rant over!


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:52 pm
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My actual experience with midi in pretty much non existent. But if the accuracy of the Squier translates as well through the midi cable to a computer, as it does into the Midi-Pro and on to the console this may just fill the bill.
But since it being used as a midi controller wasn't high on the list of things Harmonix was shooting for, any usefulness for straight midi use may be coincidental.

Here's a link to a guys vid of midi play...

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

It was originally found by another member, (Wakaranai) and posted in another area of this forum.
There's quite a bit of info in his, (the vid makers) description of what he's doing with the Squier, and what it's doing for him as well. Looks like he speaks midi pretty fluently so you may want to try hit him with some of the more technical questions. God knows what he had to do to get that out of it, but with the Squier only being out a little over a week at this point it looks promising. Especially considering some of the crazy stuff I've seen people do with hardware and software when they have time on their hands.

I know you're not the only one interested in seeing this take off as a viable midi controller, the biggest problem may be laying your hands on one with all the gamers out there still trying to get one to use with Rockband. The next batch is supposed to be released in two weeks or so, and looking for one in store will be your best way to go. Pre-order through Best Buy is a joke.


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:03 pm
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I have experimented a little bit with the RB Squier's MIDI output. It probably will fill the bill for sequencing and arranging. The way it works is that the frets sense what is being fretted and the the strings sense strums. The two bits of information are combined to produce the MIDI Note On. Note Off comes from changes in the fretting. The fret sensing is pretty solid. The strum sensing is touchy. You'll probably have to tweak things to improve the strum sensing.

An alternative is a mode where the fretting sends both Note On and Off. You don't have to strum at all. If you can fret in time rather than relying on strumming to establish the rhythm, this might be a more solid way of sequencing and arranging.

Let us know how this works out. I think the RB Squier has a lot of interesting potential beyond being a game controller that teaches people how to play a real guitar, although if it can do that for me I'll be thrilled to death.


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:09 pm
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good to hear some encouraging thoughts from both of you!

im guessing the guitar is fully polyphonic?

a monophonic guitar would be useless to me, any anyway there is a small box out there that processes guitar to midi monophonically.

interesting to hear how the guitar senses what is being played, so that scuppers anyone's plan of removing the electronics from the guitar and putting it into a more professional instrument.

PS good luck with your controller! :)


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:12 pm
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Sounds like a great invention. With the prices of airline fairs going up (as well as oter fees for luggage) planning ahead to incorporate a small unit would be the way of the future.

What you are doing is truly innovation not emulaton.


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 8:12 pm
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Yes, the RB Squier MIDI is fully polyphonic. The notes from each string are on there own MIDI channel.


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Post subject: Re: Game controller useful as a serious sequencer instrument
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 10:57 am
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BigRedofOC wrote:
Yes, the RB Squier MIDI is fully polyphonic. The notes from each string are on there own MIDI channel.


superb, thanks for that :)


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