[sdiy] One Octave Foot Pedal Project

[Scott Gravenhorst]

Paul Higgins <higg0008 at tc.umn.edu> wrote:
>On Saturday, July 10, 2004, at 08:15 PM, Scott Gravenhorst wrote:
>
>I play an old Roland GM-70 GR-MIDI converter, and the delays on the 
>bass strings (especially the sixth) are appreciable.  Nashville tuning 
>is certainly one good strategy if you're not using the electric guitar 
>sound in parallel with the synth; 

I do use the electric guitar sound with the synth!  All I've done is
Nashville the #5 and #6 strings, that is, I use strings that are 1/2 the
normal string diameter and tune them exactly one octave above what they
normally are.  Then I compensate for the octave by knocking the synth
output down one octave for strings 5 & 6.  It sounds quite nice, rather
like a 12-string, and allows completely normal fingering.

>however, I found that just like 
>marching band, I dealt with it and compensated for physics.  Drums were 
>my first instrument, so it's very natural for me to simply anticipate 
>the beat when I'm playing the GM-70.  The latency is not the end of the 
>world.  Especially with all the neat things you can do with synths 
>using a guitar controller.

As you say, latency is not the end of the world, and MIDI introduces a
latency that can be mentally compensated.  I certainly do, both for keys
and synth guitar.  I'm not sure if I just don't notice it for keys or that
it's so small that I can easily compensate.  Regardless, it's just not a
problem.

>The other thing is that those Roland boxes really have to be tweaked 
>for each individual.  I spent several nights messing with the trimpots 
>on my controller before I got the thing working perfectly.

For me, it was both setting the pickup angle (distance from strings) and
synth output per string.  Several hours of work, but now done a long time ago.


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