[sdiy] Guitar Synth boards ready...

[john mahoney]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Linium" <intent at netpratique.fr>
[snip]
> In my simple view, the sound of the strings would be treated individually
> (distortion/fuzz may be, or something else ?) then sent into 6 VCFs with
> enveloppe follower.
>
> Well i don't know, may be it will be to crude, less interesting ?

You are talking about hexaphonic processing rather than true synthesis. The
best known hex effect (which dates back to the ARP Avatar, at least) is "hex
fuzz," where each string has its own distortion circuit. Hex fuzz allows you
to use high gain on each string without getting the usual "mud" when you
play chords (compared to when all strings play through one fuzz box). It has
a distinct sound, different from normal guitar distortion -- it's a little
weird, actually.

Level-sensitive effects (such as VCFs controlled by envelope followers) are
perfect for hex processing. If an envelope follower is adjusted to respond
to single notes, then playing a chord makes it overreact. Hex processing
avoids that problem; it's also much more interesting because each string has
its own envelope.

So, is this "crude" and "less interesting"? Compared to synthesis, perhaps.
Compared to standard quitar effects, no!

If I were building a hex processor, I would want each string to have fuzz, a
VCF, and an envelope follower. I would allow the *pre-fuzz* signal to
control the envelope follower yet I would allow the *post-fuzz* signal to
run through the VCF (best to have an adjustable clean/fuzz mix). Then, the
normal envelope can control the filtering of the fuzzed tone. I think this
would be very useful.

But... I'm not interested in DIY for this because I think Roland have done a
great job with the VG-88. In fact, last night was my first live gig using
the VG-88. :-)


> I wonder what kind of filter would be ideal for guitar string. I mean 12
or 24
> db ? Low Pass or Band Pass (like whawha) ? Would be happy to know if some
one
> has already made some experiment and has comments on all that.

The best filter to use? A cheap one! :-) Since you need one effect per
string, the cost of everything is multiplied by six. Band pass is a good
idea. The M'fooger filter pedal uses an LP VCF switchable between 12 and 24
dB, and it sounds good in both modes. I guess that more choices are better,
so maybe you can use state variable filters -- if the cost can be kept down.
--
john