NGD: Axon AX100 Mk II MIDI guitar processor

[jacksonplayer]

Those of you who listened to my new album probably noticed my extensive use of guitar synthesizer on it. That was using my Godin Freeway SA guitar and a Roland GR-33 guitar synth module that I got a nice package deal on last year at Atomic Music up in Maryland. As you can probably tell from the recordings, the GR-33 has high latency and mediocre tracking but can be used creatively if you work at it.

Since I really have the guitar synth bug now, I decided to upgrade to the Axon AX100 Mk II MIDI guitar converter. Folks, this thing is WAY better than the effing Roland. 1000% better. The slight amount of latency is not enough to be a problem even with fast picking, and the tracking is incredibly better once you tinker with the settings. There are still a few ghost notes and missed notes on the low E and A strings, but even those strings are usable for most things. which is not true with the Roland. You still have to play with much more precise technique than on regular guitar, and you can't just cut loose and forget about the gear. But this is an actual, usable piece of gear.

I can't wait to start collecting interesting synth modules to use with it. I'm looking to pick up an old Roland JD-990 to use for analog-style leads and pads, with maybe one of the Roland ROMplers also, such as the XV-5080. I've already got a Yamaha Motif ES keyboard, and I'm sure I'll be using it with the Axon, but it's not all that great for 'synthesized' sounds and its strong point is acoustic and electric pianos--which are still better played through actual keyboards. Guitar voicings sound kind of bizarre through piano sounds, though single note lines are fun. Accurate tracking is also more difficult with highly percussive sounds like piano.

Anyway, I recorded a "violin" solo using the cheezy built-in sounds on the Axon, and it still turned out pretty killer. It has a sustain pedal that activates a string pad 'zone' in this particular patch to use for backing. Take a listen:

SoundClick artist: Council of One - page with MP3 music downloads

[technomancer]

Ok, that is indeed pretty damn cool. You are not helping my desire to get one of these to screw around with

[shannon]

Once I snag the Axe-FX in a week or so, the Axon is my next target!

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

Those of you who listened to my new album probably noticed my extensive use of guitar synthesizer on it. That was using my Godin Freeway SA guitar and a Roland GR-33 guitar synth module that I got a nice package deal on last year at Atomic Music up in Maryland. As you can probably tell from the recordings, the GR-33 has high latency and mediocre tracking but can be used creatively if you work at it.

Since I really have the guitar synth bug now, I decided to upgrade to the Axon AX100 Mk II MIDI guitar converter. Folks, this thing is WAY better than the effing Roland. 1000% better. The slight amount of latency is not enough to be a problem even with fast picking, and the tracking is incredibly better once you tinker with the settings. There are still a few ghost notes and missed notes on the low E and A strings, but even those strings are usable for most things. which is not true with the Roland. You still have to play with much more precise technique than on regular guitar, and you can't just cut loose and forget about the gear. But this is an actual, usable piece of gear.

I can't wait to start collecting interesting synth modules to use with it. I'm looking to pick up an old Roland JD-990 to use for analog-style leads and pads, with maybe one of the Roland ROMplers also, such as the XV-5080. I've already got a Yamaha Motif ES keyboard, and I'm sure I'll be using it with the Axon, but it's not all that great for 'synthesized' sounds and its strong point is acoustic and electric pianos--which are still better played through actual keyboards. Guitar voicings sound kind of bizarre through piano sounds, though single note lines are fun. Accurate tracking is also more difficult with highly percussive sounds like piano.

Anyway, I recorded a "violin" solo using the cheezy built-in sounds on the Axon, and it still turned out pretty killer. It has a sustain pedal that activates a string pad 'zone' in this particular patch to use for backing. Take a listen:

SoundClick artist: Council of One - page with MP3 music downloads

This is good to hear, because I'm beyond fucking aggravated with my Roland GI-20. I am thinking of selling it and going for the AX-50, since I don't need the internal sounds at all, and am merely controlling GarageBand.

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by technomancer

Ok, that is indeed pretty damn cool. You are not helping my desire to get one of these to screw around with

I think it's pretty much a "must-have" if you use synth sounds. You have to have some patience with the Axon, though, and set it up properly.

Originally Posted by shannon

Once I snag the Axe-FX in a week or so, the Axon is my next target!

What guitar would you use with it? I highly recommend the Godin Freeway, since the price is great, and it works pretty damned well purely as a guitar. Mine is actually a hell of a shredder. You could also get one of the fancier Godins or a Brian Moore, but the Freeway works just as well for synth stuff.

Some folks on various guitar synth forums have said that the nylon-string Godin or Carvin synth acoustics actually track better than the steel-string models, but I can't vouch for that. I'd certainly rather use an internal piezo-driven system rather than one of those external Roland thingies.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

I think it's pretty much a "must-have" if you use synth sounds. You have to have some patience with the Axon, though, and set it up properly.



What guitar would you use with it? I highly recommend the Godin Freeway, since the price is great, and it works pretty damned well purely as a guitar. You could also get one of the fancier Godins or a Brian Moore, but the Freeway works just as well for synth stuff.

Some folks on various guitar synth forums have said that the nylon-string Godin or Carvin synth acoustics actually track better than the steel-string models, but I can't vouch for that. I'd certainly rather use an internal piezo-driven system rather than one of those external Roland thingies.

My guitar setup is pretty much the same as yours, i.e. I have the Graphtech Ghost system, same as the Freeway SA. The glitching and ghost notes with the GI-20, despite a year spent tweaking endlessly, is unbearable. I am not even that fast of a player, and it can't even keep up. I can't imagine someone with some serious skills playing it.

I was honestly thinking of giving it up and going to a cheap switch-based controller like the YouRockGuitar.

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by Jeff

This is good to hear, because I'm beyond fucking aggravated with my Roland GI-20. I am thinking of selling it and going for the AX-50, since I don't need the internal sounds at all, and am merely controlling GarageBand.

Go for it. You will be pleasantly surprised, coming off the Roland stuff. The internal, non-MIDI sounds on the GR-33 supposedly track a lot better than the GI-20, and I'm still way happier with the Axon. The MIDI output on the GR-33 is useless, but it's widely acknowledged to be inferior to the GI-20.

If I had a computer-based studio, I would have gone for the AX50, but you have to connect it to a computer to edit parameters. I don't plan to use the AX100's internal sounds much, though I'm sure one or two might prove useful.

[Josh]

A friend of mine is running a Roland GK pickup on his Schecter Gryphon 6 through a VG-99, and it kept up surprisingly well with his fast playing. I have not tried any other systems though.

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by Jeff

I was honestly thinking of giving it up and going to a cheap switch-based controller like the YouRockGuitar.

The hype on those is off the charts, but they haven't even shipped yet. I'm a little suspicious, since they're being marketed more as a Guitar Hero/Rock Band controller and student guitar than they are as a serious MIDI instrument.

I know that they are limited technique-wise (no string slides etc.), but if they are more accurate than pitch-to-MIDI converters, it might be worth using them for piano sounds and such. For serious playing, though, I have my doubts. I'll be curious to read reviews once they come out.

Originally Posted by Josh

A friend of mine is running a Roland GK pickup on his Schecter Gryphon 6 through a VG-99, and it kept up surprisingly well with his fast playing. I have not tried any other systems though.

The internal sounds on the VG-99 aren't MIDI and don't require the same level of conversion that synths do, from what I understand, so they track quite well. It's MIDI output is essentially just a built-in GI-20, and is no better or worse than that, from what I've read.

I thought about getting a VG-99 just for the various acoustic emulations (and might still), but they are very expensive to use for such a limited purpose, and I'm not as big on their electric emulations that use COSM amp modeling. They are a hell of a lot of fun to play around with, though. I spent about an hour and a half messing around with one at GC the other day.

[Josh]

We were playing the VG-99 through a FRFR PA system in my stepdad's recording studio rather than a real amp, so it sounded pretty good. You're right, it's a seriously fun toy, but my friend who uses it is turning it into his primary guitar 'box.' He doesn't even own a real amp anymore.

My favorite patch on the VG-99 was one that my friend had built where if you played gently, it triggered a nylon-string guitar, while if you played harder it blended in some acoustic 12-string with a synth-strings swell backing. Seriously fun stuff, and there's a lot of fun things you can do with the footswitch/IR trigger.

Also, the bass guitar emulation was scary good through a PA system.

That's too bad that it's not true MIDI though. It makes sense, I remember him complaining about the latency when triggering Garageband.