From: Jer Olsen <HELP@...>
>My point is it could have been far better with not much more effort,
>certainly not any more expertise. What they are charging is a complete
>rip-off unless you've got money to spare.
Fair enough, but I don't believe that's why most people dis it.
People seem to think it's supposed to replace real guitars and are
offended by that. I suppose that may be its intention, but I see it
as an extra tool, not as a substitute.
>For me personally, the one-octave
>crap is unforgivable. If it works for you, great! I'm happy for you
>(seriously), but I think for anybody in search of a "virtual guitar" the
>instrument is completely laughable.
It's a matter of expectation. Again, I look at what it does rather
than what it doesn't do. There's an application for basic root
position chords.
> I'm not saying the existing sounds suck,
>although their generic quality leaves passion to the wayside IMO.
I think that's the point. If I needed to come up with a generic
country song, for example, it would work fine - at least for a
writing mock-up. That's why I say its design isn't conducive to great
art.
>What I am
>saying is that I still have to hire a session player and am out hundreds of
>dollars anyway (not really... I sold it).
No way is it going to take the place of a session player, if for no
other reason than that it doesn't include single-note samples that
let you play your own chords.
>Alas, I've beaten this dead horse
>to a pulp and I digress heavily. I just don't understand why anyone would be
>impressed with this, dare I say, instrument. Let me say this in closing. If
>it were at least 2-3 octaves of samples, I would have kept it. 11 keys is a
>joke if you ask me. It's like asking to play Mozart on a xylophone. Sure it
>sounds nice... to a point. -Jer
By "octaves" you mean you wish it had more chord variations, right?
Because it uses one octave of the keyboard (and it wraps around when
you go the the next octave) to trigger its chords. I agree that it
would be nice if its harmonic vocabulary went beyond [I'm trying hard
to think of the word for chords that stay within the major or minor
mode - i.e. no secondary dominants, no altered extensions...and my
mind's gone totally blank. Damn, this is frustrating!], but that
would mean more samples.
*****
I have an obscure little MIDI controller called a Digitar in my
closet, and this is inspiring me to think about maybe preparing to
dust it off. It goes on your belt, and it has six short bars,
simulating strings, that you strum. Here's a picture:
http://www.mariniimport.com/digitar.htm
I'm starting to think that for strummed parts, this and a really good
guitar library is the way to go. To avoid naffness you'd have to
ignore the function that automatically arranges notes into guitar
voicings, but the concept makes a lot of sense.
--
Nick Batzdorf
818/905-9101, cell 590-9101, fax 905-5434
