PRODUCT REVIEW
SOnuuS
G2m miDi
Converter
BY MICHAEL ROSS
Given how cutting-edge guitar synthesizers seem today, it’s hard to believe that
they have been around for more than three
decades. And, not surprisingly, they’ve
evolved significantly in that time. The
early-’70s models used by Pat Metheny and
Bill Frisell were not equipped with MIDI and
were only able to control certain dedicated
sound modules. Because there were no
MIDI-conversion latency issues, these guitar
synths were able to track very well. Once
audio-to-MIDI conversion became available,
guitars equipped with hexaphonic pickups
(that is, pickups that can send and receive
audio separately from each of the six
strings) could be used to control keyboard
synthesizers, synth modules, and even samplers. Suddenly guitarists had the ability
to trigger everything from synth pads and
drum sounds to loops, string parts, and
piano sounds.
If this all sounds like a history lesson in a
foreign language, you’re on your way to
understanding why guitar synthesis has yet
to catch on in a big way. In the past, most
guitarists’ eyes would glaze over when talk
shifted to MIDI and synthesizers. And those
who were interested were often put off by
slow MIDI tracking, false note triggering,
and the inability of early audio-to-MIDI converters to follow techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slurs, bends, and tapping.
The Sonuus G2M, a MIDI interface that’s
easy to use and eliminates the need for special jacks and pickups, has the potential to
change all of that.
The magic of miDi
For those unfamiliar with the term, MIDI
(musical instrument digital interface) is a dig-
ital message protocol designed to transmit
musical events—such as, say, a pitch bend—
to ones and zeros so that they can be
processed by a computer. Companies like
Roland and Terratec (Axon) have advanced
audio-to-MIDI conversion significantly and
addressed many early hurdles. But even the
best MIDI converter still requires accurate
playing at a level beyond some guitarists.
To get acceptable results, you must pick
every note cleanly and with exactly the right
pressure. If you hit adjacent strings or allow
notes to ring over each other, the MIDI mod-
ule creates glitches and unwanted sounds.
Sloppiness that’s perfectly acceptable—or
even desirable—in normal guitar playing is
verboten with a MIDI guitar.
This is one reason you are still unlikely to spy
a 13-pin MIDI connector plug coming out of a
guitarist’s hex-pickup instrument in a live performance (precision players like Pat Metheny
