Single notes vs chords

The G2M™ Universal Guitar to MIDI Converter.

Moderators: johnmc, james

Post Reply
airchair
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:19 pm

Single notes vs chords

Post by airchair »

Another quick question. i know this is advertised as detecting single notes. So what happens if you are playing chords on the guitar--will it pick up a single note out of the chord--or nothing at all.
User avatar
james
Site Admin
Posts: 1866
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Re: Single notes vs chords

Post by james »

It will pick out a single note. Depending on the chord and level of the notes, it might also jump around a bit looking for the best note to play.
airchair
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:19 pm

Re: Single notes vs chords

Post by airchair »

I guess that's what I'm worried about. I would hate to pay $100 and find out it doesn't do what I want. If I played a "c", "D", and a "G" chord---what would I end up with in all practicality? I'm looking for a somewhat accurate way to play a guitar and have it make a corresponding midi file that I can import into a program like band in a box. Problem is I play chords 95% of the time. So is this a bad idea to try this unit for what I want? Or could I return it if it didn't do what I want?
User avatar
james
Site Admin
Posts: 1866
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Re: Single notes vs chords

Post by james »

If you want to play chords and have these to be converted to MIDI, don't get the G2M.

It is intended for single note runs, solos, fast leads etc. And it will only ever send 1 MIDI note-on at a time, and its internal design guarantees that it will always send a note-off before the next note-on. So it really is monophonic.

However, several G2M users have made compositions with big chords simply by overdubbing single-notes in their sequencer.
shredzone
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:04 pm

Re: Single notes vs chords

Post by shredzone »

I have read the responses in this thread. I have a slightly different question. First let me mention that I only plan to use the G2M to transcribe my music.
And I do understand that once I load the midi in my Guitar Pro I will need to tweak a little. With this in mind I would like to know what happens if I play
a chord. Will it pick the first note or what? For simplification please assume that a lot of time I will be playing power chords.

I need to know as accurate an answer to this as possible. I am thinking of buying this. Again my query has more relaxed constraints than the previous query.

Thank you.
User avatar
james
Site Admin
Posts: 1866
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Re: Single notes vs chords

Post by james »

What happens depends on what chords you play...

Power chords will typically be handled without problems so that the bass note is converted to MIDI and the other note is ignored. This works more reliably the higher the bass note is. A low-E power chord for example may "chatter" between both notes that are played.

If you play chords with more notes, it again depends where you play it. High up the neck, it usually will latch onto the most dominant note, usually the bass note. Lower down it will most likely jump around almost like an arpeggiator.

For most reliable results, it's still best to play single notes.
shredzone
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:04 pm

Re: Single notes vs chords

Post by shredzone »

Thank you. I plan to buy it this afternoon. There is one available in a local store downtown TO, ON.
Post Reply