Everything you wanted to know about MIDI Guitar and an honest review of the Boss SY-1000

[@satiric_]

I'm in college right now for programming... this whole video seems like a great explanation of what happens when UI design is an afterthought

[@bobbobbington1132]

I think one of the reasons Apple has had such great success in the last 27 years (and their legendary comeback from the brink of death) is because Steve Jobs instilled in them a focus on the user experience (and hence the UI) as being the number one priority. Everything else is secondary. New features? Only if they can be made to give a solid user experience. It's why Apple tends to lag behind other companies in the deployment of new technologies, but when they DO release something, it's generally pretty fantastic. Roland seems to have no concept of this. They go features first, and figure out how to make the user interface once it's all done. It's backwards design.

[@danielabada2868]

These really genuine, honest reviews are such a rare gemstone nowadays, and I can really not express my gratitude enough to you for making them. It's so good to have someone you can actually trust when they talk about gear. I am really interested in MIDI guitar (actually MIDI bass to be exact) and from watching this video I feel that you have a super interesting workflow with it, extracting more out of the tech than just staying within the limits of the Boss/Roland interface. It would be extremely helpful for me to know a bit more about the various uses you have for midi guitar in your setup - how you use it to export midi out to a 3rd party destination, if you use midi guitar to midi map daw controls etc. I think this info can be eye-opening to many here, myself included. Thank you for all your efforts invested in this channel, as well as in your music which I've been a fan of for years.

[@nkozi]

Roland have such a weird, weird habit of designing the most stunningly capable and gorgeous-sounding gear, and then packing them full of the worst presets imaginable. Every pedal. Every synth. They just can't stop.

[@davemakesnoises]

seems like they're really...tonedeaf...to what their customers want.

[@nomepredefinito1174]

What's worse is that they discontinue it in a matter of a couple of year.

[@tinnitusthenight5545]

I have a working theory that most of Rolands sound engineers are primarily World and New Age musicians.

[@Mprfctgntlmn]

Not to mention they're not willing to invest time into making their synth gear 100% fully compatible for anything above 6 strings.

[@ralphpezda6523]

The biggest problem I found over the years, specifically with Roland Synth manuals, etc., is that they provide no real explanation of how to use the instrument they come with. D70s, A90s, etc., had manuals that were essentially written backwards. If you wanted to understand them you started at the last section and progressively moved toward the front section, one section at a time. The next complaint is they were written for the most sophisticated users who already knew the terminology and how MIDI worked without having to think about it---- great for professionals but not so great for the rest of us who just like making music, good, wonderful, awful, or somewhere in between.

[@antoniodalfonso]

Benn Jordan: your in-depth analysis of the Sy-1000 is right on. I have spent an entire day trying to arrive at where you lead us here today, and so I want to thank you for your mastering of the medium. Your pre-sets are quite amazing. And the performances are magnificent. Thank you.

[@Swaglamp69]

Would appreciate hearing your analysis of the latest system - GM 800 & GK-5

[@ModerneArketekt]

Thank god this isn't another video that makes me feel like I need to buy more expensive gear. Also they should put you on the design team for this product line.

[@jtn191]

"Fooled You Again" seems like a reference to the synth opening in The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again", but it does sound much like it.

[@duncan-rmi]

duh! :-)

[@Cosmikh0bo]

Yeah though exactly the same!

[@bongodroid]

For kids who don´t know the Who they could´ve named the patch Horatio or CSI.

[@antonyfaulkner8649]

Shredding a Right Handed (Strung) guitar Left Handed. Bizarre Kudos. But I only found this channel as a 30 year guitariist who just bought a Yamaha Synth looking for tips. Mind Blown. You are truly a musical God! Superb videos. Totally subscribed.

[@computersad]

This is exactly the video I wanted to see, thank you man

[@Crazy_Dave]

Thank you so much for taking the time and putting the effort in to make this video you've really given me an insight into how this unit works. The best review of this unit I've seen. Again thank you.

[@svartsjokolade]

20:32 That's reminiscent of the end of "Floods" by Pantera. Must say I've enjoyed your exploration of the presets, it was very entertaining!

[@pauldecaro1416]

you are a legend man i was searching far and wide to find it. and now ive got the answer. it is the end of floods, benn's prolly going on it from memory so it isnt exact. thanks man

[@onpatrolforthejuice]

Man Ben I remember when I heard red extensions of me for the first time. I was running the radio show at my highschool and asked my friend that worked at an offbeat record store and wanted something to play for Halloween on the radio. I asked him what would be good. He gave me that album and meathole by venetian snares. Both of them blew my mind but especially red extensions. That experience is what made me start making electronic music and I have been obsessed with it for about 15 years.

[@danielpirone8028]

This is brilliant content I can’t get or trust anyplace else. Thank you Benn!

[@tedrogersisback5729]

Except that his description of most of the technology and it's underpinnings are factually incorrect.

[@enzoferrera8178]

I'm at 14:30 ish and you've hit it dead on with the evaluation of the SY1000 presets. I've tried so hard to want to like this but it's hard so far. I even own two pups and several new cables from my GR55 and i SOLD THE 55 TO GET THE 1000 AND SO FAR i'M STILL NOT DOWN. i JUST GOT AN aRTIPHON SHOULD BE HERE TOMORROW so I'm see how that does. i ALREADY OWN A fANTOM 6 and Jupiter XM plus loads of plugins. I will say the guitar modeling is the only thing I'm holding onto and the reason I'm not yet gonna sell my pickups just yet. You did the BEST review I've seen great job man. Been subscribed a while and love all your videos. Boss should have had you design all of the presets! The reviews and product would've been received much better.

[@MartinCraneRockbeast]

I have both and can now use both together using the gk switcher pedal.

[@drolaz123]

Finally someone breaking this thing down great job! Was on the fence for 6 months on getting this, gonna save my money :)

[@boimesa8190]

Get a 2nd hand VG99

[@squackles]

Yes! Finally! Been waiting for you to do a MIDI Guitar video since you started your channel! And a long one as well, oh man...

[@vg99]

The Roland GK-3 hex divided pickup provides 6 analog Output signals ( one per string) and a 7th for the normal Pickups and feed these ANALOG signals through the GK 13 cable to the connected "GK 13 pin PROCESSOR" . The Roland VGuitar 13pin GK Processors (as well as competing DSP Guitar Modeling systems from Antares, and Line-6 Variax) do not employ a Guitar to MIDI conversion function for their principal sound . Instead think of the VGuitar system as six separate DSP Modeling signal paths - The Strings are the oscillators. and it functions quite similar to the Line-6 Variax signal processing flow - ( Guitar PU for each String> six A/D's ( one per string) >DSP >D/A) and latency is similar to Variax (under 2 milliseconds for each string) and substantially much faster than any Guitar to MIDI system or Guitar to PCM system. The biggest difference between Roland VG Series and Line 6 Variax is the DSP is inside the Guitar on the Line-6 system - both allow real time DSP generated Alternate Tunings, Guitar Modeling and on Roland VG systems and Antares ATG-1 - Pedal Steel multi-string pitch bends - no MIDI involved ! STILL many folks call the GK cable a "13 pin MIDI Cable"

[@tedrogersisback5729]

Referring to it as MIDI Guitar is fundamentally incorrect. The GK pickups output hexaphonic audio and perform no MIDI processing. The general parlance most people use these days, for this technology is Hex or divided pickup. The GR-300 you referred to Pat Metheny using in the introduction, was an analogue synthesiser; no MIDI involved. The VG-8, VG-88, VG-99, GP-10 and SY-1000 all work in the audio domain using the strings as the oscillators to drive multichannel DSP's, which then perform physical modelling (including guitar and amps), realtime re-synthesis, harmonic restructure modelling etc. Internally there is no pitch to midi or tracking. Think of them as a more complex Line 6 Variax in a box. The VG-99, GP-10 and SY-1000 do also offer a separate, pitch to MID conversion via USB and 5 pin MIDI in order to drive external soft synths/hardware synths. It's important not to confuse people, as it perpetuates the stigma of 80's style pitch to MIDI converters where tracking and false note triggers were factors. The internal latency can vary on these processors, based on the type of synth model or processing being used (the OSC synth on the SY-1000 for example), but this is not the same as tracking on a pitch to midi convertor. For those interested in the underlying principles involved in this technology read this paper: msp.ucsd.edu/Publications/icmc10.pdf

[@vg99]

Agree

[@fh404]

Ah, Miller Puckette! Great person!!

[@vondragonnoggin]

Too bad this guy flailed through presets trying to make the most disappointed face possible, then flail through trying to find a simple ADSR envelope or filter or routing. Finally cracks the manual and finds stuff but after still flailing because he has only skimmed the manual, makes another disappointed face. I watched a guy that doesn’t even know synths that we’ll get more out of the editor because he read the manual and get brilliant sounds out of it. This guy should give up on making unboxing videos.

[@MsIndiscipline]

@@vondragonnoggin The things that are missing in this product described at the end of the video are actually absent from the unit. And there's no manual reading or face making that can fix it. He's completely right.

[@budokaiboy]

Could you please give me your opinion on the jamstik midi guitars?

[@esmoroglu]

Consistently fair and detailed reviews, practical and honest.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🧿

[@TIZ1629]

ThkU Ben for having the patience to tolerate this expensive headache. ThkU!

[@healthyhappyhero]

Thanks for making this video, I was looking to upgrade from my GR55 but I think I will wait a couple years until there are significant improvements,

[@allen7shen7]

When the bass comes out at 49:53 to fullfill the low-end with the constant upper ambience, it sounds just like heaven.

[@sordel5866]

I started watching this video thinking “oh boy I need this ... a massive upgrade for my VG-88” and ended it thinking “Roland have had over twenty years ... how is this as far as we've got?”

[@tonyisyourpal]

If the VG88 hadn’t been such a massive step backwards from the expanded VG8... depending on what you’re into I suppose; if it’s all about VGM for you then the 88 is ok; if it’s HRM then the VG8EX was much much better...

[@jacobbrown1690]

I have the vg 88 v2. It’s nice, then I bought a vg 99 and vb 99. Then got the gr 55. I don’t know if I will buy this. But you can never ever base a a Roland product on their presets. The presets are always bad.

[@moorestreetfootscraytrucks2909]

Hey Ben. Great work as always. I think the "fooled you again" preset may be a reference to the Who's "Won't get fooled again". I think Pete Townshend got the synthy intro from plugging a Lowry organ into an Arp 2500. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Won%27t_Get_Fooled_Again

[@moorestreetfootscraytrucks2909]

I just noticed that someone made this same comment a year ago. Doh.

[@T.H.W.O.T.H]

Dear Roland. Please employ Mr Benn Jordan as a consultant on future firmware updates for the Boss SY-1000. #bossSY1000

[@elantric]

Why? - When he does not even understand the technology at all - look at the title of the video says it all kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqaTo6iYrbhjnLc

[@MrArjen1960]

I bought a VG88 last year, for such an old effect it is still an inspirational thing.

[@aliensporebomb]

We should do a VG-99 lovefest somewhere. I just got an SY-1000 too. Good video. More after I watch the whole thing.

[@BennJordan]

Hey man! I've listened to your stuff from lurking through the vguitar forums over the years. You make really excellent stuff!

[@elantric]

​@@BennJordan - instead of lurking - why not actually read - none of your 13 pin guitars are "MIDI GUITARS" www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=14088.0

[@tedrogersisback5729]

56:30 The "WAVE PEDAL" (in the "ASSIGN" page), is a tempo sync-able LFO that can be mapped to anything: read the manual.

[@javiceres]

It’s even in the GT line of products.

[@portwain]

Moldover is a great musician that deserves much more attention.

[@TheEleventeen]

The only good experience I have had with Roland Boss 13 pin products (aside of GK-3 pickup, which is a must) was with GP-10. The best guitar to midi product (which works together with Roland’s GK-3 pickup) is by far Axon AX 100 made decades ago by a German company called Blue Chip, and later company Terratec Producer. With Axon AX 100 and GK-3 pickup, you can connect your guitar to any sound source of any kind and never have to worry about latency, or triggering errors (at least that is my own experience). By the way, thank you Ben for all your wonderful videos ! I love all of your videos I watched so far. X🤘🏻X

[@tedrogersisback5729]

The Fishman Tripleplay was developed by the designer of the Axon and is even faster; pitch to midi wise.

[@MsIndiscipline]

I would love it if you could expand a bit on your GP-10 experience

[@TheSpoonwood]

nice patches you built! quite beautiful some .... would loved to see how the midi plays with a sampler like Kontakt ... some orch strings.

[@AdamUpMusic]

Woah, just realized he’s playing upside down. 🤯 thinking of buying the vg-88 .. but this guy is always cool to hear out

[@t264385]

Dear Good job. Simple and honest. I also have for 13 years a VG99 and in addition a Cell Sonic connected and all controlled with the VG99 RC pedal board. Top gear. Could not be more satisfied. As I mentioned, I'm satisfied with my set up and the userfriendlyness of this VG99. Is still the best midi product on the market in my opinion. So you are right the SY1000 is not yet the improvement that we had hoped. Finally the musicien makes the difference. Greets from Belgium Steve Verstichelen

[@MrIrishBiker]

I can't thank you enough for this honest review. I'm am not a professional or gigging musician just somebody who loves jamming along with my favourite rock songs at home but also don't mind spending a lot of money on high level equipment if it sounds great and Is easy to use. I have used lots of boss multi effects units over the years and was always very happy with my purchases. But a couple years ago I purchased a headrush pedal board as it seamed more advanced than the then newest boss unit at the time. I absolutely love the headrush, it sounds amazing and is very easy to program and use. I recently have been interested in the gk3 pickup functions especially the ability to use custom and alt tunings and switch to 12string and acoustic sounds at the Press of a foot switch. I was about to pull the pin and order the sy1000 as I thought being the flagship boss gk3 model it would give me all my headrush board has plus the gk3 tuning/acoustic ability. SO GLAD I FOUND THIS VIDEO FIRST!!!! I didn't hear one single preset I could use and the thought of spending hours deepdiving into menus to try and create my own presets nearly gave me an aneurysm! I've decided after watching this video to instead buy the boss gp10s and gk3 which only costs around a third the price of the sy1000. And run this into my headrush. That will give me best of both worlds, alt tuning, acoustic sim and great sounding easy to set up amp/effects sounds. I wish there was more open honest reviews like this on KZbin. Thanks again your newest subscriber 👌

[@jparkercoleman]

God bless you. ❤ I almost got rid of my SY 1000 till I watched this. I hated the presets and now I see why. I guess it’s time to deep dive.❤

[@peanutygoodness]

I came for the SY1000 and stayed for the accurate analysis and real world (and time) experience with midi interfacing with a guitar. I love playing the guitar for the reasons you mention - the overtones and what you can do with years of practice and playing. The first time I used a midi processor with guitar I heard all of those out of control weird untamed tones and immediately realized that my lack of experience with a keyboard was no longer a problem. But you are so right to say that it’s not really like playing a midi instrument(s) with a guitar. It’s like a whole different thing. This is sounding very familiar to both my approach and my opinions regarding guitar and contemporary music. My initial influences were A Belew and R Fripp, which morphed into Fred Frith and Marc Ribot … but I still love SY and Pavement. None of that should matter. Have you used Jam Origin products? I’ll check your other videos and figure that one out. MidiMorphose seems to have vanished.

[@jacquesmalecaut6098]

easiest subscription ever -what a stunning video.

[@usafirefly7967]

Your review is good. With you on higher expectations. Thanks for your review.

[@iancosgrove]

Benn is the king of left handed upside down midi guitar

[@Mehdigitara1]

Hello, God willing, I have a good shot. Please help me. Is it possible to collect samples of live instruments on a sy1000 device? The sounds of live instruments on the Roland vg 99 are set to the sy1000, which has a wider range of sounds.

[@BrockDavisson]

No... people have told you this a few times now over on boss sy-1000 facebook page.

[@nicolasgroove]

Thanks so much for this video, it’s very clear and helpful

[@DumblyDorr]

Wow, that sound starting @49:18 is really beautiful! (also - I think it *does* probably help that you're an awesome and highly experienced sound-designer) Your jazz-guitar skills are pretty on point - getting some Joe Pass, maybe Jim Hall, Barney Kessel... great stuff! Very glad you reviewed this - I'd been playing with the thought of getting one of these. It's not bad - it probably won't satiate my appetite for a real Synthaxe, but might be an option - I'm gonna give it some time and see what firmware and software updates it'll get. Meanwhile, for jamming and studio work, it's not like all the other controllers (midi-keyboards, launchpads and a Touché with its amazing articulation-capabilities) won't do. Still waiting for a synthaxe like Holdsworth got to enjoy for the 21st century though - no tracking latency, keys and pluckable strings, hold-mode.... all that stuff.

[@Jimmy7345-g5b]

Never knew much about MIDI guitar, thanks for the video!

[@tedrogersisback5729]

This video has nothing to do with MID guitar. It's hexaphonic audio processing.

[@samaBR333]

would like to see you sending midi guitar to your modulars!

[@willykakka]

Ended up subscribing. Awesome review!

[@jmd76family]

Everything i wanted to learn in one video!

[@Evil_OhBi]

Amazing insides thx for that

[@briantyhy4880]

Thanks for posting. You know your guitar synths. I am someone who has several but don't really use them that much, too busy learning songs. Hope to get to your synth level someday and apply the knowledge to performing. thanks again

[@dawnofreality]

Really informative, thank you

[@davidschwartzguitar]

Roland/Boss offers the best guitar modeling (the L6 Variax guitars are good too, but have significant disadvantages) on the market, but when it comes to pitch-to-MIDI, the Fishman TriplePlay is far superior. Spitfire Audio recently sponsored a competition for scoring a scene from Westworld. For my entry (which you can see on my channel), with the exception of the drums, I performed all the parts with TriplePlay. There was a bit of MIDI editing after the fact, but I’ve never been able to get synth parts down so quickly before. I’d highly recommend checking one out.

[@gueims]

You're right. After more than 30 years of using everything on midi guitar ( never played synthaxe or ztarr, but everything else) the Fishman is by far the best tracking guitar to midi.

[@davidschwartzguitar]

gueims I’ve been wanting to try a Ztarr for a long time. I saw Stanley Jordan play one once, and haven’t been able to get it out of my head. Super expensive, though!

[@tedrogersisback5729]

This video should be called "Everything you can't discover about your purchase when you don't read the manual".

[@shitmandood]

Well, most people want to plug and play...like you do with synths.

[@tedrogersisback5729]

@@shitmandood It's not a Les Paul and a tube amp. It's clearly aimed at guitarists and those with an interest in, and understanding of, synthesis. The Roland GR-55 is for the preset jockeys.

[@PacificBird]

@@tedrogersisback5729 if you didn't notice, this guy has thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of synthesizers and is clearly well versed in the world of many different forms of synthesis. Boss/Roland simply didn't pack good presets or a good editor in with an $1000+ product.

[@89ji76]

I often hear “it’s great for synth wave” Which is nice but also a huge red flag.

[@javiceres]

Prophets are as well, would you flag them?

[@89ji76]

JaBig * red flag as in a warning of something possibly being bad. Not necessarily a mark against it.

[@absolutevalue23]

"Maybe im just missing something" is my second to last thought before i give up on and sell that particular Boss unit. okay im done now- just some kind of relief in knowing i'm not crazy about how everything boss does manages to invariably fall short in at least 2 deal-breaking ways.

[@johnmoyle4195]

I just bought a second hand VG-99. I’m almost finished building a guitar to use with it. I’m so glad I didn’t get this thing.

[@equalequalslopezcartoons3702]

When does the Ben Jordan guitar midi processor come out? 😅

[@projectz975]

why are the synthy presets on guitar synths always so unbelievably garbage?? like Roland factory presets are always bad, but these are horrendously, flabergastingly, GALACTICLY bad 🤣

[@infesticon]

I think it's the gt6 or gt8 that had not a half bad guitar synth, It was very basic but went nice with single strings.

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

From what I can see, at least some of that might be the interface. From what I've seen, I'm not sure I'd want to spend my workday "creating" presets when there's a crap mod matrix and laggy interface. After some time struggling, I'd probably phone it in, too.

[@playtf2]

Many presets on actual synths (at least on soft-synths) are garbage too. Scrolling through library to get something good is such a frustrating experience and can get you throw your idea in garbage in futile attempts to make something that works organically together. Every single one tries to be the edgiest one and steal the spotlight.

[@bhhssrr]

I was fucking cackling at all the factory presets. God that made my day. Thank you

[@oliverlovekin]

@ 19:29 , I'm guessing the "Fooled You Again" preset is a nod to The Who's "We Won't Get Fooled Again"

[@joddbeel]

You suggested Allan Holdsworth as MIDI- king. Love that, and a bit awed. He has been my musician hero all my life. Audun

[@Mazda13bRotary]

20:31 such an iconic riff

[@epic454545]

Have play midi guitar system for 15 year it's the best review for SY1000。

[@BrentODell]

I had a Boss GP-10 for a while, and it was quite good at the modelling other guitars stuff. I could sound like an acoustic, a big jazz semi-hollow, a sitar, etc. and it sounded pretty good. It didn't really have any intention of MIDI control, though, I didn't use it enough to keep it around.

[@drrobert9068]

Hey there, nice video. But I am kind of surprised that you don't mention the Fishman Tripleplay and/or the line6 Variax stuff.

[@joebowbeer]

At the moment, most SY-1000 users program on device than in the PC editor. Pressing down on the knobs unlocks a new feature. You can reorder instruments vertically, by the way. Noisy USB is not generally a problem. Please have another look.

[@gullskaffer3057]

20:30 is a riff from the song Novembre - Nothijngrad, played one octave higher.

[@richcaloggero3424]

Ben, would love to see a review of the new Roland gm-800 guitar synth. This one is a PCM synth, but it sound way better than the old stuff. Lots of videos on KZbin...

[@erolsommer]

Thank you for this in depth review. I've been a 13 pin user since the original Roland V-Bass. I had been ignoring the SY series because of the lack of PCM sounds. I wish you had demoed the midi out to other synths. I was curious if it tracks identical to the GR-55, or if it has been improved. The last few years I've been doing a lot of acoustic guitar duo gigs. I've found the FTP to track sampled sounds better than a GR-55, but as you mention the acoustic models aren't there with FTP. I used to think the Roland models were really good (VG-99), until I heard the Antares ATG-1 models! Those are my favorites (especially the 12 string). The other thing that the ATG-1 has that no Roland had is auto tune. Hit a button and all your strings tune up instantly (it even corrects for poor intonation up the neck). So I cut the pickup off my FTP Connect and built a 13 pin adapter to feed it. The ATG-1 has a 13 pin out, so I send that to my FTP and use my favorite softsynths on an iPad mini 4th gen. I get great models on the ATG-1 and great synth tracking from my FTP, check it out here kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3PWiYdtpr-BaMU

[@dogmatronic]

Can you post your patches on the V-Guitar forum? Really like the Traffic patch. I share your frustration about the editor and the presets, the bass patches are more creative IMO.

[@elantric]

www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=322.0

[@AustinSandick]

I'm the guy you talked to at WNAMM 2020 from BOSS.

[@HouseOfSpheres]

Can we get an update on the SY-1000? I’ve off and on considered buying one for quite some time now.

[@davidrotter3862]

Thank you so much for taking the time to create this video, very much appreciated. I am quite happily surprised to find that you play upside down and backwards, Albert King, Otis Rush, Dick Dale, Eric Gales, yourself and I!! I just acquired this pedal and have not had a chance yet to install the GK3 in one of my Guitars. Is there a particular guitar that the GK3 works best with. I have an SG and a Stratocaster available. Which would you choose as your first 13 pin guitar between those two? I’m subscribing to your channel. Cheers!!😊

[@gnosismonkey]

The “crappy presets problem” is why I used to slave a JV2080 to my GR30 and design my own presets back in the 90’s.

[@BecomingProductions]

Benn did you ever look into the Fishman Tripleplay pickup? I used the Roland GK series for years, even getting a few guitars custom fitted with internal pickups. It works well but honestly I found the tracking on the Fishman infinitely better. It works wirelessly too which is a bonus, with the pickup connecting wirelessly to a USB receiver. The USB receiver is class compliant too so I have it plugged into a Kenton usb midi host and I can connect to any 5 pin midi hardware. They're cheap too, if I remember right mine was about 200 on sale, but regular pricing isn't much more than that. Worth a look if you haven't already tried one.

[@shitmandood]

I was checking out Fishman and I noticed that it DID NOT have a fucking regular MIDI output to plugin directly to synth hardware. You have to spend another $229 to get yet another box so that it can convert the wireless into a MIDI Output. If it had a 3.5mm MIDI out like the Jamstik on its external MIDI pickup, then it would be good to go, at $400....but no...it needs to go the Randall route and have you pay extra for a middle man box to hit first.. hahah.

[@BecomingProductions]

@@shitmandood Or else buy a simple USB midi host for 40 -50 dollars and use any USB midi controller to control your regular 5 pin hardware. That's exactly what I did and it works a treat. Considering it still comes in cheaper and tracks far better than the Roland solutions I don't think there's much to complain about.

[@shitmandood]

@@BecomingProductions Fair enough, but they don't advertise it. Fishman's marketing wants you to go wireless and pay that extra $229 for the FC-1 Controller. So $450 for the Fishman Triple Play and the host. I think I'd prefer if it were built into the guitar but I guess they don't sell any kits for it. You're the first person that said it tracks well. If you go to Amazon and look at the cheaper unit they sell there, most people are avoiding Fishman MIDI like the plague and since the cheaper one doesn't work, they would never double-down and go try the more expensive model because of the piss-poor experience they already had... lol.

[@BecomingProductions]

@@shitmandood How about this, don't buy it, simple. I'm not the first person who said it tracks well as I read a ton of positive reviews before buying the Tripleplay. I'm not too put out if you buy something else. I'm simply recommending a very good product on a video covering similar topic. If you feel that strongly about it I'm sure you can find Fishman's contact details on their website.

[@shitmandood]

@@BecomingProductions Wasn't planning on it. I'm on a PC after all. Quotes from Amazon: "I bought this for my fender strat and the thing doesn’t fit without me raising the action higher than Cheech and Chong on Sunday morning." "Latency is a serious problem . Workable but still room for improvement." "But it is just for iPad Doesn’t work good on PC and you cannot control your settings!"

[@GregParkemusic1]

Thank you! I currently have and use a VG99 and GR55. For a long time I also used 2 GI20’s going into Roland 880 and 1080 synths. I recently tried the SY200 (useless imo!) and have been thinking about trying this new synth you just reviewed. I think I will stay with what I have for now. Thanks for saving me some $$!

[@gmo4046]

A few random comments on this video - 1) love your playing, and licks, I had a lefty buddy who learned as a kid the same way from hanging out with other righty players ("hey, hand me your guitar so I can try it too") - opens up creative channels. 2) the comments on presets made me laugh - I tend to agree, although I have had moderate success over the years cracking open Roland presets that were palatable, and making further edits 3) I'm glad you called Roland out on firmware updates, I agree with other commenters that they should hire you and others to reset and rebuild the sound quality - as mentioned in other comments, V-guitar forum has a whole section on this device, with a subsection on patches that people share - Roland, are you listening . . . ? 4) I credit you for the self-awareness that you had very high expectations, which created some disappointment, and I can't blame you to some degree BUT I come at this from a separate perspective, which is that I did not buy the SY-1000 for MIDI or synth programming - rather, I bought it for basic hex extraction plus contemporary hex processing of analog signals, with MIDI out to drive real synths as a side benefit (although I will likely tap into individual audio strings via USB and/or breakout box, and send those strings to eurorack and/or jam origin software to get better cv and midi results). The point is, I am willing to forego some of the lost functionality versus older boss pedals in order to get a device that I realize will only do SOME of what I want in a full studio, which is complimented by other dedicated devices, while also being gig-worthy, sturdy, programmable, and replaceable. There is no perfect device, and so far out of the box I give the SY-1000 a B+ on the hex sounds after a bit of tweaking, with an A- pending if Roland will roll up their sleeves, and a solid A if I can eventually incorporate into my studio to play nicely with real synths (not sure A+ is realistic if the user interface impairs the creative process, and I agree tat the firmware limits on 8 total channels which caused a mono rather than stereo loop is a bit of a bummer, but there are workarounds). Anyway, given that my GK3 is set up properly on my ax, and with a cycfi custom build in the works for another ax, I am not too concerned about enjoying this device in the future. In fact, I think so far it has been a truckload of fun (plus some of the comedy you highlighted during the beer breaks !). Thanks again for the time and dedication creating an honest, entertaining, and helpful review.

[@kamalmanzukie]

I built an FFT based polyphonic pitch detector that has excellent tracking without the need for hexaphonic pickups. in fact it works so well it can run pitch detection on full mixes it can be done with FFT, but it's not that simple. you need a loooooot of additional tricks for it to work well

[@Dimanchy_Boss]

Супер обзор,спасибо!Super review, thanks!

[@ThrashForwardGuitarClips]

I use things like ez drummer, but never thought about midi to emulate one string at a time and sound like a banjo or acoustic whatever. Good demo with great insight!

[@DrRussPhd]

So, after 3 years have Roland upgraded this unit with better firmware?

[@zoomzoom3950]

Just ordered a SY-1000. Let's see if it can replace my current rig: GT-1 + SY-300.

[@MARTY_OUTPUT]

Great T-shirts!!🥰

[@teddybearasaurus]

Is there a good unit that you suggest for my Godin? The sy1000 looks like too much wasted potential

[@HowieStephens]

20:42 whoa you can get artificial harmonics from this rig?? That's pretty crazy to me. I have an old late 80s Yamaha G10+G10C MIDI guitar that I'm pretty sure can't do that at all. 🤯 It is an awesome device though. I've had it for almost 20 years but only just recently got my hands on both a Yamaha TX81Z and a TX802 and it's a treat to play this thing through the old synths it was designed for. I mean, i got the OG "Lately Bass" at my fingertips, what more do you need haha 😅

[@kurduwadichurch]

48:16 Sounds like POD - School of hard knocks intro extended version.

[@matthiasdoffek3282]

Is it possible to Enter with GK 3 Pickup the Midipart in DAW and then play the correct Midipart with clean guitar Sound in a Tube Amp? I kind of midi an reamping..instead of playing 1000 Times wirh mistakes in the Studio..??

[@wemgadge]

Been playing synth guitar on SampleTank with a Fishman TriplePlay! Thanks for this review of the new Boss guitar synth.

[@robarkskillie960]

BOSS GP-10 Is also Noisy AF when hooking up to PC - PolyFX is individually processed effect-per string btw

[@dandelgado11]

God, how I am greatful that I'm able to play this instrument 😊

[@NB-lm2sm]

I can't believe that they didn't include 001: ARP 303 Saw in that preset bank..

[@gerardange]

I’ve been using Guitar Synths since 1974... Thanks so much for your great dissection of the Roland Preset Fluff and diving deep into the core of the Japanese engineers idea of what music is! LOL! Aka: Engineers not Musicians! As I have learned with all latest greatest equipment .... Find it’s limitations... I’m most cases are many , many.... only then....you can find if there is anything elements left, that your can use to create a few a truly dynamic sounds ! So far after many ~ I use the GR-55 and as I am sure you know 99% of those presets were all junk too... unless you can Tweek all that was left...into some thing that is usable to me. Lol... Some things Never Change!!! Thanks for the deep dive!!! Gerard

[@Hawtnsaucy]

I have the GR-55. Has a learning curve and wish it had better editing software but I’m really exploring new sounds

[@r.e.d.62]

Have to say that more than anything else this review has prompted me to seek out the VG99...

[@milkdud3618]

My gk 3 and my friend gr 55 has started dropping strings (muting b or g usually). I spray contact cleaner and someone’s remedy’s but not helpful while performing a set live. Is there a fix?

[@joebowbeer]

59:02 Regarding one OSC modulating another, see RING SW in dynamic synth and RING MODE in OSC synth.

[@suitandtieguy]

What about the WP-20?

[@jdor7354]

What a fantastic video. Thank you Benn for going so in depth, yet in a concise way. It does give a great insight as to what exists, what expectations one may have etc. What do you make of the Jam Origin stuff and do you think they will release a newer and better version of their own system in the future for example?

[@TheJoYo]

Every time i looked at yet another monophonic synth pedal someone inevitably mentions a midi pickup. These honestly sound exactly like the monophonic synth pedals. I think ill just stick to fuzz when im playing with synth percussion.

[@floppydisk921]

WHY IS THERE ACTUALLY NO COHESION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PRESEST. You just go from an acoustic to a seq pad

[@duncan-rmi]

showroom. the whole of the first bank of anything is showroom stuff.

[@tedrogersisback5729]

It's to demonstrate the unit's versatility. The fourth patch in every bank is a sequencer patch. Not saying I like it, but at least it's consistent.

[@shitmandood]

I wonder if they have the option to ERASE and clear up all that space for those shitty presets? That's the first thing I'd do if I had one.

[@89ji76]

Have you tried the newer (and very different) GM-800?

[@Dr.Jekyll]

“Fooled You Again” is obviously a take on the sound from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”