Yup!

Are you looking to process the audio from each string, or would a separate MIDI channel for each do the trick for you?

If a MIDI channel would work, have you looked at Jam Origin’s product? That might get you there.

Audio, yes. I'm thinking something along the lines of being able to affect groups of 2 or 3 strings instead of groups of 6. I have low pass filters that I really like the sound of for the three low strings, for instance, that thin out the top 3 strings of the bass side too much and this is on a 10 string, not even the 12 string that I will eventually have.

I'm not so worried about it, all told, and I am completely sure that I'll manage to get a nice enough sound since I've heard a fairly diverse set of sounds already. The flip side of what I'm talking about is the mire that I could easily find myself in managing up to 12 different channels of audio. (I'm, at most, *actually* only considering up to around 4 or 5 when I talk about actually using hex inputs on both sides. two groups on each side most likely.) I'm a little bit annoyed with myself because my pedalboard is just barely too cramped on a medium sized (24 x 14.5) board and that's only processing two channels of audio. I'm pretty happy with my bass side sound if I overlook the "this thins out high strings" bit. I chose bass side MIDI before the great GK shortage so I might end up being content with only splitting the bass side.

Hi griotspeak,
Just checking my understanding, but do you mean something like the way the 'CrossOver' virtual pedal is used on this MOD DUO-X pedalboard to arrange for chorus only on the higher bass strings (he splits the signal at 52.83Hz)?

Yes something like that

The possibility of processing strings separately or at least in smaller groups is definitely a cool idea - years ago I did consider getting two GK pickups installed on my Grand Stick just so I could do that on something like a Roland VG-99. Having the lowest 3 bass strings processed one way and the top 3 bass strings another would certainly be great. I did have GK-2A pickups on the melody side of my first 2 Sticks and ended up feeling that MIDI triggering or Roland VG processing (at least with the state of the technology back then, I think it was a VG-8 I had) was unsatisfying and finicky in some ways. I think I would use this more on the bass side.

I do think the deep learning technology I mentioned earlier could get to a point of virtual string separation (there's been research going on with audio "source separation" - being able to process a full recording and extract the audio for each instrument). But the best solution obviously is a pickup per string, if it's practical.

Crossovers are definitely helpful, the limiting thing there is that it's not true note separation - for any particular bass note (unless it's just a sine wave), the partials that make up the timbre of the sound will overlap substantially with the other notes. So you could have the chorus not affect the bass fundamental and maybe apply compression there (still helpful) but the rest of the "content" of that one note above the crossover will still be affected (I just played a low bass E on my Stick, it's fundamental is at 41 Hz and the harmonic content goes well up towards 10 KHz). Apologies if I'm just stating the obvious!

That's all clear to me, but it's very rarely a good idea to assume, so I at least appreciated your clear comments on the situation.

Filtering on a frequency can only really be a compromise, & certainly doesn't give 'per string' splitting. Even with fundamentals any threshold is a 'sloping line' across strings not an inter-string split.

When I downloaded that MOD DUO-X pedalboard I found, the CrossOver was set at ~53Hz. If I'm correct A1 is 57Hz? On that basis & I think that on a 10 string classic, a 53Hz split only omits the chorus for fundamentals lower than fret 9 on string 6 & fret 2 on string 7?

Correction! When I just looked again I saw 75Hz. That seems like a far more sensible figure. No idea how the earlier figure came about as I've not knowingly tweaked the control?

If I'm correct D2 is ~73Hz? That's a much more logical choice as D2 is string 8 nut on 10 string classic. Which nicely illustrates the 'sloping line' cut off, with the applying chorus for fundamentals for all of strings 8, 9 & 10, but also fret 8 & higher on string 7, & fret 15 & higher on string 6. A more generous range!

Its not antiquated at all if you want true midi output or in depth sound creation, it is still the best option.
I have a Boss SY-200, I upgraded from the SY-1 as although the sounds are mostly the same, there is more control and easier to setup sounds before for live work.

It does have midi as you say, but it is purely for patch changing and voice editing, it has no note output as it doesn't do that.



The tracking is fantastic and it is polyphonic as unlike a regular roland guitar synth, it doesn't ever calculate the pitch that it coming in, so where the GR synths work out the note and trigger oscilators tracking them to the original pitch, the SY series just use the input notes as the oscilators, and modify the amplitude. So it is actually the sound of your input signal,
That gives you instant sound that follows your pitch (as it is your input), it is polyphonic because it is just what the original was, but unfortunately doesn't let you send the individual notes anywhere as it doesn't ever work them out,.

They are great live pedals for thickening up a sound, I use mine on bass, although I would still like a GR or SY1000 for full synth work

They aren't using the GK anymore because they were modified by a guy at Roland and Stick lost contact with him and they can't order them any more. After waiting over a year for my Grand stick with dual MIDI, they told me I can't have MIDI anymore, and I can't have the PASV4 pickups I wanted, and it would take another year or two before they figure out how to incorporate MIDI onto their instruments. I got my deposit back and am now thinking of having my own tapping instrument made for me. We are looking at the ghost system. They have a pickup kit that we might use. Stick has gone so far down hill since Emmett became ill. I've read so many complaints about them now, that I'm sure they won't last much longer as a company. Some have been waiting for over 2 years for their instrument to be built, and waited months to get a response from them.