Inside a synth / electronic keyboard there must be a point where all of the keys are wired to before the sound is put through the chosen effect or patch. If I was to solder a jack plug to this point and plugged in a guitar, would the signal from the guitar be shaped by the synth or would it end up failing?
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
Replies
Okay - thanks for that.
Smojo - if i was to put a preamp or a digital pedal in chain before the synth would that sort out the problems you highlighted? I have had a trusty Zoom G2 for a couple of years that has done well, but I really want to make my own thing.
hello,my mate has just given me a G2 but no manual, any ideas where i might get one? i have no idea what any of it does. tried their website to see if i could get a pdf but couldn't see one.
Hi Steve,
Zoom G2 manual pdf is from here http://www.zoom.co.jp/downloads/g2/manual/
David
just checked, mine is the one with the pedal on it. g2.1 so i downloaded the newer versions manual too so hopefully covered both ways. cheers again
cheers sir.
No...for multiple reasons, which I just can't raise the willpower to explain at length.
If you want to build your own effects then there are some good sites with info eg.
www.beavisaudio.com
www.runoffgroove.com
If you want to hack around with synths then there are also resources on the web - in particular read up about circuit bending. But that tends to be a way of making weird and wacky noises rather than a way to build effects units. Try looking at:
www.circuitbenders.co.uk
or www.anti-theory.com/soundart/circuitbend/cb01.html
And remember the golden rule for beginners, which is: Only mess around with battery powered stuff, NEVER mess around with something that has a mains lead going into it.
If you want to feed a guitar through a synth then there are a few out there which are designed to take external inputs alongside the sound from their internal oscillators. I believe the Korg Monotron (as previously suggested) is one such machine with an audio jack input. Quite a few old analogue synths had that kind of arrangement but they fetch silly money now, whereas the Korg is about £30. There's also the Monotron Duo and Monotron Delay which have extra features that give you additional effects potential. You probably won't have the range of weirdness that Brian Eno got when feeding Phil Manzanera's guitar through a VCS3 but it looks like there's potential for fun.
If your synth has an input you might be able to use an A/D audio interface unit.
You also might want to check out the Korg Monotron. It's a pocket sized analog synth that retails for about $60 US.
The schematics are available from Korg and there is a pretty good bit of info floating around on how to hack it.
Basically - no. On modern synths/keyboards, the sound effects are created in a chip which is controlled digitally by voltages or ground potential being applied to certain pins on it when keys/buttons are pressed. A guitar signal is analogue so would not trigger the chip.
I have absolutely no idea, but your thinking makes sense to me. Try it and let us know what happens :o)