Q. What's a GI-10?

A. The GI-10  is billed as a Guitar MIDI Interface. Manufactured by Roland, it's primary purpose in life is to convert guitar pitch to MIDI data so that the guitar can control the ever widening field of MIDI compatible equipment. It accepts input from two optional sources. The guitar can be connected via the use of Rolands' GK series of HEX pickups  or sound can be fed directly using a microphone input. The MIC input limits it's capability to monophonic sources (one note at a time) and the tracking is slower making this option less useful but providing the possibility of converting other instruments or voice to MIDI. The GI-10 has both MIDI IN and OUT connections as well as jacks for the use of 1 or 2 sustain pedals (allowing different types of effects) and an expression controller.

A. Your best bet is to scour the used market. Try local music stores as well as some of the larger national outlets. The internet is also a great garage sale. Two of my favorite haunts for used gear on the net are:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Synth/#cla
rec.music.makers.marketplace

The latter is available thru your newsgroup server. I have made several purchases thru both of these venues and have been very happy with the transactions but there are some caveats. If you read thru the posting on the newsgroup, you will inevitably run across the typical "DON'T BUY FROM SO-AND-SO... HE RIPPED ME OFF!!!" messages. These people invariably sent cash up front to people they don't know in places they've never heard of for site-unseen goods and, in my opinion, deserve exactly what they got. ALWAYS insist that the seller ship the goods COD! If they are unwilling to do so, find someone else to deal with.

A. No. I'm not a music store. I don't work for Roland. While I commiserate with the problems some of the international users are having obtaining parts, there's nothing I can do about it.

A. I don't really know and don't really care. Actually, it's not that I don't care. I sympathize with their owners... they bought a dedicated synthesizer that will never be anything other than what it is and doesn't trigger external equipment as well (according to statements made by several of their owners.) I just don't have the knowledge base to offer them advice or the time and money to devote to it's acquisition. The GR-1 and GR-09 are good sounding synths that track very well with their internal sounds and have the advantage of having all their patches optimized for guitar applications. I still welcome their comments and GI-10 related questions!

A. POLY mode sends all six strings out as one channel of MIDI data and limits your ability to bend pitch. In poly mode, pitch can only be bent when one note is sounding. If two notes are sounding and you bend a string, the bend will be "quantized" to even half step increments. It will sound like you hit several consecutive keys on a piano instead of smoothly bending the note. In MONO mode, each string is sent on a separate MIDI channel. This mode allows for several interesting options. Each string can have a completely different sound assigned to it for one thing, and pitch can be bent at any time... even in different directions. Synths with more than a simple mono audio output usually allow different MIDI channels to be routed to specific audio outputs which would allow for some very interesting stereo effects. Try the lower 3 strings on the left and the upper 3 on the right or stagger them by sending odd strings to one side and even strings to the other! From my experience, the GI-10 generally tracks best in mono mode if your synth will support it but there are some caveats. For one thing, it means that your GI-10 parts eat up 6 channels at a time. This may not be a problem with live performance applications but for MIDI systems and sequencers, it can lead to a drastic reduction in the number of channels you have available for other parts. The solution here is to start looking for a new MIDI interface with multiple, assignable MIDI outputs. The other drawback is that the GI-10 sends out a constant stream of pitch bend data per channel. In poly mode it's not that difficult to handle the bandwidth but in mono mode it sends SIX channels of constant pitch bend data. A computers' RS-232 port and older MPU-401 type interfaces can choke on this amount of input! The GI-10 has a Bend D. Thin feature that will help in some cases and many sequencer programs have similar features built into them.

A. Chances are that the GI-10 IS tracking them properly! The culprit is more likely the way the synth you are using is reacting to the GI-10's MIDI output. For starters, the receiving synth and the GI-10 MUST be set to the same bend range in order for the combination to track properly. If the GI-10 is set to a bend range of 2 half steps and the receiver is set to 3 half steps, a normal string bend will probably sound fine...BUT... a whole tone hammer-on will sound like a step and a half (actually sounding a minor third above the original tone instead of a whole tone.) If the GI-10 is set to a bend range of 2 and the receiving synth is set to 12, the slightest string bend will yield a WILD, uncontrollable bend!

A. This is a very complicated question that could have many different solutions. For starters, the GK pickup MUST be installed properly. Secondarily, not all synths are created equal, some simply react better than others with the GI-10. This is one of the most basic goals of this document; to identify what works well, what doesn't, and how to make it all work the best that it can! Assuming everything is installed properly and that the synth is up to snuff, the last possible source of tracking errors involves playing style. Good tracking REQUIRES good, clean technique on the guitar. If you're a sloppy player... the tracking is sloppy... period. Hendrix style technique is not going to translate well. And please... don't send me any ugly letters regarding this point. I am not making any stylistic judgments... I'm not knocking Hendrix. I've been playing guitar for 32 year... I was playing Purple Haze and Fire before they even hit the charts. I love that style of guitar playing but leave it to the guitar and don't try to relegate it to some synthesizer. My judgement that a particular synth tracks well may not hold true for any given user depending on their "style" of playing or their level of technique. The GI-10 CAN point out glaring deficiencies in a players technical ability and you may find yourself taking a few trips back to the rehearsal studio in order to get the same results reported here with any given piece of gear.

A. Forget it... the page in the manual, that is.