This is probably a dumb question but I am new to the guitar (about a year in to my learnings with a teacher).
I have some pedals but I want to branch out into getting a synth as well to experiment with the sound.
Does there exist a device that I can plug in to my pedal chain so I can drive it with my guitar AND play it on it’s own to create sounds? Also hoping synths have a drum machine because I would like to play with a beat.
I know pedal synths exist but that isn’t really what I am looking for, want a synth on its own that I could also use with the guitar but not only with the guitar if that makes sense.
Am I thinking about this wrong? Does this mythical device exist? If not anyone have some relatively entry level devices I can look at?
You can either get a midi pickup installed on your guitar or do a lot of futzing to get it to work with an analog/modular synth
Hmm it sounds like I really have no idea what I am talking about. Maybe a software synth and a midi controller is more what I am going for. I have a device to get my guitar signal into my computer already.
Well then just get a synth with a midi in
You could build a modular synth that you could run your guitar through but that’s a real expensive rabbit hole.
The Moog Grandmother is a traditional mono synth that has an instrument input on the back that you can plug a guitar into. Not sure if that is what you’re looking for.
Casually suggesting modular. You’re a monster.
Go try out the free trial version of the neural dsp Rabea. Its primarily an amp and pedal sim but the gimmick of that particular one is that theres a synth side of it. You can blend the amp and synth signal or just use either. Lots of fun
I’m kind of thinking that a sampler is what I really want. Pretty sure I can still do that in software, but sampling what comes out of my pedals and then use the software to play with that sound.
Potentially instead I need to hook my pedal chain into my computer instead, and learn a DAW and get a MIDI controller?
This is all so new so I am pretty lost.
Yes you can do that. You need a midi controller (to control your software synth), an audio interface to plug the guitar chain into, and a DAW to bring it all together assuming you want to record.
Edit: you don’t need a midi controller since you can play synths with mouse clicking in midi, or even on a computer keyboard (at least in some DAWs), but the piano playing experience is great, and having some knobs to twist to control synth parameters gives you more freedom too.
Edit 2: you could go for a hardware synth, but imo that’s a lot more expensive and limited than having all the software synths at your disposal for the price of a single midi controller
I’ve gotten into a setup like this recently. Feel free to ask any questions.
oh sweet thanks! yeah part of why i was thinking synth is that since I am learning music theory having piano keys to play with might be nice.
So what initially got me down this line of thinking is that I have been playing with guitar drones through my loop pedal with my delay and echo pedals, and was thinking it might be nice to be able to shift the pitch of the drone or try to speed it up or slow it down.
I am still trying to figure out what “my sound” is and there is so much stuff that I get lost. Also I really want to find out how to have drums of some sort through my looper pedal.
sweet thanks! yeah part of why i was thinking synth is that since I am learning music theory having piano keys to play with might be nice.
Keys do feel more comfortable than guitar to think about theory imo. And you can play and hear chords without having to click in each note separately.
So what initially got me down this line of thinking is that I have been playing with guitar drones through my loop pedal with my delay and echo pedals, and was thinking it might be nice to be able to shift the pitch of the drone or try to speed it up or slow it down.
Definitely something a DAW can do. You can automate pitch, FX parameters, and everything else you can think of.
I am still trying to figure out what “my sound” is and there is so much stuff that I get lost. Also I really want to find out how to have drums of some sort through my looper p
You can program drums, or get drum loops and arrange them in the DAW. Not sure how to go about that with a loop pedal. I think DAW would be easier and more flexible, especially for fills and variations.
I would suggest trying Reaper for a DAW. Guitarists and others I’ve known have spoken highly of it. Free 60 day trial, and it doesn’t even make you pay after that if you don’t want to. Be ready for a steep learning curve with any DAW you may try, there’s a lot at first.
The most direct way to start experimenting is getting a free DAW, an audio interface (for the guitar to go into), and download a bunch of synth VSTs and guitar rig simulators. It’s too easy to fall into the “hardware” trap and then figure out after spending a bunch of cash that you didn’t get the right “thing”.
I’m not sure if it’s 100% what you’re looking for, but I remember hearing that the designer of the Korg MS-20 synth gave it an external signal in specifically so he could test it out with his guitar. If you wanna try it out they make a mini version of that synth currently, though you’d need a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter to plug your guitar in.
