Yamaha G50 Guitar MIDI Converter

Just like anything that is digital and has menus, you have to tame the beast. What someone needs to do for every professional rig (surprising they have it on dimestore beginner products of their own) is to just have a numbered keyboard that you can use to type the number of the patches you want to go to. I have it on my 20 y/o Casio PG 380 guitar synth (which seems to be sounding better and tracking better with age). Absolutely convenient. This should be true to any piece of equipment. I have bought the Behringer midi controller with just KNOBS, like when I was a kid. I just hope I can control all the parameter with it. KNOBS!

Yes, you can rate the sound quality: it controls expressiveness, programmed actions due to pick placement, and the accuracy of the actual note that comes out! Try that Roland. Oh boy, Roland has sounds to it. Suppose you don't like them. You have to go midi and depend on the signal out. Try playing on the low E on the piano patch of the GR30. Glitch. It takes the GR 30 eight wavelengths to recognize the note. It takes G-50/Axon only one! Much more accurate. No comparison. So, yes, you can rate it on your sound. BTW, the G-50 and the Axon 100...same thing

Works when I plug it in.

Good support for both Yamaha and Axon (since I own both)

The only way to play midi controlled guitar synth. Also you can chose what module you want, as did the gentleman did with the JV below. Go to ebay. I snagged one with a p/u for $300 shipped from someone who didn't know what he had or was expecting it to play itself. Enjoy it.

You do need to read the manual to get started but its fairly simple and straight forward. The manual is well written and to the point. The hardest aspect of this is setting up the parrameters to match the sound module/Keyboard/soft synth etc.. That said once you get used to the interface its easy.

First off this does not have any internal sounds of its own and purely functions as a Guitar to Midi converter. Currently I am using a Guild F4 Electro Acoustic fitted with a GK3 pickup held in place by Bluetac (dont laugh - it works brilliantly :)). I did intialy have this hooked up to an EMU Vintage Pro sound module which worked well for the most part. I now have it hooked up to a Roland JV-880 and it is blowing me away with what I am getting from it. The Guild's analouge output is fed directly into a Roland VG3 modeling amp on acoustic setting and the JV-880 fed to the line in on the back. This setup is simple, works well and sounds great. Cant really give the G50 a score for actual sound so will score it based on tracking. It is easily the best I have come across to date and is almost (but not quite) flawless.

Not had any problems so far

Never used them

I am an acoustic guitarist with very sloppy technique who has experimented over the years with various Midi/Guitar Synths. My previous experiance has been with Roland products - GR50/GK2, GR09/GK2A and GR33/GK3. All have worked reasonably well with internal sounds but have been awfull when used with a sequencer or an external sound source. This is the first Guitar midi controller that has worked for me via midi

If it were lost or stolen I would probably have a look at the Roland GI-10/20 and the Axon/Terratec options but only to see what they have to offer (the Yamaha is bassed on earlier Axon technology). That said I wouldnt turn my nose up if one landed in my lap.

One of the things I love about this is the way you set up patches. Not only can you set up different sounds across the strings ie 3+3, 2+4 etc, but you can also set splits along the string. i.e. strike the string near the bridge and it play's a piano sound. Strike it near the neck it plays an organ sound. Effectivly instant patch change without haveing to push a switch, stomp a peddle or use midi. Also Tracking is much faster across ALL strings unlike the Rolands with start to become problematic when on the lower E string

I wish this had an input for an expresion pedal. Also not happy with how the hold options perform. Could actualy learn a thing from Roland on this.

Everything I read about midi and acoustic guitars suggested it was an unlikely combo. Also didnt want to start using double sided tape or driling my beloved Guild so never tried it. I then saw somthing about using bluetac so though why not give it a go. It works superbly and was realy easy to set up. I can only surmise that the bluetac under the pickup itself must dampen the the harmonic frequencys from the guitar body as it seems to work better then the GK2 on my strat or even the Sound Garage Hex humbucker on my parker.

This is easier to use than the Roland GR-1 I used to own, but it can be more difficult to get working, since it has no built-in synth module. There are two modes; one that outputs all the data on one MIDI channel, the other outputs the data of each of the 6 guitar strings on 6 different MIDI channels. If you don't have a multi-timbral synth module, use the first mode. The Manual is well written, and covers all you need to know. Editing patches get's easy once you learn the interface.

There is no built-in modue, or sounds, so this rating is for tracking quality. The tracking quality seemed bad when I first connected the unit, but after tweaking the Playing style, Note On and Note Off levels, and especially the Pitch Bend Range, I am able to achieve unbelievable tracking on my Steinberger, with the G1D divided pickup (wich is compatable with the Roland GK-2A). The key is to make a different patch with different levels of the above parameters for each synth patch you will use it with. You can be more agressive with less percussive synth patches, and the tracking is virtually identical to the guitar's analog signal. The MIDI realtime control allows my picking position to translate to any MIDI parameter I desire, like envelope cutoff, or the effects parameters on my Synth. As far as I know the Yamaha/Axon are the only ones that do this.

No tech issues whatsoever. This thing is like a rock.

I've only dealt with Yamaha for my digital mixer (03D) and they were a very top notch support for digital gear.

While the Roland units requre a whole cycle of the string to decide what the MIDI note will be, the Yamaha (it uses Axon technology) uses the transient of the beginning of the note to determine the pitch. This makes it more difficult to get tweaked in for each synth patch, but the tracking and extra realtime MIDI controllers more than make up for it. For example, I can play muted power chords, and the synth will track. That is not possible on the rolands. Also, the tracking delay on the Yamaha is consistent regardless of the string or pitch, while the roland tracks the higer strings, and higher pitches faster than the lower ones. Each unit has it's strengths and weaknesses, but my preference is the Yamaha.

Difficult but, not worse then many others. It does have in my opion a few too many parameters which I think is done to spoof those who have purchased into believing that they are doing something wrong.

No sound you need an external module or a PC synth module to get sound. That isn't a beef as that is what I wanted in the end I went to Roland

Couldn't say didn't keep it for other reasons most likely okay but, who cares this thing is a waste of time and this review is here to warn potential buyers away from this product.

Who knows never tried and unimportant to me

Alright heres the gist of what I am getting at and my main reason for doing a review at all. I believe this is one of the worst MIDI guitar products to have been on the market. Yamaha was just trying to get into the race and pickup a piece of business that they saw as potentially lucrative. This thing tracks the worst of all convertors I have used to date. A direct side by side comparison of a Roland GI-20 and the Yamaha G50 yielded these results. When the note is not recognized a Roland gives you no sound with a Yamaha you get a random noise note. With a Roland you can easily play speedy riffs and get great tracking with only a little bit of effort with the Yamaha you can't even guess at what might come out. This unit is based on the Axon technology licensed by Yamaha from them. I have never used an Axon but I believe what you hear about them being wondeful is just hoopla best bet try them out first and fully test it. A better idea would be to avoid Yamaha and Axon altogether and use Roland converors. Some folks will try to tell you that I am someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. I have though had three Rolands one Yamaha and have seen way to many inquiries about how to make Axon tachnology work. Great pickup upgrades for MIDI guitar are the Piezo bridge kits they make tracking flawless with a Roland. Do stay away from these Yamahas and fully test any Axons (don't buy without a try that was my mistake)