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With the Eastwest Midi Guitar series and Fishman Tripleplay in hand, you can deliver almost any sound imaginable. Our full review here.
I’ve been using computers to compose music since the early ’80s, so I’m a devotee of synthesis in general, and guitar synths in particular. In fact, I built my first system in 1980 out of an Imsai 88 8-bit computer that controlled a Serge modular synthesizer, and I can tell you this right now: I LOVE the EastWest/Fishman partnership and what it has done for guitar synthesis.
I know it might be strange for a reviewer to start off with a conclusion, but, you see, as a guitar player, I’ve been somewhat frustrated by guitar synths over the years—even as Roland, Korg, and other manufacturers have made great strides with some wonderful products. This is totally due to my personal playing style, but if you’re like me, you want an easy-to-use guitar synth that tracks performance gestures accurately and without glitches, and that allows you to strut around freely with all the “guitar star moves” that attracted you to the instrument in the first place.
The Fishman TriplePlay Wireless Guitar Controller—reviewed in the December 2013 issue of GP—remains a gamechanger in that it doesn’t ball-and-chain your urge to dance around and rock hard. But what really makes this system a sensational synthesis synergy is the EastWest MIDI Guitar Series. EastWest has produced brilliant sound libraries for years, and now the MIDI Guitar Series brings those incredible samples to guitarists with everything arranged and optimized for seamless integration, and virtually imperceptible latency, with the Fishman TriplePlay.
THE PRICE OF ADMISSION
Assuming that you already have a guitar and a DAW-based recording system ready to go, the EastWest collection is currently arranged in five volumes—Orchestra, Ethnic