The ability to MIDI-enable your pedalboard and convert audio to MIDI using plugins or software adds a whole new level of experimentation and creativity for guitarists.
In 1983, music had a banner year: U2’s War, the Police’s Synchronicity, Metallica’s Kill ’Em All, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood, Talking Heads’ Speaking in Tongues, and ZZ Top’s Eliminator were all released (to name but a few). It was also the year MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was unveiled, and saying that it forever changed the musical landscape is an understatement. Until very recently, guitar-oriented manufacturers had never taken advantage or expanded on MIDI possibilities.
For guitarists, MIDI was a bit of a useless concept—something the synth player in your band endlessly yammered about while you plugged in your amp and pedalboard and set up for the gig. Well, tighten up your belts, the Dojo is now open.
The Paradigm Changes
Developed by a consortium of musical heavyweights, including MIDI’s progenitor Dave Smith (Sequential Circuits), Ikutaro Kakehashi (Roland Corporation), and engineer Tom Oberheim, MIDI enables synths and drum machines from various makers to “talk” to one another using a standardized “language” over a 5-pin cable. The original MIDI instruments included Roland’s TR909 and Jupiter-6, and Smith’s own Prophet 600. Today, MIDI can be carried over USB, 3.5 mm, and 1/4" TRS cables, as well as Bluetooth. It’s also something that more and more pedal makers are taking advantage of en masse. Many months ago with the help of my friends at XAct Tone Solutions here in Nashville, I finally wired up a MIDI-based pedalboard (Photo 1). Why would I ever go down this rabbit hole?
“Until very recently, guitar-oriented manufacturers never took advantage or expanded on MIDI possibilities.”
For several huge reasons: It gives me greater control over all of a given pedal’s obvious (and hidden) parameters that I can adjust simultaneously using expression pedal(s); the ability to toggle, latch, or tap tempo for many pedals at once; to create, save, and adjust wildly divergent preset parameters on the fly (using CC and PC messages); and organize song lists and set lists, for starters.
While this is possible with multi-effects pedals from Line 6, Fender, Neural DSP, Boss, Kemper, etc., I often find that I don’t like all the sounds bundled within these units. I may not like certain types of amp models, overdrives, choruses, reverbs, fuzz, and delay offerings from one maker, and prefer the algorithms of another brand entirely. With more and more pedal manufacturers embracing MIDI, we’re much closer to a “having our cake and eating it too” scenario.
I can further use my MIDI-enabled pedals with instruments beyond keyboards, drum machines, samplers, and other MIDI controllers (this may be the subject of a future Dojo). But for now, I want to get your creativity fully charged, and take you down another rabbit hole I stumbled into!
Becoming a Convert
Let me give you one of my new favorite “effects” I’ve been exploring. This involves using any plugin or software that will convert audio to MIDI. Certain DAWs (Ableton, Pro Tools, etc.) already have the ability to convert an audio file to MIDI. If your DAW does not, you can use Melodyne and pitch-based plugins, or free ones specifically made for this like NeuralNote or Basic Pitch, which were developed by Spotify.
Try This
Now let’s “break” the plugin. Either use a prerecorded audio track (guitars, vocals, bass, keys, or even ambient field recordings), or grab your guitar and record something with all the effects you would normally use. Delays are particularly fun to have here since they repeat pitches already played! Now convert this audio track to MIDI. In Pro Tools, right-click on the audio file and select “Copy Audio as MIDI.” I tried this using a fuzzed-out solo I played on a recent record I produced.
Next, create an instrument track and instantiate a soft synth of your choice (I’ve used Arturia’s Jup-8 with one of my tweaked presets). Now paste (Cmd or Ctrl+V) the MIDI-ized audio onto the instrument track. Based on your sensitivity settings, you should have all kinds of crazy extraneous notes in various octaves.
From here, solo the instrument track with your new MIDI, and let your imagination loose! Pay attention to the parts of your original audio track that were accurately “preserved” and what parts were not. You can now play with velocity, duration, quantization, and transposition for any and all notes. For example, I chose to isolate notes that were originally part of the delay and then adjusted them to match the underlying implied chords I soloed over—thus turning my guitar’s delay into a MIDI chord accompaniment for my solo!
I hope you canceled your dinner plans. Blessings, and until next time, Namaste.
First Look: Universal Audio Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo/Reverb & Del-Verb Ambience Companion
UA takes their top-flight analog modeling to the pedal sphere again with two beautiful time-manipulation machines.
Galaxy '74 Tape Echo & Reverb
Galaxy '74 Tape Echo & Reverb captures the warm, warped, relentlessly analog effects of the iconic mid-'70s Roland Space Echo hardware.*
Key Features:
- The most authentic emulation of the classic mid-'70s Roland Space Echo* hardware
- Full modeling of the classic multi-head tape delay mechanism
- Exacting emulation of original hardware's spring reverb
- Definitive capture of iconic analog preamp section
- Doubled delay times for effects that go beyond the original hardware
- Tweak footswitch functionality, adjust realtime effects, and customize unique oscillation sounds with UAFX Control app
- Includes silent switching, buffered bypass, analog dry through, spillover/trails, and stereo operation
Del-Verb Ambience Companion
Del-Verb Ambience Companion packs ready-to-wear emulations of classic reverb and delay effects in a pedal designed for immediate inspiration.
Key Features:
- The most authentic vintage reverb and delay effects ever captured in a single effects pedal
- "Golden unit" spring reverb tank, pulled from classic '60s American guitar amp
- Vintage German studio plate reverb sourced from The Plant in Sausalito, CA
- Bit-for-bit vintage studio digital reverb algorithms from the late 1970s
- Definitive emulation of iconic tape echo unit and legendary preamp
- Classic bucket-brigade analog delay effects with the color, texture, and tone of the original hardware
- Pristine, studio-grade digital delays with dynamic and inspiring modulation textures
- Download custom effect voicings, add tap tempo and more with the UAFX Control app
- Includes silent switching, buffered bypass, analog dry through, optional spillover/trails, and stereo operation
A satisfying, compact digital Space Echo facsimile that offers looping, tap tempo, and more.
A smart control interface that enables cool realtime Space Echo emulations. Tap tempo. Looper. Small and sturdy. Stereo outs.
Repeats can sound a touch thin. Looper can feel clunky at times.
$179
NUX Tape Echo
nuxefx.com
The Roland RE-201 Space Echo is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. So, any compact digital approximation that offers some of its creative functionality and even a fraction of its rich sounds is bound to be fun. NUX’s Tape Echo comes up a little short in terms of replicating the deep, foggy tonalities of a Space Echo (what digital pedal doesn’t?). But the addition of looping functionality and tap tempo, as well as a satisfying reverb that doesn’t sound worlds away from a big Fender spring unit, make it a tempting tour pal.
Save for controls for reverb, input, and output level (which are a big deal for many original RE-201 users), the NUX unit’s control set approximates that of the Space Echo. And the interface is great. The small digital readout, while hard to read on account of its tiny size, provides useful graphical representations of the on/off positions of the three virtual tape heads and the delay time. (Maximum delay for the heads are a fairly authentic 183, 366, and 550 ms, though you can create delay times up to 1600 ms with the tap tempo switch.) The compact dial arrangement also makes it easy to create realtime, dramatic pitch shift and swelling oscillation effects with ease. These effects are some of the real joys of a genuine Space Echo, and the fact that you can so readily achieve those effects on the fly is awesome. With an external expression pedal (not included) you can probe this interactivity even further. That long list of features makes the NUX a value at $179.