How to Set Up Guitars to Synthesizers
- 1). Search your guitar for any odd outputs. Few guitars are set up for immediate synthesizer access. If yours is, you will find a large MIDI output somewhere on the body or side of the guitar. Synth-ready guitars also will have extra knobs and controls on the face of the guitar. These instruments can be plugged straight into a synthesizer.
- 2). Purchase a guitar synthesizer control unit if you want to attach your guitar to a synthesizer you already own. Look for a control unit that is compatible with your synthesizer. If you do not own a synthesizer, look into single-unit guitar synthesizers. These units look like multi-effects guitar pedal units and are sold by synthesizer companies such as Roland. They are much simpler to use than a controller unit and a keyboard synthesizer unit.
- 3). Attach the pickup that came with the controller unit to your guitar. The majority of the newer models allow you to install this pickup without drilling into your guitar. Instead, most systems have a rack unit that fits smoothly but snugly over the bottom end of traditionally shaped guitars. (Exact installation features may vary from brand to brand.) If you have an oddly shaped guitar, such as a Flying V or Firebird, you may have to attach the rack unit with screws.
- 4). Connect the output of your guitar to the input of the pickup using the small cable included with your synth controller. Attach a cord from the pickup to the synth controller or synthesizer. Attach the controller to the synthesizer if using a controller, then attach your amp to your synthesizer. (Some units may need to be connected to an amplifier in a slightly different manner.)
- 5). Set up your synth controller or synthesizer. This is where you set the function of the pedal or pedals on your control unit, as well as modifying the specific tones the synth can produce. Read the instructions before attempting this. These units and controllers are usually complicated, and even if you read the instructions from cover to cover it will likely take you a few weeks to work out the bugs.
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