I use a VG-99, love it, and recommend it. One huge reason: it doesn't need your computer, so if you want to play music without your computer, the VG can be a self-contained solution. You can, however, use your computer to edit patches and stockpile them in library files. You can also use Ableton Live to control the VG-99, and use the VG-99 to control Ableton Live. One drawback: your guitar needs a special (hexaphonic) pickup to get the coolest features (but I think it's worth it).Pasha wrote:For me Ableton Live delivers as a guitarist.
However, lately I was bouncing back and forth about getting a VG99 or not... VG99 seems so a good way but means I will lose the ability to change sounds later in the process because today all FX are applied in Live.
What do you think?
Cool idea. It's also possible to do that, in the VG-99 to affect your guitar playing (the actual audio, not just MIDI output)! In other words, you can get that Scale effect with your electric/acoustic guitar sound, whether you use MIDI or not. You'd need the hexaphonic pickup to do this, but here's the summary: set your automatic tuning section to harmony, choose your scale (or even set your own "User" scale), and play whatever. The VG will change all notes you play to match the harmony setting. It's like having Antares Auto-tune running on your guitar. Bending can be a little weird, as the notes shift, and sliding up/down the frets has a very cool, auto-tune-ish sound. It's bags of fun just going wild on the G string with this trick.kanuck wrote:btw a cheat I've found for play piano on ableton. i myself am not too great at keys as well. What I did was setup the scale midi effect and just transpose the key of C to whatever i want. So if i'm playing in the Key of D i'll transpose it +2 semitones. This way I can play the key of c for any song out there. And key of c is so simple because all I ever have to push are the white keys.
I've been meaning to chime in on this thread for a while now; I'm a guitarist who first discovered Ableton Live because I wanted live looping, and I've found it offers so much more that it's my main music tool apart from the VG-99 and the guitar itself. Recording, composing, effects, just about everything I did with a DAW application, I began doing with just Live (and Audacity for direct cutting of sound files). I haven't explored the possibilties of using Live's effects (for live guitar playing) enough, but that's because the VG already does so much for me, self-contained and easy to set up and control.
I do enjoy some effects in Live that the VG doesn't offer (I think), such as Grain Delay, Resonator, Beat Repeat, Erosion, Redux, Vocoder, but I haven't gigged with a laptop, so it's all pretty much home studio play and fun for me these days, just bags and bags of fun.
