Firstly, I’m new to this whole midi guitar thing so I’m not particularly knowledgeable, but to cut a long story short my aims with midi guitar are to use it to trigger guitar VI’s for as a realistic as possible end result. This is especially the case in terms of strumming. I’m getting pretty decent results from the software using the normal version when playing individual lines/single notes etc. but strumming is a bit hit and miss at times. I’m using Reaper by the way and using the software inside the DAW not the standalone. It would appear from reading the forum that the Hex version of the software might be the best option in terms of strumming, so I was looking at the SubSix Hex pickup but I would need a DI with 6 HiZ inputs for that to work it seems so the GH800/GK5 seems to be the way to go. Presumably I can just go guitar/GK5 > GH500 > MG3Hex? Or am I missing something?
Yes. (I’ll assume GH500/GM800 are typos and you meant GM-800 in both cases)
It depends on your goals and budget. A used BOSS GP-10/GK-3 pickup combo is a solid budget-friendly choice to test the waters with MG3 Hex. The BOSS GM-800/GK-5 seems like overkill, IMO, but it may be easier to order from a retailer – albeit at least 4 to 5 times the price. From BOSS, the GM-800, VG-800, SY-1000 and GP-10 will all give you the per-string audio over USB you need for MG3 Hex to function.
Ha, yeah it was a typo! OK, thanks that’s interesting. I’ll look at used prices for the GP10/GK3. Presumably there is no difference in performance to the GM800/GK5?
There are bound to be subtle differences between the devices I mentioned. I have a GP-10 and an SY-1000 and they work differently but the USB implementation is very similar – 8-in/8-out USB audio.
Although GP10 is supported now (Windows 11 and Macos Sequoia) we need to see if that will be supported by Roland/Boss going forward. Today it’s the cheapest choice (used) - I own one - but beware the future Roland/Boss support for drivers especially if you are a Mac user of latest macs.
Thanks, yeah that might be a problem because I have a M4 Mac Mini. I suppose I could just resell the GP10 when it’s no longer supported, being as it would be second hand in the first place.
You can also dedicate M4 to music (and as such frozen - no updates - with the latest working configuration) and shop for another (smaller) computer for day by day when it’s the case.
Sequoia according to Mac experts is not where it should be so let’s see what comes next.
The forced Apple yearly upgrade is beginning to backfire.
I am in the same ball park with my already old M1 studio base model. It might be that next year I will get an M4 Mac Mini on the cheap for standard computing and keep the M1 as it is today (Sonoma) so that everything works fine and it will work in the future. (M4 Mac Mini it’s more powerful than my M1 but being new it will be subject to be sold with current Mac Os)