it is a lot of clicking, but it’s a one time deal.
what i’m most looking forward to is installing mg3hexnet on the guitar itself using a tiny pc.
if midi over wifi is fast enough then i’d go completely wireless. if not, i guess i’ll probably install one of those tiny midi jacks.
I have a simple template for using MG3 hex in Live (see attatched image) but can see myself still needing to reroute things on occasion. I guess it’s just a personal workflow thing.
Also, particularly on macOS, it will mean you can use whichever version of the plugin you prefer in any DAW. I’m pretty sure you can’t do the above in Logic, for example.
Installing a PC running MG3 onboard an instrument sounds interesting!
Thanks for the instructions–I just got it working as a VST2 plugin in Ableton on PC. Compared to running the hex plugin in Reaper, my setup with GM-800 in Ableton really struggles. The Ableton CPU meter goes really high.
It occured to me that another viable way (it was right under my nose) to move audio from MG3 Hex standalone to a DAW could be via Blue Cat Audio Connector. Above is a simple configuration set up with Live 12.1.
Pros: It was relatively easy to set up, minimal latency and works reliably.
Cons: It reports a few dropouts here and there (inaudible in my testing) and it’s not possible to record on a receiving track, so you have to add another track. Neither of these cons are deal breakers.
For me, the easiest way to record the audio output of MG3Hex Standalone in my DAW is to record the audio output of the GM-800 which is connected as two inputs to the mixer. Latency is no issue and the setup is very simple. MG3Hex in and output set to GM-800 / DAW in and output set to the mixer.
Can you spec the machine? Ableton CPU meter is very ‘fuzzy’ at times… check the real cpu load of your OS (Windows or Mac) you will get better readings and more reliable idea of what’s going on.
I’m glad that works for you. I originally tried running the analog outs (Main Out L/R) of the SY-1000 to the analog inputs of my audio interface and it caused a very bad hum. Totally unusable. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been looking for other routing methods.
I fear Roland / Boss will very soon leaving us GP10rs out in the cold… especially on Macs GP10 now is supported until Sonoma but if at NAMM they will release the successor and friend of GM-800… GP10 drivers for next MacOS might not be there… When MacOS moved to Intel 64bit VG99 software & driver was not updated… GP10 is over 10 years old… so thanks Roland … maybe a GM-800 or what they will present could be the solution. Good to know you’re having a good time with it.
10 years support is great but we have to face the timeline.
it’s been a long time, but i kind of remember a similar issue when using balanced cables with the sy-1000 outs, corrected by switching to unbalanced.
I just did the Ableton 12.1 update yesterday. It seems to be even more of a hog than ever. Reaper on the other hand with its performance meter shows barely any cpu usage and little ram use.
I retested and it seems fine now – no noise at all. I did have a GK splitter box (Roland US-20) in the mix before (now vanquished to a cardboard box) so maybe it had something to do with that. It’s good to know that such a simple, analog option is available 
i was experimenting along these lines and i no longer see a way to handle this.
i was trying to get an open-d tuning, but the strings are not tied to channels, they float as they do with mpe (when using the midi 1.0 multichannel selection).
what i had planned to do is put transpose each string individually, either inside mg3hex or afterwards. but this would require dedicated midi channels.
i also don’t see a way to achieve open tunings or to mute open strings using the string filter.
hopefully i have missed an obvious solution.
I simply ignore the CPU meter in Ableton. It is not reliable. I am on a 2022 M1 Mac Studio Basic and a Basic Mac Mini M1 8GB RAM. I have no problems. The Ableton test (browse the forum) can do 80+ Tracks on a Mac Mini with no problem. My projects are small (20 tracks) and MG2 and MG3 work very well (MG2 is wrapped by Apple’s wrapper for plugins so performance might not be optimal).
When you have 8 Performance Cores and 2 standard cores the hardware ‘switches off’ some cores so Ableton says 90% CPU but it should say 90% of the active cores in a given moment. Measuring is relative, while OS CPU Measure is real. Ableton does not spread the load to all performance cores available, at least on a Mac.
The only way I see is a bit “weird” but it works. Configure the DAW to receive the single string signals from e.g. GM-800. Insert MG3 into each audio input channel (6 instances). In each instance, insert the MIDI machine “Transposer” followed by a VST. Adjust the transposers to get the desired open tuning.
Some VST’s allow to do pitch adjustments within the UI, then the transposer isn’t necessary.
Edit (mute open strings):
With a pitch filter you could set the first note per string above the open string note > open strings wouldn’t sound. Of course that would only apply for “normal” chords and no barre chords and preferably not in combination with any open tuning.
Edit 2 (@ElectroFuzz )
With the described setup it’s also possible to send MIDI from each MG3 instance to a separate track.
Wait. You are right. Right now it doesn’t keep a fixed midi channel for each string in the VST plugin. So if you want to split into keyzones or re-tune individual strings you should do it i MG3, not in the plug-in.
It’s an easy fix to maintain the fixed channels also in the VST. I will address this.
That will make things much easier with a lot of additional options and possibilities!
Hi! I want to buy Midi Guitar 3, but now I got only 28 days B-version. Should I buy a Midi Guitar 2 to use it in the proper way and then I can get an update to 3?
I have hacked a way of doing the 1 string per channel.
The String filter is useful (assign a midi channel to midi output after the filter) BUT the current limitation of three chains is limiting — it would be useful to have 6 chains to enable the filtering per string. JAMO: COULD THIS FEATURE BE ADDES PLEASE?
Anyway the solution is to run two instances of MG3 HEX. Possibly this could be done within a DAW but as a Cubase user I cannot see how the rig up 6 channel input inside Cubase — IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Anyway my solution is the run two MG3 applications. I am a mac user but if you duplicate the app you can run two instances fine.
The issue is however that both running apps try to output to one “MIDI GUITAR OUTPUT”! I figured out a cumbersome workaround that involves editing the binary code of the app. I have a freely available (“Hexfiend”) editor that conveniently displaces the binary as text side by side so I find the “MIDI GUITAR OUTPUT” string and edit the binary so that the name changes — the tricky part is find a new character set that does NOT break the binary executable code! Trial and error but I have it working now! JAMO: Another work around would some way to change the config of the app so that the MIDI output could be renamed? (Clearly every new MG3 update needs editing which is a slight pain also)
Now you have two Streams that can be merged in a DAW or a standalone VST Host or running app (e.g. Kontakt).
Once set up this all works a breeze. Having a set one string per midi channel is very useful for my purposes:
JAMO: I think all three purposes make the new MG3 HEX exceptionally useful — a game changer for me and far superior to anything out there — so I think worth pursuing.
Playing the Ample libraries is now a revelation — they respond very well to the MG output (very little tweaking and just ensure MIDI Guitar mode is enabled) and they sound absolutely wonderful — to my ears the best and playable sounding guitar libraries out there.
I have also set up AMPLE Guitars to respond to alernate tuned guitars, current limitation is no noter lower than E2 is detected (this fix is planned in full version of MG3 I believe) but any tuning higher (or with a Capo in play ) work great too.
Happy to try and assist anyone who needs more info or help in getting going.
Yes, loads of possibilities — amazing!
Do you work for Jam Origin? Is it legal to alter the code of commercial software?
