This is a discussion that has been around for a while, taking place at a few different guitar and MIDI guitar forums, that I have had somewhat of an interest in but perhaps thought was too much trouble for too little gain. I’ve seen the subject of using hex pickups to send on six separate audio channels (one per string) monophonically tracked by six instances of MIDI Guitar 2, only to be merged into a single MIDI stream fed to an instrument in a DAW in the end. It has always felt like too much of a workaround for me, but I must admit I may have been wrong. I was convinced by (my now good friend) Anthony Lopez (thyshadowdragon999) to take the plunge, dig out my BOSS GP-10 that I purchased as a spur-of-the-moment thing from one of those going-out-of-business clearance sales all too common among the music stores today. Well, perhaps I didn’t expect all that much, but boy was this the best move ever. First of all, the setup worked great and is the perfect complement to any solo instrument recording one might do. This setup takes care of everything polyphonic, be it an instrument or an ensemble or what have you. For all those occasions where you’ve wanted to be able to just play that minor second interval or, as I’ve seen a lot of people asking for, those bigger chords; here is your solution. And secondly, I found a use for my Roland Hex PU guitars again! If you have a Hex PU-equipped guitar, and a Boss GP-10, look at the video and try it for yourselves. I can almost guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
