Putting MIDI Guitar 2 software into a portable hardware device: possible?

Hello!

Many of you must have seen this hardware device, audio to midi converter, called “sonuus”, that works with monophonic audio.

I wonder if Midi Guitar 2, which is true polyphonic software, could be embedded into a little portable hardware device such as Soonus. This would help avoid carrying a laptop around for playing.

Ariel//

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Hi Ariel! That question has come up before, and as far as I know JamOrigin has no such plans for the near future now either.

I just wanted to second that I would buy such a piece of hardware in an instant, especially for how well Jam Origin handles polyphonic. Being able to write and import a midi machine into this hardware would be a game changer.

How would that work though? You’d still need a laptop for your virtual instruments

maybe you can carry your own sound module and then you do not need a laptop. You may argue that a hardware midi converter plus a hardware sound module in the end might weight as much as a laptop and you would be right. It is just that I do not trust windows operating system for a life performance.

It is just that I do not trust windows operating system for a life performance.

i bring two pc’s and two interfaces to every gig for this reason. fortunately i’ve never had to switch to the backup.

if you keep your systems off the internet and dedicate them to audio production they are much more reliable.

if i didn’t need ableton i would definitely want mg2 in a box.

I have been using a Windows laptop for many years on stage, I have already done about 50 live performances without ever encountering a single problem with stability or sound quality.

I use Midi Guitar in Gig Performer simultaneously with about twenty plugins, vst and vsti, audio & midi players, loopers integrated in this plugin host.

But to get stability, reliability and the best performance, there are two things absolutely necessary:

  • the applications and plugins used must be perfectly coded and bug-free.
  • Windows must be completely optimised by removing all non-useful programs, background services, routines, widgets, etc.

You can use this guide to do this: The Ultimate Guide to Optimize your Windows PC for the Stage

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Hi Herold ! Thanks for the tips and for sharing your experiences.

Question 1: do you bring a USB audio interface on stage, to connect your guitar to your laptop ? ( I hear that connecting to soundcards directly introduces delays, even worse…unpredictable delays).

Q2: Are you running at the same time in your laptop Jam origin + Gig performer with plugins and VSTIs ? Or are you connecting the guitar to the laptop via a midi interface and the laptop executes Gig performer ?

You probably saw the device Soonus G2M. I dream of an embedded version of Jam origin, even if, as you wrote, windows can succesfully be customized for more reliable real time performance.

Thanks

Ariel//

I guess you could run MG2/3 on a Raspberry Pi and use that as your “hardware” but it’s still a computer (albeit a very small computer without a display) and you’ll still need an audio interface to get your signals in and out.

I’d argue that it’s far easier and more compact to set up powerful and flexible mobile rig with a laptop and a portable audio interface – no additional external modules.

R1: in the world of Windows, integrated sound cards are designed for basic tasks that do not allow high performance for audio applications that require significant resources (like video, which requires a powerful external graphics card for advanced video editing applications).
This is why they induce not only latency but also audio crackling.

I always use an external interface to play live, an RME Babyface which is light, compact and above all very reliable and stable.

R2: The MG2 plugin is integrated into Gig Performer ahead of the other vsts, its cpu usage is a bit high but perfectly acceptable with a well-optimised PC (an essential condition, not for more power and performance but to guarantee system stability).

The Soonus G2M is monophonic and even if it were polyphonic or if MG were integrated into hardware, it would be an extra device to connect, unless you didn’t use a computer but hardware synths, which would be bulkier and heavier to transport, as Luke said.

A third interesting solution, still under development, is the Octave HS-1: a compact all-in-one PC with an integrated audio interface, touch screen, 2 mic/line inputs with phantom power supply and optimised Win11.
It comes with the daw Reaper, litet versions of Gig Performer and TH-U Overloud and a programmable 4buttons bluetooth/usb footswitch.

I’m keeping a close eye on the development of this device, which I think would be a perfect solution provided that performance and stability are up to scratch.

Octave HS-1

I would suggest trying an iPhone or iPad with MG2/3 and a small audio interface e.g. an iRig Pro. The hardware is perfectly capable of running MIDI Guitar with your choice of.audio unit synths and fx. Use a wireless guitar interface and a Bluetooth MIDI controller and you’ve got a very portable setup for live use. I’ve got a setup with an iPhone attached to a mag-safe mount fitted to my guitar with the iRig Pro interface on the guitar strap. I can also record everything on the iPhone with either AUM or Loopy Pro (the latter also allows custom control layouts to be created which will literally be at your fingertips). For me it’s the ultimate mobile performance setup! I may swap out the iPhone for an iPad Mini for bit more screen space.

Hi Vaultnaemsae ! Your idea is great, but I believe that Midi Guitar 2 is not available for linux/Raspberry Pi OS (that sems to be based on Linux).

There are midi and audio cards for RaspBerry PI, the one I like the most is this one: Pisound – Raspberry Pi Sound Card & MIDI Interface

I don’t claim to be an expert but can’t you run apps/plugins via WINE on Linux?

i’m almost certain that raspberry pi level cpu’s will not handle mg2/3’s requirements.

there was a conversation here which touched on that, but i don’t recall the details.

mg3 does run under linux/wine, although i’m not yet at a point where i can verify full operation.

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