The Yamaha EZ-EG Guitar Midi Controller Thread

[mbncp]

should i use eg_ag.hta, or ez_ag 3.hta?

ez_ag 3.hta is the latest version and has a few more options/features.

in cubase, when i choose the same midi yoke output port ..

Same port name, but as input in cubase, right ?

[Markleford]

ez-ge
...however, its just text...no controls. so i dont understand how i set anything.

You don't set anything on the GUI except MIDI ports. Customization is in a config file that you edit by hand. Then you use the guitar's "SOUND SELECT" button to chose one of the 20 programs on the fly.

Gotta drive to Summer NAMM today and will be back tomorrow. If you're still interested, I'll fill in the details then.

- m

[ugo]

ez_ag 3.hta is the latest version and has a few more options/features.

ok, cool.

Same port name, but as input in cubase, right ?

yes.

You don't set anything on the GUI except MIDI ports. Customization is in a config file that you edit by hand. Then you use the guitar's "SOUND SELECT" button to chose one of the 20 programs on the fly.

ah, ok...i read mention of editing a file in the read me, but i wasnt sure if there should be more on the gui or not.

Gotta drive to Summer NAMM today and will be back tomorrow. If you're still interested, I'll fill in the details then.

have fun at the namm!
yes, i would be interested in talking about your program some more.

from the looks of things, it would appear that, with both programs, either they are not recieving data from my physical midi input port, or nothing is making it through the loopback port.

-ugo

[mbncp]

either they are not recieving data from my physical midi input port

In any of the apps, if you see the notes highlited on the fretboard, means the apps are receiving input from the EZ-AG.

[ugo]

ah ha!
thanks for telling me about that...it sent me in the right direction. the programs werent getting any midi. for some weird reason, neither program was recognizing midi that came through my echo layla. however, its working now when using a port on my motu midi express.

ok, im having fun now.
this is an interesting controller. for some things, i can see a pitch to midi system still being better, for others this thing rocks.

btw, i've noticed that my low E string seems to play at a lower volume than the others (unless i pick it harder) and the high E is prone to multiple triggers, depending on how i play it. anyone else run into this too?

thanks!
-ugo

[mbncp]

neither program was recognizing midi that came through my echo layla

We analyse only the sysex events, maybe there are filtered in the layla.

My strings have also different min/max velocities.
Something I should add in the app.
For now, you could uncheck "Same Channel for all strings" and set this in the input transformer (local):

Code: Select all

Type is  equal note AND
Channel Equal 6
in target:
Value2  add 20 (extra velocity)

Set the Mode to Transform and don't forget to check the active module.
Then set the channel in the track as normal.

[barryfresca]

thanks guys for the speedy reply to my dilemma. it is quite puzzling to me.

[mbncp]

Using sx3 without problems, had to replace midi yoke by the maple driver (multithreading problem ?)

nuendo is not interpreting the midi data correctly

Timing issues or wrong pitches ?
In nuendo are you using the directx ports (emulated) ?

[barryfresca]

timing issues in nuendo. horrible, horrible son-of-a dirty-bastard timing issues. i am using the non-emulated midi yoke ports (i have also tried it with the non-emulated aardvark 24/96 midi port and emulated ports) with nuendo 2. i have also followed all of the suggestions from steinberg, et al., regarding the midi timing problems in nuendo. the thing is, there doesn't seem to be any timing issues when i use my keyboard as a controller, only when i use the EZ in nuendo. and if i set the midix to use the fret velocity and disable the open strings it works like a dream, as far as midi timing issues are concerned. it seems to be the strings
that are the source of my woes, but i love the strings, and i can't give them up. the possibilities for finger picking are too cool. if you think it would help i could include audio samples of the problem, that is, record the monitor output through a speaker (which sounds great) and conversely record the midi and convert to a wave (which sounds horrible...choppy notes, random rhythms). i am teetering on the edge on howling madness. thanks so much for your help, i am a desperate
man.

[mbncp]

You can send me the midi file of the recorded events.
Just a thought, what value do you have in Pref. , MIDI, Length adjustment ?
It's a bit wierd as from the apps point of view, there is no differences using the strings or not, it just sends noteon/off events. The only thing is that when playing with the strings we often trigger the same key, so I'm sending an noteoff followed by a noteon of the same key and at the same time. Now if nuendo (or the VSTi) gives a higher priority to note on, we may have a problem.

[ugo]

My strings have also different min/max velocities.
Something I should add in the app.
For now, you could uncheck "Same Channel for all strings" and set this in the input transformer

thanks, as i get more comfortable with what im doing, i'll give that a shot. for the moment, i certainly can hit the low E a bit harder with my thumb.

currently, im trying to figure out a way to strike the best ballence between standard guitar play and fret down modes. when just playing the ez's internal sounds, hammer-on's and pull-off's work surprisingly well. however, i've yet to get near that level of effectiveness when controlling softsynths.

it seems that when doing hammer-on's and pull-off's using the ez's internal sounds, the amp envelope for each string is not retriggered. the hammer/pull notes decay in strength until you pluck the string again. also the sample isnt retriggered with hammer/pull's. instead it seems to be using pitch bends. the same goes for slides between positions.

all this works to create a surprisingly natural guitar playing feel. so i've been trying to figure out if there is a way i can tweek both midix and some softsynths into letting me achieve a similar result. its not imperative that i do so, but it would make it more comfortable/natural to play.

i've also noticed, again when using internal sounds, that there is a much greater difference in volume between the fret down note and the plucked note than there is when triggering softsynths. so i think i need to tweak the amp envelope's velocity response in my synths to make the difference more prominant in there too.

-ugo

[barryfresca]

hallelujah! i figured it out. the quantize settings in nuendo were set to 1/16th, when i changed it to 1/128th everything worked like a charm. after spending all day pouring over every little possibility i feel like a chump that it was so simple. thanks again for your help!

one more question and then i'll fade back into the woodwork, instead of adding volume to a string, like UGO i would like to reduce the volume of the "d" string by about 15-20. how would i go about reducing velocity?

[ugo]

by the way, and kind of off topic...but just because i complained so much about my G50, i thought i'd mention that a midi guitarist friend of mine checked it out last night and it would appear that the unit is actually messed up. his doesnt behave anything like mine. so no wonder it was driving me so damn crazy...its broken.

but in any case, im getting a kick out of the EZ. one of these days i may venture back into the land of pitch-to-midi (with a properly working converter) but for the moment, its the EZ for me.

-ugo

[tq]

O.k., I ordered my EZ-AG for 99 Euros today...
However, I wonder whether the script mentioned in this thread only works on Windows XP? The thing is: I am using a Mac as my main music computer. While I also own a Sony Laptop, I would rather prefer to use everything on one system. Could anybody of the experienced EZ-AG users enlighten me whether it would be possible to use the script in OS X - if it's JAVA, it should, but if it's something else... (and don't flame me for being a Mac user, since I use both Macs and PCs, and I don't give a sh** about this whole platform war thingie... )

TQ

[Markleford]

Could anybody of the experienced EZ-AG users enlighten me whether it would be possible to use the script in OS X

Unfortunately it's PC only.

- m