yrg thread

[MisterAcoustic]

Well, in an earlier post I said I had given up on Inspired Instruments and the You Rock Guitar.

Given that they actually shipped some merchandise, and that at least one person is impressed with it's MIDI controller capabilities, I changed my mind and placed an order.

It looks like they only had 400 instruments in the first shipment, and my order number is 586.

I'm wondering how long I'm going to have to wait...

I've actually been putting off my purchase of a yamaha ez-ag (for too long) based on the potential of the YRG. I really hope waiting for the second shipment won't be like waiting for the first.

Hey - anyone able to provide a direct comparison between the YRG and the ez-ag?

Or, anyone able to report on the YRGs performance on fast flat-picked lead lines? Especially, how does the neck, and string fretting feel?

And please, post some videos folks! I can't tell you how tired I am of watching Tim Kelly

[RunBeerRun]

I'm mainly interested in the neck's feel, but honestly, as long as it doesn't break, doesn't have the Ez-ag's flaws, I'll be selling my ez-ag soon.

[Elantric]

Just a shame they stuck to all guitar tones. Piano and organ would have totally rocked for onstage performance.

Not true - press Guitar button you have guitars - press "Synth Button" you have several synths, Strings, Bass , Choirs, Flutes, Marimba, Xylophone, there is a Piano and B3 Organ too.

Listen to the YRG Sounds here:
http://www.yourockguitar.com/music#

[annode]

Many yrs ago futurists had the opinion that popular music would one day be dictated by the same technical ppl who also create the devices. This surely has come to pass.
Now we are entering a small subsection of that future. Maybe the advent of affordable guitar midi controllers will change the music.

Guitarists playing guitar don't exactly create music that sounds like music created by a keyboardist imo. When you listen to music in the "cafe", much of it may have only one or two keys changes. Even guitarists who have equal experience with their instrument as these "cafe" keyboardists, just won't stay in one key.
Hell, the guitar controller I believe, will change electronic music in a big way. I see dance music getting to a melodic complexity it has not know before now. It's hard to explain why guitarists are different thinkers.

I can feel change coming. I'm sure you will see it happening in the kvr "cafe" relatively soon.

[Elantric]

I'm mainly interested in the neck's feel

Here's the YRG Neck Profile

Fretboard Width: At the "Nut" it is 1.825" wide, at the 22nd fret it is 2.44" wide.

Neck Thickness: I'm measuring from the top of the Fretboard to the back of the Neck:

Nut to Back of Neck = 0.875"

12th fret to Back of Neck = 0.925"

It suits me nicely - reminds me more of a Les Paul Neck.


I should point out that the spacing between frets is modified -since this guitar is not constrained by physical strings and those physics, the fret to fret spacing is modified from a traditional guitar - with more "room" at the upper frets !
I find it easier to play up there compared to a real guitar.

Here's the Fret to fret spacing:

Nut to 1st fret = 1.10"

12th fret to 13th fret = 0.74"

21st fret to 22nd fret = 0.578"

[RunBeerRun]

My order is shipped now, I would guess Wed I'll see it. Can't wait to try out those hot xylophone sounds!

The fact that the neck comes off seems weird.

[mac wilson]

I'll tell you what cracks me up. I just looked at their gig bag they sell for this. They advertise it as a "Folding carry bag", with a picture of it folded over , presumably so you can detach the neck and minimize space (good idea).

Thing is, it's just a cheap gig bag. You can fold any cheap gig bag as they don't have much padding. LOL

Point is, perhaps a good case for this would have two areas; one for the neck and one for the body. No reason to travel with it with the neck on it. But they just made a small regular bag i'm afraid.

[Elantric]

I like the neck - but lets face it, the fretboard will be the thing that may "wear out" after 5 years of solid play.

Or just sitting in the closet if you live in the Los Angeles area, the ozone may eventually wear it out if it sits un-played for 10 years.

This makes it a simple replacement, and it provides a path for future upgrades, like a version that might support string bending or Polyphonic Aftertouch.


It feels like its robust and will take some abuse I suppose my only complaint with the neck is if you are far too heavy handed, and you grab a big "F bar chord at the first fret, you could force it to twist like a propeller - over time this may damage the internal membrane fretboard. But this thing is extremely well engineered - and its far more robust and playable than any other "toy guitar " I have ever played.

Also the whammy bar is extremely smooth, and feels just as nice as the one on the old Ibanez IMG-2010

http://www.joness.com/gr300/img2010.htm

[mac wilson]

Well Elantric you have certainly gone 180 on this. Your are really gushing now over it, I hope you realize .

We all must thank you for the very detailed and informed critiques you've been supplying. A stark contrast to the biased reviews we've been bombarded with for the last 350 years (it seems like)

[Elantric]

Hey - I try to provide solid info to help others.

This is just another tool in my tool chest.

[Maruuk]

What's a replacement neck gonna be? $100? Peanuts.

For songwriters, being able to play keyboards is huge. It totally changes how you hear chords and tonalities and opens up a whole new perspective on your writing. Even given that "guitar" performance is very different than "keyboard" keys. I find 4-finger (with thumb) block picking works really well to emulate piano chording. Then a little arpeggiation thrown in seals the deal. When guitar players realize that for the first time their performances can be quantized (auto-corrected) with the push of a button, their minds will be blown.

[Elantric]

Indeed - lots of "light bulbs" are going off on how I will be able to use this YRG as a new creative tool.

Chord Voicings that can sound "off" on a normal non Buzz Feiten/Earvana equipped guitar - like those below the 5th fret on the top three strings, are finally available and sound very cool in the YRG.

The Tap mode is really awesome. I could play backing chord parts with my left hand, and reach over and play another instrument / or keyboard part with my right hand - in a live situation. this instrument opens lots of doors.

[Maruuk]

Interesting how Fender and Mad Katz just missed a huge softball with this one. Fender could have hit it out of the park with their new Squire Strat/Rock Band guitar but oops, no midi!

And the Mad Katz "Mustang" controller with midi? Buttons! Ugh. Just won't cut it with buttons to push down and up, down and up. There's no naturalness to it.

Nope, YRG dodged a bullet there, two of em. Fender just doesn't get it yet.

[tapper mike]

Buttons are fine if you have good buttons and know how to use them. The only not fine point about fender is not going midi. They also missed several finer points that they should have known better. Including whammy bar.

Piano and guitar voicings are quite different in regards to 6ths, 7ths 9ths. A star with true poly allows one to explore those voicings more fully. not to mention poly chords and clusters. The YRG may have poly but I doubt it has full poly in the way a ztar does.

[Maruuk]

Oh sure, the ability to generate new inversions is always useful to the advanced user, but I'll be happy with basic one-channel clean midi performance. You can add inversions yourself across multiple tracks.