HAR-BAL AND THE VG-99 AND OTHER GUITARS

This is an area where you can share your most unusual or creative application(s) using Har-Bal. We receive emails from folks who are using Har-Bal in ways we never would of imagined!
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alexande
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:21 pm

HAR-BAL AND THE VG-99 AND OTHER GUITARS

Post by alexande »

Hi Ive been using Har-bal to help me set up my VG-99 guitar processor.

I have an American Standard Strat that I bought in 1990. I put a GK pickup on it to use when I bought a Roland VG-88. Later I bought a VG-99. After 9-11, it became more difficult ts time went on, to take the Strat and a big box Takamine acoustic as carry on baggage, as the single bag that both were in meant that sometimes they took the guitars and put them in the belly of the plane. Not good. So I bought a Traveller Escape MKII acoustic and put a GK pickup on it. The problem was, how to get the VG-99 to sound and respond the same way as my Strat.

Har-bal to the rescue!!!!!!


I pluged the output of my Strat into my soundcard and the output of the VG-99 into chanel 2 of the sound card. I set the real Strat to the kneck pickup and the virtual Strat in the VG-99 to the front pickup as well. Next I booted up Wavelab and set it to record. So the VU meters on Wavelab showed the real Strat on the left chanel and the virtual Strat on the right. Now the VG-99 allows for the individual adjustment of the volume of each string for the modeled guitar. So, I got the overall volume to match the real strat and then plucked each string to compare the volume of each string on the virtual strat to the real one. Once I got them all adjusted as close as possible I hit the record button and played a full E chord and then a G ( you can choose what you like as I picked chords that use all 6 strings ) and so on for about 30 seconds and then stopped the record.
Now you have a stereo file, the left with the real strat and the right with the virtual. So, you save each side as a mono file and import the real strat as a refrence and the virtual Strat as the main file into Har-bal. Instantly you can see, by comparing the two waves, where you will need to add EQ in the VG-99 to get it as close to identical to the refrence. There are 5 parametric EQ's in the VG-99 so theres lots of adjustment power in there. Make the necessary adjustments in the VG-99 and repeat the proceedure again, recording some chords into Wavelab and then importing the mono waves into Har-bal...and make further adjustments to the EQ's in the VG-99.
I took me about 11-15 tries of recording then adjusting then recording again, to get the VG-99 to come within a hair of matching the real Strat. I then repeated the proceedure with the pickup selector on the centre/rear position. When done I had my Strat in the box. I then pluged in the Traveller guitars GK pickup into the VG-99 triggering the virtual strat, and recorded the same 30 sec chord progression played as closely to the way I played the progression on the real strat. I compare the new recorded wave with the last wave recorded usin the real strat as a trigger and did some final tweaking to that one. Voilla...now my Traveller Escape MKII sounds and responds just like my real Strat and, using the onboard LR Baggs pickup under the bridge, it sounds like an acoustic as well, using only one guitar and a small VG-99 that can be taken as carry on!!!!! I also did the same with my overdrive pedal as well, and to my friends Yamaha nylon guitar, matching the virtual nylon in the VG as close as possible to it.
This is not everyones cup of tea approach to the VG-99 but it sure works for me, and, I couldnt have done it all without Har-Bal!!!
har-bal
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Re: HAR-BAL AND THE VG-99 AND OTHER GUITARS

Post by har-bal »

alexande wrote:Hi Ive been using Har-bal to help me set up my VG-99 guitar processor.

I have an American Standard Strat that I bought in 1990. I put a GK pickup on it to use when I bought a Roland VG-88. Later I bought a VG-99. After 9-11, it became more difficult ts time went on, to take the Strat and a big box Takamine acoustic as carry on baggage, as the single bag that both were in meant that sometimes they took the guitars and put them in the belly of the plane. Not good. So I bought a Traveller Escape MKII acoustic and put a GK pickup on it. The problem was, how to get the VG-99 to sound and respond the same way as my Strat.

Har-bal to the rescue!!!!!!


I pluged the output of my Strat into my soundcard and the output of the VG-99 into chanel 2 of the sound card. I set the real Strat to the kneck pickup and the virtual Strat in the VG-99 to the front pickup as well. Next I booted up Wavelab and set it to record. So the VU meters on Wavelab showed the real Strat on the left chanel and the virtual Strat on the right. Now the VG-99 allows for the individual adjustment of the volume of each string for the modeled guitar. So, I got the overall volume to match the real strat and then plucked each string to compare the volume of each string on the virtual strat to the real one. Once I got them all adjusted as close as possible I hit the record button and played a full E chord and then a G ( you can choose what you like as I picked chords that use all 6 strings ) and so on for about 30 seconds and then stopped the record.
Now you have a stereo file, the left with the real strat and the right with the virtual. So, you save each side as a mono file and import the real strat as a refrence and the virtual Strat as the main file into Har-bal. Instantly you can see, by comparing the two waves, where you will need to add EQ in the VG-99 to get it as close to identical to the refrence. There are 5 parametric EQ's in the VG-99 so theres lots of adjustment power in there. Make the necessary adjustments in the VG-99 and repeat the proceedure again, recording some chords into Wavelab and then importing the mono waves into Har-bal...and make further adjustments to the EQ's in the VG-99.
I took me about 11-15 tries of recording then adjusting then recording again, to get the VG-99 to come within a hair of matching the real Strat. I then repeated the proceedure with the pickup selector on the centre/rear position. When done I had my Strat in the box. I then pluged in the Traveller guitars GK pickup into the VG-99 triggering the virtual strat, and recorded the same 30 sec chord progression played as closely to the way I played the progression on the real strat. I compare the new recorded wave with the last wave recorded usin the real strat as a trigger and did some final tweaking to that one. Voilla...now my Traveller Escape MKII sounds and responds just like my real Strat and, using the onboard LR Baggs pickup under the bridge, it sounds like an acoustic as well, using only one guitar and a small VG-99 that can be taken as carry on!!!!! I also did the same with my overdrive pedal as well, and to my friends Yamaha nylon guitar, matching the virtual nylon in the VG as close as possible to it.
This is not everyones cup of tea approach to the VG-99 but it sure works for me, and, I couldnt have done it all without Har-Bal!!!
Brilliant!!

We will be sure to make sure procedure is shared with other Har-Bal users.

Thanks so much for sharing.

Cheers

Earle
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