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As I promised, this is my first progress report on midi pickups. I now have drawings completed and out for bids from various electronic manufacturers. The pickup will be approx. 9mm wide and 7mm thick. This should fit on most guitars. If the guitar pickup is too close, an inverted mounting bracket can be used. String spacing will be 8mm which I think is pretty standard on most guitars.

For those who have Steel Riders, I have had my pickup x-rayed and I plan to try and duplicate it. This will have to wait until I get the others into production.

After looking at the x-rays, I have the feeling that most of your problems are with the pre-amps at the pickup. I haven't researched them yet but more than likely the existing pre-amps can still be purchased off the shelf. They don't look too difficult to replace.

That's all for this report. I'll try to do this again next week.

Mike Brewer

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After studying an x-ray of my IVL pickup, I think I disagree with Chuck. In my pickup the coil wires are soldered to a printed circuit board. It looks like the wire through the cable is AWG 28 which should take some punishment before breaking. I believe most of the problems are in the preamps in the little black boxes at the pickup. I have suggested to many that they check the IC numbers on the preamps and try finding a replacement at their electronics supplier. Although the wires are fine (.002} coming off the bobbins, they are encapsulated with some pretty stiff stuff. At least my pickup is very firm and difficult to deflect.

As soon as I receive the magnets I have ordered, I am going to try to reproduce my 12 string IVL pickup. This requires me to create a drawing of the PC board and have some made. After that, all I need to do is wind some bobbins and wire them to the board. I am probably looking at about $750 to get 20 boards. The magnets are going to cost me about $.50 each with a $250 tooling setup fee.

Sometime in the future I may be able to supply replacement pickups for the IVL units.

Mike Brewer

posted 13 March 2001 08:58 AM            
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In order to duplicate the IVL pickup, I must create a drawing of the PC board. It would help if I had a dead pickup, ten or twelve. The preamps are not needed as yet. Anyway I have mine to look at. If anyone knows of or wants to sell a dead one, please contact me off line.

Thanks,

Mike Brewer
228-255-7675

Thanks,

Mike Brewer

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Pitch-to-MIDI devices are subject to some basic laws of physics that make them less than perfect if one's desire is to accurately transmute an intricate instrumental performance into MIDI data: It takes approximately 1.5 cycles of a played note for the device to accurately determine the pitch of the note. This creates a noticeable delay between the plucking of a string and the sounding of a note from the synthesizer. This delay decreases as the pitch of the note played rises (more cycles per second for a higher pitch = faster response); If the note is not in tune it may trigger the next note up or down from the note intended, or not trigger a note at all if a second note comes too quickly.

These qualities of "tracking" are the bane of companies trying to create alternative MIDI controllers, particularly guitar controllers. From years of hearing the note IMMEDIATELY upon playing it, and expecting that IMMEDIATE auditory feedback to the brain, many guitarists seem to be thrown for a loop when trying to play riffs they are used to through a MIDI device, and many abandon the attempt.

My feeling is, yes there is a delay, but that the advantages outweigh the problems. It is almost like learning another instrument, and with patience and ingenuity one can manipulate the device to one's will. There will be things that the device is just not capable of- accurately tracking a 196 MPH speed picking riff for instance; but having the ability to play almost any sound imaginable will allow one to explore different approaches to creating MUSIC, not just riffs, and open new realms of expression. I find the delay can be musically useful- when playing with an organ patch it can give the classic "B3 player on nembutal" feel when playing with an in-the-pocket R and B groove. One can also play slightly ahead of the beat (a technique many steelers use for volume pedal swells) in order to compensate for the miniscule delay.

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