The New Electronic Guitarist

The way we make music today is in constant flux, and that is especially true for the guitarist. The New Electronic Guitarist surveys the expanding landscape of digital hardware and software applications for electric and acoustic guitar. The book provides an introduction to the nature of sound, synthesis, signal processing, and MIDI as they relate to guitar - and often - to the broader family of stringed instruments. Along the way, author Marty Cutler provides a history of guitar synthesis as it evolved from elaborate proprietary systems, culminating in cutting-edge tools that enable guitarists to adapt their favorite guitars to modern digital-recording techniques and virtually any synthesizer. Cutler offers an admittedly subjective take on a number of products, including pickups, MIDI converters, guitar-modeling systems that enable one guitar to take on the characteristics of other guitars, guitar processors, software and hardware synthesizers (including an overview of common and emerging synthesis types), digital-audio workstation software, and much more. The book's scope ranges from stand-alone creative tools to software systems for computers and mobile devices. Each product under examination will include special tips and setup directions for guitar, along with Cutler's insights gathered from more than 30 years of experience in the field.