How to Create Virtual Whammy Guitar Patch:
EQUIPMENT:
1) Ibanez IMG2010: You MUST have an Ibanez IMG2010 guitar, since that is the only guitar ever built with a Virtual whammy bar.
2) SBC+ or a Roland US-2 used with a Roland BC-13
3) Roland GM-70: The only Guitar-to-MIDI converter that supports center mode.
4) Roland VG-88: To respond to both MIDI commands from the GM-70, and synth guitar signals from the SBC+ or BC-13.
Programming the GM-70 and VG-88:
1) Program GM-70 for sending Pitch Bend information (CV#3)
2) Program VG-88 to receive Pitch Bend information
ON GM-70:
Press Control Assign
Use Function Key to select CV3
Use Value Key to select Gen-3 (MIDI Controller #18). From the value of OFF, press the Value Up key 12 times, or use the key pad and press 1 8 ENTER.
Use Function Key to select the second field for CV3. The choices are Absolute or Center. Choose Center.
ON VG-88:
You can use either a patch with PT Shift (pitch shift) or PD Shift (pedal pitch shift). PT Shift enables each string to have a different amount of pitch shift, and can blend the pitch shifted tone with the original string. With PD Shift, all strings have the same pitch shift.
Choose Preset 54-4, PEDAL +12.
Press PEDAL/ASSIGN
PAGE RIGHT to PAGE 2.
Press F2 (Assign 1). Assign 1 block should highlight, and ON should appear.
Press F5 (Edit).
Using the Value Wheel, select PD SHIFT PITCH, for the Target.
Press F3 (Source).
Using the Value Wheel, select MIDI #CC18.
Typically, the target values (F4 MIN and F5 MAX) will be -24 and +24. Play some strings and move the whammy bar, and you should hear some extreme pitch bending. Release the whammy bar. If you listen closely, you will hear that the VG-88 guitar is now slightly out of tune with the guitar. This is because the center control of the VG-88 does not exactly match the center position of the GM-70. There is an easy way to fix this:
PAGE RIGHT to PAGE 2 ACTIVE RANGE (Assign 1, Page 2).
Press F1 (LO SET), and change the value from 0 to 2. The high setting should be 127. Now move the whammy up and down, and the guitar will settle exactly in tune when you let go of the whammy bar.
