GUITAR on CASIO CT-X 5000

[FlashyEagle8]

Sorry, i had some long Break with Music, just return, and forgot those Basics for what i'm looking for "Strumming (crying) a Guitar.

Can someone remind me those criterias made from questions, below ? 

 

1. Which Guitar tones for Strumming ?
is it AMP GT 1-2 or OVDGT1-2 ? or something else ?

 

2. Which are the Functions related to Guitars, in order to perform the closest realistic Guitar sound of Strumming ?
PitchBend Wheel, Arpeggiator, DSP, 

 

3. How to setup "those" individual Functions related from above ?

 

4. How to Strum Guitar once all setup are set, ready to go ?

 

5. Do you play just RH for Melody and LH for Pitching ? Or
u play Both hands 

 

Then discovered the MOD/ASSG around the PitchBend Wheel and u can "Togglé" it ON/OFF.
But how to use it ?

 

Do u need to Pitch Wheel first and then Mod/Assgn ?

 

What's the Process for Strumming ?

 

However, i do know that, the Keyboard isn't the best Fit for playing Struming Guitars, but at least the closest !

and ofc, a real Guitar would do it, or within Reaper by putting the Guitar Plugin and play it there, but i dont want to do that.

I just want to Strum like those Bands do, just for Fun !

Thanks for your understanding
Post me if u have some ideas for helping me !
Looking forward to your precious advices !

[Jokeyman123]

I'm no expert, but I play guitar pretty regularly, or irregularly🤣.

 

My best suggestion-get a real guitar-even an inexpensive one, or borrow one-and play around with it-even if you don't know how, you will get a better idea of how to imitate a guitar sound and playing technique.

 

One of the most important things to keep in mind-the arrangement of notes when playing guitar will be much different than what you might be accustomed to with typical piano/keyboard chords or arpeggios, but it can be done. Years ago for college, I had to take a classical guitar book of etudes and transcribe these for playing on keyboard instruments, what fun.....

 

For example-if I am strumming an "open" e minor chord on a guitar with standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuning-from low to high notes I am playing the low E string open-the note B on the A string, another E an octave above the low E string, finally with the last 3 strings G,  B and E an open e minor chord, but in what is called "first inversion" meaning the "third" of the chord-the G note in this case the guitar G string, is at the root-then the B string and finally the high E string on the guitar. SO...

 

in order to get a truly accurate sounding guitar-you would probably want to play the keys using this order of notes, not too hard. And each of the simplest "open" chords (chords closest to the "nutt" not the bridge) ends up being similar to this. The open D Major chord- if you only used the A-D-G-B and E strings, you would have to figure out which note of the chord is on each string-the A and D strings are open, but the G-B-and E strings end up being A-D-F sharp in that order. This would be useful only if you want to imitate a strum. Arpeggios a little easier since when I play an arpeggio on guitar I can vary whatever strings I want to pick.

 

The other difficulty I've found-strumming a guitar-the timing of strings sounding for a strum is very close to instant-but just a tiny "hair" slower-very hard to imitate-and each string will not be evenly balanced as far as dynamics and sustain, which is fairly consistent with a keyboard-so you would have to have enough keyboard technique to imitate this difference in dynamics between strings, possibly by bringing out the lower strings more than the upper or the oppsite for strumming up. You can see, it almost becomes easier to learn to play the guitar!

 

Add to that-do you want to sound like a flat-pick guitarist-or a fingerpicker without fingerpicks (fleshy tips) or one with fingerpicks on each finger! The variety of sounds from an accomplished (or even not so accomplished) guitarist is pretty daunting-and then-for classical guitar-I can play the exact same notes in several different positions-and the tone or timbre will be very different-listen to segovia or any classical guitarist and you will hear it, one of the beautiful aspects of classical guitar technique.

 

So I guess-just use the pre-programmed sounds in the CTX with the added 'articulations" (how the string sounds on the initial attack-very important) programmed in for you, can sound pretty realistic without everything I've said. Sorry for the long post, you owe me a coffee.

[Brad Saucier]

Probably the best advice I can give for getting started is use the arpeggiator.  Why?  Arpegggio numbers 147 and 148 are "guitar strike" patterns.  They'll help you sound like a guitar strumming rhythm.  

[Mclandy]

"Strumming" on a keyboard, especially in a live performance, it just plain hard.  It can be done, but takes a lot of practice and skill.  However, most strumming tends to be rhythmic, and as such tends to be more useful when programmed into a Rhythm/Accompaniment, whereas fingerpicking style or lead guitar (basically, more individual notes) is more appropriate for live keyboard play.  So as to your specific questions:

 

1.  Which guitar tones for strumming?  It really depends on the sound you want.  Any guitar Tone could potentially be used for strumming.  There are, however, a few "special" Tones, called "Versatile" guitar tones (169/170/171).  These have some special characteristics and sound effects that can be used very effectively, but they are not really designed for live play.  Instead, they pretty much need to be "programmed" through MIDI or as part of a Rhythm.   Check out built-in rhythm number 11, "Acoustic Pop Rock", to hear an example.  Unfortunately, while they sound pretty cool, Versatile Tones are just not that easy to use.

 

2. What are the functions related to Guitars (specifically, strumming)?  Not much, specifically.  There are the special Arpeggio "guitar strike" options that Brad mentions (maybe also the "Hard Rock").  Pitch bend is really more appropriate for the fingerpicking or lead guitar styles that I mentioned earlier.   DSPs really have more to do with the way the guitar sounds (like if you want to model a specific amp and speaker), and again that's just personal preference.

 

3,4. No specific "setup" required.  If you are using Pitch Bend (but probably not for Strumming), you may need to change the setting for Pitch Bend range, depending on how much "bend" you want and how sensitive you want the wheel to be.

 

5. How you play really depends on what it is you want to play (how many parts? what instruments?), and whether you are using an Accompaniment or not.

 

The MOD button can be configured to either add Vibrato to a Tone, or to change a specific DSP parameter on the Tone (assuming the Tone uses a DSP).  One example that relates to guitars is that you can get a decent Hawaiian (slide) guitar sound with a Jazz guitar as the Tone, and then using the MOD button to add vibrato on long notes in order to get that distinctive "warble" sound.

 

So the general answer is, there is no "easy" answer to making a keyboard strum like a guitar, unless you program it as part of an Accompaniment, or in a MIDI file (where you can actually add those slight delays between each note to make it sound more "strummy").   But you can do lead (melody) parts, in whatever guitar Tone sounds good to you, and maybe with a little Pitch Bend to add some realism.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Mclandy

[FlashyEagle8]

2 hours ago, Jokeyman123 said:

I'm no expert, but I play guitar pretty regularly, or irregularly🤣.

 

My best suggestion-get a real guitar-even an inexpensive one, or borrow one-and play around with it-even if you don't know how, you will get a better idea of how to imitate a guitar sound and playing technique.

 

One of the most important things to keep in mind-the arrangement of notes when playing guitar will be much different than what you might be accustomed to with typical piano/keyboard chords or arpeggios, but it can be done. Years ago for college, I had to take a classical guitar book of etudes and transcribe these for playing on keyboard instruments, what fun.....

 

For example-if I am strumming an "open" e minor chord on a guitar with standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuning-from low to high notes I am playing the low E string open-the note B on the A string, another E an octave above the low E string, finally with the last 3 strings G,  B and E an open e minor chord, but in what is called "first inversion" meaning the "third" of the chord-the G note in this case the guitar G string, is at the root-then the B string and finally the high E string on the guitar. SO...

 

in order to get a truly accurate sounding guitar-you would probably want to play the keys using this order of notes, not too hard. And each of the simplest "open" chords (chords closest to the "nutt" not the bridge) ends up being similar to this. The open D Major chord- if you only used the A-D-G-B and E strings, you would have to figure out which note of the chord is on each string-the A and D strings are open, but the G-B-and E strings end up being A-D-F sharp in that order. This would be useful only if you want to imitate a strum. Arpeggios a little easier since when I play an arpeggio on guitar I can vary whatever strings I want to pick.

 

The other difficulty I've found-strumming a guitar-the timing of strings sounding for a strum is very close to instant-but just a tiny "hair" slower-very hard to imitate-and each string will not be evenly balanced as far as dynamics and sustain, which is fairly consistent with a keyboard-so you would have to have enough keyboard technique to imitate this difference in dynamics between strings, possibly by bringing out the lower strings more than the upper or the oppsite for strumming up. You can see, it almost becomes easier to learn to play the guitar!

 

Add to that-do you want to sound like a flat-pick guitarist-or a fingerpicker without fingerpicks (fleshy tips) or one with fingerpicks on each finger! The variety of sounds from an accomplished (or even not so accomplished) guitarist is pretty daunting-and then-for classical guitar-I can play the exact same notes in several different positions-and the tone or timbre will be very different-listen to segovia or any classical guitarist and you will hear it, one of the beautiful aspects of classical guitar technique.

 

So I guess-just use the pre-programmed sounds in the CTX with the added 'articulations" (how the string sounds on the initial attack-very important) programmed in for you, can sound pretty realistic without everything I've said. Sorry for the long post, you owe me a coffee.

Hey, i read all your guitar tutorial with shame,and ignoranve, i already owe you a Double Cappucino with whiped cream

Sorry, i didnt understand the guit2r technique with tricky letters where i keep the classical keys with latin naming (do, re mi...etc)

But, in deepest understanding, i think u tried to explain me that,Guitars have'specific higher and lower mid-tones that a keyboard doesnt have coz u also advised me to get'myself a cheap Guitar, so ive guessed !

Anyway, it was very nice to hear a guitar's explanation'from a pire guitarist, that helps !

Anyway, i'll look on YouTube in how to emulate a guitar'with a keyboard qnd to pay attention to whats been done !

Byw, tnx a lot for ur'post, it made me'became a'temp guitarist for short time ! Woow and an extra'cookie'rewarded too XD

[FlashyEagle8]

2 hours ago, Brad Saucier said:

Probably the best advice I can give for getting started is use the arpeggiator.  Why?  Arpegggio numbers 147 and 148 are "guitar strike" patterns.  They'll help you sound like a guitar strumming rhythm.  

Arpeggiator, heard of it.

But where is that ? In Settings ?

Or do u mean the Portamento being'the'arpegiator ?

[FlashyEagle8]

2 hours ago, Mclandy said:

"Strumming" on a keyboard, especially in a live performance, it just plain hard.  It can be done, but takes a lot of practice and skill.  However, most strumming tends to be rhythmic, and as such tends to be more useful when programmed into a Rhythm/Accompaniment, whereas fingerpicking style or lead guitar (basically, more individual notes) is more appropriate for live keyboard play.  So as to your specific questions:

 

1.  Which guitar tones for strumming?  It really depends on the sound you want.  Any guitar Tone could potentially be used for strumming.  There are, however, a few "special" Tones, called "Versatile" guitar tones (169/170/171).  These have some special characteristics and sound effects that can be used very effectively, but they are not really designed for live play.  Instead, they pretty much need to be "programmed" through MIDI or as part of a Rhythm.   Check out built-in rhythm number 11, "Acoustic Pop Rock", to hear an example.  Unfortunately, while they sound pretty cool, Versatile Tones are just not that easy to use.

 

2. What are the functions related to Guitars (specifically, strumming)?  Not much, specifically.  There are the special Arpeggio "guitar strike" options that Brad mentions (maybe also the "Hard Rock").  Pitch bend is really more appropriate for the fingerpicking or lead guitar styles that I mentioned earlier.   DSPs really have more to do with the way the guitar sounds (like if you want to model a specific amp and speaker), and again that's just personal preference.

 

3,4. No specific "setup" required.  If you are using Pitch Bend (but probably not for Strumming), you may need to change the setting for Pitch Bend range, depending on how much "bend" you want and how sensitive you want the wheel to be.

 

5. How you play really depends on what it is you want to play (how many parts? what instruments?), and whether you are using an Accompaniment or not.

 

The MOD button can be configured to either add Vibrato to a Tone, or to change a specific DSP parameter on the Tone (assuming the Tone uses a DSP).  One example that relates to guitars is that you can get a decent Hawaiian (slide) guitar sound with a Jazz guitar as the Tone, and then using the MOD button to add vibrato on long notes in order to get that distinctive "warble" sound.

 

So the general answer is, there is no "easy" answer to making a keyboard strum like a guitar, unless you program it as part of an Accompaniment, or in a MIDI file (where you can actually add those slight delays between each note to make it sound more "strummy").   But you can do lead (melody) parts, in whatever guitar Tone sounds good to you, and maybe with a little Pitch Bend to add some realism.

Thanks for ur deep reply here

Let me'answer u

 

1. Strumming mainly used in rythm/accomp, i see...very interesting tho

Oh versatile being called VST, Interesting !

 

2. Arpegiator ok ! Good for me'thats simple where there isnt a big complex set or functions for'this !

 

3,4 yes, pitch bend range to' modifly

I know it all depends the'digit u put for what u want.

But'is it range 3 , fine'for this to keep it simple ?

 

5. The'way of playing...ok

 

Mod/asgn, ok i got it.  And it has nothing'to do with struming...but ironically why was'this feature beside pitch/bend ? 'Lol

For'general idea with struming etc, ok, i got it

U must improvise

 

Anyway tnx so luch for ur step x step answers, it gave me many ideas and lot of help and i owe'u a nice dinner, with a nice Burgundy Red Wine for the Start !

Thanks !!!!

[FlashyEagle8]

33 minutes ago, FlashyEagle8 said:

Arpeggiator, heard of it.

But where is that ? In Settings ?

Or do u mean the Portamento being'the'arpegiator ?

Ho my bad !!!!

Yes, Arpeggiator on setting is to launch it

Then, i looked below'Settings, actually on the last row where are Octave, Layer etc

Well, Har/ARP is'the 1st from Left

 

Then, the nb u gave me led'me'to'OverDrive Guitars named'OVDRV-G

At first, i thought it was in Setting, that u needed'to enter,those digits. Nvm. Got it

SO, im'all'good, right there

Thanks !

[FlashyEagle8]

One more'thing, after experimenting and testing, i figured out that WAHDST-GT (Layer 1)& OVDRV GT (Layer 2) is not a bad choice, tho !

With Arpeggiator and Pitch bend is'great so far...

Im jammij0ng'w struming, yess !'i love rock 'n roll !

 

Now for Arpg, it sounds'strange, but i see'it shows the whining space of a true electrical guitar, when u move'ur fingers....very interesting tho

Byw, thanks to all of u, im'seeing the Bright Light ! Yeahh

 

[FlashyEagle8]

On 11/15/2023 at 4:57 PM, Brad Saucier said:

Probably the best advice I can give for getting started is use the arpeggiator.  Why?  Arpegggio numbers 147 and 148 are "guitar strike" patterns.  They'll help you sound like a guitar strumming rhythm.  

Arpeggiator...i understand what it is...which is basically an harmonised Triades of notes from Classic Arp3ggio (which ik how play on Piano), but i don't know how to use it w those Guitars tone u suggested me.

Then, u lentionned "strumming Rythms", so im bit confused, coz all i wanted'is to strum the guitar on my verses and on chorus'parts.

However for Arpeggiator, ive seen written & video tutorials and realised that u cant program this feature alone and that u can do that settings with an Instrument or PART. Sobasically, its a Function like others (layer, substajn, portamento etc) that u can'switch On or Off.

 

Now for using Arpeggiator with Guitar idk how to use it, if its on the Upper or Lower octave, or while struming 2 close notes at same time or just to "slide" from higher octave to lower ?

Tbh, after all tutorials, all i see is, for Arp, its mainly used on Electronic trans Music where its used on C Parchebel canon...but didnt yet seen on Guitar.

From this, id'be really grateful if someone'could'find a video or audio filee to'show me how the Arpeggiator is used on Guitar and'specifically to make the Struming sound, because'thats the Key for my success.

Thanks

[Brad Saucier]

The arpeggiator is used for rhythm strumming.  You simply hold down a chord of notes that sound best.  The arpeggiator does the rest.  

[FlashyEagle8]

21 minutes ago, Brad Saucier said:

The arpeggiator is used for rhythm strumming.  You simply hold down a chord of notes that sound best.  The arpeggiator does the rest.  

Aha ! And yes, figured it out from chord's notes, it takes it as building-base to simulate a nice rythmic strumming Coordination !

Nice to know that, as i wasnt aiming to "play rythms" but found what i wanted to do. Which is basically to use a doubled-layered Wah/dist and an Ovd Guitar for Strumming with the PitchBend Wheel and to enjoy that!😃

 

Anyway, thanks Brad for having it clarified to me, so i know the way to go !