Synth Site |  Yamaha |  G10 Guitar Controller

Instead of relying on the pitch information from a plucked string, the G10 uses ultrasound to determine what the pitch of the string is, including if the string is being fretted, and upon detecting a string pluck or hammer-on, sendas a note-on immediately, thus eliminating the tracking delay inevitable with pitch-detection schemes. (As far as I know, only the Beetle Quantar ever used the same method.) It tracks faster than the Axon boxes, in my opinion. There is also a separate system for detecting pitchbends of the individual strings. The separation of the three factors, pitch, plucking/picking, and bending, makes this a unique guitar controller.

The pitchbend/whammy bar doesn't physically affect the strings, but sends out a MIDI pitchbend message. There is an input for a Yamaha BC controller, and the modulation wheel can be set to a variety of controllers, as can a continuous foot pedal plugged into the G10C.

The string sensitivity can be set separately for each string, and there is a global control on the G10. On the G10C, there is a parameter to select between plucking and "Left hand," which means it can be used for touchstyle.

The manual, which can be downloaded in .pdf format from Yamaha's site, details the extremely easy setup process for the unit.

The G10C has a number of performances built in, which can be instantly sent to either a Yamaha 6-op synth (like the DX7/TX802) or 4-op synth (TX81Z/DX11), which are for use with the guitar controller. There are two banks of 64 performances for 4-op use, one bank for 6-ops, and one user bank. Using a cartridge adds either 64 or 128 more performances, depending on the cartridge size.

The G10C displays the current patch, and its LCD display is more than adequate for editing the unit.

I find it surprising that no one has used the ultrasound system since, but given the price of this unit at the time of its debut, perhaps it is too pricey to put into production at this time. Currently, Yamaha is making MIDI guitar controllers (EZ-EG and EZ-AG) that have depressible buttons that simulate strings, but retain the pluck detection (like a bargain-basement Z-tar). These units lack the more advanced controllers, even pitchbend, but can be had new for less than $500US.

As the G10/G10C combination still compares favorably with modern units, I recommend it whole-heartedly.