This is an improvisation around a few chords I found when experimenting with two simultaneous tunings on my Fender Mustang run through a Roland GR-20 re-tuned to Arabic 17 note Pythagorean tuning and mixing in my Mustang through my DoD FX-7 in 12 equal.

In Search of Perfect Consonance

The way this works is this:

1. The Roland GR-20 pick up (whatever name that has) has a plug to take the normal signal from the guitar and routes that down the 11 pin cable to the GR-20. The GR-20 then has a out for the normal guitar signal which I then route to my DoD FX-7 to apply some phase shift and from the DoD FX 7 back to the GR-20 in stereo.

2. The hexaphonic pick up from the GR-20 sends 6 analog signals (1 per string) to the GR-20. Each signal is converted to midi. This midi is sent to the computer sound card midi port on channels 1 through 6. FTS then adds pitch bends to re-tune the incoming midi to 17 tone Pythagorean and then sends the re-tuned midi back out the soundcard midi port.

3. The GR-20 is run in “local control off” mode which means the midi from the guitar conversion does not control the synthesizer but instead the re-tuned midi from FTS does. This generates a synthetic guitar which is pretty good sounding in the 17 Pythagorean tuning.

4. The two signals are combined (phase shifted guitar in 12 equal and synthesized guitar in 17 Pythagorean) with some volume balancing to give what you hear.

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