Migic Music has introduced a free beta version of MiGiC, a guitar to MIDI conversion software in VST/AU plugin format for 32-bit & 64-bit plugin hosts which operate on Windows and Mac OS X.
MiGiC is currently in early beta development stages (the beta version is completely free to download and use) and the finished version of the plugin will be released as a commercial product. However, there is a rather cool twist to that story. Beta testers who report any plugin performance issues and/or bugs to the developer via email will automatically receive a serial key to activate the full version of the software and they will also receive all future updates upon final release. How awesome is that?
The plugin listens to the output of your electric guitar and converts it to MIDI notes which can be used to trigger any virtual instrument in your DAW (or even a hardware instrument if you connect it to your computer with a MIDI cable). I still haven’t tested the plugin on my computer (can’t wait to give it a go, btw!), but I’ve seen online user reports claiming that the pitch recognition is very precise and that the latency ranges between 20 ms and 5 ms (which is quite impressive, actually). Overall, it seems that the developer is doing a great job with MiGiC and that plugin is quickly evolving into a rather capable audio to MIDI conversion tool.
Anyways, if the short description above didn’t interest you enough, take a look at the live demo video which is embedded below. The video provides a cool showcase of the plugin’s possibilities and it really goes to show how an electric guitar can be used as a more than capable MIDI controller (even for playing drums, whoa!). If you’re a beginner electronic musician who still doesn’t have a MIDI keyboard but has an old guitar laying around, then MiGiC is probably the perfect addition to your current plugin arsenal!
So, if you’re interested in using MiGiC in your setup, here are a few quick tips to take note of before you download and install the beta. The plugin outputs MIDI data, but you should insert it as an effect on an audio track in your host application. After inserting the plugin to your audio track, you’ll need to connect the MIDI output to a virtual instrument (keep in mind that some host applications actually don’t support this). Also, don’t forget that you can email your bug report to the developer and get the serial key for the final version of the plugin (as well as all future updates)!
Video Demo
Check out the MiGiC demo video:
Download
MiGiC is available for free download via Migic Music (1.17 MB download size, EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU plugin format for Windows & Mac OS X).
