My new live setup

I'm eagerly awaiting the new gear that will constitute my new live setup. It will be built around the incredible Roland VG-99:

Since the new -99 includes a guitar-to-MIDI converter, it replaces both my VG-88 and GI-20. I was able to sell both of them on eBay for about what I am going to spend on the -99. Cool!

I've been using the VG-8 and then the VG-88 for years. It's incredibly addicting to have the sound of any guitar you want with any effects you want through any amp you want any time you want.

On top of that, since there's a built-in MIDI converter, I can also do guitar synth stuff. I've had the entire family of Roland synths at one time or another: GR-50, GR-1, GR-30, GR-33. A while back, I sold the -33 to get a GI-20 MIDI converter and a JV-1010 synth module, while intending to start using softsynths, as well. I still have the -1010, but I also took advantage of a cool deal to get the NI Kore 2 system, also not quite ready to be released.

Since Kore 2 will come with several soft synths (and Guitar Rig!), I expect that any synth sounds that I want will pretty much be covered. The -1010 may well be going to eBay, too.

It looks like the VG-99 won't be available until late August at the earliest, while the Kore 2 software will be out Real Soon Now. If the VG-99 and Guitar Rig turn out as well as I hope, the Vox ToneLab and Yamaha Acoustic Stomp will be joining my Behringer foot controller (soon to be replaced by the new Roland FC-300) on eBay this fall.

The nerve center of the setup will my Macbook Pro running Ableton Live.

I don't know yet how the live setup is going to look, since I still don't know how much of my rack gear will still be needed (maybe none!). But it's going to very, very cool. I always say that my guitar playing is 75% technology, 15% enthusiasm and 10% talent. It looks like sometime soon, the talent fraction will be even smaller.