The EM Poll

BRIAN MOORE GUITARS iGuitar 8.13

Mar 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Mike Levine

           

If you're looking for a guitar that offers quality tone and an entrée into the world of guitar synthesis and sequencing, the Brian Moore iGuitar 8.13 ($1,595) may be just the ticket. Featuring a pair of Seymour Duncan humbucking pickups that can be changed over to single-coil with a coil-tap switch, an RMC piezo bridge pickup for acoustic-guitar-like tone, and a 13-pin output for driving Roland and compatible guitar synths, the iGuitar 8.13 offers a wide range of sonic possibilities. It looks great, to boot.

For its guitar features alone, this Korean-made instrument — which is part of Brian Moore's i2000 series — has a lot to offer. It sports a gorgeous figured-maple top; a mahogany body; a 22-fret, bolt-on maple neck; and Sperzel locking tuners. It also has a cleverly placed output jack that's tucked into the upper back of the guitar's body, keeping the cable hidden and secure.

Clearly, though, it's the 13-pin output that sets this instrument apart from most guitars (Godin and Fender also make guitars with 13-pin outputs), allowing the iGuitar to connect to devices such as Roland's GR-33 guitar synth and GI-20 GK-MIDI interface. Those devices have MIDI outputs, facilitating the connection of the iGuitar to MIDI sound modules and MIDI sequencers and notation programs.

Getting Connected

There are a number of ways you can hook up the iGuitar 8.13. If you use the 13-pin connector only — hooked into a compatible device — you'll get synth and magnetic-pickup output. (Units with 13-pin outputs, such as the GR-33 and GI-20, have ¼-inch guitar out jacks for connecting to amps and processors.) If you want piezo output as well, you'll also need to use the included stereo Y-cable. It plugs into the guitar's ¼-inch output and terminates in two separate ¼-inch jacks, one for the magnetic output and one for the piezo output. If all you want is the output of the magnetic pickups, simply plug a ¼-inch TS guitar cable into the iGuitar.

The iGuitar 8.13 offers plenty of control for its various sound options. You get separate knobs for Magnetic Volume, Piezo Volume, and Tone (which pulls out to activate the coil tap). In addition to the aforementioned pickup selector, there are two toggle switches. The first is a three-position switch that lets you choose the magnetic sound, the synth output of a connected 13-pin device, or both together. (That works only when the guitar's signal is coming through the 13-pin cable.) The other, called Step Up, Step Down, sends out a Program Change to any attached 13-pin device.

Moore Sounds

When testing out the iGuitar, I first tried the straight magnetic-pickup guitar sound. The Seymour Duncan humbuckers were appropriately fat sounding, and with the guitar's three-position pickup selector and the coil-tap switch, there were plenty of tonal possibilities (see Web Clip 1). The RMC piezo pickup offered a solid, acoustic-like tone (see Web Clip 2), which would be great for live use but isn't going to replace an acoustic guitar for recording.

I also tested the guitar's 13-pin output through a Roland GI-20, plugged into my computer's USB. I controlled synth sounds through MIDI, and it tracked very nicely (see Web Clip 3). Tracking was even better when going directly into a Roland GR-33, which doesn't require MIDI to trigger its sounds.

By plugging the iGuitar in through the GI-20 and using the GI-20's USB output, I was able to easily record MIDI data directly into music software, including Sibelius's G7 guitar-notation program and MOTU's Digital Performer.

Aye, Guitar

The iGuitar 8.13 is a useful tool for the recording guitarist because it's a quality instrument and it gives you the ability to drive guitar synths as well. The piezo pickups are a nice addition but will probably be of more use in live-performance situations than in the studio.

If you don't already have a 13-pin sound source such as the Roland GR-33 or a GK-MIDI interface such as the Roland GI-20 (for connecting to MIDI synths and music software), you'll need to buy one if you want to get the most from this guitar. So factor that into your budget when considering a purchase. If it all adds up to more than you wanted to spend, you could also look into Brian Moore's i1000 line of guitars, which offers instruments with similar capabilities at lower prices.