Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 1 Manual

							VIRTUAL GUITARIST
“ELECTRIC EDITION”
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ENGLISH
Fret Noise
When a real guitarist changes finger positions on the fretboard, a 
characteristic sound known as a fret noise is often heard. To help 
create an authentic guitar performance, Virtual Guitarist automatically 
plays a fret noise where it would normally occur if you were playing a 
real guitar. 
Use the fret noise button to toggle whether fret noises are played or 
not.
Noise Filter
Electric Guitar sounds come with a lot of built-in hissing, humming 
and noise. These components are generated by pickup, strings or 
amp and are part of the original sound character. (A reason why 
sampled guitars often sound sampled is the noise  missing  in between 
the notes.) Also noise reduction can make the guitar sound dull and 
artificial—which we haven’t avoided at all cost.
However, to give you a bit of a choice we have provided a very subtle 
dynamic noise reduction just making the sound a bit cleaner without 
sacrificing too much harmonic content. You can kick it in by activating 
the noise filter. Just try playing some phrases and long chords and 
toggle the Noise Filter setting to find out if you like it real or a bit 
polished.   
						

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Display Chords as
The display chords as parameter sets whether chord names are dis-
played with a sharp or flat.
Tuning
The tuning dial sets Virtual Guitarist’s master tuning in steps of one 
tenth of a hertz.
Setting the Chord Change Quantize value
The chord change quantize function sets the position in the bar where 
Virtual Guitarist will make a chord change. For example, if you set this 
parameter to half notes (1/2), the chord change will only happen when 
the next half note position in the bar is reached, regardless of when 
you actually played the chord.
This makes real time chord input much easier and prevents unwanted 
chord changes.
❐Accents, syncopations, and long chords are not affected by this function.    
						

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Bonus feature: creating your own phrasings
Although you can control Virtual Guitarist via any MIDI channel, the 
most common channel to use will be MIDI channel 1. However, if you 
send Virtual Guitarist MIDI data via MIDI channel 16, it will behave in 
a totally different way.
When playing on MIDI channel 16, all the components making up a 
part can be accessed individually, which allows you to create and 
record your own parts. Handling this is not very easy, but your 
patience will be rewarded if you invest a little research time.
Playing individual hits
On MIDI channel 16, the keyboard is split into two halves. The keys 
below C4 (middle-C) are used to select the chord, as usual, while the 
keys C4 to C6 trigger the individual hits that make up the parts of the 
currently selected player. As an example:
1. Select a player (Rock: Pop, for example) and set the Virtual Guitarist 
track to MIDI channel 16.
2. Hold down a chord in the lower half of the keyboard and play single 
notes in the octave C4 to C6.
3. Release the chord key and play the C4 to C6 notes again. 
Virtual Guitarist plays the sounds that are not transposed, like the 
stop noise, for example.
❐In this situation, the modulation wheel is divided into four sections—by turning 
it up, you can access additional audio samples, depending on the currently 
selected player. 
						

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Creating your own part variations
The notes you play on channel 16 can also be recorded on a MIDI 
track or entered into an editor, which allows you to create your own 
part variations by defining the progression and timing of individual 
beats, adding Stop Noise, and so on. You can then store these part 
variations as MIDI sequences and include them in your songs.
❐Using the sounds available on MIDI channel 16 is not easy and requires a fair 
amount of practice. It’s best to consider this ability as a bonus feature only. 
						

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Reference
Chord reference
The chord reference table below lists all the chord types (based on 
the key of C) as an overview. It includes the notes, one-finger, and 
chord set reference.
• It might be a good idea to make a copy of this page and display it somewhere 
near to your keyboard.
❐*Csus2: You need to press E or Eb for the chord recognition although this 
note is not sounding in the chord.
One Finger Scheme In Chord Set
Chord Notes ECO MID XXL
CC-E-G Root note×××
Cmaj7C-E-G-B×××
C7C-E-G-Bb + next lower white key×××
C6C-E-G-A×
C+5C-E-G#×
C-5C-E-Gb×
CmC-Eb-G + next lower black key×××
Cmmaj7C-Eb-G-B××
Cm7C-Eb-G-Bb + next lower white and black keys××
Cm6C-Eb-G-A×
Cm7-5C-Eb-Gb-Bb×
Csus4C-F-G×××
C7sus4C-F-G-Bb××
CdimC-Eb-Gb-A××
Csus2C-D-(E)*-G
C-D-(Eb)*-G××× 
						

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Guitars
The following sections introduce the guitars and amps used in the 
production of Virtual Guitarist “Electric Edition”. All instruments and 
amplifiers belong to Thomas Blug’s exclusive collection of vintage 
gear and specially tweaked and optimized to Thomas’ demands.
• When loading a player, the guitar used for this player is shown in the stylized 
“bull’s eye” in the player page of Virtual Guitarist.
Fender Stratocaster
Thanks to a heavy “slapboard” rosewood fretboard this guitar pro-
duces a punchy, yet unobtrusive tone with a lot of character. This is 
Thomas’ favourite guitar.
Model1961
In Player …Funk: 70ties, Funk: Single Notes, Pop: Blues  
						

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Fender Stratocaster
The perfect maple neck Stratocaster with a pickup offering unrivalled 
transparency. Compared to the 61 model the sound character is a bit 
more wooden and balanced.
Fender Esquire
This guitar is almost identical to a Telecaster, except for the fact that 
the Tele has a second neck pickup (which the Esquire has just been 
prepared for). The character of this “cowboy” guitar has a lot of twang 
and is perfect for vocal accompaniment. The sound of the neck pickup 
embraces the voice with shimmering treble and piano-like basses, just 
like an acoustic guitar.
Model1956
In Player …Funk: Basic/Medium/Complex/Octaves, Wah: Single Note/Soul/
Complex, RnB: White Soul
Model1953
In Player …Pop: Brit 1/Brit2/Dream Chords   
						

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Gibson Les Paul
Equipped with humbuckers and a glued neck this guitar develops a 
fat, saturated yet airy character. Its precise tone is an optimal basis for 
fat, overdriven or distorted sounds. Bands like ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin 
or Free made this guitar world-famous (or vice versa).
Gibson ES 335
This is a semi-resonance guitar with humbuckers which sounds a bit 
lighter compared to the Les Paul. Therefore it’s predestined for 
slightly overdriven, fat, wooden but also jazzy sounds. The instrument 
of artists like Chuck Berry or BB King.
Model1958
In Player …Rock: Pop, all Heavy players, all NuMetal players
Model1963
In Player …RnB: Soul/Blues Boogie, Pop: Independent, Rock: Classic/Modern/
Riffs   
						

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Gibson Les Paul Junior
The Junior Les Paul has only one “Soap Bar” single coil pickup. This 
combined with the archaic mahogany wood construction results in a 
robust sound character somewhere in between Les Paul and Telecaster.
Amps
Fender Twin Reverb
The king of clean guitar amps. Its 100W 6L6-equipped power amp 
develops a mighty and punchy, yet transparent and warm sound with-
out any unwanted distortion.
Model1956
In Player …RnB: Rock´n´Roll
Model1966
In Player …All Funk Player, All Wah Player, RnB: Soul/White Soul, Pop: Blues   
						

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Marshall Plexi 100 mit Rock Tuning
This amp is a classic for rock and heavy sounds. Its powerful overdrive 
creates a wide, defined wall of sound without the usual muddling 
known of lesser amp types. This model has been modified with a 
special rock tuning resulting in a defined and clear tone even at high 
distortion levels.
Marshall Plexi 100
This is the amp Jimi Hendrix played. What more can you say? Very fat, 
warm and huge timbre.
Model1968
In Player …Rock: Pop, all Heavy players
Model1968
In Player …Funk: 70ties