MIDI Guitar Controllers are better than
ever. Still, as a guitarist''s gateway to MIDI
and synthesis, guitar controllers are hard-pressed
to compete with keyboard and
drum-pad controllers, whose powerful
MIDI implementation usually places them
way ahead of the expressive curve.
Although recent-generation controllers
such as those from Roland and Axon
units offer lots of real-time control, there''s
always room for more.
Starr Labs has been manufacturing
all sorts of alternate controllers for years.
Among the company''s diverse instruments
is their line of Ztars: a guitar-like
hybrid instrument which—instead of using
pitch to MIDI conversion—utilizes keyboard
and fret-switching technology to
provide fast and accurate MIDI access
to guitarists. The concept of fret switches
has been around the block a few times,
but Starr has worked the idea into instruments
capable of virtually unparalleled
MIDI control and therefore, great expressiveness,
which helped garner the company
an EM Editor''s Choice award in 2002
for the Z6S Ztar.
Since that time, the company has
added numerous new instruments,
firmware updates, and upgrades, including
the addition of USB controllers in
2004, and wireless MIDI communication.
For the most part, the Ztar line has consisted
of custom, one-off instruments,
and as such, most were relatively costly.
The Ztar Z5 represents Starr Labs first
production-line models, and at $1,595,
it comes in at a considerably less-expensive
price tag. Surprisingly, the Z5''s implementation
remains quite sophisticated,
and in some ways, it feels like a more
solidly constructed instrument than its
predecessors.
My Z5 review unit arrived in a sturdy
plastic hard-shell case, replete with documentation,
USB and MIDI cables, and
a wall-wart power supply that connects
to a MIDI adapter. The unit can draw
power from the adapter or from your computer''s
USB port. The USB connection
sends and receives MIDI data, which makes it especially appealing to laptop
jockeys looking to minimize MIDI interfaces
and awkward power and MIDI cable
runs. The instrument body and neck are
maple, with a sunburst finish. Toward the
bottom-right of the body is a four-direction,
programmable joystick. A set of six
string triggers with adjustable tension
sits on the body.
GET WITH THE PROGRAM
The Z5 programming section sits on the
instrument''s side panel, facing upwards
at the guitarist. The panel''s bright green
LED display is nested between two four-button
rows of soft keys, flanked by increment
and decrement buttons, and an edit
switch. Hitting the Edit switch takes you
into the Z5''s rich set of features, including
Velocity curves, string response, sensor
response, MIDI Clock (The unit has
a built-in sequencer), many editable
parameters are individualized per string,
and you can tailor the feel of the instrument
to taste. Probably one of the Z5''s
coolest carryovers from the rest of the
line is the ability to create and store alternate
tunings. I was easily able to create
a raft of alternate guitar and banjo tunings.
You can assign string output to different
MIDI channels and synths, and
create zones in which you can further subdivide
the instrument''s output to different
devices. To the programming panel''s
left are buttons for sequencer-pattern
selection, octave up and down transposition,
a Panic button, and much more.
HEAVY NECKING
Maybe the greatest difference between
the Z5 and its siblings is the unit''s fingerboard.
Instead of rows of buttons representing
triggers for each fret, six vertical
rubber sensors, roughly the circumference
of strings, traverse the length of
the fingerboard. Rubber frets run crosswise,
dividing the scale into 24 frets. The
“strings” serve as switches, and when
used in tap mode, become velocity-sensitive
triggers.
Using a string-like system rather than
rows of buttons makes the transition
to a controller easier for guitarists, but
it will still take time to get used to the
idea that there is no vibrating string
under the fingertips, and tactile references
such as string gage and neck
width don''t apply here. Notes sustain
long as your fingers hold the chord. The
flip side is that you''ll need to develop
new damping techniques unless you
like unintentionally sustained notes.
(Starr Labs says the muting system can
avoid this issue.) These are not flaws
in the Z5; it''s the cost of doing business
with MIDI.
There are way more playing options
than this review can encompass; the Z5
may be the company''s entry-level pro
instrument, but it remains a deep one,
with tons of expressive capability. Its configuration
is ridiculously versatile; you
can play it like a guitar (in which a
string can play only one note or sustain
a note and layer successive notes
on the same string, tap the fretboard,
or combine the tapping and picking into
one instrument. Starr Labs has done a
tremendous job of bringing in a powerful
MIDI controller at a reasonable price.
Take it for a spin.
Overall Rating (1-5): 4.5
Starr Labs Z5 Product Page