Conference napalm::guitar

                      Introducing G-VOX.  The Technology
                     that helps you play better, faster.

                         (available for Mac and IBM!)

For decades, it's been all about  making  your  guitar
sound really good.  It's been about reverb, delay,  chorus,
compression, flanging and on and on and on.
We'd like to propose a somewhat radical departure.
Meaning, the best way  to  get  your  guitar  sounding
really good is to get you really good.  Which is  precisely
what a technical breakthrough called G-VOX is all about.

G-VOX is an incredible package of hardware and
software designed to link you and your guitar to a
computer so you can start playing better, faster.

It includes a supersensitive, lightweight pickup that's on
and off your guitar in seconds.  Plus a small Belt Pack
that's smart enough to turn everything the G-VOX Pickup
hears into a language your computer understands.

And start-up software clever enough to draw a detailed
picture of what you play the moment you play it.  So you
can see your own fingers on your own fretboard on your own
computer.  In living color.

Then, the real magic happens.

Because when you add G-VOX specialty software to the mix, 
you can sharpen your skills in a way many have described as
breathtaking.

With titles like Riffs, Chords and Tour, you'll see how your
guitar can show you a thing or two.  Like how to play some very
hot riffs.  Or chord progressions that really sing.  And more.

Or, if you're a songwriter, you can use G-VOX Midi software to
record, edit, refine, perfect and save your music with ease.
That's because Midi puts you, your guitar and your computer on
speaking terms so you don't have to transpose your music by
keyboard. (You won't believe Midi's low price, either.  For more
information, ask for the G-VOX Midi brochure.)

You can also choose from an ever-growing series of G-VOX
libraries designed to run with your software - written by
world famous guitarists.  Like Steve Morse. (Imagine a private
session with your favorite guitarist, anytime you want.)

Thankfully, everything works at your pace, too.  Whether you're
a beginner with loads of desire or a determined touring pro.
Whether you play an acoustic guitar or an electric. Simply put,
G-VOX is an incredible new way to make you and your guitar sound
really, really good.  Just fire it up and let yourself go. Play
with it.


                              Play Like The Best

Like most guitarists, you probably learn to play lots of riffs and
chords by listening to records and CDs. And playing the same
passages over again.  Which is one very good reason to let the
G-VOX library series open your eyes.  Because with a G-VOX library,
you can actually see what's going on.  Note by note fret by fret,
finger by finger.

For example, you can take an exceptionally hot lick and watch it
happen in slow motion on your monitor.  So it's easy to play.  Or you
can take a sultry, yet challenging chord progression and freeze-frame
the positioning anywhere you like.  So you can follow along at your
own pace.

The best part is that many G-VOX libraries are written by world famous
guitarists.  Your favorites.  Other libraries concentrate on technique,
style and basics, and are written by some very notable guitar teachers.

All in all, the library series is just another way G-VOX gets you playing
and keeps you playing.  Better, faster, like nothing else can.

 G-VOX Pickup & Belt Pack

Features
  *  You gain access to all of the poweful
     G-VOX software to assist you with
     your music.

  *  Easily connects and disconnects in
     seconds.  Doesn't mar the finish of
     your instrument.

  *  Accurately tracks notes, chords, slides
     and string bends.

  *  Customization features allow you to
     create a perfect fit for your guitar.

  *  System capabilities grow with you.

  *  The Utilities software lets you adjust
     sensitivity levels to match your playing
     style.

  *  Works on both Macintosh and IBM
     computers.



  The G-VOX Pickup & Belt Pack $399.00
      This is the equipment that will get your guitar and your computer
  on speaking terms.
      It starts with the G-VOX Pickup.  Designed to fit virtually any guitar
  without damaging the finish, the Pickup can be installed or removed in
  seconds.  Its job is to hear every note, chord, riff, bend and slide you play,
  while sending all that information to the G-VOX Belt Pack.
      Taking the sound of your guitar strings picked up by your G-VOX
  Pickup and converting it into an electronic signal, the G-VOX Belt Pack
  allows your guitar to "talk" to your computer for the first time.

  The Utilities Program
      Once your G-VOX Pickup & Belt Pack are set-up and ready to go,
  you can begin to interact with your computer through the Utilities
  program.  Utilities is included with your G-VOX, and performs three
  functions:
    
      Settings allows you to adjust the sensitivity of your G-VOX hardware
  to suit your playing style.  The Settings command gives you control of
  several sensitivity options for your G-VOX Pickup & Belt Pack.  These
  sensitivity controls affect the way notes are processed and displayed.  You
  can shape these parameters to fit both your guitar and your playing style.
    
      Tuner allows you to accurately tune your guitar.  The Tuner
  command provides you with a way to clearly see if the strings on your
  guitar are sharp, flat or in tune.  Seeing, as well as hearing, your guitar in
  perfect tune will help you even when you tune by ear without the
  assistance of G-VOX.  You can even save your own open tuning settings.
    
      MIDI Transfer is a simple, yet powerful utility.  It gives you basic
  recording capability.  Using your G-VOX hardware, you can record
  anything you play.  Then save your composition as a standard MIDI file.
  You can then export your file to an external notator or sequencer.

            G-VOX MIDI Transfer is a new
    feature of the Utilities Software that
    comes with the G-VOX Hardware.  It
    allows you to use the revolutionary
    technology of G-VOX to give you basic
    recording ability.  It will accurately
    record anything you play on your
    guitar.
            Together with your G-VOX
    Pickup and Belt Pack, MIDI Transfer
    adds a new dimension to your
    songwriting capabilities.
            For starters, you can record
    and save your music on your computer.
    Set the metronome to any tempo you
    wish and start playing.  What you play is
    shown on an easy-to-understand
    fretboard display and in tablature
    notation.
            After you have played your
    composition, simply save the data to a
    standard Midi file.  You can then export
    your file to an external notator or
    sequencer.  This lets you further
    enhance your music using the many
    MIDI based tools already available.
            And you don't have to be a
    computer wiz to use it.



Features                                  Benefits
     On-screen display in fingerboard      *  See your music both during
     and tablature notation                    and after recording.

  *  Export MIDI files                     *   Record and export your
                                               performance to an external
                                               notator or sequencer.

  * Alternate tuning                       *   Accurately track notes and
                                               chords played in alternate
                                               tunings of your choice.

  *  Built in metronome                    *   Keeps you in accurate time
                                               when recording your music.

  *  Interactive Tuner                     *   Tune your guitar quickly and
                                               accurately.

  *  Settings control panel                *   Tailor the G-VOX system to
                                               your personal playing style.

       Riffs                                    $79.00
With Riffs running and your G-VOX Pickup & Belt Pack
hooked up to your guitar you will be able to see and interact
with riffs displayed note by note on your computer screen.
Riffs is fun.  Friendly.  And lets you quickly pick up blues,
rock, country and jazz licks at your pace.

When you supplement your Riffs Software by choosing from an
ever-growing catalog of G-VOX Artist libraries written by
world-famous guitarists and teachers, you'll be playing with
the best and learning their secrets.

Artist Libraries

G-VOX Artist Libraries work with the Riffs and Chords
Sofware programs.  Each library contains approximately
twenty-five riffs and one Chord Dictionary per disk.  Please
specify artist and title when placing your order.

Steve Morse    A noted guitar virtuoso, Steve Morse
has been voted all-around best guitar player of the year by
Guitar Player Magazine's Reader's Poll five times.  In this first
set of G-VOX libraries, Steve isolates the areas he feels are
most important to proficient guitar playing.          $24.95  each
* Blues                * Technique               * Workout

Adrian Legg    Born and raised in London, Adrian Legg combines a  variety
of influences in his guitar playing.  His libraries will have you playing
folk, blues, country, and classical, all at once.   $24.95  each
* Show & Tell          * Inside Adrian Legg   * (To be announced)

Carl Verheyen  Carl's passion for the instrument remains  a  lifelong
study of style, technique, and improvisation.  He has played  with  and
backed up an impressive list of artists.  In 1985, Carl was the lead
guitarist for Supertramp.  He is now one of LA.'s finest studio musicians.
                                                   $19.95  each
* Modes                * String Skipping          * Across the Neck

Greg Davis                  Greg Davis is one of Philadelphia's
hottest guitar players and most sought-after instructors.  He
deftly handles everything  from  blues  and jazz  to  rock  and  funk.
                                                        $16.95  each
* Rock Solid     * Fine Lines      * Spread Out      * AlI Together



Chords                                   $79.00
G-VOX Chords brings new chords to your fingertips in a way
that's quick, fun and memorable.  With Chords you can play a
chord and discover its name.  The chord you play is instantly shown on
a graphic fretboard on your screen.  You can edit, rename and save the
chord to a dictionary of your choosing.

You can also create and print lead sheets with Chords.  Simply
arrange chords on the music manuscript template and print it out with
your title, name and copyright information.  A powerful tool for
songwriters, band members and teachers.



Tour                        $59.00
Tour is an interactive game that gives you the chance to
battle recording industry odds As you develop fingerboard
accuracy and improved playing speed.

Tour casts you as an aspiring guitarist on a trek to musical
stardom.  You play in front of skeptical audiences in four
performance venues along the way.  As you perform, audience members
throw pieces of fruit at you.  Play the note indicated on each piece
of hurled produce and eliminate it before it hits you.  Don't
play the right notes and your career will be brief.

    
    
    
    
    whew!  Gotta let the scanner cool down for awhile...  Does this stuff
    look interesting to anyone besides me???
    
    

>    Does this stuff look interesting to anyone besides me???
    
    Sure - db wants to know if he can have the Steve Morse library
    downloaded directly into his brain (if it isn't there already).
    
    Dave

    Of course, it's no surprise that Steve Morse is in bed with a cold,
    unfeeling, unemotional medium.

    re: .8 Heiser
    
>    Of course, it's no surprise that Steve Morse is in bed with a cold,
>    unfeeling, unemotional medium.
    
    Mike, what happens between you and Steve behind closed doors is your
    business and we'd prefer you keep it to yourselves.

    re: John
    
    Yeah, it sounds real interesting, but the cost would be prohibative for
    me.  I think I could probably justify if I could get a working system
    (ie, software included) for around $200, but it appears that at the
    prices listed, it would cost somewhere close to $600 to get anything
    that'd be real useful for me and I don't think I could swing that.
    
    Greg

    
    
    Don't give up just yet, guys...there might be a way to make this work
    yet!
    
    

    
    	There's a great review of it in either PC Computing or PC
    	Magazine - last or next to last issue.  I'd be concerned with
    	the limited titles as well as the expense.  But put a "Joe Pass
    	shows you the Standards" and...
    
    	I does sound great to me.
    
    	Tom
    

>    Mike, what happens between you and Steve behind closed doors is your
>    business and we'd prefer you keep it to yourselves.
    
    Now db, if that were true, I wouldn't be so critical of him. ;-)

    As far as the expense goes, since it sounds like this thing has the
    guts of a pitch-to-MIDI converter involved, it's not going to be
    cheap...look at the price of the Roland guitar synth driver hardware. 
    Compared to that, the price seems in line.
    
    							Brian

>>    Mike, what happens between you and Steve behind closed doors is your
>>    business and we'd prefer you keep it to yourselves.
>    
>    Now db, if that were true, I wouldn't be so critical of him. ;-)
    
    You never know, you might be *more* critical of him... ;^)

Any brave (i.e RICH) soul depart with the 400+ big ones for a private in the
home preview ?

If so... coments, is it worth it ?

This sounds very tempting, but I still work for DEC (where is that raise when you 
need it...)

I spoke with some mail order place which said G-VOX requires a sep. sound card.
Could not find out which ones it supports, or whether it has it's own MIDI in.

Does anyone know if it supports the GUS bd or SB16 ...

The GUS bd, I believe also comes with CHORD software (it might be the SAME chord
software G-VOX sells for $70)

If anyone knows the company's phone, please post it here, i'd like to get more
info.  Maybe some mailorder place has it for less than $399.

Thanks,

Nick

>but I still work for DEC (where is that raise when you need it...)
    
    Working for Digital, you're more likely to get "the package", then you
    are to get a decent raise.
    

    
    I will have an evaluation unit pretty soon.  You're all welcome to
    come over and check it out...  *8')  just be sure to bring your
    asbestos strat...  the fall colors here in southern California include
    some brilliant reds this year...
    
    

>This sounds very tempting, but I still work for DEC (where is that raise when you 
>need it...)
    
    Didn't you hear?  All raises have been cancelled.  We loyal DECcies
    should be content with just collecting a paycheck.  Afterall, only the
    uppercrust deserves 20% raises and $26K throw-rugs in their offices.

    
    
    OK, I've just about got the deal finalized -- I need 3 or 4
    participants (the buy-in will be about $300 each, depending on what
    options you select) to make this work, though.  I have both Mac and
    IBM-PC stuff, so if you're still interested, let me know what you want;
    send your Email to EZ2GET::Stewart
    
    

    How about a subjective review of the stuff?  You scanned in all the
    spec sheets and marketing stuff, but I didn't see where you said how
    it actually works.  Have you tried it out yet?
    
    Greg

    
    
    I haven't got one yet!  Bill Machrone (the PC columnist I mentioned
    earlier) is pretty high on it...
    
    I'll be placing the initial order within a couple of days.  I'm putting
    pricing and configuration information together for the people that have
    expressed interest.  If anyone else is interested, hit me with some
    Email.
    
    

    
    
    In response to Greg's Email question, I called Lyrrus to find out how
    much CPU horsepower the PC version requires.  They say that the
    software will run on a 286, but they recommend a 386 for best
    performance.
    
    

    
    Since my scanner was looking bored, and since I've mentioned this
    column a couple of times I thought that I'd insert Bill Machrone's
    column from the 11/18 issue of PC Magazine.
    
The Six-Stringed Computer

What follows is sheer self-indulgence.  I've just had one of
the rarest of experiences, when my job (writing this column)
happened to intersect with a personal interest (playing the
guitar).  I never in my wildest dreams thought that I'd be hook-
ing an acoustic guitar to my PC.

 That was before G-Vox, the product of a Philadel-
phia start-up, Lyrrus Inc.  This innovative hardware/soft-
ware combination attaches easily to your guitar and
plugs into a serial port.  It knows which notes you're
playing on which string, and that opens up a world of
possibilities.  G-Vox starts with a pickup that mounts
with suction cups onto the body of your guitar, close
to the bridge.  It only sounds kludgy: In truth, it's simple,
and it doesn't damage your guitar's finish.  The pickup
connects to a small, flat box that contains all of the pro-
prietary electronics.  It has a clip on the back so you
can wear it as a belt pack.  The belt pack, in turn, plugs
into your serial port.

 You can use G-Vox on an electric guitar, too, but
you have to use the provided pickup rather than the
ones built into the guitar.  The pickup brings out all six
signals to the belt pack, while electric guitars merge the
signals from individual strings into one output.

 The utility software aids you in setting up your gui-
tar.  A bar graph shows the output from each string, and
you can change the sensitivity thresholds, gain, and
responsiveness string by string.  Above the bar
graph you see a depiction of the fretboard.  As you
finger melodies or play chords, dots appear that
correspond to your finger positions.  When it's prop-
erly set up, you can't outplay it, an amazing accom-
plishment.  G-Vox also gives you an on-screen
electronic tuner that brings each string into
ideal pitch.  This is a necessary step because G-Vox
will decipher the notes you're playing far more
quickly if they're in proper tune.  Unlike some com-
mercial electronic tuners, it lets you set the target
note for each string, so you're not limited to standard
tuning.  You can keep favorite tunings in files and call
them up as necessary.  In practice, I found the tuner to
be somewhat fussy and erratic.  Unless you're hopelessly
tone-deaf, you can probably tune your guitar well
enough to suit G-Vox without it.

THE FUN BEGINS

Once you're past the utilities, you get into the G-Vox
applications.  Riffs, those stylized flurries of notes, are
what set the accomplished guitarist apart from the
merely competent.  G-Vox's Riffs application uses digi-
tized recordings from talented, professional guitarists.
You can play the riff at any speed, see the musical and
tablature notation on the screen, and watch the finger-
ing on the fretboard.  Like many guitarists, I'm not all
that good at reading music.  The tablature is a big help,
but hearing the riff and putting the sound together with
the notation brings it all together for me.  As in the Suz-
uki method for violin and other instruments, imitation
brings quick and gratifying results.  Also, the computer
is far better than variable-speed tape recorders for
learning riffs because the pitch doesn't change as
you alter the speed.  You can "follow the bouncing
ball" in several different ways.  One of the most use-
ful for the beginner is the mode in which the ball
only advances when you play the right note.  Thus
you can play the riff at slow speed, then slog
through it, one note at a time.  As you gain profi-
ciency you can pick up speed with the metro-
nome.  The Riffs application is the framework into which
you plug libraries of various artists' licks.  Lyrrus
has signed up well-known
talents such as Steve Morse, Carl Verheyen,
and Adrian Legg.  Along with each artist's
playing, you get several screens of tips and
techniques.  These words of wisdom deal
with topics such as style, practicing, and
playing with others.  They help you appreci-
ate the underlying musicianship.

 Another optional application, Chords,
analyzes the chords you play, and can not
only tell you the proper name for a particu-
lar fingering that's always sounded good to
you, but can show you a number of inver-
sions and options for playing the same
chord elsewhere on the neck.  Chords also
has a chord guessing game and lets you print
custom chord dictionaries and lead sheets.

 Tour is an optional game that takes the
sting out of practice.  In one wry mode,
you're a street musician, and the audience
is throwing produce at you.  Each piece of
fruit has a note on it; if you play the note
in time, it disappears and advances your
score.  If you're slow, splat! Talk about
paying your dues! Another mode is a beat-
the-clock race to play as many correct
notes as possible in the least amount of
time.

 Finally, if you're an electronic musician
and you want to combine your guitar skills
with the world of Musical Instrument Digi-
tal Interface (MIDI), you can add the
G-Vox MIDI module.  it takes your notes
and turns them into MIDI events.  From
there, your imagination is the limit.  You can
make your guitar sound like a pipe organ,
raindrops, voices, or things that have never
before been heard.

 Me? I've got a MIDI synthesizer at
home, but I vastly prefer the wonderful res-
onances of wood and steel to techno-pop
sound effects.  I appreciate the long hours
of hardware and software engineering that
Lyrrus has put into G-Vox; it can make me
a better player in ways that no audio or
video tape can match.  Since it would take
a couple of thousand dollars' worth of MIDI
equipment to duplicate what G-Vox does,
the $400 price range is not out of line.

 G-Vox is an admirable technical break-
through, but this young company has
thought beyond the technological wizardry
to the needs of amateur musicians.  The
applications are just the right thing whether
you're a budding guitarist, you want to
increase your proficiency, or you've de-
cided to move into new musical styles.  You
can reach Lyrrus at 215-922-0880.

    
    
    
    
    	The text after the form feed is my initial response to the G-VOX
    package.  If you're not into reading 152+ lines of my opinion, let me
    sum it up for you here: I like it (alot!) and it works...
    
    
    
	First Impressions 

	Because this is a new product, I was expecting bland
	rush-it-out-the-door boxes with generic labels. So, I was
	favorably impressed when I opened the packing box and all of the
	products within were very attractively boxed.  Each product has a
	photograph of a different guitar (the hardware box has some sort
	of Gibson electric on the front and a Martin acoustic on the
	back) with the G-Vox pick in place.  OK, so they're off to a good
	start. 

	For once in my life, I actually read the hardware manual front to
	back before starting to use the stuff.  It's only 34 pages, so
	don't be too impressed (lots of pictures, too).  The only pain in
	the ass I could see would be calling Lyrrus (long distance to
	Philadelphia) to get a keycode for unlocking the software.  I
	plugged the wall wart in, plugged the supplied serial cable into
	the back of my test PC (a little 25 mHz 386sx clone), plugged the
	belt pack into those two cables and began considering how to
	mount the pickup on my guitar. 

	My favorite guitar is a black Strat Plus.  The G-VOX instructions
	say that best results are achieved when the pickup is mounted
	near the bridge.  I remembered that the IVL Pitchrider interface
	I used to have said the same thing -- something about the physics
	of the vibrating string.  So, I wiggled the legs on the pickup so
	that both suction cups had flat surfaces to suck on and mashed it
	onto the face of my guitar so that the pickup poles (there are
	actually 6 individual pickups in the unit; one for each string)
	were right over the strings at the bridge.  The little suction
	cups are some sort of super soft plastic -- they hold real well
	and you don't have to spit on them to make them stick, either. 
	
	Well, right away I knew this wasn't going to work.  I play with
	my right hand right over the bridge so that I can get those
	staccato & muted effects without killing the string sound
	completely -- it might be a bad habit, but I'm not ready to
	change just yet.  The G-VOX instructions say that you can put the
	pickup anywere, so I decide to try it up by the neck.  It mounts
	easily and I'm on to the next step. 
	
	I plug the lead from the G-VOX pickup into the belt pack and
	start installing software.  First, there's the utility package
	that comes with the hardware.  The diskette goes in my B: drive,
	I type B:Install and answer a few questions. Why does it want to
	know what kind of sound board I have?  I've never heard of some
	of the choices it offers, but all of the standard ones are there.
	I use the Turtle Beach MultiSound choice (since that's the one I
	have in this box).  Then the installation software asks for the
	address and IRQ for my MIDI interface...  so I give it that, too.
	Then the dialog box for the serial number crap pops up.  Oh boy,
	I hope there's somebody home at Lyrrus so I can unlock this thing
	and play with it tonight...  Hmmmm... there's no place to enter a
	keycode.  All it wants is the serial number for the software, so
	I type that in.  Hey, I'm done! 

	(I called Lyrrus anyway to find out what was going on with this
	keycode stuff.  They said that they used to do that to force
	people to register, but dropped the idea when they got some
	negative feedback.) 
	
	OK, I start the utility software and there's music coming out of
	my speakers.  Nice color VGA graphics, too.  The software is nice
	and GUI and seems to work just like Windows, even though it's a
	DOS-based program.  I mouse through the menu choices and use the
	program's tuner function to check my guitar.  The program and my
	Sabine quartz tuner agree that my guitar is in tune, so I select
	the Settings menu option to calibrate the program for my guitar
	and playing style. 

	There sure are a lot of choices.  There are provisions for
	storing and recalling your setups, as well as a neat little bar
	graph display that shows you what the signal from each string
	looks like.  Above those two things in a guitar fretboard.  Of
	course, I can't wait to start twisting the knobs. 
	
	The bar graphs includes 6 columns that display (in real-time) the
	amplitude of the signal coming off of a string. Next to the
	amplitude display are two little vertical bars: the taller one is
	the level the signal has to meet to be considered a "Note On",
	the lower one indicates where the "Note Off" is sent when the
	amplitude decays.  Already, this is much easier to set up than
	any MIDI-guitar rig I've used or seen before.  I tweak the volume
	pots in the belt pack with a little screwdriver (conveniently
	supplied with the kit) so that the individual string signals peak
	but yet don't falsely trigger when an adjacent string is struck. 

	There are also some choices for detection method.  The factory
	default is "Universal" which seems to work OK, but I get better
	results when I switch to the "Pro" detection scheme.  (Wow, ego
	boost already!).  I save my settings and then press the button
	on-screen that makes those settings the default.  That wasn't so
	bad...  The on-screen fretboard seems to follow my fingers pretty
	well as I run through the two songs I know. 

	Time to load the Riffs software.  Again, it's painless.  More
	music out of the speakers, another GUI screen.  After exploring a
	little bit, I find that this program has the same tuner and
	calibration capabilities as the utility software, and has even
	loaded my default settings (somebody put some thought into
	this!).  The Riffs package comes with a sampler library, so I
	open it up and load the first riff.  Punching the speaker icon
	results in playback of the lick through the speakers (something
	like a .WAV file, 'cause it's a real guitar player).  I press the
	play button (the on-screen controls mimic those of a tape deck)
	and a synthesized guitar sound plays the lick while the on-screen
	fretboard displays which frets to play and which fingers to use. 
	Pretty cool, but way too fast for me. I slide the tempo thing to
	about 25% of the original pace, and try to follow. 

	Still not too good.  I guess I can't sight read just yet...  So,
	I open up the menus and tell the program to forget about timing
	right now, just wait for me to play the right notes.  Much
	better, the on-screen fretboard shows me which note to play and
	indicates the next note to play as well with a shadow.  Well,
	this works a lot better.  In just a few minutes I get the notes
	down and start working on playing them at speed (well, not really
	speed, but at least in rhythm).  Once I switch the program back
	to playing the riff at the selected tempo, I notice that not only
	does the screen fretboard show the notes to play, it also shows
	that notes I'm actually playing.  Even more astounding, a lot of
	them are right!  You know, I might actually learn something from
	this! 

	At this point, I bring up all of the riffs included in the
	sampler library and listen to them as the program plays the
	recorded performances.  There's some pretty cool stuff in here. 
	Then I install the artists' libraries I got: one each from Steve
	Morse, Carl Verheyen, and Gred Davis.  There's a lot of material
	to cover here.  Major and minor scales all over the neck (both
	vertical and horizontal), blues riffs, sixteenth note triplets,
	blues scales, Dorian, Mixolydian, Chromatic stuff (guess I'm
	going to have to read those Theory notes in the conference), and
	a pedal point exercise (I always wondered how that stuff worked).
	The Steve Morse lessons make up a four verse 12 bar blues that
	starts out deceptively simple and gets more "interesting" as it
	develops.  For each Riff, there are a couple of pages of notes
	you can access through the pull-down menus.  The notes give you a
	little perspective on where you can use the riff and gives some
	background theory. 

	Conclusions 

	Lyrrus has developed a solid guitar learning system here.  The
	hardware and software are very well implemented.  The current
	curriculum that's available seems to be targeted right at my
	level, which you'd probably call advanced beginner, maybe early
	intermediate.  The current lessons concentrate on the development
	of solo/lead skills, but the system can be easily extended to
	teach almost anything short of raw beginning (how-to-hold-a-pick)
	stuff. 

    Can it teach me to do a Pete Townsend windmill without trashing my
    right hand?

    
    
    Hey, I can teach you that -- just hang on to a valve stem and run along
    side my car while I drive down to San Diego -- you'll have it down pat
    in one easy lesson!
    
    

    Does the G-VOX actually need an internal sound card or could it also
    work with an MPU compatible interface connected to an external
    expander (GM compatible for example)
    
    Thanks
    
    Jean-Paul Bergmans

    
    
    Actually, it will use both.  It uses the internal sound card to
    demonstrate the lick you're learning.  It uses the MIDI
    interface to play along with you when you're learning.
    
    The system doesn't actually require that you have both cards, you just
    lose a little functionality.  I think there's an option to play some of
    the stuff through the PC speaker, if you don't have a sound card.
    

    I should have been more precise in my question.
    
    Let me try to explain what I mean. 
    
    If it plays the licks on an internal sound card, can it also, rather
    than play it on an internal sound card, send the data on the Midi Out
    port of the MPU, so that the licks get played by an external
    expander.
    
    Hope this defines my question better.
    
    Regards
    
    Jean-Paul
    

    
    
    
    Gee, I thought I answered this pretty clearly.  It demoes the licks for
    you on the sound card.  It leads you through the lick by sending a MIDI
    data stream out through your MIDI port.
    
    

    Excuse the rathole, but every time I 'next unseen' to this note the
    title always parses to "G-spot Learning Tool...".
    
    ...and to think that, according to -.1, it now demoes licks!
    
    Edd

    You think that's funny Edd...
    
    Do you know what style the Steve Morse section covers?
    
    
    
    
    		Blooz
    
    Now you know why I didn't run right out and buy it.  ;-)
    
    	db
    
    p.s. NO, I am not kidding.