Yeah, got to admit, when it comes to pedal steel, the Genos has pulled off a major improvement, especially in terms of bending just one note WITHIN the chord. I’m guessing that it revolves around the chord recognition helping determine which note to bend (I think the only thing I’ve heard was the third/second moving within the chord) so you aren’t tied to a particular inversion. Very clever stuff, although I’m not sure if the trick can be pulled off if you don’t input the chord information.

However, I’m still unconvinced by guitar sounds that use velocity to trigger hammer-ons, as a real guitar can perform hammer-ons and -offs at any strength. Personally (see? Opinion, not fact!) I think Roland achieved this in their SN guitars in the BK-9 much better by having the hammer-on or off (yes, it can do both) be triggered by a legato phrase on notes up to a third apart, but at ANY velocity. So, quiet or loud, you get the effect when YOU want it, not when the velocity trigger point is exceeded, which can be tough to hit consistently. One thing I notice in a lot of guitar emulation using those types of sounds is quite a lot of accidental hammer-ons, in places that no guitarist would do them..! Plus, of course, it’s only ever a hammer-on, never a hammer-off or pull-off.

I think Roland did an amazing job in making the articulations on their SuperNatural guitar sounds feel utterly natural and under the player’s total control. Want an articulation, you PLAY the articulation, not have a sample play it for you. I find that a lot easier to stay focused on the playing, rather than trying to remember what strength I have to play at to get the effect.

It’s a shame that, having close to perfected guitar articulation control, Roland bow out of the segment. Although the jazz guitar SN sound can deliver some impressive rock guitar leads (by running it through amp sims and effects) I would have LOVED to have clean Strat and Les Paul articulated sounds to do the same to...

You haven’t lived until you hear the difference between a sampled distorted guitar sound and a clean one run into a cranked up amp sim! After all, that’s how guitarists do it... 🎹🎸