Something like the MC-202

In this interview here: https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/john-frusciante-war-and-peace its said John Frusciante used the MC-202 to translate a guitar part to a synth part. Is there other gear that can do that including software?

The description of how Frusciante uses his MC-202s is NOT a direct quote, it's a journalist's attempt to explain what is going on. As a big fan & owner of 80's Roland gear, I can tell you that this description either A) leaves out a ton of other pieces of gear that would be needed to make anything like this happen or B) the author took some poetic license and just wanted to describe something that sounded cool, even if it's misleading:

"Frusciante actually has six MC-202s, which he uses in various combinations to translate guitar parts into synthesized parts. With multiple machines, he can manipulate a single guitar string per machine, and then endlessly refine each string’s sound."

OK, hypotheis time...

Hypothesis #1: Each MC-202 represents a single guitar string, but they are not controlled by a guitar, nor do they process/manipulate incoming guitar sounds in any way.

Just so everyone reading is clear, the MC-202, like many analog synths, is monophonic, meaning it can't sound out 2 notes at the same time.

So guess #1 as to why he went this route: John is a composer who thinks like a guitarist.

On a keyboard, you only have a single option for each of the 12 notes within a given octave, but on guitar you often have 2 or even 3 different places to play the exact same note, each one having a different tone, based on the string you choose to play it on: e.g. A2 on the low E vs A2 on the open A. You can't replicate this aspect of composing on guitar using a conventional 6-voice polysynth (such as a Jupiter 6 or Juno 106 from the MC-202's same era), but you COULD do this if you had 6 completely separate monophonic synth voices all being sequenced with their own sequencer tracks.

So, perhaps John didn't want to give up that aspect of composing on guitar, and treats each MC-202 AS IF it were a string on a guitar, but he does not literally "manipulate a single guitar string per machine".

Try it at home:

You could easily replicate this approach in most any DAW by putting 6 separate instances of the same synth plugin on 6 separate midi tracks and sequencing each one as if it were a string in a guitar piece. The synth that represents low E would be set to a thick, dark tone, the synth representing A would get slightly thinner and brighter tone setting and so on.

The voice engine of the MC-202 is very nearly identical to the famous SH-101, which is why there aren't many (if any) MC-202 emulation plugins out there, the MC-202 is effectively an SH-101 with a more sophisticated sequencer instead of physical keys (more sophisticated than an SH-101, but still crude compared to a modern DAW). So any synth plugin that can do a decent SH-101 impersonation would work for you. TAL Bassline 101 is my personal favorite for SH-101 emulation, but there are plenty of free SH-101 emulations to try first -- and most every DAW comes with a bundled subtractive/analogy-style synth that can come close to these sounds.

Hypothesis #2: John is using his guitar modded with a hexaphonic pickup to trigger notes on each MC-202 via their pitch and gate control voltage (CV) inputs.

John is a confirmed owner and user of both the Roland GR-300 and GR-500 guitar synthesizers. Both GRs were sold as a package with dedicated guitar controllers that were essentially regular electric guitars (Yamaha and Ibanez models) modified with a hexaphonic (6 output) pickup to drive the otherwise-useless synth modules.

John apparently didn't vibe with the guitar controller that was sold with the GR-300, so he had one of his Jaguars modified with a hexaphonic pickup so that he could control the GR-300 more comfortably.

Per Vintage Guitar Magazine:

"I love Fender Jaguars. The guitar I’ve owned the longest is a red Jaguar from around ’61. It has a matching headstock. I also have an old white one I transformed into a GR-300 guitar synthesizer."

The GR-300 synth unit weights like 10 lbs on it's own... I doubt he put the actual synth brain into the tiny body of a Jaguar... it's far more likely that he had the hexaphonic pickup and serial output jack from the original controller guitar (or a functional equivalent) mounted into his white Jaguar.

So guess #2 is based on the fact that he owns a guitar modified to output a separate instrument-level signal per-string -- and given such a thing exists, there is likely some device out there, something made by Roland long ago, or something he had custom-built, that could convert those 6 outputs into 6 sets of pitch and gate CV outputs that would be compatible with the CV inputs of each MC-202.... We're talking about a crazy-looking box with a serial plug input for the hexaphonic pickup in the guitar, that has 12 (TWELVE!) output plugs for all six MC-202s input pairs.

Even though it not beyond the realm of possibility that John has such a converter mystery box... as to what kind of results he would get controlling MC-202 in this way, I imagine it would be less than you would hope for. Most of the big synth makers in the US and Japan attempted guitar synths in the late 70s and early 80s, but they mostly died out because nobody could get them to track each guitar string as tightly and responsively as you would hope, especially for chords and fast/technical phrases. But certainly you could do some interesting stuff with this tech if you're open to unexpected and sometimes-goofy results.

That said, if I heard synth sounds on a Frusciante album that sounded like they were being controlled by a guitar, I'd be inclined to believe that I'm just hearing his GR-300 or GR-500... at least that would be the far simpler explanation for what I was hearing, vs. multiple MC-202s being controlled by a Jaguar via some mystery signal converter.

Also the MC-202 quantizes incoming CV signals, which makes controlling them with an external source less-than ideal. There are mods that can be performed to overcome this issue, but John would have had to do this mod 6 times over... also, none of the MC-202s in this studio shot have anything plugged into their CV inputs... hmmmm.

Try it at home:

As for how to control a synth with a guitar in a cost-effective way in 2025, I don't know of anything that is amazing, but I'm no expert. I know a guitar-playing friend of mine was really impressed with EHX's guitar-to-synth breakthroughs when they first hit the market... haven't tried them myself.

Hypothesis #3: John actually IS manipulating the audio output of each guitar string with a dedicated MC-202

This one is the same scenario as #2, except the mystery converter box is outputting a separate line-level audio output per string, AND each MC-202 has been modified with an audio input just before the filter section -- this would, in theory, swap the oscillator sound of each MC-202 with the audio output of each string, that would then pass through the filter section of each MC-202 as it played back it's sequence, giving you a crazy envelope modulated filter effect per string, via whatever pre-programmed sequence is playing on each MC-202.

This is the intense level of complexity and modification it would take for what the journalist described to be entirely accurate***. This seems like the least-plausible of all the guesses, even though this kind of filter effect would be very on-brand for JF -- again, I refer back to the studio picture... the only plugs in these MC-202s are AC in, external sync in, and audio output.

#1 is the guess that makes the most sense to me.

Try it at home:

For this one, I'd recommend sticking to a single modulated filter, as in your other thread.

*** In the journalist's defense, you can see in the Vintage Guitar magazine interview that even direct quotes from John can sometimes gloss over key technical specifics.

I asked ChatGPT to do a TLDR summary of my research and ramblings, and to use a friendlier and more inviting tone. I think it did a decent job:

TL;DR

I’ve spent a while chasing down how John Frusciante supposedly uses six MC-202s to “translate guitar parts into synth.” In reality, it’s probably not as literal as having guitar signals magically feed directly into those little Roland boxes. Here’s the quick breakdown of what’s likely going on and how you could replicate it:

Why 6 Separate MC-202s?

Each MC-202 is a monophonic synth. That means it can only play one note at a time, much like a single guitar string. If you were to use a polyphonic synth (for example, a Juno-106), you’d have one instrument that can play multiple notes simultaneously. That’s great for chords—but it doesn’t replicate the guitar-specific idea of getting multiple versions of the same note by choosing different strings and frets.

By having six MC-202s, each sequenced independently, Frusciante can arrange and sculpt each “voice” like he would each guitar string. That means he can set different timbres and filters on each MC-202, even if they end up playing the same pitch in the same octave. It’s a very “guitar” way of composing with synths—and it’s a sound and arrangement trick you can definitely pull off in a modern DAW using six identical synth plugins on separate tracks.

So… Is He Using His Guitar to Control Them?

Probably not. John already owns two older analog guitar synths (the Roland GR-300 and GR-500) that do let him control vintage Roland synth gear via a hexaphonic pickup. If he wanted to drive MC-202s from his guitar, it’d be way simpler just to use those existing units (or a similar system). Plus, the only known photos of John’s six MC-202s in the studio show each with just a sync input and an audio output—no extra CV/Gate cables, no special audio ins. That strongly suggests they’re just being driven by their built-in sequencers (or external MIDI-to-sync) rather than some complicated guitar-to-CV setup.

But the Interview Quote Says “Translate Guitar Parts”…

Yes, and it sounds very flashy—but it’s probably an oversimplification or creative way of explaining that John sequences them in a guitar-like manner. Think of it as him writing lines on these MC-202s as if each one were a string. He’s “translating” the compositional idea of how he’d place notes on a guitar into a six-voice monophonic synth rig. It’s way more practical than physically routing audio from each string into the MC-202 filters or dealing with fussy 1980s-era guitar-to-synth hardware.

Replicating This Setup

Use Multiple Monophonic Tracks

In your DAW, load up six instances of a subtractive or “SH-101 style” synth plugin (TAL BassLine 101 is a favorite for SH-101 vibes).

Treat each track like an individual string. If you want to mimic that “guitar technique” aspect, give each instance a progressively thinner & brighter tone setting as you move from low E to high E and restrict the note ranges of each track to the note/octave range of the string it represents.

Guitar-to-Synth Alternatives

If you really want to drive a synth with your guitar in 2025, your easiest route is modern gear like the Roland GK pickup with a GR unit or something from EHX’s guitar synth pedals. But you’ll almost always have to deal with a little latency or quirky note tracking. Frusciante’s old GR-300/500 accomplish a similar thing from the early ’80s, but be aware it’s not as magically perfect as we wish it were.

Sadly, guitar and midi just don't mix unless you're using a midi floor board to switch fx. Currently Sonuus makes the best monophonic midi converters for stock guitars... they really are best with bass though, put really h eww as by flatwounds on and you can play a bass mono symth... woohoo. I have one. I seldom use it. All the cool stuff I would do on bass freaks the the Sonuus out... makes more sense to play keys or program a sequencer.

I'm curious about the tracking techniques Meris (and presumably EHX too) employ to enable these more modern polyphonic synth pedals. https://youtu.be/7oMgu8ZkWtA?t=472

My guess is that there's a little auto tune algorithm running out front of the pitch to midi but I have no idea really.