I remember being in a guitar store and hearing a pedal that converted a guitar, chords and all, into MIDI piano samples of each note being played. Or that's what it sounded like. It blew my mind! Does anyone know what pedal this was?
For example: https://www.roland.com/global/products/gc-1/
If you're a computer-based musician, an excellent option is Jam Origin's Midi Guitar 2. It's a pure software solution that accepts any guitar as an input. It works polyphonically, has low latency and tracks the notes with remarkable accuracy.
To go back even further, check ot the original, the VOX Guitar Organ. Lots of vids on youtube.
Expensive, finicky. But it did convert to MIDI for sound purposes. Enough so that Fender even sold a model with the Roland pickup built in.
Source: 20+ years with guitar and way too nerdy with MIDI and stuff over the years
Do you know if anyone has attempted such a feat?
Am embedded electronics designer, for context.
As digital pedals get better I'm sure we'll eventually be able to get away without a MIDI pickup, but I'd bet overtones inside some chords could really confuse a system which is effectively trying to decode frequencies in real time to identify the fundamental. However, with that said, Digitech is getting really close with this ability in their long-running Whammy pedals to transpose entire chords as well as individual notes.
I remember the same experience (in like 1989).