Technology has developed quite a bit since these synth guitars made their debut some 30 yrs ago. Now there are interface boxes that convert your audio signal out to midi and allow you to use your standard guitar to control a synth. I certainly wish these concepts really developed further for guitars with onboard synth engines. There are two main concerns when seeking this type of equipment, polyphony and latency. Unfortunately if you were to acquire a guitar like this today you would probably end up replacing the sum of like 20 smt capacitors. Not the headache I want again but I’d like to share these cool guitar pics I had that were actually pretty advanced for their time.
When I had these guitars I changed out all the capacitors which really helped the performance. I do recall the PG-380 lets you blend the synth and guitar sounds. What I remember the most was how smooth this guitar played as an instrument, super smooth. What you really need to understand before seeking one, is that it doesn’t respond super well if you shred, bend notes past the set midi bend range or play a lot of rhythm. What is does well is add unique parts, solos or ambient parts to your live sound.
I have completeley replaced all the caps on my PG380,with better quality and more modern ones,and it sound awesome. I use it both for recording and live performances. When everthing is adjusted correctly,it is a very useful and fun piece of equipment,not to mention a great vintage conversation piece. Since it is an Ibanez made guitar,the quality is impeccable. All in all, If you can get your hands on one,buy it! Even if it needs repair,it will be well worth it.