Guitar synths are alive and well - though they has always been and remained niche products! Tracking has always been a problem and Roland has put out one or two duds on the market, like the GR-700 system in the 80s. However the technology has evolved quite a bit and though the Roland GK hex-mic technology still is important (one magnetic mic per string) some of the new solutions use some magic, taking a normal guitar signal and separating the strings, making it polyphonic so you don't need a hex mic. The tracking is still way better than most of the 80s dedicated guitar synths.
I have a fairy cheap Ibanez RG guitar with a Roland GK3 hex mic fitted, that I use to feed a Roland VG-900 modelling system, that also include a MIDI interface (used extensively by Mike Holmes of IQ, to relate it to something progressive).
However, if I need MIDI from a guitar I use my normal electric with the JamOrigin MIDI Guitar 2 plugin in my DAW - one of the products that use that polyphonic magic I mentioned above. If you want to try the technology, download their demo version - chances are you will be amazed!
https://www.jamorigin.com/
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