Roland GR-55??

[webe123]

I have been on the Roland V Guitar forums discussing this new GR-55 unit. It has a 20 second looper, SOME aspects of the VG 99 modeler and very good synth sounds. It is also rumored to apparently drive external synths very well. Maybe not quite on par with the axon units, but very close!

 

I may end up getting one, though I will not get rid of my axon ax 1oo/ yamaha motif XS rack combination. This unit would be great to take out and leave my main processors at church.

 

So has anyone on this board considered buying one?

 

This is feedback from a question asked on the Roland VG forum about the GR 55 and its tracking with external synths. (So you can use the synth rack of your choice with it if you want to)

 

This is what I read from an actual user on VG Forums:

 

The first impressions about the midi tracking sound interesting, even more the ones from axon users.

 

But how is the tracking in the in the low #6 string? here is where the problems with previous Roland units are. Can anyone with the unit test it with different PCM sounds (only PCM please) and share with us if there is a delay? there is where the Axon shines, so its equal or better than the axon?

 

Also would be very interesting if someone can share how it tracks with external synths.

 

thanks in advance!.

 

 

In my early use, I find the initial tracking on the low E string really good, better than the GR-33, but maybe just a tad under par to the AXON. Where the AXON shines, to me, on the low E (and A) is when you're doing a very fast run; like tremolo picking, the Roland may not pick up all the tremolo notes. I usually run 9's, but I swapped out the bass strings from a set of 10's (36 and 46 A and E strings) and that helped a lot.

 

Normally however, when I'm using PCM sounds, I'm either doing walking bass lines, or using the 6 or 5 string for a pedal tone, where I'm not affected by it. My preliminary test, with my friend, driving soft synths in Garage Band have been vvery impressive. I havevn't plugged it in to the JV-1080 yet, but honestly, the sounds seem to be better than the JV-1080 anyway (I was using the AXON with the JV-1080, driving the AXON with the 13-pin through of the VG-99).

 

 

 

As an avid MIDI guitar user this is great news! I may buy one for hauling around and I think it would be an excellent choice for first time MIDI guitar buyers that want to delve into MIDI synth guitar. Thoughts??

[Winston Psmith]

I have an old GR-1 & a GR-30, both of which I use extensively. After the GR-30, Roland seemed to be dumbing down their guitar synths - look at the controls on the GR-1, then look at a GR-20 - at least they started adding the expression pedal, instead of making us buy more EV-5's.

 

While the GR-55 may track slightly better than the earlier models, it won't give you the programming depth you'll get from the Axon/Motif combo. What you will get is a much more compact rig, with a few more guitar-oriented features, like the Looper and probably some Boss/Roland effects. Also, the 'improved' GK-3 synth pickup, which comes with the GR-55, has a very high P.I.T.A. factor, compared with the GK-2a - more difficult installation/adjustment.

 

Regarding the 5th & 6th strings, I haven't had any discernible problem with tracking on low notes, although I've always used a standard .010-.046 string set - it may be that the lighter 6th string has tracking issues, but it may also be that the curve of the radius on the GK-3 doesn't match the neck radius on the guitar, and so the pup spacing is incorrect for the 6th string.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose - keep in mind that older GR-series synths are going for around $200, at this point, so if you just want a smaller guitar synth rig, you might be happy with a used GR-1, or GR-30.

[webe123]

From what I have read, this new unit seems worth the money. For $700.00 you get a lot of stuff. And I have owned the Roland GR-33 and have used a GK2, GK2a and a roland ready strat and you are right about it not tracking as well as a RMC pickup. I now own a godin ACS SA classical with 13 pin RMC....tracks great!

 

But I forgot to mention I own a axon ax 100 mark II with a yamaha motif XS in a 2 space rack....I was just looking at this unit for when I wanted to leave my stuff set up at church and take the GR-55 out somewhere when I play.

 

And this unit also has guitar modeling technology which is supposed to be pretty good and needs no tracking for it. Kind of like rolands answer to the variax, except you can use any guitar you want, because the unit, not the guitar, does all the work.

 

I am probably going to get this just to have an all in one unit when I get my income tax check.

[Terrell]

I'm Very interested in this stuff but don't have the time to F with it.

 

If money were no object on an electric synth guitar, which way would you guys go?

[picker]

If money were no object on an electric synth guitar, which way would you guys go?

 

If money were really no object, I'd go with a Synthax and a Synclavier set up. That's the best there is.

 

[Winston Psmith]

Picker has a point, but you'd be buying into two orphan technologies, which means if something breaks down, finding parts, schematics & techs willing to work on them could be an issue. Even Allan Holdsworth and Adrian Belew retired their SynthAxes, pretty much after one album in each case - not a good sign.

 

In terms of current tech, I'd either go with one of the Godin Synth Access guitars (they make a few models) or one of the Carvin Allan Holdsworth models, with the synth pup. Of course, if they get around to adding MIDI to the Moog Guitar, that would have to be the one.

 

For a MIDI interface, I hear good things about the Axon, but you'll probably want a better sound bank than the stock GM soundbank that used to come onboard the Axon.

 

For a state-of-the-art, break-the-bank synth, the Korg Oasys is very cool, and very expensive.

 

Actually, having thought about this a bit more, I would probably suggest getting a dual-processor Macbook & a USB-MIDI interface, bulking up the memory and loading it with soft synths & samplers. Almost any classic synth or keyboard instrument we could think of has been modeled and recreated as software, plus you'd have access to forms of synthesis not often seen in keyboards or hardware modules, like Granular Synthesis. IIRC, there may even be a soft-synth version of Korg's KARMA processing. I'm more of a hands-on hardware kind of guy, which is why my first thought went to a massive synth, instead of a compact, laptop-based rig.

[mgbrome]

Moog already released their E1 guitar with midi. A bit pricey but its available

[SEHpicker]

I don't have much experience with these synths, but last summer I had a chance to play a friend's Roland Synth set-up and was blown away.

I couldn't stop playing the "Breathy Sax" selection. A top-shelf session sax player that was upstairs came down cause he wanted to see who was playing the sax downstairs. He was embarrassed when he discovered it was me on the Roland Synth... but we were all amazed by how good it sounded. The touch sensitivity was especially good. A soft attack yielded "breathy" and sexy sax sounds and when you hit it hard it was like someone blowin hard & belting it out.

Certainly doesn't replace a real sax, but impressive none the less and a lot of fun to mess around with.

SEHpicker

[Fumblyfingers]

I really love my Axon AX-100MkII and Godin Freeway Synth Access guitar with the Ghost Modular pickup system. I have had this for a few years now.

 

Mostly I am triggering soft synths...Spectrasonics' Omnisphere and Trilian as well as a bunch of stuff from East West Quantum Leap...RA, Silk, Gypsy, Fab Four...on and on...... it works pretty well.

 

What really bites is that the Axon line was discontinued last year.....completely dropped by Terratec. This has driven up the prices of Axon units.....I would like to get an AX50 but not for what they are going for now. I actually have a Yamaha setup as well...the G50 and the G1-D pickup. Yamaha and Axon both come out of the original Blue Chip design.

 

What is weird is that after fighting with the Axon for a long time to get it to track with my playing....... and sort of resigning myself to the fact that I had reached the best it was going to get........it all of a sudden started performing really well.......like it learned me.

 

Anyway...... careful of just doing any firmware updates or dropping your Axon's....... repair options are slim to none......you may have to send it to Germany.

 

I'd like to suss out the GR-55. Anyone know if it has a piezo setting?

 

Oh...the Z-Tar line has been available for a while now...Starr Labs.

 

[desertbluesman]

The GR55 looks interesting to me,

 

Last one I ever had was the GM70 in the mid to late 1980's. It was very comprehensive it would command 4 external synths, I used 2 Roland D 550's for all kinds of interesting sounds a Roland MKS 70 for strings and voices, and a Roland MKS20 (I think) Piano module for acoustic piano sounds. Even though it was not the greatest tracking unit, it was good enough and nothing I have tried since has come up to that set up sonically.

 

Listen to my Android From Andromeda tune on my Soundclick page. I did that with that set up above using a Yamaha TX802 for the basses instead of the piano module. I shot the thing into MOTU Performer 3 MIDI only sequencer for the editing, and then recorded it into an Akai C-Cassette through a Hill Audio Multi Mix board

[webe123]

I'd like to suss out the GR-55. Anyone know if it has a piezo setting?

 

Yes it has different settings for GK and RMC pickups as well as a ton of parameters you can change for sensitivity...unilke older Roland MIDI guitar units.

 

 

Here is a video of a guy playing an axon through a Godin electric with 13 pin pickup. His name is Steve Stevens that worked with Billy Idol. The RMC pickups sound great with the Gr 55.

 

 

 

 

 

[Fumblyfingers]

LOL.....Webe, I know who Steve Stevens is. How could you not with old Billy all over the tube in the height of the I Want My MTV era?

 

 

I dunno is it just me or at 51 should he give that look a rest? I mean I am all for us old guys rockin' on into the sunset but what ever happened to evolving? Him and Yngwie both.

 

Dunno, I 'spose if Keef can still do it anyone can. Keef just looks cool though....he doesn't really look like he is trying to act 20 something. His style has evolved over the years. These guys are locked back in time.

Just me.

 

All I have to say is thank goodness Roland is still keeping guitar synth technology alive. Everyone else is out of the game now right? It sucks, but it is just not something too many guitarists want.

 

[webe123]

The Steve Stevens introduction was NOT just for you!

 

It was for anyone else viewing this thread and wanting to know about how the RMC pickups do with a GR 55.

 

That was your question right?

 

Well all I was doing was answering it.

[Fumblyfingers]

Go take a pill webe!

 

......wanting to know about how the RMC pickups do with a GR 55. That was your question right?

 

Actually no, my question had nothing to do with RMC pickups specifically. I use the Ghost pickup system, not RMC.

 

My question was whether the Roland had a setting for piezo pickups? It's right here......

Anyone know if it has a piezo setting?

 

For example, the GI-20 does not have a piezo setting but many people report getting decent tracking with piezo equipped guitars. So I am glad for you and Steve that RMC pickups work great with the GR-55, I am sure my Ghost equipped Godin will too.

 

I specifically asked if the Roland had a dedicated Piezo setting, to see if they are including piezo equipped guitars in their ongoing development of guitar synth technology.

 

[webe123]

Go take a pill webe!

 

 

You are the one needing a pill. You seemed to jump all over me for pointing something out. Get a life!

 

Actually no, my question had nothing to do with RMC pickups specifically. I use the Ghost pickup system, not RMC.

 

As far as I am aware BOTH the GHOST AND RMC use a piezo pickup. So fault is yours for not pointing out what brand of pickup you have. And as far as I am aware both will work just fine with the GR 55.

 

And Get off your high horse. All I was doing was answering a stupid question for crying out loud!

 

 

 

 

 

[picker]

I dunno is it just me or at 51 should he give that look a rest? I mean I am all for us old guys rockin' on into the sunset but what ever happened to evolving? Him and Yngwie both.

 

Aw, let the old duffers be. They gotta be comfortable to play, and they've had that look long enough that I can understand why they'd be comfortable that way, and not another. I think EVH looks a lot like a chewed-up rat with that chop-job haircut he wears these days.

 

Dunno, I 'spose if Keef can still do it anyone can. Keef just looks cool though....he doesn't really look like he is trying to act 20 something. His style has evolved over the years. These guys are locked back in time.

Just me.

 

Well, I think it's sad that Jeff Beck's insecure enough about aging that he dyes his hair. To me, it wouldn't matter if they had to wheel him out on a dolly and prop him up to play, as long as he was playing as well as he is now.

 

But then there's BB King. He has to sit on a chair at his concerts now, and he talks more than he plays, telling old career stories and working the audience. But no one complains about it because he's BB freaking KING. Maybe he did make his best music some years back, but there's still a few licks left in the old guy, and I applaud him for getting them out. And I'll tell you why.

 

About 15 or 16 years ago, I was told in a lot of ways that I was too old to make Christian rock. It's a young man's game, and a mature Christian isn't into that stuff anyway, etc etc. When I saw guys a few years younger than me but still older than the audience prancing around on stage like they were 20 or so, it seemed to me the were embarrassing themselves without even realizing it. Even when I put a band together and tried to play out on the Christian scene, it didn't seem like we could get arrested for all the attention we generated. Meanwhile, young guys were bringing in crowds like nobody's business.

 

So, I gave up to some degree. I found churches where I could play on the worship teams, and tried to be happy with playing sideman for leaders less experienced and accomplished than I am, for 30 minutes or so a week. I had to humble myself a lot, because most of the folks I was sideman for weren't as good at what they did as I was, and some of them were arrogant enough they couldn't admit it, or jealous enough of what I could do that they were constantly looking for ways to put me in my place. It was getting to where I was thinking it would be better to die and go to heaven, because I didn't seem to have a purpose in life anymore.

 

A couple of years ago, I got into the blues scene here in KC, more out of desperation than anything else. Man, it has revitalized my life. I have a ways to go, but I'm feeling a lot better about myself than just a few years ago. And, unless and until I hear God tell me personally I'm supposed to stop, I'm gonna keep at it.

 

Yesterday, I would up playing bass for a jam downtown, and I think I was up for an hour. I backed up several singer/leaders, and afterwards, the lady whose band was hosting the jam came up to me smiling incredulously and saying "You were awesome, Mike! Everybody is saying so!", and the place was packed. You wouldn't think a a bass player at a jam would get that much attention, but I guess I did. I might even get a gig out of it; according to that lady, one of the singer/guitarists might be calling me. All I can say is, COOL!

 

Some folks think us old guys ought to make way for the kids. I say, as long as a person can still find real joy in making music, leave 'em alone. Aging has enough problems without smart a$$ kids making them worse.

[A String]

Easy does it fellows.

[desertbluesman]

Easy does it fellows.

 

+1

[Fumblyfingers]

Sure thing Craig, but because I never "jumped all over" webe123, I want to set the record straight here. But I will keep this 100% civil, which is less than has been afforded me by the OP.

 

1) You seemed to jump all over me for pointing something out. 2) So fault is yours for not pointing out what brand of pickup you have. 3).....how the RMC pickups do with a GR 55. That was your question right? 4) And All I was doing was answering a stupid question for crying out loud! 5) Get off your high horse. 6) Get a life

 

1. How is what I wrote jumping all over you? First off.... you did see the LOL at the beginning, right? You know, laughter, humor, light hearted etc...?

 

2. It couldn't be any plainer than "I really love my....... Godin Freeway Synth Access guitar with the Ghost Modular pickup system". You clearly did not read my post properly.

 

3. Again.....no, that was not my question which was specific. "Anyone know if it has a piezo setting?" Nevertheless, I accepted your answer that it had a setting for RMC pickups.

 

4. Well, it was not a stupid question, but I get how you used the word in the sentence, and as I pointed out, I had accepted your non-specific answer to my very specific question..... inasmuch as I said nothing further about it.

 

This is not about the piezo question. It can't possibly be, because I did not respond to your answer at all....I said nothing that could be taken as jumping on you about that.

 

You jumped my crap for the tongue in cheek Steve Stevens comment I made. "The Steve Stevens introduction was NOT just for you!"

 

So we have a combination of you not reading my questions or my comments properly at all, overreacting completely.... and getting riled up and "irritated" at me, "yelling" because of a harmless comment I made not even aimed at you at all.

 

 

As for items 5 & 6........ In the interest of civility and allowing your GR-55 thread to hopefully continue, I will let those comments go....well, other than to say that maybe having a high horse would be a good thing so as to be able to stand on it, to see over the top of the BS piling up over this.

 

 

 

 

[webe123]

Sure thing Craig, but because I never "jumped all over" webe123, I want to set the record straight here. But I will keep this 100% civil, which is less than has been afforded me by the OP.

 

I also will have my say in this and correct you in your statements. And no you were not civil to me by your opening statement, I simply tried to answer a question when you acted like everyone should know who Steve Stevens was...some may not...did you ever think of that?

 

Sorry, but I am regretting ever answering you in the first place. I won't make that mistake again.

 

I Quote you:"LOL.....Webe, I know who Steve Stevens is. How could you not with old Billy all over the tube in the height of the I Want My MTV era?"

 

Again, my post was not just for you, but you acted like I should have known that you knew who he was. I didn't.... is that a crime?? And you came off like a smart ass about it, also. Something I did not care for then, nor now! And making a LOL does not mean your intentions were not condesending. So give it a rest!

 

1. How is what I wrote jumping all over you? First off.... you did see the LOL at the beginning, right? You know, laughter, humor, light hearted etc...?

 

Because of the way you framed your words. They were very condesending to me. And again,making a LOL does not make it lighthearted. For example...I could say that someone is a jerk and put an LOL at the end...if it was a friend, he may take it OK. If it was a stranger...I doubt it.

 

2. It couldn't be any plainer than "I really love my....... Godin Freeway Synth Access guitar with the Ghost Modular pickup system". You clearly did not read my post properly.

 

And again, BOTH the GHOST and RMC pickups ARE PIEZO based pickups! If you don't believe me, go to their websties and find out. They both have about the same tracking speed. The piezo pickup was what I was referring to. Again, you are making a mountian out of a molehill.

 

3. Again.....no, that was not my question which was specific. "Anyone know if it has a piezo setting?" Nevertheless, I accepted your answer that it had a setting for RMC pickups.

 

Well as far as I am aware it does have a selection for RMC I do not know about GHOST...but being as a GHOST system HAS

piezo pickups , that setting should work.

 

4.Well, it was not a stupid question, but I get how you used the word in the sentence, and as I pointed out, I had accepted your non-specific answer to my very specific question..... inasmuch as I said nothing further about it.

 

No you just acted like a jerk and made a big deal out of it later! I just did not see your reason in in making this mountain out of a molehill.

 

This is not about the piezo question. It can't possibly be, because I did not respond to your answer at all....I said nothing that could be taken as jumping on you about that.

 

No, it was your response in the first part that I was talking about. NOW who is not reading posts?

 

You jumped my crap for the tongue in cheek Steve Stevens comment I made. "The Steve Stevens introduction was NOT just for you!"

 

It was not "tounge in cheek" at all! It sounded like a smart ass comment.

 

So we have a combination of you not reading my questions or my comments properly at all, overreacting completely.... and getting riled up and "irritated" at me, "yelling" because of a harmless comment I made not even aimed at you at all.

 

Again, your post sounded like it was condesending. Maybe that is not what you intended, but now you come and act like you were the one that was offended? Give me a break! Here's a clue, try to frame your words a little better next time you answer someone.

 

As for items 5 & 6........ In the interest of civility and allowing your GR-55 thread to hopefully continue, I will let those comments go....well, other than to say that maybe having a high horse would be a good thing so as to be able to stand on it, to see over the top of the BS piling up over this.

 

Gee that is so nice of you to publicly deride me in a forum then act like you have any decency at all! You may want to check your side of things, because the smell of BS is where this is at!

 

 

Like I said, I will not be answering anything that you are asking, so case closed as far as I am concerned.

 

 

 

[Fumblyfingers]

Yeah okay webe123. All your responses are much the same as what I have seen from you at another forum. Carry on, I won't respond to you in the future either, being as I would be afraid the slightest comment would hurt your feelings.