ROLAND GR55 MIDI PROBLEMS

[rudy67]

Hi guys I've just bought the new gr55 but I can't figure it out how to use (if possible) the midi program change and control change options (for each single patch) while controlling another expander or keybord. Within the old gr33 you managed to get inside the different options andyou had the possibility for instance while recalling the tone nr. 3 of the gr33 tell it to recall the tone 24 or 35 or 87 or whatever tone of the other keyboard connected with the midi out. Moreover, which is very cool, you could also make the other keyboard playing semitone or tones or octave down or up (-24+24). You had this option for each patch in the gr33. It seems that in the gr55 for the midi you only have general otions of the system not for the single patch!! Am I wrong or not???

[Winston Psmith]

You should be able to do Program Change re-mapping from any MIDI controller, IIRC. On page 79 of the manual, it refers to MIDI Program Change Re-mapping, but doesn't give much of a clue how to implement it - it seems stupid to have this function assigned to each patch, however. Give me a little time to dig in, and I'll let you know what I find - in the meantime, you may have to do the re-mapping on your external device, instead of within the GR55. It's the same programming, basically - set your external module to bring up Patch xx when the GR55 sends Patch xy, for example. Roland manuals are notorious for being poorly written, or translated, as the case may be, and they have been known to bury critical information. I'll keep digging.

[pinkjimiphoton]

what i found with my synths (gr1, 09 and 30, which i used simultaneously live with the defunct smokin' herb band) i had to jump thru some hoops to get stuff to work...including using a behringer fcb1010 as a master controller, and using a midi merge box to get stuff to work...cc #7 (volume) just wouldn't freekin' work unless i merged data into the stream.

if ya get stuck, call roland usa's tech support and ask for travis (don't remember which one, there's two of them there, go figure)..

if he can't straighten ya out, it plain can't be done.

good luck mate!

[webe123]

You can also register and ask this question on the Roland GR 55 FORUM:

 

http://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=60.0

 

 

 

 

[Winston Psmith]

So, much coffee, and a lot of knob-twisting, and this is what I've come up with.

 

Yes, you do want to be able to assign the PC transmission # to each patch - that way, when you step on Patch A11, it doesn't have to bring up patch #001 on your outboard synth module, it can bring up any assigned # from 001-128. The big P.I.T.A. factor is Roland's Bank/Patch system, but you can work around that.

 

I've never had any problem sending CC data from my earlier Roland GR units (GR-1 & GR-30), and I don't use any kind of MIDI pedalboard with them, just a DP-2 switch for Bank Up & an EV-5 for Volume. Hope this helps - WP

[pinkjimiphoton]

the prob came when trying to control the se50 i used in my rack for the synths..

i used one of them gk a/b/y pedals with the gr30 and gr1, and then had the gr09 as a midi slave to the gr30...but couldn't get the se50 controlled, because i was losing the cc info somehow in the data stream...that's where the merge came in, i used a 1 in 4 out midi splitter, and then merged the cc info into the stream before the se50 so i could send control 16 or 7 messages to the effects..

sorry, was so long ago now i forgot what happened till now, me and my dain bramage...

[Winston Psmith]

Hm, never ran into that - I've got the big GK A/B/Y box, too, the Unit Selector - I learned about that from Fripp's guitar tech, John Sinks, after a local show. I've also got a little Midiman 1x4 MIDI splitter box, but I also use an Emagic Unitor 8 mkII MIDI patchbay. If you find one for under $100, and you have a bunch of MIDI gear, it's well worth it.

 

Never tried running a GR unit from the MIDI Out of another one, but I've heard that the GR synths don't make for great MIDI modules - I don't think that the GR synths allow MIDI Thru, either, which might have been part of the problem with the SE50. I've been able to send Program Change & Volume messages from both of the GR synths (a GR-1 & a GR-30), and I've been able to send MIDI Start/Stop/Continue commands from the sequencer on the GR-1. Never tried using either one to send CC messages to an FX device.

[pinkjimiphoton]

i use a midiman too, i couldn't remember the name of it cuz i haven't used it in so long. out of the three synths, the gr09 was the best slave...they do seem ok as midi slaves, but not if using pitch to midi...it can be messy. you can get them to send program change daisy chained with midi cables, but for some reason it wouldn't pass the volume change messages in that configuration..it would in others tho, really weird!!

that said, i love all three for different reasons..the gr1 i used to use live with my power trio, on "pigs, three different ones"..i'd hit the sequencer to play the organ lick at the beginning, and turn it off when i came in singing...then after the talk box solo, i'd just hit the last note and step back from the mic and start the sequence again. would freak peeps right out.

the gr09 is a great midi slave out of the three, i'd use it for harmonies etc being sent from the gr30.

in smokin' herb, me and the other guitar player both ran roland guitar synths, so we could cover quite a bit of stuff between us that would have been impossible without adding a keyboard guy...

made a 4 piece sound bloody huge!

btw...one trick with the gr's, all of them...if you go into the attack parameter, you can give them a negative value...which can make it respond a bit faster if latency is being an issue..8ms may not seem like much, but sometimes it can be annoying!