Am I Crazy and Alone? VG8

[Emre Cords]

Lately I have been outcast by all my guitar friends. They all think I am crazy and slightly psycotic. They all play your run of the mill setups (Lespaul & Marshall... Strat & Bassman) Last couple of years I have been putting together a killer setup. Unfortunately I seem to be the only one who thinks so...

G&L Strat with Seymour/Duncan Jeff Beck pickup

> straight in to 1968 Marshall 50watt combo (Fat Dirt)

> Midi Pickup into Splitter A/B

> A- Roland VG-8 through Roland SP-808

> B- Roland GR-30 midi in to Roland 1080

All audio runs through 808 for slicing, fx, sampling.

Please tell me there are other people out there who can see the possibilities in this kind of setup. There isnt any here in Calgary.

 

Am I Crazy and alone?

[Tedster]

I haven't tried the 808, so I can't speak with any certainty, but, put a G&L through a Marshall, you've gotta be on the right track somewhere.

 

The main thing is, do YOU like it? Tell everyone else to kiss your low end.

[Guest]

Emre: True genius is often misinterpreted as

crazy. I think you're onto something interesting.

Can you elaborate for us neophytes: The VG-8 and

GR-30 are both guitar synth's, right? What are the

SP-808 and 1080? Are these FX processors? Please

tell us more. Are you mixing 3 separate signals

to the house speakers for live performance?

Thanks in advance. Regards, Bob Wood.

[greed2000]

I've always been considered a "gadget geek", so I know your pain....but as long as people take the time to learn how to use technology it can be awesome. It's the people that plug into this stuff with no knowledge that give us technos a bum rap.

[Emre Cords]

The G&L is equipped with a GK2A Pickup, which is essentially a pickup for each string. It is sent to a splitter which allows you to switch between The VG-8 and the GR-30 or both.

The VG-8 is interesting. It is my favorite non-tube piece of gear for the guitar. It uses modeling to emulate different pickups, guitars, amps, speakers and pedals. It sounds great for modelling stuff like clean, compressed strats, 6 & 12 acoustic guitars and different tunings. Its dirty sounds lack a little bit but combined with the marshall dirt, it sounds amazing. Especially if you use detuned sounds on the VG-8. It uses the guitars sound as an oscillator to make new sounds so it has no delay of its own(1-2ms). I use it mostly as a thickener for the marshall.

The GR-30 is rolands guitar synth. It converts the GK2A output to midi. Its pretty cool for a lot of synth stuff like pads, strings and piano. The tracking is OK but not great. It has a midi out which I use to trigger the 1080 and the 808.

The Roland 1080 is your standard synth. It has some awesome texture sounds as far as pads and strange things go. Also good for moog like sounds and weird spacey things. I also have the orchestral module in it which is cool for strings.

All of this is run through the Roland SP-808. This is a cool box. Basically it is a sampler which holds close to 1 hour of samples on a zip disk. It also has almost every boss pedal in its efx section. It has a simple mixer, eq and some other cool stuff. I trigger its samples through midi. I usually assign them to high notes on the neck that dont get in my way. One of its coolest features is something called a D-Beam. It lets you control things with an invisible laser, sort of like a theramin.

Here is a typical patch.

>Marshall set to 11

>VG-8 set to 2 different tuned dirty sounds - Left & Right

>GR-30 set to string patch - velocity is setup so it only sounds when you play it really light.

>1080 setup with space phasers on the high E string

>808 setup to play feedback samples recorded from the marshall. High E string, 12th fret and up.

 

Play like a heavy till the bridge. Back off volume and pick light to bring out the orchestra. Solo on the E string to bring out phasers. Hit a couple of high notes to bring out stereo feedback. Go back to 11...

 

I know it sounds complicated but it feels like heaven. I love it. I just cant seem to find other people to enjoy it.

 

Emre

www.Em-Audio.com

[Guest]

Emre: Thanks a lot for your additional info.

I'm not up to speed on all of your equipment,

but now I have some idea of your direction.

I'm experimenting with a Brian Moore I88.13

driving a Roland Gr-33 synth module with the

13-pin output and driving a Pod Pro with the

quarter-inch out. These outputs are sent to

a mixing board and blended depending on the

patches used. I'm VERY pleased with the results.

Also am trying the midi out of the GR-33 to

trigger patches on a Roland MC-505 Groovebox.

Some patches don't track quite right, but some

bass and drum patches on the 505 fit just fine!

Thanks again for the additional info. Bob Wood.

[Emre Cords]

How is the GR-33? I havent got a chance to try one out. Of course they released it a month after I bought the GR-30. I just couldnt wait anymore to get in to midi. What are the improvements? Also let me know how you like the 505. I liked quite a bit of the presets in there. Do you use it for sequencing?

 

M.

[art]

Don't sweat it, man. Sounds like you've got a versatile set up with lots of tonal options. If you like the way it sounds, that's all that matters. I use a stereo rig and I'll haul two separate half stacks if the stage is big enough. Not with the intention of being really loud but with the intention of getting a big P.H.A.T. sound. Plus with 2 amps, I always have a backup in case one fails.

So forget about what your friends think. You're not alone. Take a look at what some influential players use at their gigs. I'm sure you'll find that many serious players use complex/multiple rigs.

[Emre Cords]

You guys are right. Screw what anyone else thinks. I am going to pack the rig up, and start getting a band together. Once people see and hear it, I am sure Ill have an easier time finding compassionate souls...I am not crazy or alone, I just need to play live...THX m

[Guest]

Hi Emre. I'm new to the GR-33, but from a novice's

point of view, it was easy to use right out of the

box. This was my first venture from totally

acoustic work (w/a little 'verb or chorus)to an

electric guitar with synth. There are plenty of

good patches to use without having to customize.

I like it because it suits a fingerstyle player,

and the expression pedal and power glide pedal

allow for interesting dynamics. The MC-505, on

the other hand, has a very steep learning curve,

and I've not yet learned to sequence with it.

A local DJ in town says you need to "get married"

to the 505 for a few weeks to really get to know

it. Good luck with live gigs. When touring in

Cleveland area, let me know. Regards, Bob Wood.

[Emre Cords]

Thats the way it was for me when I got the Roland SP-808. It sat for about 2 months and I only had a surface knowledge of it. Then when I broke through and got married to it, I was able to learn 90% of it in 2-3 days.

For me the key was to sit down with the manual and attempt to do something.

Everytime something came up that I couldnt do, I would go through the manual until I found it. Just sit down, start learning and dont stop until you grasp the whole machine. You will be amazed how quick it is if you can only get going. Good luck...

EMRE @ www.Em-Audio.com

 

This message has been edited by Emre Cords on 03-06-2001 at 02:35 PM

[Guest]

Emre: Thanks for the pep talk. Of course you

are correct...I've not made the time for the

505, what with family, other obligations.

Thanks for your E-mail address. BobWood.

[Guest]

Hey,

Ive got the gr-33. Its not a jv 1080 for guitar like the advertisements say. And, its preset patches are just okay, but theres enough sounds to work with. Supposedly its internal tracking is "improved" and accessing external modules my understanding is there may not be any improvement. Id say, if you have a jv 1080 theres no reason to get a gr 33. I got one because its my first forray into guitar synthdom and I figured i'll get the latest and make it last a few years. I havent hooked it up to my emu esi 2000 sampler yet. That should be fun.

 

From all accounts Ive heard the axon ax100 is the king of midi guitar for accessing external modules. For internal sounds its lacking, but its tracking is superior to rolands when adjusted proerly.