I unboxed some synths . Still viable?

[Snappy Hat]

I had a long hiatus from guitars and just getting back into some of them.

I have tons of stuff in storage and after cleaning up most of my guitars

now I am digging into my synth stuff.

 

I have a GR 30, GR 09, VG 88 v 2 and 2 Linn Adrenalins.

I have 3 GK 2a mounted guitars and a Fender midi guitar.

 

This stuff still workable? Whats new that took their place?

I see theres a VG 99 and a GR 55 now. What about the GK 3 does

that do better tracking? The new stuff that much better or just

slight improvements over what I have?

 

People going more with software stuff then this hardware? One think

I remember now its all in front of me I hated the space it all takes up.

Anyone make a super compact floor synth for guitars now?

[tracyevans]

All that cool gear is still viable. The GR-55 is great gear. I owned one for several months (and the GR-30 before that). I sold both recently on CraigsList in anticipation of the Fishman Triple Play. But it won't ship for several more months. Currently the Roland gear is the tops for MIDI guitar. Crank it up!

[Snappy Hat]

 

All that cool gear is still viable. The GR-55 is great gear. I wended one for several months (and the GR-33 before that). I sold both recently on CraigsList in anticipation of the Fishman Triple Play . But it won't ship for several more months. Currently the Roland gear is the tops for MIDI guitar. Crank it up!

 

What you just said goes counter to what you say in the blog?

Roland has always built capable MIDI guitar controllers, but they

[tracyevans]

Thanks for visiting, and quoting, my blog. It's nice to know that somebody reads it

 

But I don't think my statements are counter to each other. I like the Roland gear a lot and think it is super-capable for making music. As I said, it sounds and tracks great. (And the breathy saxophone sound on the GR-30 is particularly fun to play)

 

My frustration is more with the form factor, the interface and the experience of interacting with the unit. My complaints are more about market segments than music making capabilities. It is in those areas that IMHO they miss opportunities to take the market segment forward. While the GR-30 felt like it came from the future, the GR-55 feels like a product locked in the past. But if someone asked me to recommend the best way to do MIDI guitar, I would point to Roland. If I were gigging with MIDI guitars, I would use a GR-55. I might not like programming it, but I would still use it.

 

I am currently designing (and blogging about) a small guitar rig built more for portability, practice and playing with friends than it is for gigging. I am trying to get rid of larger, heavier, more complicated gear and pare it down to a laptop and the smallest, lightest peripherals I can manage to stuff into a single backpack. That's why the Fishman Triple Play coupled with a laptop is so much more appealing to me now than the Roland gear.

 

But back to your gear:

From what I understand, the GK2s don't track any better than the GK3s.

 

The GR-30 is a great unit. I sold it to upgrade to the 55 and regretted the decision for some of the reasons above (that I am hyper-critical of product details and user experience) But if the 55 has features you want (layered sounds, COSM modeling), then go for it. I did not notice it tracking any better or worse than the 30, but some say it does. Personally if I were going back to using Roland, I might even choose the 30 over the 55.

 

I have never owned a VG-88, but the GR-55 has some of that V-guitar tech in it and I enjoyed playing with them.

 

The AdrenaLinn boxes are awesome. I think there is a firmware upgrade for them. Check Roger Linn's site for details. I am using the software version, AdrenaLinn Sync, on my laptop and love it!

[Snappy Hat]

Thxs good info