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Roland Ready Strats & Roland GR Series Synths - Does Anyone use this Setup LIVE?


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I messed around with this today at a local music store - ran thru a Roland 30 Cube. I was quite impressed with several settings throughout - but also, and understandably, heard several that were too weird for my tastes.

 

You don't see many threads on people using synths in here -bizarre in that this is the effects forum and what would seem to be the ultimate array of effects - doesn't get much press here. :confused:

 

Are they best for direct recording and studio work or can they wail LIVE too? At the store I couldn't really turn it up to gigging level without pissing off the guys trying out acoustics :mad:

 

For those of you fans of Walter Trout & the Free Radicals - his double live album has him using some sweet synthesization during his lead solos - but I have no idea what his setup was.. :(

 

So what's the consensus on the Roland Synths? Yea or Nay or Who Cares? :cool:

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There are definitely people who use them live. I had a GI-10 (the guitar to MIDI converter - no sounds) and a Yamaha SY85 workstation that I used to create the sounds, and it was a nice combination. In the end, though, I wasn't really getting much out of it, and my technique was/is a bit sloppy for it to work perfectly. You can get some cool sounds from layernig real guitar with a synth though, especially if the synth runs through a few tastefully chosen effects.

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I use a GR-30 Live and in the studio. I also use a GR-50 hooked up to other synths. In some setups the guitarist is producing sound no keyboard player can. The GR Synths can be a powerful tool for the songwriter and performer.

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i've gigged with Roland synths for years now...live i use a gr30 and gr09 most of the time, tho if the gig calls for it i break out my GR1, too...they are DEFINITELY usable live.....and for alot more than just pads and {censored}.
there's examples on my websites.....ANYTHING you hear that ain't a guitar/bass/drums/vox is roland gtr synths...solos and all.
http://jimipocius.com
http://myspace.com/pinkjimiphoton
http://songplanet.com/jimipocius

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hey jimi! we miss ya!


you rock!


what's a good guitar synth to get?


Originally posted by pinkjimiphoton

i've gigged with Roland synths for years now...live i use a gr30 and gr09 most of the time, tho if the gig calls for it i break out my GR1, too...they are DEFINITELY usable live.....and for alot more than just pads and {censored}.

there's examples on my websites.....ANYTHING you hear that ain't a guitar/bass/drums/vox is roland gtr synths...solos and all.



 

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I have a Godin LGX-SA and a Roland GR-33. If you can spring for a Godin, it tracks better than a guitar with an external pickup. The Godin has the pickup built in, plus there are many enhancements done to the guitar, like the mahogany neck/ebony fretboard combo that enhance tracking.

The Godin/Roland combo tracks extremely well. I'm also looking into the Axon line, as I understand it converts the signal from the guitar faster than the Roland. The only area I'm not fully happy with is using the Roland as a MIDI controller for my software synths. I'm hoping the Axon will fix that. But the basic Godin->Roland->keyboard amp setup works flawlessly.

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I use a Fender Roland-ready Strat that I've customized with Lace Sensor pickups, locking tuners, and graphite bridge saddles. It's a great guitar and I really like it. I use it with a Roland GR33. It's my third Roland GR, after owning the GR50 and GR30, and in my opinion, it's the best they've made so far. I've done a lot of tweaking on the sounds and have come up with some great ones. I definitely use it live, as well as in the studio. Tracking isn't quite as much of an issue for me because I'm mainly using it for atmospheric pads in ambient electronic music that doesn't require a lot of fast playing. Although I do have a nice synth flute sound that I use for leads. Some patches inherently track better than others, so I usually go through all of them and find the ones that are not prone to glitching or misfiring and use them for live performances. I just gigged with it yesterday and I love to see the look of surprise on people's faces when you strum a chord and a huge analog synth pad or angelic choir comes out of the speakers.

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I'm heading back out to the Fender Dealer now...that synth he has is the store demo so I'm going to just try to get his best pacakge deal and play it some more (thru a nice Fender Tube Amp this time) and the Tobacco Burst Roland ready strat they already have. We'll see what happens.....

Some of you are feeding my gas now for one of these so I guess it's my turn to feel the pain I have caused so many :o













:wave:

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I'm heading back out to the Fender Dealer now...that synth he has is the store demo so I'm going to just try to get his best pacakge deal and play it some more (thru a nice Fender Tube Amp this time)

 

 

I often play my GR rig through a guitar amp (sometimes two for stereo). However, to hear the GR sounds at their best, a keyboard amp or pa system is the optimum. I did a gig recently where I had the guitar outs from the GR going to my fx console and then out in stereo to two amps and the guitar synth outs going to the house pa. It sounded amazing.

Good luck wheeling and dealing on the GR setup.

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Originally posted by RoboPimp

hey jimi! we miss ya!



you rock!



what's a good guitar synth to get?




Robo,
MAAD MAAAAD love and props from CT...sorry, not much tim these days, too much {censored} going on, lol...youi know the drill.
:freak:
you rock pretty mutha{censored}in hard, so i'll take that as a complement...

my personal fav, if you wanna talk GR's is still probably the GR-1, just because it's basically like a juno....real phat and warm analog tone, even tho its probably digital.
the vibes in it are incredible, but they ain't worth du-du without the expansion card.
and they got knobs...beautiful glorious knobs you can twiddle and tweek..
but they are a bitch and only really good if you use one guitar...the tracking ain't as good as some of the later ones , but to be fair they all have some tracking issues.

if ya don't need knobs, and can deal with the limited programability, the gr30 is pretty good...you lose some aspects of programability, but it's more plug in and play-able. the arpeggiator is a gas, one of the patches actually plays hotel california if ya just strum the chords...it's sick,
but, it ain't as phat sounding.
the gr9 is a good all around synth and easy to program.
the later series to me just seem to lose too much, they might as well be zoom pedals.
you really need to run them thru either PA and fold them back or run thru dedicated amplification, preferably something with some tubes in it driving a full range speaker system in stereo.
some of the hammonds are {censored}in amazing with a little tube OD and some reverb.
=)
the sax's are good on all three, probably best on the gr09 in terms of playability...
but the GR09 is a one axe machine too.
the gr30 you can set up for like 4 or 5 guitars...some of the newer ones do it for you automatically.
out of the ones i've tried, the gr30 is probably best out of the chute for ease and playability, but my personal fav is still the gr1...all the ones since have gotten progressively more like casios with cheesy presets than actual synthesizers.
so...tough call , lol...
gotta go feed the troops...ya'll be well

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Originally posted by 1DZReverendDavidLee

It's sold. I just got an email back from them and then when I re-read the listing - it clearly says No Longer Available...
:o

Time to go surf some local stores
:cool:



If you like my Carvin we could make a deal. :)

http://community.webshots.com/user/popisaurio

I do think the tracking is better with the Godin LGX-SA, so that's the one I use for my synth needs.

The Carvin is easily the most versatile guitar I have, though. It does not excel at any single sound, but covers a lot of ground with some very good sounds thanks to its electronics. You can split the humbuckers, have them out of phase, etc.

You may also want to check out Brian Moore guitars. After a lot of reading I decided to go with the Godin, but many people are happy with Brian Moore guitars. I did get very lucky and was the only bidder on the Godin LGX-SA.

This song was recorded when I first got the GR-33. Everything you hear except the vocals is the Carvin and GR-33. Keep in mind that it is a FIRST recording, when I had zero experience with this gear. :o

http://rapidshare.de/files/18661706/Mystify.mp3

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Originally posted by Eddie



If you like my Carvin we could make a deal.
:)

http://community.webshots.com/user/popisaurio


I do think the tracking is better with the Godin LGX-SA, so that's the one I use for my synth needs.


The Carvin is easily the most versatile guitar I have, though. It does not excel at any single sound, but covers a lot of ground with some very good sounds thanks to its electronics. You can split the humbuckers, have them out of phase, etc.


You may also want to check out Brian Moore guitars. After a lot of reading I decided to go with the Godin, but many people are happy with Brian Moore guitars. I did get very lucky and was the only bidder on the Godin LGX-SA.


This song was recorded when I first got the GR-33. Everything you hear except the vocals is the Carvin and GR-33. Keep in mind that it is a FIRST recording, when I had zero experience with this gear.
:o

http://rapidshare.de/files/18661706/Mystify.mp3



Sorry Bro - I already bought the Roland Ready Strat and I got the GR-20 instead (it was cheaper) and I've spent the entire evening going thru every single thing on this setup.

WOW! :eek:

Lotta stuff in this box -way too much to digest in just one evening. I glanced at the manual then proceeded to discover on my own how easy it is to use - it was surprisingly easy to flip thru all the presets and I wrote down all the ones that intrigued me most and will need more attention later. :cool:

I can't imagine more gear fun for under a grand - and finally a way to break thru my song writing doldrums :thu:

Here's a pic of the damn thing:

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Originally posted by 1DZReverendDavidLee



Sorry Bro - I already bought the Roland Ready Strat and I got the GR-20 instead (it was cheaper) and I've spent the entire evening going thru every single thing on this setup.



Don't be sorry. Congratulations!!! I don't mind keeping the Carvin, I just don't use it much these days.

Wait until you get a VG-88 ;)

Happy playing!

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:wave:

I guess you didn't get the info about how the GR-20 is Rolands beginners guitar synth and is not as sophisticated as the GR-30 or 33.

There is limited programing with a GR-20. It will not layer sounds you choose or change pitch on each string like a GR-33. You only have control over attack/release, cut off frequency, resonance and effects. It has a Hold and Glide feature. It has a Mix IN to add an external pedal or processor or CD player that will sound from the GR-20 outputs. The GR-20 has no arpeggiator; the GR-30 and 33 does.

It's not to late to take the GR-20 back and get a used GR-30 or 33. You'll be glad you did.
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