Members cincy_cosmo Posted October 8, 2009 Members Share Posted October 8, 2009 Thinking of selling my never used keyboard and getting a guitar synth (again). The vote a few years ago was that the GR-33 was a better box. That still held as true? Does the GR-20 have any advantages other than being current production as opposed to the GR-33 being MD'd long ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted October 8, 2009 Members Share Posted October 8, 2009 As far as I know, the GR20 doesn't have any advantages over the GR33 other than perhaps availability. The 33 is the most advanced guitar synth Roland has made so far, and has way more to offer, especially in terms of editing and tweakability. The 20 is a more stripped down entry-level unit. Nothing wrong with it, but I don't think it compares to the 33 from all that I've read. I've been using the GR33 since it came out and the only way I would get rid of it is if Roland introduced a new model that was an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members randombastage Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 I sold my 20 and bought a 33Sound the same but the 20 wasn't as tweakable and didn't have the bigger readout so you knew where you were when you looked down at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarPlayerFL Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 I have both the 20 and 33. The 33 is more tweakable, but the 20 has more up to date, better, and usable sounds. I let a friend use the 33 while I use the 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nickeroo Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 I think a major difference is as everyone says, the tweak factor of the Gr 33. IF you are wanting to combine sounds of one patch with another or layer sounds into one patch or get deeper than that, and it has the built in arpeggiator or harmoniser thingies. The GR-20 is good if you are using stock sounds and don't mind about their not having a huge range of advanced tweakability. As one user on youtube (and karma1 said above) said, the GR-20 is like a dumbed down GR33. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StompboxMan Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 Roland is finally making another Guitar Synth that can play different sounds on different strings. Current Roland guitar Synths can only play 2 sounds at once. Imagine the sonic capabilities of playing 32 sounds with your guitar. The major difference in the GR-20 and the GR-33 is that you can't program 2 different sounds and create a new sound with the GR-20. You can with a GR-33. The GR-33 is a much more powerful Guitar Synth then a GR-20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nickeroo Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 Any more info on that new synth you mention, StompboxMan? Sounds very cool, a bit more Axon-like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StompboxMan Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 Any more info on that new synth you mention, StompboxMan? Sounds very cool, a bit more Axon-like. It's gona blow Axon out of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cincy_cosmo Posted October 13, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 13, 2009 Now you guys make me think I should wait and see when/if Roland introduces a new GR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cincy_cosmo Posted October 13, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 13, 2009 It's gona blow Axon out of the water. Does it still use a hex pickup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StompboxMan Posted October 14, 2009 Members Share Posted October 14, 2009 Does it still use a hex pickup? Yes! Cause GK-2A hex pickup has six individual string pickups needed to play 6 or more sounds at once. It's very exciting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cincy_cosmo Posted October 14, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 14, 2009 Yes! Cause GK-2A hex pickup has six individual string pickups needed to play 6 or more sounds at once. It's very exciting! I only ask because there are glimmers of technology like MusicIQ that seem to be able to process chords, which to me means there may be a way of ripping the seperate string's signals apart. I'll ask the obvious questions that you may not be able to answer: Is it going to a be a GR-40? and Is it going to be introduced at the Winter Namm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members forrest roush Posted October 22, 2009 Members Share Posted October 22, 2009 is this roland synth a tease stompboxman?is it real or are you just messing with us cuz i really really hope roland comes through....if roland can give me just a simple REAL synth with 2 OSC, syncable LFO'S , ASDR for filter , pitch, and amplitude they will get more money from me....if it is a fancy look what this can do preset machine i will just keep on using the vg99 and softsynths.....not that i wouldn't use the vg 99 in conjunction with this rumored roland synth if indeed it turns out to be a true synth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members j3yps Posted October 22, 2009 Members Share Posted October 22, 2009 Is the "upcoming" synth true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cincy_cosmo Posted October 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 24, 2009 Given Roland's it-takes-a-year-to-get-from-announcement-to-market record, I went ahead and picked up a used GR-33 off of the 'bay. Should be in any day. I'll be first in line though to get the next synth if/when they come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StompboxMan Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 Is the "upcoming" synth true? See my Post in the MIDI Guitar Thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boinkeee2000 Posted November 3, 2009 Members Share Posted November 3, 2009 I Have both the GR-20 and the GR-33. I use the GR-20 on my live gigs and never the GR-33 for one main reason, TRACKING...the GR-33 is more tweakable and has more features but when it came to live performance it just doesn't track even close to the GR-20. too many ghost notes and squawks happen when i use it, and since i am mainly the keyboard player on the group (which means using piano, strings, brasses, etc) I do a lot of chords progressions and melody lines. I thought tracking was all about the pickup but i was wrong, i have a GK-3 pickup and it tracks so smoothly on the GR-20 and horribly on the GR-33...the tech support guy from Roland confirmed that the tracking has to do more on the unit than the pickup. I just can't wait for the next GR to come out that has the tracking of the GR-20 (or better) and the editability of the GR-33. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted November 3, 2009 Members Share Posted November 3, 2009 I Have both the GR-20 and the GR-33. I use the GR-20 on my live gigs and never the GR-33 for one main reason, TRACKING...the GR-33 is more tweakable and has more features but when it came to live performance it just doesn't track even close to the GR-20. too many ghost notes and squawks happen when i use it, and since i am mainly the keyboard player on the group (which means using piano, strings, brasses, etc) I do a lot of chords progressions and melody lines. I thought tracking was all about the pickup but i was wrong, i have a GK-3 pickup and it tracks so smoothly on the GR-20 and horribly on the GR-33...the tech support guy from Roland confirmed that the tracking has to do more on the unit than the pickup. I just can't wait for the next GR to come out that has the tracking of the GR-20 (or better) and the editability of the GR-33. I believe there are a few other internal parameters on the GR33 that could be affecting your tracking, such as the string sensitivity for each string and the setting for playing style. If you haven't looked into those, it might be worth your while to get better tracking out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boinkeee2000 Posted November 14, 2009 Members Share Posted November 14, 2009 The only way i could make it work 50% better (GR-33) was when i retuned everything from the pickup height and yoke and the units string sensitivity and play style. It still was not as smooth as GR-20 but doable. but when i switched back to the GR-20 everything was out of whack. I was smart enough to create markers on how the pickup was setup before i fiddled around with it. My dilemna is that i just wanted to swap units back & forth in a snap depending on the gig, but if i had to fiddle with my actual pickup height and yoke it would be a bit cumbersome to be plug and play. both units has its own settings to its liking maybe due to the technology difference. but nonetheless the GR-20 did not respond that bad to my GR-33 setup than the GR-33 when tuned to the GR-20's liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chumly Posted November 14, 2009 Members Share Posted November 14, 2009 Have you damped the following: behind the nut with foam? behind the bridge with foam? open strings with a String Damper? Sympathetic resonances are your enemy and old socks are your friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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