# Roland GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer



## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Well after many years Roland has introduced a brand new Guitar Synth with a lot of, IMO, cool features. They're claiming the Roland GR-55 has the fastest tracking ever, it comes with over 900 sounds and for the first time it also includes a subset of features from the VG-99 allowing you to use various amp and guitar models in conjunction with the synth sounds. It also features a port in the side where you can plug in a USB drive with WAV files you created to use for your own backing if you desire. It also features a 20 second looper and the sound on sound functions are supposedly endless. I kind of wish I hadn't seen this now as I was considering getting an Epiphone Nighthawk so now I'm torn. ( Here's the Roland website where you can read more about it: Roland GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer :: Overview and here are some YouTube videos:

YouTube - NAMM 2011 - First Look at Roland GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer Robert Marcello Demo

YouTube - GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer Overview Overview

YouTube - Roland GR-55 Interview with Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (Billy Idols guitarist) interview


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Interesting. I have a GK-1 pickup with the bulky 24-pin cable. In principle, this ought to be adaptable to the 13-pin standard (assuming one can find the cable and plug, and has the soldering skills). Does anybody know what other differences might exist between the GK-1 and subsequent issues?


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

The GR55 looks amazing, but I am left wondering why they didnt just make a VG100, and dump the GR series. Of course the answer is money...........


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Does the VG99 also require a GK-style pickup?

Don't count what you are calling a "VG-100" out yet. But looking at the VG-99 and the GR55, my sense is that the GR55 is really aimed at the gigging musician who needs prepackaged sounds in a hurry, where the VG-99 is more for the tinkerer. Sort of like the difference between a keyboard synth with 256 selectable onboard samples, and a modular synth with a patch panel.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

The VG also requires the MIDI pickup. It has some MIDI functions, but from watching videos of the GR55 it seems to have sequencing functions which makes the VG MIDI items seem rudimentary. I think they are both fantastic units, but I think the VG99 is more guitar orientated. The VG55 looks a little too complex for guitar players who dont have a keyboard friend to show them how to program it..........


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I've been following the guitar synthesizer track for over 30 years now, since the days of the 360 Systems stuff, Timo Laine, the Arp Avatar, PAiA stuff, and the early Roland stuff. And it's weird how it just never gets all that much traction.

On the other hand, maybe not so weird. I shouldn't let the omnipresence of guitar misdirect me from the basic fact that guitar is everywhere because it's easy to get into. Kind of the "soccer" of musical instruments. And if anything more complicated frightens away the average guitar player, well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised; it wasn't really what they signed up for, right?

I have a unit which I've probably mentioned in past, that is sort of the "missing link" between stompboxes and the first true guitar synths. It's a unit that was briefly made by Guild, and used a proprietary hex/split pickup to feed 6 separate octave dividers and a fuzz. (Do a Google image search for "Guild Tri-Oct" and you'll see it) The octave-down, fuzz, and clean signal could be blended in proportions on the chassis, and simly cancelled via a remote footswitch. I gather the thing never got off the ground because of the pickup. It was about the size of a P90, and ugly as sin (bad epoxy casting). While it was flat enough to slide under the strings and be easily attached to the top of the guitar body, its overall footprint meant that you could never get it close enough to the bridge to avoid false triggering from an adjacent string. So, you could occasionally strum a fully polyphonic chord with 6 individual octave-down tones, but it was not at all reliable in that respect. Some years after I bught it, someone suggested, rather wisely I thought, that the unit must have been intended for use with stiff flatwound strings. Given that I suspect it was issued around 1969 or so, that makes a lot of sense.

Obviously, with the GR55, we've come a long way since then.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

After reading thru the GR-55 manual, I bought a VG-99. The GR-55 is an amazing unit though and the price for them is actually much less than I expected...........


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Accept2 said:


> After reading thru the GR-55 manual, I bought a VG-99. The GR-55 is an amazing unit though and the price for them is actually much less than I expected...........


Congratulations Accept2. Welcome to the VG-99 club. I bought mine back when they were first introduced in 2007. BTW i don't know if you already knew about this forum or not but check out the VGuitar forum here: VGuitar Forums - Index There are lots of people over there with a great deal of knowledge about the unit if you're having any problems or you just want to learn more about it. I'm still kind of on the fence on the GR-55. I was originally thinking (before it came out) of getting an Epiphone Nighthawk. Decisions, decisions. )


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

Ive checked out the V guitar forum which is where I got a copy of the GR-55's manual. I find the VG-99 very easy to use as it is much easier than the VG-8 I was previously using...........


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