GR-55 offers some interesting effect processing control

[Per Boysen <perboysen@gmail.com>]

The PDF manual for Rolands new guitar synt GR-55 is now available
online and I just downloaded it and had a look. Wow, this looks very
interesting! Roland has equipped this box with what they call "virtual
expression pedal" (VAP). This is an effect that simulates a slow fade
of an expression pedal, but all in the software. You set a target
parameter, the start value and the final value and then the time for
how long it will take before the level arrives at the final value. The
VAP is to be triggered by the control switch on the floorboard; once
you started the morphing process it keeps going while you play on. I
imagine setting up a dozen clones of the same patch that only differs
by the effect assigned to VAP. Seems quite straight-forward and user
friendly and in theory.

The morphing idea is not new, in fact this is what we have been toying
with in Mobius with those scripts that slowly increase/decrease
something. I would also like to mention Augustus Loop that calls it
"Intertia", the time for a pitch change to complete. The looper
Logelloop offers it, called "Interpolation", applied to swapping
between complete mixer snap shots; i.e. every parameter in the whole
damn mixer will slowly creep towards its new value. Since Logelloop
offers pitch and rate as part of the mixer setup you can do some
really cool stuff here. Finally Numerology has this in the MIDI/CV
control domain, then called "Glide" and applied to movements in an
eight track fader box or dual X-Y graphic grid pad. The higher you set
Glide the slower the values crawl towards their new levels.

I wish the GR-55 would offer more than one VAP! ;-))  Hmm.... maybe it
would be a no brainer for Xavier to implement a control for "value
morphing" for the Gordius MIDI control pedalboard?

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
www.boysen.se
www.perboysen.com
www.looproom.com internet music hub