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Re: Roland gr55

Per Boysen wrote:

Only five minutes ago I got a call that mine is waiting for
me to pick up at the other side of the country. Will probably not have
time to get it until friday next week.
Looking forward to see what you're able to do with it, Per. BTW, I don't remember: is your Stick a regular 10-string or a 12-String Grand? IIRC, it's a Bamboo, right?
(Hey, I was just over at Stick.Com referencing the tuning section, and noticed a new instrument entry for the SG-12 Stick Guitar since last time I visited. Modeling that instrument, who do I see but a photo of our own handsome Per. Looking good, Mr. Boysen! :)
When I first picked up my VG-99, I was still back in the States and able to try it out on my own Grand, which has a 13-pin GK-2a on the Melody half. I didn't really have plans on using the VG with my Stick, so I didn't concentrate much on configuration at that time. However, I did notice that that there were some tracking problems down around the low B on the Stick, particularly with the MIDI. On the other hand, I keep my regular everyday axe -- a Switch guitar with an internal GK-3 -- tuned down to a low A and I never have any issue with its tracking, so perhaps the issue is merely isolated to my own 12-string Grand.
Unfortunately, I've only got my Alto over here in Japan and it doesn't have a GK on it, so I can't really test. Haven't been keeping up with the Stick list for about the past year, so I don't know if anybody over there has reported any other tracking issues with the VG or the new GR-55. It's worth watching out for, though, just in case.
Since the Stick is an extremely dynamic instrument, here's a programming tip I've used on my VG that *should* translate to the GR-55. Note that the Input Level can be used as a modulation source, and there are a billion different modulation destinations. So, the dynamics of your playing can control almost any parameter. You can link it to EQ in order to control the color of your tone, or Amp Drive to add distortion on those notes where you really dig in. You can also invert the input curve, so that it can be used for ducking delay or reverb in the effects section. Lots of fun to be had there, and the Stick is a great instrument with which to experiment. 


I don't know if a guitar GK is coming with this
package (I already have a Stick model GK on the STick) but if it does
I will put that on a Les Paul that has alumintone humbuckers + Shadow
Nanomag acoustic mic (thinking that might be a useful combination).


Hey, if you've got an extra GK laying around, be adventurous!!!  ;)
I've had good luck mounting 'em on my Frankenguitar (remember the 11-string fretless that I was playing at the Y2k7 Loopfest?), and now I've got a GK on my lap steel driving my VG-99. Richard McLish told me that he'd mounted one onto a mandolin.
As long as you're just sticking it on with tape (you can always mount it permanently later) try it out on anything you can get your hands on. You'd be surprised at how well it works, and you never know what you might discover! 

        -m-