Fishman Triple in the Netherlands? and also GR-1 comparison

Started by Synth Nicolas, May 02, 2014, 12:22:24 AM

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Synth Nicolas

Is there anyone in the Netherlands that owns a Fishman Tripleplay that I can try? or maybe a shop where I can try it?
would be a great help.

Really doubting what to do. Have tried a Roland GR-1 yesterday and I really liked it. I kind of like those old cheesy '90's guitar synth sounds. Have tried a GR-55 before and absolutely didn't like the sounds.

I also do a lot of live looping/soundscaping and guitar effects in Ableton and thought it might be too confusing to use also the my guitar (soft) synth sounds on the same laptop. Switching between programs for on the fly editing and so on might be not very practical.
That's why I also like the idea of having a dedicated piece of hardware like the the GR-1 instead of the FTP. Also because I liked the typical GR-1 sounds. I don't like too neat and clean sounds. Many soft synths have very good sounds but I like it when it sounds like a guitar synth and don't necessarily want to emulate 'real' instruments. Not sure if there is a soft synth that does that?

any help or comments are appreciated.....
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

Nobulusprime

Haven't tried the tripleplay but i have to say the GR1 is a real gem if you can pick one up. Yes the sounds are cheesy but the manual hands on ADSR and cut off and reso are fantastic at creating really out there unique sounds (Which is probably why Robert Fripp still uses one)
The other great thing about the GR1 is that it has really great pitch to midi conversion, it's fast and it's also clean i.e. not as many artefacts and false triggering. It's easily the best pitch to midi I've used out of all the Rolands (that's GR09, 30, 33, 20 and 55). I've not tried the triple play so can't say about that but with a GR1 with a USB to midi converter you can't go wrong. 

ron45

Hello, if you look at the TP demos you may notice they seem to be more proud of the guitar effects section than the sounds. The patch or sound editing suite is hardly mentioned. That section had me hot to get one till I noticed how it was being sold. Seems like they are aiming at 15 year olds. I had a GR1 in the late 80 or early 90s and just got one again w/a GR30 in the pkg. Many very good out of the box patches to begin with but compared to the 55's editing suite it won't come out on top for most people. Then if you get to listen  to any of the patches minus the ho hum rock and trash metal guitar sounds there isn't much there I'd use. That said, they have to, sorry try to and fail, have something for everyone. I gave up on the 55 because of the sounds mostly and the price. Then I heard the `30. I don't know where in the synth the patches began but there were many pure synth sounds that knocked me out. Way more than I expected. I haven used the 30 much except to make sure it worked.

For no real instrument sounds GR's 1 and 30 have nothing to offer if you have used real instruments sampled at a high rate, hey even BIAB AudioPhile beats any of the roland legacy stuff hands down, because the sound banks take up more than half a terabyte. Then add in real performances with some of the idosyncratic nuance thrown in...... I believe that pkg is under 500 bux. There are no pads that I know of. It's just an accompaniment tool and a good one.  I don't work for them. I don't like the company that much either. But their stuff sounds decent but it won't stant up to commercial sample pkgs' used by some pro movie composers.

Until there is a stand alone box the equals the Axon for tracking speed, I'll stick with the two Roland synths..... and biab if I want a decent piano or AC bass sound.  I beieve it's possible to play in you own performances using those same samples.

Ron
3 Eastman Archtops, Ibanez PM100, Custom built tweed Princeton 34 watt 12" spkr Roland HPD15  2 Avalon 737sp  8buss 16 track Tascam Mixer  Lexicon PCM91 reverb deity Digital Performer Mac pro, Kurzweil K2500, GR 1 GR 30 GK3 on Eastman 910  64 fender jazz bass bought new  AKG 712  CAD VS2 tube mic

Silas Lang

Quote from: Synth Nicolas on May 02, 2014, 12:22:24 AM
I like it when it sounds like a guitar synth and don't necessarily want to emulate 'real' instruments.

Absolutely agree. To me, the guitar synth is a new instrument in itself, and its sonic capabilities must reflect that.

Quote from: Synth Nicolas on May 02, 2014, 12:22:24 AM
I don't like too neat and clean sounds.

My feelings exactly. I find a lot of the softsynths from nowadays too clinical, especially from a guitar player perspective (I guess we are used to a bit of grain or dirt coming out from our instrument). That's one of the reasons why I haven't stepped into the tripleplay yet (not the only reason).

Quote from: Nobulusprime on September 10, 2015, 04:33:34 PM
Yes the sounds are cheesy but the manual hands on ADSR and cut off and reso are fantastic at creating really out there unique sounds

Also agree. GR-1 sounds are very dated, but manually editing is a breeze, and that fact opens a great amount of possibilities for the open minded guitar player. Compared to it, the sonic palette of the GR-55 is wider and more "contemporary", but editing the sounds is tedious and not intuitive at all. In the end, there's a danger of ending using only presets in order to not to mess with the menus. Not ideal for the sonic adventurer.

And for the price GR-1s can be had nowadays, it's a winner.

AngeloEvs

If contemplating an older synth model, it is worth noting that the GR1 has one feature not found on any of the  later Roland synth models - true seamless patch switching (this is not noted in the GR1 FAQ thread).   When changing from patch to patch, the GR1 tone generators continue uninterrupted and the new patch voices simply take over.  This is why the GR1 s still my main live performance synth. It's patch/bank selection system is still the best of all synth models produced by Roland giving easy access to 64 patches seamlessly during a performance.  I use a GR30 as an external synth module  for additional PCM tones. 



All later models stop the current patch tone generator when changing patches and the new patch voices have to be re- triggered.   The GR55 does have a PCM tone change facility within a patch but I found that usng more than one 'tone change' in a patch that voice selection became unpredictable as you switch between the new tones and the original.
To  overcome this problem, I have in the past used the GR55 to drive the GR1 via midi to provide seamless patch changes during live performances and layer in new tones seamlessly.

As a footnote, I have no need of COSM features, only PCM tones and reliable tracking.

Regards GK pickups,  I have GK2a and GK3a enabled guitars, the higher output from the GK2a makes it more suitable for the GR1.  My GK3a only just meets the requirements for consistent triggering output levels.