GR-55- Need Advice on A Song Cover**

Started by zapantalambda, July 26, 2015, 07:46:42 AM

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zapantalambda

Hello everyone. Im seeking advice on a song that I'm trying to cover.

This is the song I'm working at the moment (I Don't Mind by Usher) --------> ! No longer available

On my GR55 I am using the Rhythm Patch 20-2 Marimba as this is the closest sounding patch (in my opinion) that matches the sound on the song that I am working at. I know it's not the perfect sound, but my patch tweaking skills is still noob so I'll just use what I have at this time.

Anyway, the patch sounded alright to me however I encountered a problem that interfered with me playing the song. my concern is,

1) the patch is so sensitive that it plays/picks up some unnecessary notes/noise when I change from chord to chord. I tried to play with the String sensitivity for a bit but it still picks up some notes/noise that I shouldnt' be hearing.

2) I am using a GK-ready Strat btw and when I play the song, I do not use pick but instead I use plucking& palm-muting technique. So everytime I palm-mute a chord, it picks up the sound of my hand palm-muting. It's maybe bcos I "palm-mute" very heavily as if I'm playing an acoustic guitar. (Hope you guys know what I mean)

I attached a video of me playing the song for clarification. --------> ! No longer available


W/ reg to my concern, I would like to seek everyone's advice on what to do in order for me to play the song 'clean-fully' without hearing those unnecessary notes, what or how to tweak my GR55, and etc.


Thanks in advance guys. :)



Elantric

#1
Read these GR-55 setup docs to learn how to minimize ghost most, tracking errors.

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=18

upload your problem GR-55 patch
Learn how here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3260.0

concordal

zapantalambda, post your attempt at the patch so forum members can see the parameters.

Have you tried adjusting the "LEVEL VEL SENS".  The GR-55 manual explains it this way: 

QuoteAdjusts the amount by which the tone's volume will be affected by your playing strength.
With positive "+" values, the volume will increase as you play more strongly.

So if you set that at +20 or +30 or even +50, it will help to cut out the extraneous notes because, with the level vel sens now set, the occasional touch won't be strong enough to trigger the note.

If you post the patch we can help you set the decay as well.  The notes sustain quite a bit in the original that you posted.


zapantalambda

Quote from: Elantric on July 26, 2015, 08:46:50 AM
Read these GR-55 setup docs to learn how to minimize ghost most, tracking errors.

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=18

upload your problem GR-55 patch
Learn how here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3260.0

Thank you Elantric for the links. I will surely read up on them.
Hope you still remember me. Remember like almost a year ago when I tried to patch my GR55 to my octaswitch? :)
Well, it did not happen. :) I alrdy sold most of my analog pedals and the octaswitch. I just woke up one day and decided to change my medium and concentrate on the GR55. I know it's a long way ahead bcos I'm so noob and inexperienced on this (felt like crying), plus I'm not that technical and also I'm ESL. but I'm like whatever. I have to do it. You guys are very helpful so far. I realised It's up to me to help myself.

Btw, I still got my stock Roland US20 Selector with me. i havent found someone yet who knows how to hack this thing here in the down under. :)

zapantalambda

Quote from: concordal on July 26, 2015, 10:44:34 AM
zapantalambda, post your attempt at the patch so forum members can see the parameters.

Have you tried adjusting the "LEVEL VEL SENS".  The GR-55 manual explains it this way: 

So if you set that at +20 or +30 or even +50, it will help to cut out the extraneous notes because, with the level vel sens now set, the occasional touch won't be strong enough to trigger the note.

If you post the patch we can help you set the decay as well.  The notes sustain quite a bit in the original that you posted.


Hello Concordal. Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it very much.

"Have you tried adjusting the "LEVEL VEL SENS". - No I haven't Concordal. I only adjusted the Individ. String Sensitivity but it didn't really make a difference bcos it still triggers those unnecessary notes when i change in between chords. I'll check my Manual on where to find the LEVEL VEL SENS.

If you post the patch we can help you set the decay as well.  The notes sustain quite a bit in the original that you posted.

-I am not sure if I know how to post a patch yet Concordal as I dont use gumtown's Editor yet. Like I'm the very newb student in here.
I'm happy with the preset patch at the moment, it doesnt really sound far as the original. It does the job. My main concern is to get rid of the ghost notes bcos it messes up with my playing. It makes the sound very messy as per my video.

I will try to post what I have done in my attempt to get rid of the ghost noisy notes. Thanks.

concordal


QuoteI dont use gumtown's Editor yet

See GR-55 FloorBoard Editor Help at https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=86


QuoteI am not sure if I know how to post a patch yet

See How to attach files to your post on VGuitarforums at https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8614.0


zapantalambda

response to Concordal zapantalambda, post your attempt at the patch so forum members can see the parameters.





Elantric

#7
QuoteI am not sure if I know how to post a patch yet

See How to attach files to your post on VGuitarforums at https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8614.0

If you only have time to read one GR-55 doc - read this one
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=86

concordal

zapantalambda, thanks for posting the video.

There really is no shortcut to learning the GR-55 -- that's just the nature of a steep learning curve.  If you take the time to go through the documentation that Elantric referred you to, you'll be able to save a patch on your GR-55 and then post it here for members to review. 

The string sensitivities that you adjusted iare used to adjust relative volume among the six strings.  So if your D string, for example, sounded louder than the others you would decrease its string sesnitivity.  You can see that it might have some impact on your ghost notes but would also lower the volume.  Not a good thing.

In the meantime here's a couple of quick suggestions just to kick start this particular patch.   Press Edit, Press Enter.  You should see the PCM1 tone from your Marimba patch displayed.  Press the down arrow until you've highlighted Level Velocity Sens.  Rotate the dial until the Level Vel Sens is +30.  Then press the down arrow two more times to highlight Nuance SW.  If it's set to ON, rotate the dial until it reads OFF.

Now without doing anything else to the GR-55, try your song to see if there are less ghost notes.

Hopefully that will at least give you the general idea.  You can see that you need to take the time to learn how to use Floorboard, save a patch and post the actual patch here.  It's very difficult to help you without having the actual patch.

Good luck, zapantalambda.   

Mrchevy

zapantalambda, this is more towards getting the sound rather than settings but try this for your sounds....

PCM TONE : 120- FM Sparkles
set PCM TONE OCTAVE to +1,  ATTACK to +3, add a little REVERB

See tab below for where I played it. Notes connected by red line are plucked together with fingers, no muting. Hope this gets you there.
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

zapantalambda

zapantalambda, thanks for posting the video.

There really is no shortcut to learning the GR-55 -- that's just the nature of a steep learning curve. If you take the time to go through the documentation that Elantric referred you to, you'll be able to save a patch on your GR-55 and then post it here for members to review. 


-@Concordal - At this very moment, I do realise that the GR55 is a powerful tool for any guitarist regardless of what level he/she is, but on the flipside, in order to harness and use this gadget to its full potential, I need to overcome my steep learning curve which I admit is very steep bcos first of all, I am not a very technical person tbh, i only have intuitive knowledge reg how things work, sometimes it takes time for me for an idea to sink in, other words a slow learner. my goal is just to learn the basics of my GR55 and have that connection and familiarity of the gadget. just the basics, what i mean to say is, just me, my amp and my GR55. so that in the future, I can face the challenges without fear bcos I got my GR55. So whatever songs they throw at me (more on top20 songs), I will be confident enough bcos I'll be able to know how to tweak and fine-tune my GR55.


The string sensitivities that you adjusted iare used to adjust relative volume among the six strings.  So if your D string, for example, sounded louder than the others you would decrease its string sesnitivity.  You can see that it might have some impact on your ghost notes but would also lower the volume.  Not a good thing.


-Youre exactly right Concordal. The impact of changing the sensitivity of the strings is minimal and also it lowers the string sound. sometimes I noticed that the string does not sound at all or it needs to be pluck harder in order for it to sound.


In the meantime here's a couple of quick suggestions just to kick start this particular patch.   Press Edit, Press Enter.  You should see the PCM1 tone from your Marimba patch displayed.  Press the down arrow until you've highlighted Level Velocity Sens.  Rotate the dial until the Level Vel Sens is +30.  Then press the down arrow two more times to highlight Nuance SW.  If it's set to ON, rotate the dial until it reads OFF.

-I will try to play with my settings as per your suggestion Concordal. But at this point, I'm not quite sure though if I can use my GR55 on our jam session tomorrow (Wed-Sydney Time) bcos I'm in a cramming mode alrdy. I got 27songs on my list that I need to study and famliarise the chords. my priority is to just to cover the songs at the moment just for tomorrow's jam. I'll just going to arm myself a Chorus pedal and an OD and play safe. :)


Hopefully that will at least give you the general idea.  You can see that you need to take the time to learn how to use Floorboard, save a patch and post the actual patch here.  It's very difficult to help you without having the actual patch.


-As soon as I got the luxury of time, I will learn this one. but for the moment, I need to do my homework. 27 songs :( oh well. A guitarist has to do what a guitarist needs to do, I guess. Till next time Concordal. Thank you for your insights and suggestion. Thanks for being a good mentor to me. You have a good night.


zapantalambda

Thanks for all the advice maestros. Studing now*

zapantalambda

#12
Hello maestros. how are yous? Good news! I have made progress. but with my progress, comes another set of roadblocks. so im going to seek all your advice again.

so here's what I have done the past days.

1. I have downloaded the GR55 Floorboard Editor alrdy!
   
*Question 1. How can i connect my GR55 to my computer in that way I can edit,manipulate & communicate the software to my GR55   hardware? How can I edit a sound patch and then save it to my GR55?

*Question 2. W/ reg to sending donation, can i send it thru paypal? whats the paypal address? and also is it $50 usd? Just to confirm.

2. Here is a video of my band having a session 2 days ago. 27 songs crammed in a week prepartion. Didnt have enough time to cover all the guitar parts to be honest but we managed to pull-off 6-8 songs perfectly.



Havent' use the GR55 on this session yet (just the GK1 Fender) as im still 'in-transition' at the moment from analog to my GR55 and honestly, the GR55 is not something I cannot learn for a day due to my limited basic knowledge and also cos the steep learning curve that I need to tackle with it. but slowly by slowly, I will get there. hopefully by next jam/session, I can slowly use my GR55 together with my GK1 Fender Strat. hope you enjoy the vid presentation my maestros.


Shoutouts going out to @Mrchevy for providing me some good advice reg the song. I havent tried your solution yet sir tbh but I printed it alrdy and I'll try it when I get the chance.

zapantalambda

***Another question again maestros.***

W/ reg to preparing my GR55 for multi-patch switching between songs.
Say for example, I am playing So Sick(Neyo) and Maria maria(Santana).

For So Sick song, I need a Bypass + Reverb tone (though far from the original song tone), so how do i prepare that patch?
or do yous have any better patch tone suggestion based on the orig tone of the song which is kind of smooth piano keys?
pls advice.

and for Maria maria, i need two guitar tones. (1) flamenco/spanish guitar tone and (2) OD/Distortion tone for the solo part.
Any advice you can give me in preparing my patch pls. thanks in advance all maestros.

You see, my immediate goal at the moment is to start using my GR55 on our practices/sessions and not use my analog again.
Pls advice thanks.

Elantric


zapantalambda

#15
Hello Elantric

just want to confirm. is there a video tutorial here that shows how to do basic editing of sounds? or is there no other way but to patiently read the pdf manual?

Here is what I have done so far:
1. Downloaded the GR55 Floorboard Editor. (I have not sent my donation to gumtown yet. whats his paypal add?)
2. Checked my GR55 software version
3. Checked Roland website and downloaded GR55.bin
3. Updated my GR55 software version to 1.5. Shoutouts to Darren Lock of youtube for the vid tutorial.
! No longer available


I have not done any sound editing yet as I am not confident to fiddle on the software and my GR55. Please advice. thanks