GK3 Pickup & Issues...

[wogrocker]

Hi all,

I just had the time to setup my GK3 pickup for my newly bought ( second hand ) GR-55.

I just wanted to point out some issues that i am having after installing it. Firstly, i have followed all the original Roland instructions as well as all the instructions from the good folks here ( killer job ! ).

My main issue is the distance of the GK3 to the bridge/saddle. Mine is further than the noted 20mm. If i measure from the GK3 pickup to where the strings hit the saddle rest it still is around 24-28mm. If measured to the drop of where the string locks in then we enter 35-40mm.

Basic question:- If the setup was done bad/incorrectly, would the COSM sampling on the patches be bad and tracking bad? FYI, the COSM sampling/tracking is perfect. Its really when i use any PCM tones and patches where it goes a little haywire, especially on the E-A and sometimes D strings. The E-B & G strings seem fine so far but they do have their moments here and there...

Also, is there a setting i probably missed, that might help with the PCM to make this tracking better ?

Another note of information:- I bought this unit used. It still had Firmware 1:02 on it. I upgraded to 1.50 with no issues ( thanks to this forum ! ). Would it also be an idea to reset to factory, after i updated it to 1.50 ( of course, after i save and backup ) ?

I researched on the youtube as well and i even turned down the peaking on each string ( down to around 10-22 ) and it slightly helped. Altho, it seemed to lose a little bite, but that can be tweaked up i assume.

I also had gotten a few ghosting notes ( and yes i understand that the we we play has to adjust, and it has helped a little in the ghosting appearing but sometimes comes up when i want to play a basic 3 note chord pluck.

Hope i explained it as good as i could...

I have attached a picture so you can see how its setup. Please no flaming on my trusty Khaler tremolo on my Fender . Its been my trustworthy axe for studio and live and never had an issue.

Cheers,
J

[TheGrail]

Hello Wogrocker,
Welcome to the '55 team. : )  I've been using Roland VG products since the beginning (GR-303 back in the day, I even had an Arp Avatar!).

As I look at the photo, I don't really see why your pickup is mounted at an angle from the front of the bridge, I've never seen that done before (but that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work).

The measurement should be from the fulcrum point of the string on the bridge to the GK pickup. It looks to me like you would be able to get pretty close to 20MM on all of the strings if you could get that pickup to be parallel with the bridge. 

As I understand it, the main purpose of telling the Roland gear the distance from the bridge is for the modeled COSM synthesized tones, NOT for the pitch detection that drives the synthesizer section. I could be wrong, but I've noticed that when I accidentally have my 55 set for a different guitar than the one I'm playing, the synth stuff sounds fine, but I notice odd tonality in the COSM modeled guitars I play often.

The L shaped bracket has the following dimensions: 40MM on the long side, 30MM on the short side. The width is 22MM, the length of the hole is 27MM and the width of the hole is 7MM. There is felt on the inside of the long end (that's in contact with your guitar), and the inside of the short end has a grooved pattern in the metal (this matches the pattern on the mating part). I took some photos to help you create a suitable piece.







I would not advise trying to get one from Roland, it could take you years and cost as much as a used GK3 from eBay.

Cheers,
Roy

[admin]

the main purpose of telling the Roland gear the distance from the bridge is for the modeled COSM synthesized tones, NOT for the pitch detection that drives the synthesizer section.

Correct

And remember to obtain lowest latency and best tracking, read ALL VGUITARFORUMS GR-55 MEMBER CREATED SETUP Docs here
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=18

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=86

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=31

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=26

and review the GK-3 FAQ area
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=11.0

[wogrocker]

Thank you so much Ron for the measurements and the pictures. I will download them later to my Mac.

This forum is as good as gold for info. The missus was amazed at how quick I knew how to use the functions on the GR-55 and start creating patches etc... It was just my hunting on here and making mental notes as well as downloading the docs available by forum users...

Also gumtown's "floorboard" software is a blessing. Works as I want it and more...
Roland should be thanking this forum for keeping people informed and up to date with info on their products...

Will post a couple of patches later with an MP3.

Cheers,
J