RMC OPT-01 - GR-55 Internal Subsonic Filter board

Started by imall41, February 21, 2011, 05:24:58 AM

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Elantric

#125
Start at the top and reread the posts in this thread

There is no harm / compromises when using a GK-3 guitar after the OPT-01 is installed

The board is small - about 1.25" x 3"

Others have done that
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3236.msg24785#msg24785





godinacssa

"Yes - the RMC GR-55 OPT-01 Input Filter is specifically designed as an aid for Piezo PU users.

However for users of Roland GK-2, GK-2A, GK-3, Axon, AIX-101, Yamaha G1D magnetic hex pickups - the Opt-01 is not needed, and will not provide the same level of tracking improvement it provides piezo PU users"

Got it..but will it bring negative effect to the output sound of the GK-3?
I use both my Godin Multiac Nylon and Ibanez w/ GK3. They both have different setting..should i adjust the setting for the GK-3 when i install the RMC OPT-01?
Godin ACS-SA Multiac
Ibanez Jem w/ GK3
Line 6 Variax 300 Nylon
Yamaha 12 Strings Acoustic
Line 6 Spider II Amp
Hohner Harmonica
GR55

godinacssa

OK now.. no harm for my GK-3 pick up..cool. still can use both peizo and the GK.
Thanks guys.
I love this forum.

Cheers to all.
Godin ACS-SA Multiac
Ibanez Jem w/ GK3
Line 6 Variax 300 Nylon
Yamaha 12 Strings Acoustic
Line 6 Spider II Amp
Hohner Harmonica
GR55

Elantric

QuoteGot it..but will it bring negative effect to the output sound of the GK-3?

This is a popular question.


Many owners of these RMC Input Filter boards use them successfully with a mix of piezo pickup guitars  AND GK-3 guitars.

Remember the GK-3 pickup has a limited frequency bandwidth compared to a piezo pickup.

The RMC Input filter board reduces gain in the low frequencies Only, in a range below the capabilities of the GK-3 pickup.

So in others words - GK-3 users experience no negative impact after the RMC filter board is installed. You can still use your GK-3, GK-2A guitars same as before. 

RMC wrote>

The configuration is Butterworth for maximum flatness
in the passband and the filter frequencies are as follows :

string 1 & 2 -3dB @ 100Hz
string 3 & 4 -3dB @ 75 Hz
string 5 & 6 -3dB @ 50 Hz

This way, the effect on the fundamental frequency of the
open string is less than 1/2 dB, resulting in inaudible
effect on the musical portion of the guitar sound and
dive bombing can be performed without problems.


THere is no need to turn a subsonic filter off since it
removes signals which are below the musical information.
If you don't believe me, make a recording of both (the
before and after sounds) and compare them. Upon listening,
make sure the amplitude (gain) remains the same. FYI, the
human ear can't compare frequency responses accurately if
the level is different.

Best regards,

RMC

godinacssa

Hi Elantric,

Thanks for the quick reply and thanks for the info. VERY HELPFUL! Now i can order 1 for me ASAP!

Awesome!
Godin ACS-SA Multiac
Ibanez Jem w/ GK3
Line 6 Variax 300 Nylon
Yamaha 12 Strings Acoustic
Line 6 Spider II Amp
Hohner Harmonica
GR55

Litesnsirens

Is this something we can only enquire about through an email?  I don't see the product anywhere on the website. 

Elantric

Correct

Contact Richard McClish

http://www.rmcpickup.com/
e-mail info@rmcmusic.com

or write

RMC Pickup Co.
1739 Addison #15
Berkeley CA 94703

NoahB

#132
I watched an awesome you tube where the guy shows the installation of an opt-1 subsonic filter on the gr-55 and shows the be for and after results and even plays "the entertainer" and sounded amazing. So my question is can I benefit from this or anything like it with my strat with the gk3? Thank you for your help
Jeff beck strat, GandL custom classic semi-hollow bluesboy tele,  mesa roadster, sy300 thru pair of peavey 15d powered pa speakers, big pedal board full of stuff.

Elantric

#133
The focus of the OPT-01 is to be a 3rd order brick wall filter.

It impacts only the sub harmonic frequency range which is already -12db below and outside the GK-3's effective frequency response range.

In other words the OPT-01 will do nothing to harm or help the GK-3.



More info here:
http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_8.html

The pic below depicts the effects of a High Frequency (Low Pass) Butterworth Filter on the Frequency bandwidth.

The OPT-01 would be the opposite type, i.e. a Low Frequency (High Pass) Butterworth Filter


NoahB

Ok thank you but if the option 1 is not for the gk3 then is there anything availabe to improve tracking and response for the gk-3 like what the option one does for the non gk guitar. In other words I really want my piano patch not to suck! Lol
Jeff beck strat, GandL custom classic semi-hollow bluesboy tele,  mesa roadster, sy300 thru pair of peavey 15d powered pa speakers, big pedal board full of stuff.

Elantric

Quoteis there anything available to improve tracking and response for the gk-3 like what the option one does for the non gk guitar.


* Use a smoother pic (plectrum)
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4324.0


* work on your playing technique

More here

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4006.0

NoahB

Ya I have found some great pics that have no rough edges that work great and have a lot better luck when writting a song for the patch cause I can write away from the patches weaknesses. So ya I have tried the pick and the playing techniques and both help but always looking to get Little bit more out of the playing response. Nxt on my list to try is the cobalt strings to see if there is any no ticable difference. Thanks for your help
Jeff beck strat, GandL custom classic semi-hollow bluesboy tele,  mesa roadster, sy300 thru pair of peavey 15d powered pa speakers, big pedal board full of stuff.

Litesnsirens

Also try looking into the patch sensitivity.  If you go into edit mode, then tone, then to PCM1 or PCM2, wherever you have your piano tone coming from and scroll down to sensitivity.  It's probably set at 0.  I found moving it to -3 improved the response a great deal.  Now that I have said all that, you're talking about a grand piano type patch, right?  The other thing to consider is that I may have my GK set up a little differently than you, so you may have to play with it a little bit, I would say somewhere between -2 and -4 will probably do the trick if you have your GK set up half way decent.  If you go too far you start to get false triggers.

NoahB

Jeff beck strat, GandL custom classic semi-hollow bluesboy tele,  mesa roadster, sy300 thru pair of peavey 15d powered pa speakers, big pedal board full of stuff.

motetito

#139
Hello! first of all, sorry.... my english :P
Okay.. Last night i installed the OPT01 filter (por fin llegó el bicho), and the last firmware update from Roland web page.
I not going to tell you the install process (revisar otros posts).

After a several hours, i have now a very good setting for the gr55 with this problematic RMC piezo system (sorry, the piezo is AMAZING! but not work with gr55 as good as it could be)

I found that to have a good response for PCM sounds you have to deal with all the parameters and of course there is not a magical formula but i want to give you a good start point (for me, the results are very good). So this is the result of my spending time:

SEN:
1st 23
2nd 22
3rd 20
4th 20
5th 18
6th 11

Velocity dinamics: 5
Play feel: 1
Low velocity cut: 6
Nuance dynamics 10
nuance trim: 6

With this setup and the OPT01 filter i can play more fast and fluid amount of notes without gost sounds and the articulation between notes are great, in the other hand, i have to play a little hard when i want to deal with the picking expression but everything its. OK.
This is my first experience last night so i have to spend a lot of time to arrive the perfect setup but for now im very happy couse now i can play comfortable with my Godin LGXT and of course the OPT01 help me, but always with a detailed setting of parameters.

Now Im making a few videos to show you how it sound and how i use my godin (the 3 voices setup, etc.) so see you soon!

Bueno y el que hable español puede escribirme asi no me tengo que matar pensando en lo que debo escribir en ingles.
Sorry my inglish again.


Menos es más...Tocá con el corazón.

Elantric

#140
Thanks for sharing


Here's more info on GR-55 settings for owners of guitars with RMC piezo pickups


RMC  / Ghost Piezo PU settings for GR-55
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3965.msg26797#msg26797

and

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=26

motetito

Thanx Elantric

Yesterday i saw something interesting about the OPT01 filter:

when i use the tuner i can see how the filter really works!
Before the filter, when i was tunning everytime i reached the right pitch, the meter turned a little weird after a few miliseconds or seconds  and then reached the right pitch again. Maybe that is a normal beheavoir in every digital tuner but always was difficult to reach a position thats allow me to keep consistently the right pitch until the end of the string vibration keeping the meter in the center of the tuner you now wht i mean? Maybe due to the subsonic frequences who makes a lot of subsonic noise in the signal.

But After the installation of the filter, now i can tune exactly like it would to be and the meter keep clean the signal in the center of the tuner until the end of the string vibration. In other words, using the tuner you can SEE the job of the filter cleaning the signal and rounded the pitch in each note. Sorry the english...... se entiende no?
Menos es más...Tocá con el corazón.

gafaell

Quote from:  motetito on July 13, 2012, 09:47:39 AM
Hello! first of all, sorry.... my english :P
Okay.. Last night i installed the OPT01 filter (por fin llegó el bicho), and the last firmware update from Roland web page.
I not going to tell you the install process (revisar otros posts).

After a several hours, i have now a very good setting for the gr55 with this problematic RMC piezo system (sorry, the piezo is AMAZING! but not work with gr55 as good as it could be)

I found that to have a good response for PCM sounds you have to deal with all the parameters and of course there is not a magical formula but i want to give you a good start point (for me, the results are very good). So this is the result of my spending time:

SEN:
1st 23
2nd 22
3rd 20
4th 20
5th 18
6th 11

Velocity dinamics: 5
Play feel: 1
Low velocity cut: 6
Nuance dynamics 10
nuance trim: 6

With this setup and the OPT01 filter i can play more fast and fluid amount of notes without gost sounds and the articulation between notes are great, in the other hand, i have to play a little hard when i want to deal with the picking expression but everything its. OK.
This is my first experience last night so i have to spend a lot of time to arrive the perfect setup but for now im very happy couse now i can play comfortable with my Godin LGXT and of course the OPT01 help me, but always with a detailed setting of parameters.

Now Im making a few videos to show you how it sound and how i use my godin (the 3 voices setup, etc.) so see you soon!

Bueno y el que hable español puede escribirme asi no me tengo que matar pensando en lo que debo escribir en ingles.
Sorry my inglish again.

Hi friend !

I will tell you my experience with my Godin GXLT and the GR 55.

When I first played with the GR 55 the feeling was frustration. Mainly due to the impossibility to use the GR300 sound and also for the problems with glitches and unwanted noises with brasses, clavs, pianos and many other sounds. Really tried many sensivity configurations showed in this forum but I was really sad to see I would not be able to use this gear.

I play semi-professional in a band with jazz-funk versions in Spain and I had happily been using my VG88/GR 30 combination in the last years. I expected a step forward with my GR55 but I got really disappointed.

I know this is my particular case, but I feel personally that Godin guitars are (one of) the best in the market and could not understand why Roland had (and has) ignored this issue with the piezo system. Also the lack of a harmonizer / arpeggiator and other effects used in previous Roland GR/VG is an inconvenient.

So, I decided to buy the subsonic filter. I ordered it and payed for it. After installing it I can tell now that it was worth it. The performance has improved and now it is possible to play as comfortable as I did with my GR-30.

I will not install the v 1.50 update as, from what I have read in this forum, it will not improve the efficiency of my LGXT. I have a good setup now and I don´t want any change.

Thank you for your post. And good luck with your LGXT.

Un saludo desde España.

:D

LPHovercraft

#143
FYI - just like the first go-round, I received quick echo and info from Richard McClish via email. (I had previously replaced my Ghost pickup saddles on the Mobius Megatar with RMC units - which has already made a HUGE difference in eliminating pickup cross-talk) I just ordered the VG-99 and VB-99 units for processing 'each side' of my Megatar more cleanly. I'm stoked.

;D

Thanks for keeping this thread alive, guys. I'm not sure I would have found this without the great info here.

[Some day when I'm rich and famous and don't need to work any more I'm going to kidnap Richard's web site and re-build that thing to web 2.0+ standards - though there's something mildly charming about the old-school web vibe. :) ]
Houston Haynes - LPHovercraft

falke

#144
I am new to this list and so happy I have found it as it is exactly what I have been looking for. I have been using a GK2A equipped guitar with a Roland GI10 midi converter for a number of years and learned how to handle that rather OK. Sometimes I wished for something better but it wasn't until recently when I saw a YouTube clip of somebody playing a Godin XTSA via a Roland GR55 that I knew the time was here....

I was lucky enough to find a decent Godin XTSA on Ebay in the UK and a GR55 second handed at a very reasonable price here in Sweden, and that also included a GK3 microphone. So now I have two guitars for using with the GR55 and have just discovered that they behave rather differently with the overhearing of the Godin RMC piezo microphones and that was a bit of a disappointment.

While searching for the answer I found this list and that makes it all so much more worth while as I have found that patch editor and all other kinds of very valuable information. Thank you so much for all that!

But I also found out that it would be wise to install this subsonic filter so I wrote to the manufacturer to ask how I can buy it. The answer was that the filter would cost 144 USD $ and the bank cost and shipping to Sweden would create an overhead of 97 USD $ + my own bank fee, swedish tax and customs fee. So in the end the transaction will cost more than the filter itself and that made me hesitate a bit.

So after all these words it boils down to this:

I am wondering if there might be a kind person on the list that could help me with this. I will transfer money in advance with Paypal  so you can buy the filter card for me, drop it in a Jiffy bag or something and send it as a private mail to me.  I will of course take all the risk with the shipping, but I have never had any problems and I have bought a number of instruments from the USA and Canda.

Please let me know if anybody would be willing to help me with this?
Bengt

tekrytor

#145
I have possibly dumb question. I have a Godin Freeway SA, a guitar mentioned in several other posts in this thread. I bought it used and don't know how old it is. How can I tell which piezos it has?

Gracias compadres!
SY-300/BeatBuddy/VoiceLive 3/GR-55(v1.50)/33/1/50/700/VGA-7/V-Bass, Yam-G10, GPK-4, DIY X-Bee HighlyLiquidCPU "Cozy-Lil-Footie", FCB-1010, other MIDI stuff, Godin Freeway SA and various other GK equipped controllers, Sonar X1, Audacity, KXstudio, Misc devices

Elantric


tekrytor

SY-300/BeatBuddy/VoiceLive 3/GR-55(v1.50)/33/1/50/700/VGA-7/V-Bass, Yam-G10, GPK-4, DIY X-Bee HighlyLiquidCPU "Cozy-Lil-Footie", FCB-1010, other MIDI stuff, Godin Freeway SA and various other GK equipped controllers, Sonar X1, Audacity, KXstudio, Misc devices

Elantric

#148
Quote[Some day when I'm rich and famous and don't need to work any more I'm going to kidnap Richard's web site and re-build that thing to web 2.0+ standards - though there's something mildly charming about the old-school web vibe.  ]

Re The RMC web site, I recall Aure from the old VG-8.com designed it in 1998.

The pics on the home page of Nokie Edwards et all were shot by myself at the Godin booth at the 1998 Winter NAMM show.

The 13 pin world is a small world, and after a while it seems all these new gee whizz hex processors for guitars released each year for the past 30 years are still purchased by the same bunch of folks I've known since the 1980's   

So I'm happy to see what younger guys and gals can do with it.

But being involved in all Aspects of tech, often I realize the only real break thru game changer moments only occur after the old generation / old school ideas die.

But remember we are dealing with guitar players, and bulk of those simply want to vintage gear and study vintage techniques.

I guess that's why I admire the risk takers.

ralphmoe

Does anyone know if the new Roland GR-S would have the same problem
that the RMC opt-01 fixes? I have an acoustic with a Poly Drive 4 installed in it,
and thought I could get a 12 string and some interesting sounds for $299....

thanks,
Ralph