Fender-Roland GC-1 GK-Ready Stratocaster question

Started by Bill Ruppert, January 18, 2012, 03:40:43 PM

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FreeTime

If I have a hard time getting a cover off I use a rubber tip on my air compressor blow gun into one of the screw holes.

I know you said 'nothing fancy' for the paint but this looks like so much fun and is pretty easy to do and fairly cheap ... Testors Enamel paints work well (with a bit of lye in the water). If you're a bit careful on how you 'spread' the paint you can control how it gets applied.
Shades of beige and brown could give a very psychedelic looking woodgrain.


ADP

From memory, the PCB is attached to that cover so all the cables that are plugged into it are holding it in place, but you can still lever it out. I've taken a GC-1 apart and it's not hard. Just be careful with the earth/ground leads when you're taking the pick guard off, as they're attached to the body.

Changing the colours of the guitar is a great idea. I happen to like sunburst, but it'd be great to see a GC-1 in more interesting colours.

Litesnsirens

Just a quick update, I have found a guy who will strip and spray nitro and will also take the guitar apart and reassemble all for a reasonable price. I'm taking my guitar in on Friday and we'll discuss colours then.  I've narrowed it down to Surf Green or the Eric Johnson model Tropical turquoise.  They are fairly close but the EJ colour is a little more blue.  Graffiti Yellow was on the table too, maybe for my other GC-1 but I'm also thinking white.  It's going to take a bit of time but I'll post some pics when I get the first one back.

toots1e

I had the same problem with the pickups going really thin and tinny sounding when using the GK lead,
a quick spray with WD 40 or similar into the 1/4 socket and inserting a guitar lead in and out a few times cured the problem. :)
Thanks for the tip, a local repair man was ready to take my Guitar apart to find the cause!

sec6

#304
How does the GC-1 setting determine distance from bridge of the hex pickup? There is no individual distance settings for the GC-1 GP-10 setting.  Every GC-1 guitar bridge to hex distance is going to vary by individual guitar uniqueness and by string gauge.  Wouldn't the GK3 setting be a better way to setup?  Also, is the preferred measurement method from the center of the hex pickup to the bridge or from the edge of the pickup to the bridge? 

roachone

#305
this will help you.


Elantric

#307
FWiW The GP-10 is the only Roland V-Guitar unit with a "GC-1" option in the GK settings - it only provides course adjustment

If I owned a  GC-1, I would set the GP-10's "GK Setting" for a typical GK-3, as this provides the user with more fine tuning

http://roland.com/V-Guitar/howto_st.html



But Use what method works for you.

More info here:

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=11.0

roachone

Quote from:  Elantric on May 09, 2015, 12:06:39 PM
FWiW The GP-10 is the only Roland V-Guitar unit with a "GC-1" option in the GK settings - it only provides course adjustment

If I owned a  GC-1, I would set the GP-10 for setting up a typical Gk-3, as this provides the user with more fine tuning

http://roland.com/V-Guitar/howto_st.html



But Use what method works for you.

More info here:

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=11.0
Good info here. Thats what I would do also. Should work fine doing it manually. (gk3)

Litesnsirens

#309
Here's a quick teaser.  This pic was sent to me from the guitar tech, the first pic was a little more green but he made a slight adjustment which I am happy with and now it's on to the clear coat.. I think it will look great when it's done.  I think it kind of wound up somewhere in between the surf green and the EJ tropical turquoise.  I think it's hard to tell with the lighting and on a computer monitor but this is it so far...

The second pic is pre-adjustment

vaxed

#310
Hi All,
Have bought a second hand Roland Ready GC1 Strat, finding it hard to find any info on the best setting for the pickup on the GR55.
Can anyone give me some pointers? GK2 or GK3 and other setting.

Thanks

John

Elantric

#311
The GC-1 uses the GK-3 sensitivity on VG-99/GR-55/GP-10

Download and Read ALL GR-55 Setup docs here - these are only available here at VGuitarForums and developed by our members 
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=18


Read ALL the docs in the Roland COSM Library thread  - that has links to PDF docs that explain all VG/GR/GP/GT features in far greater detail
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=88.0


Fender/Roland GC-1 Question thread
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5173.0

http://roland.com/V-Guitar/about.html


JolietJake

As long as its a GC1, there are a few earlier versions that are "Roland ready strats" and they can have a GK2A installed.
This week Guitarguitar in the UK had a 2nd hand sunburst GC1 for sale. The price seemed reasonable. On inspection it actually turned out to be a "RR" strat which has  a GK2A installed and not the GK3.

Elantric

#313
GC-1's have 22 frets
( Older Roland Ready Strats have 21 frets)


Front of GC-1 Headstock looks like this


and the back of the headstock reveals USA tuners



Enter your serial number here - and be sure your GC-1 is listed as being from 2011 or newer.
http://www.fender.com/support/articles/mexican-instruments-product-dating/

and the internal GC-1 PCB ( with Gk-3 Gain Sensitivity) looks like this
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5173.225


Litesnsirens


HAMERMAN409

It came out great - so much more interesting than black or tobacco burst!

roachone


mbenigni

Yeah, that is a gorgeous guitar.  The color, the birdseye, the pickup covers.  It just works.

Litesnsirens

Got the second one painted.  There is just no way to capture the actual colour of the guitar on my camera but you get the idea.  This used to be my black GC-1 so I guess Orange really is the new black.  There is gold pearlescent mixed in which comes out when the light hits it.

whippinpost91850


edgehill

Hi there, just scored a new GC-1 from a local music store.
I was actually looking for a new GK-3 to replace the broken one. They did not have any but then I saw this guitar.
After quick negotiations we settled on 450 euros which is quite ok, I think. The GK-3 alone is about 180 euros here.
The store was closing so I did not have any time to test it...decided to take a risk.
Afterwards the salesperson told me that they've had it for 18 months, there's been no interest and that he sold to me below cost.

Well, you could say that everything works but some of it just not very well or at all.
Also the quality control has failed in many ways.
So, where else to go for advise than vguitar forums!

The good:
- after adjusting settings this thing tracks very well (GR-55), better than I ever got with my Les Paul with GK-3
- there is a fair amount of sustain and clarity
- nice neck
- flaws can be corrected, I hope

The flaws:
- fretwork is not good, especially the beweling and fret ends need work
- the saddle adjustment screws are razor sharp and stick out, a blood sample already taken care of!
- does not stay in tune at all, just breathe at it and it's a mess
- pickups are quite bad, buzzy distortion galore (I hope it is the pickups, not the guitar)
- the neck was not properly tightened, I easily turned each screw at least a turn and a half

However, I think this is salvageable and decided to spend more money on this.
Thanks to pointers from this forum I ordered upgrades
- Super Vee Bladerunner bridge
- Fender Hot Noiseless pickups

I'll take the guitar to a local luthier who'll sort out the fretwork etc.

I guess new tuners are needed too as I want to get rid of the string tree.
Can you recommend any?

Crossed finger and hoping for the best but I think after all this it will be a really nice GR-55 guitar.

All the best
edgehill





Elantric


GuitarBuilder

No worries, edgehill!  It'll all work out fine.  This is basically a MIM (Made in Mexico) Fender and can be easily fixed up to be a reliable guitar.

A good luthier can do all of the above for you.  I did it myself and my GC-1 is a great guitar now.

The key areas of focus for keeping the guitar in tune are 1) the vibrato, 2) the bridge, 3) the nut, 4) the string tees, 5) the tuners.  I've found that most tuning issues are fixed by having a nut with minimal friction and installing roller tees.  Usually the tuners are not at fault, but rather it's the way the strings are (incorrectly) wrapped on the posts, causing slippage.  Not having enough springs on the vibrato is another common mistake (use 5 if possible).

You did not mention whether you changed the strings - did you?  Old strings are another problem.

Are you going to use the vibrato at all?  If not, all you need to do is install a Tremolno and lock it down.  If you are going to use one, I strongly suggest you do the nut, tees and proper string wrap before installing the SuperVee.
"There's no-one left alive, it must be a draw"  Peter Gabriel 1973

edgehill

Thanks for the advise.

The guitar guy took a look at the guitar today and said it'll be ok.
We'll be changing the tuners to a staggered set, new nut, new pickups, new trem and the frets need to be worked on too.
All this on a new guitar  :D

Suggested Hipshot tuners look cool but not available around here. The "UMP" installation system is nice.
Maybe Sperzel Trimlock 6L staggered set is is equally good?

Best regards,
edgehill


diecairo

Hello everybody,  :)
sorry to join a question to different questions. But speaking of upgrading a gc-1...
I  was wondering if soldering and installing new pick ups on a gk ready strat is more difficult or anyway different from normal strats. Since the 13 pin output brings also the signal from the magnetic p.ups... Are there more cables to take care of?