GR-55- Turning the normal pick up on problem

Started by chrisnickey64, August 26, 2017, 03:51:28 PM

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chrisnickey64

Turning to normal pick up on isnt turning the pick up on ........i am doing something wrong i guess. Trying to edit a patch and its not comiing on when i actavate to on off button . Do i need to create a new patch first ?  Im underwemed by this machine on an intuitive level .ithink that they couldve made it a little more user friendly if you ask me

admin

#1
 Read the GR 55 FAQ
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3137.0
there's a thread that goes into all the details on how to enable the normal pick ups on the GR 55

The factory GR-55 presets discourage this - it was an agenda by Roland back in 2011 , luckily they grew out of that behavior with latest models like the GP10

* How to enable "Normal Guitar Pickups" and make the GK-3 Guitar/Mix/Synth three-way switch work with the GR-55:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3402.0
Next post is related to the above,

* Roland US-20 A/B Selector BUG (Importance of GK-VOL Assignment)
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=2246.0


chrisnickey64

Thanks......i about a million more questions.

chrisnickey64

I have highlighted normal pick up and set tht gk selector to mix ...no normal pickup . The only way i get my normal pickup is by using the guitar out on gr55 .ocasionally i will somehow set it up to where the reg pickups are enabled but switching to mix and switching back makes normal pickup stopp working. Even the patches for normal pickups dont make the normal pickups work . The normal pups work fine when plugged into an amp (im using an older GC 1 strat btw) maybe something is wrong with the GR55 ....i dont know.....Got the guitar and gr55still in box  along with 13 pin cable and  extra gk pup for $650  other than that its fine and in mint condition .

Elantric

#4
I agree its a major battle to get the normal Mag PU's to sound on the GR-55

Check your GK-3 Volume Control Assignment

if this was re-configured to anything that is not GR-55 Patch volume  - then you will never get your normal Mag PU's to sound from the GR-55 Main outputs


* How to enable "Normal Guitar Pickups" and make the GK-3 Guitar/Mix/Synth three-way switch work with the GR-55:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3402.0
Next post is related to the above,

* Roland US-20 A/B Selector BUG (Importance of GK-VOL Assignment)
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=2246.0

-------

Just know that the Roland GK interface design is flawed.

The GK-3 Three way switch and Roland US-20 A/B/Y Selector  / routers ALL rely on the GK-3 "GK-VOL" pot to be assigned to Patch Volume

If you deviate and get creative, and re-assign GK-VOL to control something other than PATCH VOLUME - that's when bugs manifest.

I always put on suitable background music to sing along when creating Control Assignments  - like

The Clash "Know Your Rights"

but I change the lyrics to suit the operation I'm doing:

"You have the Right to Re-assign the GK-VOL pot,  - as long as you're not Dumb enough to actually try it."
------------

http://www.rolandus.com/support/knowledge_base/?HD_ID=105241

--
Hearing Your Normal (Guitar) Pickup Signal

If you want to hear your guitar's original pickup sound in the GR-55, you need to activate the NORMAL PICKUP switch within each patch. Here's how.

1. Choose a patch to edit.

2. Press the EDIT button.

3. Press PAGE left until you select the TONE menu.

4. Press the down-cursor button to select NORMAL PICKUP.

5. Turn the dial to highlight the NORMAL PICKUP box.

6. Set the GK select switch to the MIX position.

Note: If you want to hear only the guitar sound, de-select the PCM1, PCM2, and Model boxes as well.

If desired, press WRITE to save the new setting as a User patch, and then repeat the process for any patch in which you want to hear the original pickup sound.


--




Inside the GR-55 is a perfectly suitable DSP for real time Roland COSM Amp /FX simulation rather like a Boss GT-100  or Boss ME-50, they apparently did not want to kill sales of those products with every GR-55 sale, so they omit installing a normal 1/4" Instrument Input Jack on GR-55.

(FWIW - Here's how to install your own  normal 1/4" Instrument Input Jack on GR-55)
  https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3994.msg27011#msg27011

This thread you are reading here explains how to enable "Normal Guitar Pickups" and make the GK-3 Guitar/Mix/Synth three-way switch work with the GR-55 on every User patch with only a 13 pin cable connection to the GR-55 (sadly only 3 factory patches have Normal PU Input working - and those cant be edited!)


But remember the GR-55 does not have a "True Bypass" circuit, the above strategy assumes you enjoy using the GR-55's DSP for real time Roland COSM Amp /FX simulation.

But most GR-55 owners with ears who desire the most flexibility run both a 1/4" cable to a Volume pedal and their normal Amp Rig , and another Roland GK 13 pin  cable to the GR-55. Use  a separate Volume pedal and GR-55 Expression pedal to Control the Mix of Normal PU & Amp tone or GR-55 Synth Tone.

====================
Make your "Guitar/Mix/Synth" Switch work with GR-55 Work (step by step)
The first headache every new VG-99 / GR-55 owner may experience is getting the guitar mounted three way Guitar/Mix/GK Synth switch on his 13 pin preamp by Roland, RMC, Ghost, etc  to workand allow the Normal pickups to heard !
To debug achieving Normal Guitar PU Sound with one 13 pin cable feeding the GR-55 , First Try these Factory GR-55 Presets which already have the normal PU enabled  - your Normal Guitar pickups should be heard when you move the guitar mounted three way"Guitar/mix/Synth" switch to Guitar and have Guitar volume turned up.
On the GR-55, Select the "Lead" style. Then select these presets:
GR-55 LEAD Preset 30-1 For Normal PU L1 = for Normal PU L1
GR-55 LEAD Preset 30-2 For Normal PU L2 = for Normal PU L2
GR-55 LEAD Preset 30-3 For Normal PU L3 = for Normal PU L3

If you do not hear your normal guitar sound using these patches above, there is a problem with either your guitar, GK-3 Installation, or you forgot to use the short 1/4" cable between your guitar and the GK-3 1/4" Input jack, or you have  a bad 13 pin cable - or there is a GR-55 Control Assignment which is blocking the Normal Guitar Audio



Roland ships recent GK13 processors (VG-99, GR-55) with half baked "Factory presets" that lack proper support for GK-3 Three way mix switch. This is a major pain and every VG-99/GR-55 user who wants the GK-3 Three way mix switch to work must manually reprogram EVERY PRESET!
   
Roland ships great hardware bogged down by very sloppy Burned into ROM Factory presets that frankly should never have existed, Id gladly give them all up to free up more memory space for my own presets that allow the GK-3 Three way mix switch to actually work for Normal pickups too.

==

Make GK-3 "Guitar" Switch position work with GR-55 Work (step by step).

You  need the short 1/4" cable connected between your normal guitar output and GK-3 Guitar Input.


#1 Enable the GR-55 to output the processed Normal Guitar sounds


Roland US Knowledge Base articles on the GR-55 (July 2012)
http://www.rolandus.com/support/knowledge_base/?HD_ID=105241

--
Hearing Your Normal (Guitar) Pickup Signal

If you want to hear your guitar's original pickup sound in the GR-55, you need to activate the NORMAL PICKUP switch within each patch. Here's how.

1. Choose a patch to edit.

2. Press the EDIT button.

3. Press PAGE left until you select the TONE menu.

4. Press the down-cursor button to select NORMAL PICKUP.

5. Turn the dial to highlight the NORMAL PICKUP box.

6. Set the GK select switch to the MIX position.

Note: If you want to hear only the guitar sound, de-select the PCM1, PCM2, and Model boxes as well.

If desired, press WRITE to save the new setting as a User patch, and then repeat the process for any patch in which you want to hear the original pickup sound.




Step#2 Enable the GK-3 three-way "Guitar/Mix/GK(Synth) switch to work.


<paults wrote>
Make GK-3 "Guitar" Switch position work with GR-55

It didn't turn out to be that simple, if you want the three way switch to work:

1) Go to System

PEDAL/GK CTL (enter)

Tab over to VOL
    If you want to be able to hear the normal guitar when your switch is in the "GUITAR" position, change GK VOL to "TONE VOLUME", and turn NORMAL PU "OFF".  With the switch in MIX, you'll hear both the GK knob output, and your normal guitar output, with independent control for each.  In GK position, you'll just hear COSM/PCM sounds, and in GUITAR, just the normal guitar.

The other advantage to "TONE VOLUME" is it lets the guitar models be much more responsive and expressive. 

The GK settings can also be changed per patch, but this is based on the factory settings. I'm used to having my VG set up this way, so this setting may stay global for me.

Most folks will want to reprogram every GR-55 Patch with all the above settings, to ensure the GK-3 three way switch works on every patch used live.
None of the factory patches allow Normal Guitar, unless otherwise stated.

Roland Canada has a good video that describes how to enable the Gk-3 three way Switch
GR55 - GK Switch Setup




Next post is related to the above,
* Roland US-20 A/B Selector BUG (Importance of GK-VOL Assignment)
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3494.0
   

--
For the GR-55, you might want to try these factory patches that all use the normal guitar pickup combined with synth sounds:

30-1 for Normal PU L1
30-2 for Normal PU L2
30-3 for Normal PU L3

They all use the normal pickup, so you can hear the normal pickup processed through the GR-55. I did a demo using 30-1 to demonstrate using the normal guitar pickup with the GK-3, check out the clip around 3:20:



---

Next time you are debugging "why can't I hear my Normal PU's in my VG-99 / GR-55 / Gp-10 using one 13 pin cable   - be sure nothing is connected to the 1/4" outputs jacks

Just wanted to point out that Godin LGXSA and xtSA 1/4" Output jacks feature the similar circuit as the Fender Roland Ready / GC-1 Strat below.

the Fender Roland Ready Strat / Roland GC-1 Strat's 1/4" output jack is a unique switching jack - The goal is to have a "stock Strat" when using the 1/4" output jack  - so anytime you insert a 1/4" plug into the GC-1's 1/4" "Normal PU Output"  jack  - this isolates removes the normal passive Strat Electronics signal output from entering into the GK Internal active buffer (which might load down the passive PU's and reduce high frequencies) and removes the ability to send normal mag PU tone down Pin #7 of the 13 pin Cable



https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=73.msg73532#