GR-55 Setups & Tone Configs that affect tracking

Started by shawnb, September 13, 2012, 11:13:27 PM

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shawnb

All -

I've been compiling notes on GR-55 setups, my own hopefully practical spin on how to set things up. 

The information in the GR-55 manual regarding setting up the unit is pretty minimal.   This doc is meant to supplement the manual with real-world experience.  I wanted to pull together all of the best info I could find in one place, instead of scattered over a bunch of posts in a bunch of forums. 

And, very specifically, I wanted a "cook book", i.e., a specific set of steps to follow to make a setting properly and consistently.

I hope you find this helpful.   Feedback welcome. 

Shawn

EDIT:  9/14/12, More readable .pdf uploaded.  Changed nuance setting descriptions. 
EDIT:  2/20/13, added some GR-55 patches that may be helpful in confirming your setup. 

  • Setup-Nuance - will help you confirm your Nuance is configured well.  If your Nuance is configured correctly, finger plucking will generate bell sounds, and pick usage will generate a steel string guitar sound.

  • Setup-Velocity - will help you confirm your Velocity is configured well.  It is built from a basic electric piano tone, which varies its timbre with your picking velocity.  Low velocity (picking softly) yields that sweet e-piano tone, almost like a bell.  High velocity (harder picking) yields the growling e-piano tone normally associated with banging hard on the keys.  If you cannot get BOTH tones from your GR-55 depending on how hard you pick, you have probably squished your "Velocity Dynamics" setting too low - OR - you may have your string sensitivities too high, and as a result, are not getting all the intended subtleties from the GR-55's tones.
EDIT:  2/22/13, several changes in the document, mainly including Jim Williams' suggestions. 

Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

Spider


posuna

This looks really useful!

Thanks Shawn. I will try read in detail all your document and see whether I can add any extra twist to my settings to improve things....

Cheers,
P.

supernicd

Wow! Thanks for putting this together.  Great read, and I'm looking forward to having this in front of me when I create my next patch!
Strat w/ GK-3, Godin LGXT
VG-99, GR-55, GP-10
---------------------------------------------------------------

mbenigni

More great information.  Thanks, Shawn!

I have to admit though, I'm having a hard time seeing where Nuance Dynamics ("Adjusts the sensitivity at which Nuance occurs") and Nuance Trim ("Specifies the threshold value at which Nuance occurs") aren't redundant.  How are these any different from one another?  Does sensitivity have to do with amplitude and threshold with timbre, or vice-versa, or is there some other distinction?

whippinpost91850

Shawn, thanks I just printed it off at work and will check it out later 8)

shawnb

#6
Quote from: mbenigni on September 14, 2012, 06:32:45 AM
I have to admit though, I'm having a hard time seeing where Nuance Dynamics ("Adjusts the sensitivity at which Nuance occurs") and Nuance Trim ("Specifies the threshold value at which Nuance occurs") aren't redundant.  How are these any different from one another?  Does sensitivity have to do with amplitude and threshold with timbre, or vice-versa, or is there some other distinction?

Nuance dynamics & nuance trim are directly parallel to velocity dynamics & low vel cut.   

Nuance dynamics boosts the nuance effect/measurement as nuance is detected.  Too much and you can apply the nuance effects to everything, even pick usage... Too little and it gets applied too little.  You want a setting where all of your finger picking clearly reflects 'nuance'.   But not too much, or all finger picking reflects a nuance of 127 (i.e., nuance 'clipping', or not very nuanced...) even pick usage gets reflected as 'nuance'.   Gotta find a good sweet spot.

Nuance trim defines the 'cuttoff point'.   If you are happy with how nuance is reflected, but occasionally your picking produces undesired nuance effect, then you can adjust the trim to ensure that all your pick usage properly reflects 0 nuance.     

I'll take a peek & see if I can adjust the setting descriptions to make this more clear.   

Hope this helps!

...I'm struggling with my pdf generator...   It seems to want to add margins, shrinking the image.  I'll see if I can generate a better .pdf that isn't 'shrunk' this am... 
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

mbenigni


Elantric

#8
Great job Shawn - thanks for putting this together.

A Copy of this PDF doc is in the GR-55 Downloads area here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=31

keenanj

The answer is to help each other, not hurt each other...
Stevie Ray Vaughan

Eric Rowland


GtrGeorge

Just reviewed this..thanks Shaun...I think even a user of a GI-20 (like me) can learn somethings from this.  Thanks to Elantric for sending me this link!
  GtrGeorge

jwhitcomb3

Great, great stuff, Shawn. Thanks for providing this essential resource.

dnedwek

+1
I've had my GR-55 since ye olden days, before Shawn collected all this how-to.
I got a new guitar, and using this doc I quickly got a set-up significantly better than my original one.
Never too old to read the documentation.  :-)
Thanks for the terrific information and advice.

papabuss

A "have to read" for every GR55 user. THX again, shawn. :)
The pdf-file can also be downloaded in this section:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=31
FENDER STRATOCASTER (1974); BRIAN MAY RED SPECIAL; VG 99; GR 55; Yamaha DX 7

Music was my first love and it will be my last (JOHN MILES)

jwhitcomb3

After setting my nuance/velocity parameters according to Shawn's directions (above), I modified Shawn's nuance setup preset and came up with this preset. I find it produces interesting results using a hybrid pick-and-fingers technique. It is not precise, but fun to play with. Check out the hasty demo below.

The pick/nails attack emphasizes the Marimba patch. The thumb/finger pads emphasize the electric piano. There are different rate pan LFOs on each PCM to give the sound some motion.

This is just for demonstration - it is not subtle. As a real tool, it could be useful to set up an "hard" electric piano on the pick attack and a "soft" electric piano on the nuance

Elantric

#16
Just a reminder that Every GR55 owner needs to read this thread from the top and download every attached file.

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

Tukso

thank you for this resource... i dip from this well frequently ;)

Boneyt

That looks really helpful – I try some of these tips later.
Cheers
T

Fusion

#19
Just discovered the 4 different hold types one can use on the hold switch assign. Just keeps getting cooler.
Loving this puppy.
HOLD TYPE
1
Notes that were sounding when you pressed the pedal will be
held, and successive notes that are played while you continue
holding down the pedal will also be held. This differs from
"HOLD TYPE 4" in that if a note is already sounding on the
same string, the previous note will be silenced, and the note
newly played on that string will take its place. This allows you
to play without a break even if the note is on a distant fret.
2
Notes that were sounding when you pressed the pedal will
be held as long as you continue holding down the pedal.
Notes played after you started holding down the pedal will
not sound.
3
Notes that were sounding when you pressed the pedal will be
held as long as you continue holding down the pedal. Notes
played after you started holding down the pedal will sound,
but will not be held.
4
Notes that were sounding when you pressed the pedal will be
held, and successive notes that are played while you continue
holding down the pedal will also be held.
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

Fusion

Just an FYI on something that I missed or was not clear at the time. But when adjusting the nuance settings in the GK setup params memo be sure to have the "Nuance switch" toggled on the PCM voice page or those setting are not activated or used according to page 35 or around there. I apparently missed that or did not relate it to those setting parameters.

"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

vablows

#21
Some of you may already know this, but if you want to seriously minimize mis-triggers and be able to play a little more loosely set the
PCM 1 and/or 2 (depending on which ones you're using or maybe both like me most of the time) ATK to -50 and REL anywhere from -15 to -50.

This has actually helped decide to keep the 55 when I was on the fence and ready to buy an FTP.

I literally get almost no mis-triggers with these settings, even on the low E string.

Try it!

Elantric

#22
And just as a reminder

There is a Wealth of Information within the many User created GR-55 Setup Docs which explain in depth how to set "Nuance", "Velocity " etc all GR-55 Owners need to read at link below:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=31
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=18

QuoteDescription: I've been compiling notes on GR-55 setups, my own hopefully practical spin on how to set things up. 

The information in the GR-55 manual regarding setting up the unit is pretty minimal.   This doc is meant to supplement the manual with real-world experience.  I wanted to pull together all of the best info I could find in one place, instead of scattered over a bunch of posts in a bunch of forums. 

And, very specifically, I wanted a "cook book", i.e., a specific set of steps to follow to make a setting properly and consistently.

I hope you find this helpful.   Feedback welcome. 

Shawn

9/14, More readable .pdf uploaded.  Changed nuance setting descriptions.

Setup-Nuance - will help you confirm your Nuance is configured well.  If your Nuance is configured correctly, finger plucking will generate bell sounds, and pick usage will generate a steel string guitar sound.
Setup-Velocity - will help you confirm your Velocity is configured well.  It is built from a basic electric piano tone, which varies its timbre with your picking velocity.  Low velocity (picking softly) yields that sweet e-piano tone, almost like a bell.  High velocity (harder picking) yields the growling e-piano tone normally associated with banging hard on the keys.  If you cannot get BOTH tones from your GR-55 depending on how hard you pick, you have probably squished your "Velocity Dynamics" setting too low, and as a result, are not getting all the intended subtleties from the GR-55's tones.

Read Full thread and get the GR-55 test patches here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=6972.0

Fusion

#23
Three new ones of recent dabblings, might be old hat to some or vastly overlooked by new users:

Despite the various multiple switch assign toggles, you can actually change the tone number on each PCM in the same patch. I recently began messing with more atmospheric type patches which really turn heads. I created one that has sirens which are meant to be held while the other PCM does gunshots or machine gun, switching the sirens to a helicopter or perhaps a train passing, very cool switching on that one. I also love rain, wind, storms. I created this very cool rainy coffee shop thing with thunder in the background using a very toned L4 Jazz COSM, what fun that one. The COSM does not have the full extent of being able to switch actual tone number sounds like the PCM assignables but still very cool indeed. Adding a wind, rain, or storm background for my std guitar can also be rather interesting and the wonder of how a guitar can do that.

There is that cool expression pedal ability for for "internal" and "Wave" pedal which the latter I do not yet fully understand, some of the gurus may have a handle on it. "Wave pedal, if source is set to "WAVE PDL" the virtual expression pedal will cyclically modify the parameter specified by TARGET in a fixed wave form"(Always changes in a fixed curve regardless of the actual pedal)pg 62.
Expression pedal use can do all sorts of mods on the tone, blending two, lowering volume of one while raising another, any param on the effects or just on/off can be set on assign toggle, just an infinite number of things you can do if you can imagine a use.

Also the various effects on the 55 are quite amazing. I get so wrapped up in my synth patches I forget to make use of them at times. Some wicked ones like the step flanger or phaser, super filter, the unique hex chorus,  and others, can really add that missing weirdness for your tone patch or what could be better than setting them up on a toggle assign switch?
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

Fusion

Wouldn't it be nice if we just had one more toggle switch for assign, I am finding just the two main switches not enough in many cases. Some more effect on/off foot switching would have been rather cool. Maybe need to look into some MIDI controller unit.
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."