Show your GK Guitar

Started by Virtual Tone, February 22, 2008, 11:45:18 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

admin

#650





Jerry Garcia's Rosebud Guitar with GK-1 Hex PU
http://www.guitarworld.com/gear-news/jerry-garcia%E2%80%99s-tiger-and-rosebud-look-last-guitars-he-played-onstage/%0924864

Jerry Garcia's Tiger and Rosebud: A Look at the Last Guitars He Played Onstage
Posted 07/02/2015 by Christopher Scapelliti


Share1
Jerry Garcia's Tiger and Rosebud: A Look at the Last Guitars He Played Onstage
This weekend, the Grateful Dead will reunite for what is being billed as their final concerts.
From July 3 through 5, guitarists Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will reunite, along with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, for three shows at Chicago's Soldier Field, the site of the band's last concert with legendary Dead cofounder Jerry Garcia on July 9, 1995.


With Grateful Dead's last stand on the horizon, we thought this was a good time to celebrate the genius of Garcia, that band's heart and soul.
We could talk about Jerry's playing, but instead we want to look at a pair of instruments that were near and dear to him: the Doug Irwin creations Tiger and Rosebud. These were the last two guitars Garcia played onstage, when he made what would be his final performance 20 years ago at Soldier Field.
Tiger (1979)
In 1972, Garcia began a long association with Irwin when he purchased a guitar called Eagle from the luthier. Garcia liked the guitar so much that he placed a custom order with Irwin. That guitar—dubbed Wolf, for the cartoon wolf sticker Garcia had originally applied below its bridge—was completed in 1973. When Garcia went to pick it up, he was so impressed by it that he placed an order for another custom guitar before leaving.
Wolf became Garcia's main instrument for the next four years, during which time he asked Irwin to make several modifications, including a buffered effect loop that let him wire his effect pedals to the guitar and bypass them with a switch. Eventually, though, Wolf was replaced by the guitar that Garcia had ordered back in 1973, when he'd received Wolf. That guitar was Tiger, which he received in July 1979.
Garcia had given Irwin total freedom with Tiger, and he was not disappointed. The guitar was beautiful, with contrasting layers of tone woods, including cocobolo, maple and vermillion. Detailed pearl inlays on the body's back and fretboard heightened the guitar's status as a work of art.
But Tiger was also a testament to Irwin's technical innovation. The guitar's coil-tap switches, five-position pickup selector, unity gain buffer, effect loop and other controls gave Garcia the freedom to craft a broad range of tones from the DiMarzio pickups, which included Dual Sound humbuckers in the middle and bridge positions and an SDS-1 in the neck (the Dual Sounds were replaced in 1982 with DiMarzio Super IIs).
"There are 12 discrete possible voices that are all pretty different," Garcia said of Tiger's electronics. That tonal power is the reason Tiger was his main guitar for the next 11 years, a continuous run longer than that of any other guitar Garcia played.
Rosebud (1990)
Rosebud was Tiger's replacement, and Garcia considered it to be Irwin's masterpiece. While it bore similarities to Tiger, it featured a very different complement of electronic components. These included three humbuckers and a Roland GK-2 hexaphonic guitar synth pickup. Irwin mounted the GK-2's MIDI and synth controls on the guitar for ease of use. The guitar also had hollow body cavities that reduced its weight by two pounds.
Rosebud's MIDI features were key to its versatility. Garcia had begun using guitar synths in the Eighties when he installed a Roland hexaphonic pickup on his Wolf guitar. In Rosebud, Garcia finally had one instrument with all the features he'd sought, allowing him to play a broad range of guitar tones as well as external sounds via MIDI.
Rosebud was eventually succeeded by a replica of Tiger called Lightning Bolt, built by luthier Stephen Cripe. The guitar takes its name from the Grateful Dead lightning bolt, which adorns the cover plate below the bridge. But when it came time for the Dead to play Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995—Garcia's last gig with the group—Lightning Bolt was in the shop for repairs. In its place was Rosebud. When the guitar began to suffer technical problems midway through the show, Garcia pulled out Tiger, playing his last notes onstage with the guitar that had been with him longer than any other instrument.

PDXJubal

Ah! the very post that drew me into this site. Love these Irwin pieces. They're beautiful and happen to be responsible for many weird and inspiring moments.
Jerry on Sax patch.....  mmmm.....

jazzkid74

#652
Finally got a chance to use my VG-99 where it deserves to be.  ;D

AlakaLazlo

#653
Here is my Variax 700 with an attached GK3 that has served me well for many years. Next to it is my new JTV69S Variax that is the starting point for my upcoming midi-guitar project.  I'm working on a system to use the piezos in the bridge to run both the Variax electronics and a midi-driver simultaneously. Additional mods will include a Sustaniac, updated magnetic pickups, a fair amount of routing, numerous additional controls, and custom pick guard. Fingers crossed.... 


Hexstainocaster, Fender Strat and Electric XII, Godin ACS, Axon AX50 - Moog One, IIP and Mini, SEM, Dot.Com/Moon/STG/FSFX 110, Cubase Pro, 2xMR816, HR824, NS10M, Komplete, Omnisphere/RMX/Trilian, Z3ta+, Analog Lab, Slate MTi2, ML1 and Everything Bundle, Social Entropy Engine, ESQ1, DX7, Lavalamp.

JiveTurkey



Gibson Flying V. Need to cover some of the wiring by the pickup but overall; it's otherwise good to go. Repurposed the old battery box location for the 13 pin jack.

DUNCANRIGBY

#655
This is my Steinberger Spirt HSS GK, floating term.

Headless68

#656
Here is my latest 'shed built' GK guitar!  Stratus III
this one has Black Korina body, Steinberger Jam Trem (locks & unlocks on the fly), JB neck pickup, Evo bridge pickup, Roland GK3 kit, Synthlynx 13 pin jack, Kluson locking tuners.





https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbsz33ksw6u7t7m/Photo%2015-09-2017%2C%2013%2004%2020.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ju4pi9h1xq2wpce/Photo%2015-09-2017%2C%2013%2004%2052.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u4pe8ww7cwq9zsf/Photo%2015-09-2017%2C%2013%2004%2030.jpg?dl=0

Thanks to Peter (aka Gumbo) for the Synthlynx jack - these are a must if you are thinking of installing the GK Kit as the stock Roland socket is frankly huge and requires a very large (and awkward) square cut out - Peter's version just neatly goes into a 15mm round hole taking considerably less time to install and removes MUCH less wood too.

whippinpost91850


CodeSmart

Quote from: Headless68 on September 15, 2017, 09:04:05 AM
Here is my latest 'shed built' GK guitar!  Stratus III
this one has Black Korina body, Steinberger Jam Trem (locks & unlocks on the fly), JB neck pickup, Evo bridge pickup, Roland GK3 kit, Synthlynx 13 pin jack, Kluson locking tuners.

Wow, that's real attitude. What a great looking guitar. I love it!  :D
But I got more gear than I need...and I like it!

gtlist

look so nice. by the way, what kind of bridge is that? unique shape. 
Fender Stratocaster American Deluxe hss with gk3.Tom Anderson Atom wraparound bridge.
Tom Anderson Crowdster plus+ with gk3.
Steinberger GTPro hsh with sustainer pu and Gk3
Taylor 814CE,   Taylor GS Mini, Epiphone masterbilt dr500mce, martin xt1
Roland Gp-10, voicelive 3, Boss Sy-1000

Headless68

The bridge is a NOS steinberger Jam trem - they were on the 'GS' model which had a headstock - Gibson decided to use some on some run out Kramers also back in the day :-)
Two point floating trem & the trem arm moves a locking cam in the back which makes it fixed bridge or lift the trem arm & then the cam releases & it's like a floyd
The wheel on the top adjusts the distance of the block to the trem springs ( same as moving the spring claw on a floyd or strat)

cell7

Quote from: DUNCANRIGBY on September 03, 2017, 09:44:41 AM
This is my Steinberger Spirt HSS GK, floating term.

Nice - i have a similar setup, but i had some trouble with the pole pieces and the string spacing on the steinberger spirit. How did you deal with it, or does it not bother you?

Headless68

The Jam trem spacing is fine for the gk3 (which has the largest tolerance for string spacing of all the gk pickups to date)
I have a Headless with the same top section of trem as your guitar & have an older GK2 pickup in that - that one is a compromise and I have to set it so the bass E is right on the edge in order for the high E string to be able to pick ok when you bend strings - the low E gets a bit more level in the V / GR settings to even it all out & that works fine
Nice install btw - not much space to play with on the GL shape

derekwarner_decoy

Hi...just joined....my 1971 Tele....S/No 3077xx

Brak(E)man

#664

Here's one of my modded guitars.
Fernandes Sustainer and GK



You can tell where the body shape for this custom came from.

swimming with a hole in my body

I play Country music too, I'm just not sure which country it's from...

"The only thing worse than a guitar is a guitarist!"
- Lydia Lunch


admin

#666

chrish

Looks like gumbo set them straight. :)

"   
Post Posted 18 Jul 2017 6:41 am       Reply with quote
I would suggest that anyone who is vaguely interested in these concepts, join "vguitarforums.com".

From there your exploration will be a lot easier and more complete.

There are other options aside from using the original Roland GK pickup that will allow you to access both 'hard' and 'soft' synths, and ways of "breaking-out" separate string signals for individual processing as well.

At least one company (http://www.cycfi.com/category/electronics/pickups/) manufactures individual string pickups that can possibly be adapted to the multi-string setups of steels, but it should be noted that all current (and past) Roland guitar-synth units are only capable of receiving and processing a maximum of six string signals; they also need a multicore cable with a 13-pin DIN jackplug to connect the output of the guitar to the synth unit, and that is AFTER the signal from the pickup passes through an on-board pre-amp board mounted somewhere on or in the instrument.

For any effects that also use a volume pedal in their creation, that pedal would have to be located between the eventual synth unit and the amplifier, or assign the inbuilt pedal of the synth-unit itself (incorporated in the Roland GR33, GR-55 or GP-10) to the 'volume' parameter.

The placement of a 'synth' pickup (of any sort) within the instrument is an important aspect of the design, particularly with regard to the eventual performance of the system in 'tracking' and 'cross-talk' (between individual string signals).

As has been mentioned, the Roland SY-300 is designed to accept a 'summed' signal through a normal 1/4" jackplug, but loses out in adaptability because it depends upon de-coding that signal to perform its results. Hitting it with more than six or seven strings will possibly make life even harder in that regard.

Playing 'technique' on a six-string electric guitar DOES have a lot to do with the success-or-otherwise of the effects that are ultimately produced, and the earlier Roland synths (GR-30 & GR-33 for example) are actually more 'forgiving' and produce better tracking results than the more recent models (GR-55 & GP-10).

Without a detailed R&D study first, it is certainly possible to spend a reasonable sum of $$$ without getting the desired result..

Much valuable information is to be gleaned from the vguitarsforum and it is basically 'required reading' for anyone contemplating entering the Guitar-Synth arena, BEFORE getting the credit card out.

Disclaimer:
I am not associated with Roland Corporation in any way, but am a member of the vguitarforums (aka 'gumbo') and manufacture after-market components related to guitar-synth installations under the Synth-Linx name.

HTH someone in some way..Wink

Regards,
Peter"
_________________

admin

#668
http://www.strat-talk.com/threads/your-strat-mods.395002/page-3


Through to modded within to within an inch of not being a Strat! As Swampash said, I usually start with a partscaster for the modded guitars


Fender 2 point System 1 tremolo, Roland midi, Langcaster low impedance pickups with on board overdrive, relocated 5 way switch, Master Volume and Tone controls, locking tuners, graphite nut as well as a few more obvious one ;)



I've done lots and lots of wiring mods over the years eg passing switches, greasebucket, etc and decided I can live without most of them. Tuners only get replaced if they need it (usually by staggered locking tuners). Pickguards and tremolo arms get modded if needed. Frets get medium jumbo wire only if they need replacing. Typically I like the following mods:

Nut get replaced if they need it, usually by bone but I've tried various Tusq, Graphtec, Earvana, roller, etc. Bone works fine for me.

Pickups only get replaced if they need it. I've tried dozens of brands and hundreds of pups over the years and I've come to realize that the single biggest thing is to get the pick up set up to the 'right' height for that guitar. I've also tried locating the pups differently eg like Mosrites or at different nodes. If only I could get the money back that I have spent over the years trying different pups I'd have more guitars (or something!)... :(

I like to add a toggle for the 7 way mod, and to add the bridge pup to the bottom tone control (sometimes with or without the middle pup as well).

I often use the TBX for tone controls. I've tried the S1 setup and have gone away from using it. I like blender pots with some pups.

Tremolos get swapped out but unless I am using the guitar for big wang bar stuff most 6 screw or 2 post trems work fine for me. I've tried brass, Calaham, titanium, etc blocks over the years – not every guitars benefits from the swap IME. If only I could get the money back that I have spent over the years trying different tremolos, etc ... :(

I've always felt the 5 way switch is in the wrong place and at the wrong angle, so sometimes it gets relocated or the "Jeff Beck" 3 toggle switch mod gets used with various switching mods ala Brian May but with the Strat parallel options. I've tried the pots in various locations, but Leo got it pretty right IMO

I often add a treble bleed capacitor/resistor to the volume pot.

If there is a humbucker I will usually split or tap it if I can.
The beautiful thing about the Stratocaster is that there is so much you can do without killing the character of the original guitar

Elantric


Elantric

#670



My Frankenstrat I built in 1998 - Warmoth Neck, Fender body, Sustainiac Stealth Plus, internal GK Kit, LR Baggs Piezo Bridge 

Got Robin Trowers autograph  - just because I found myself at a location where I could meet him and he was signing  this was my only guitar available

mmryspace

Hi Everyone,

New user to the forums here. I just recently purchased a VG-8EX on Reverb and got my GK-3 pickup installed and wanted to share photos of my VGuitar. This is a Yamaha Pacifica 311ms (one of the Mike Stern models). This guitar originally came from eBay stripped of its original hardware. VZ Custom Guitars https://reverb.com/shop/vzcustomguitars did the following before the GK-3 install: Added locking tuners, pickups, bridge and wiring. It is set up to coil tap both the bridge and neck humbucker pickups. Pulling up the volume knob converts the neck humbucker into a single coil and pulling up the tone knob converts the rail humbucker into a single coil.

I had another guitar tech https://www.facebook.com/pg/tonetechnologies/about/ install the GK-3 for me and so far so good! I thought I would share since I have read that the Tele-style installs can be kind of challenging in terms of installation. The bridge saddle had to be adjusted and a shim put in place under the neck to get the action back to where it was before adjustments.

I have only gotten as far as "making the driver settings" for my rig and adjusting the pickup sensitivity and seems to be working well though some patches seem to respond differently sensitivity-wise? The VG-8EX came with a storage card and patches from previous user so perhaps some previous adjustments need to be undone / reset. Still learning here so I will post more as I go along.



admin


admin

http://www.thegrandads.co.uk/neil-s-setup?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1





I modified the electronics and fitted a Roland GK3, hexaphonic, synth pickup next to the bridge.
The GK3's controller is mounted on an aluminium plate, Velcro'd to the back of the guitar. Two stainless steel rod extensions on the strap button screws allow it to stand on the floor, safely leaning against something.