GR-55- Is there ANY way to make it work?

Started by realiee, September 12, 2015, 03:14:48 PM

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szilard

Quote from: realiee on October 14, 2015, 10:49:03 AM
By the way, I assume that you guys (with a few thousands posts) have the GR-55, right? Just tell me - how do you use it? I mean, what do you play? Maybe you use it just for some ambient strings or other atmospheric stuff, so that's why you don't have problems and I'm just an idiot wanting it to give me perfect tracking for fast solos? Cause I don't believe you set it up more properly than I did. I tried literally everything. Maybe it's just not for me?

I'm no shredder to begin with and if I want an ep or something I create a part I can play.

http://sites.google.com/site/phoenixtaiji/music
easy - about a minute and a half in there is an ep that is a VG-99 with GR-55 layered with it.

I got the GR-55 to layer the PCM sounds with the VG-99, but I like its GTR-to-Midi.
wrongTurn - drums are programmed, bass and guitar are VG-99, and everything else is driven by GR-55.

Litesnsirens

Quote from: realiee on October 14, 2015, 10:49:03 AM
By the way, I assume that you guys (with a few thousands posts) have the GR-55, right? Just tell me - how do you use it? I mean, what do you play? Maybe you use it just for some ambient strings or other atmospheric stuff, so that's why you don't have problems and I'm just an idiot wanting it to give me perfect tracking for fast solos? Cause I don't believe you set it up more properly than I did. I tried literally everything. Maybe it's just not for me?

I play it in many different ways... I'd say for the most part, it's mostly guitar.  I don't want the effect of playing keyboard or other parts on guitar to get old.  But yes sometimes I layer some ambient stuff under the guitar.  Sometimes it's just modelled synth and/or PCM tones.  Like horns or organ or harmonica, anything really.  But yes most of us have had these for a while, more than 3 years for me.  Am I better at playing this device than I was 3 years ago?  Absolutely!!!  Have I continually made micro adjustments to my settings over the 3 years to try to improve little aspects of the tracking or the performance of the device or even it's response to the way I tend to play?  Absolutely!!!  You may think there is no way anyone could have it set up better than you ... but I would say it's totally possible and I would go further to say that I believe there are guys on this forum who have it set up better than me and can play it better than me.  But I don't think you will have anyone on here standing up to say that the day they got it they were immediately great with it.  The truth is that some PCMs respond better than others.  All of them are faster on the higher strings than on the lower.  I gave you an option earlier on blending modelled synth with PCM so you can get the tone you want with the speed you want.   I have an B3 type organ patch that I can play extremely quickly, it's a blend of modelled and PCM tones.

ConstruKction

#52
I have no experience whatsoever with the GR-55, other than in a shop with a GK-ready Strat, but I'm running a GR-30 next to my VG-99 for the fancy piano patches, and I'm still blown away by the tracking capabilities of GR-30. Even the lower register is handled pretty well, and you should note, that I tune my lowest string to C.

Just a suggestion. A used GR-30 costs next to nothing compared to a GR-55 or the VG.

Short tracking sample in attachment. I bet there are people on this forum who can play this at double speed, but I don't think the synth would perform worse.

Elantric

True - both GR-30 and GR-33 track Pianos much better than the GR-55. I own a GR-30, and I spent time with Thomas Nordeggs GR-33 and its Piano tracking was very good, and he just "plug & played" ! Meanwhile on GR-55  - Pianos are a major struggle to dial in the Nuance and Velocity settings on the GR-55 to get decent tracking without error ghost notes.

JZZGTR

One thing you might try is getting the pickup closer to the strings. And I mean CLOSE. I think the instructions suggest 1 mm spacing, but I get great tracking by setting it as close as I can get it without it buzzing. I have a GK-2 which matches the curve of my strings nicely. You might pay attention to whether your GK-3 follows the curve of your strings and try to get it super close. I  don't have any problem with latency, tracking or ghost notes on the piano. Some other patches are glitchy, but that can usually be compensated for by turning down the sensitivity. Also, be sure to pick or strum far enough toward the bridge to cut down on harmonics (even though you can't hear them they can trigger glitches.) All of this seems to be a necessary first step for me before trying to "fine tune" the settings on the 55.

Neardark72

@reallie,

This post reminded myself when I started 2 years ago. GR55 is a beast, not easy to calibrate and to play. Just like sweeping, it's easy, you just need to put the hours in it to get better.
This is no plug and play. But dam it's satisfying because no one around you knows this thing and you get people stunned all the time.

It's worth it.

The reason why no one can tell you exactly what your problem is, is only because they don't have your gear in their face and see what might be the problem. There's no 1 solution fits all.

I had an issue with mistrigged and ghost notes and realised most of my problem was because I was sloppy in my playing.
It did got me much better as a guitar player because I couldn't cheat anymore disguising my cheating in gravy such as reverb and distortion.  ;D

chrish

#56
Good point. These machines do require a 'clean' technque. They also all have their setup quirks. Like with the gr-50, i found that if i used heavy guage strings and did not cluter the midi signal path, going to other sound modules, with note bender control change messages, the ghost notes were a lesser concern. Playing less notes is sometimes more. It creates space in the music. I've been reading a lot of the early fripp, metheney, summers etc, interviews and they dealt with these same issuses with latency and ghost notes. I'm guessing that someday roland will have good acoustic  instrument models that will trigger from an sy300 type set up. I just read an old interview where the musician was wondering why  another musician needed thousands of dollars worth of gear just to produce the sound of a 10 dollar harmonica.

Litesnsirens

Sure that may be true as far as the harmonica goes, but you can't get a sax, piano, strings, B3 etc for less than the GR-55.  And I don't think any of us bought the GR-55 just so we could get a harmonica sound.  I mean I sort of see the point but it's a little short-sighted.

chrish

The story came from an interview with Andy Summers, june 1986, guitar player magazine. It's a good read on some of the issues being raised about early guitar synth tech.  He was being critical of a popular 'unnamed' jazz guitar player of the times.

Back then, the synth rigs were fairly expensive. The article mentions a Fairlight for $25,000  (to play a $5.00 harmonica sound). Some of cats had synclavors which cost what, 1/4 million dollars?

airton000

Take a look of CHROMATIC setting.

On instruments like piano, organ, etc you should to set CHROMATIC to ON.