VG-99 - Happiness is ...back to a VG-99

Started by Headless68, February 16, 2015, 11:11:40 AM

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Headless68

I had a VG-99 on day of release in the UK and used it for several years before switching over to GR-55, then FTP + laptop, then GP-10 briefly and I now go full circle back to where I was most content, with a trusty old VG-99 / FC300.
This is the end of gear swap ..... for a while anyway :-)

alexmcginness

Ive had my 99 since 2007? Havent looked back. I also have a gr-55 that I got in a package deal when I bought my second 99. I dont use the 99 for midi control as the PC drivers are not as sound as the Mac drivers in this area so the midi programming gets done either with a Axon AX 100 or an old GR-50 or one of my new ways is to convert an audio track into a midi track using Melodyne. The 99 is my go to simulator. If I need real tubes I run it into a Marshall Bluesbreaker combo. The 99 is king in my books. Just ask Bill Rupert. Hes got a couple as well.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

Headless68

I was originally tempted away by the 'everything in one box' approach for the GR-55 but I have really missed the flexibility & power of the 99
The one thing I haven't missed is the weight of the the FC-300, I'm not so sure its built like a tank as built out of a tank :-)

alexmcginness

I leave my 300 at home when I travel and use an FC-50. You loose functionality of the expression pedals but you can fit the FC-50 in a carry on bag.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

Headless68

So happy :-)
Both the 99 and the FC are like new - I don't think the FC has had a foot on it even :-)


mbenigni


Vade

Yup, happy sailing with those beauties. I've been tempted but I'm hoping a GP-10 and DAW softsynths will get me in the same ballpark. Enjoy!
Drachen; Fender FTP Strat w/internal GK-3, Godin xtSA w/FTP, Boss GP-10, VoiceLive 3, Scarlett 18i8, ZBox IQ01, On-Lap 1502i, D:fine 4088, 4E Dual Axis Exp Pedal, VoiceSolo FX-150, Yamaha DXR 10, Gem. M2 Flute, Special 20 Harmonicas. Fender Deluxe Reverb Mahogany Cane.

https://soundcloud.com/vadie

rolandvg99

Quote from: Vade on February 19, 2015, 09:03:35 AM
Yup, happy sailing with those beauties. I've been tempted but I'm hoping a GP-10 and DAW softsynths will get me in the same ballpark. Enjoy!


Love my GP-10 for ease of use and light travel, but it can't touch the VG-99 for flexibility and creative flow. The GP-10 sounds, mostly, better for what it does. The sad thing is that what it does is very restricted compared to the VG-99. No COSM guitar and Poly FX simultaneously are amongst the downers. Restricted parameter access in the wave synth is another. The GP-10 DSP is great, but it's tonal palette is somewhat "8-bit" compared to the "24-bit" colours of the VG-99.
To V or not to V: That is the question.

My little Soundcloud corner

Vade

#8
Quote from: rolandvg99 on February 19, 2015, 03:26:44 PM

Love my GP-10 for ease of use and light travel, but it can't touch the VG-99 for flexibility and creative flow. The GP-10 sounds, mostly, better for what it does. The sad thing is that what it does is very restricted compared to the VG-99. No COSM guitar and Poly FX simultaneously are amongst the downers. Restricted parameter access in the wave synth is another. The GP-10 DSP is great, but it's tonal palette is somewhat "8-bit" compared to the "24-bit" colours of the VG-99.

No argument there Asle. If it were simply a GP-10 vs. a VG-99 I'd seriously consider going with the VG-99 even though I've never had the chance to work with one; too many thumbs up from guitarists I respect to ignore. The bet I'm making, on the other hand, is on a powerful mobile computer running FTP triggered vst's in conjunction with my GP-10 and VoiceLive 3 for post COSM poly FX, loops, and vocal FX. But I'm only a year into all this high tech stuff. Everybody remembers that point in their journey; right? I could be completely out of my depth and clueless. My current nightmare is that my new PC comes in and the GP-10 to usb 3.0 completely fails, my backup plan to get usb 2.0 working fails, and then I'm tail tucked and hiding behind the doghouse with Elantric scolding me saying "I warned you about PC's and that 3.0 stuff Skippy! When are you going to learn pup!"

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=13301.msg97197#msg97197
Drachen; Fender FTP Strat w/internal GK-3, Godin xtSA w/FTP, Boss GP-10, VoiceLive 3, Scarlett 18i8, ZBox IQ01, On-Lap 1502i, D:fine 4088, 4E Dual Axis Exp Pedal, VoiceSolo FX-150, Yamaha DXR 10, Gem. M2 Flute, Special 20 Harmonicas. Fender Deluxe Reverb Mahogany Cane.

https://soundcloud.com/vadie

Headless68

I think its a personal journey (....an expensive one :-)  ) to find what works for you - in the last year I have gone through the FTP / Macbook softsynth route and arrived back at VG-99 but its what works for 'me' & not that other solutions are particularly better or worse.
I really like to compact foot print of the GP-10 too and the sound quality is great, but, there is a lot more depth to the 99 & the parallel processing is key :-)
I will be sticking here for a while to come now (*)


(*) pending an 'if ever' flagship model :-)


Vade

#10
I think it's great that you've come home to the VG-99 and are loving it. That fact that you're leaving a DAW softsynth environment just as I'm heading more deeply into it makes me more curious than ever; there may be a VG-99 in my future. It's softsynths for me now though and your comment about "parallel processing" got my attention. I've been using parallel processing without thinking about it too much. I didn't realize it was available in the VG-99 nor that it was a technique sound engineers used to various effect. That is if I'm understanding you correctly and this article catches the gist of it...

http://www.sonicscoop.com/2011/06/23/parallel-processing/

So many thanks for an "Aha" moment and when my new equipment arrives tomorrow I'll be considering series vs. parallel input more carefully. Enjoy your new gear!
Drachen; Fender FTP Strat w/internal GK-3, Godin xtSA w/FTP, Boss GP-10, VoiceLive 3, Scarlett 18i8, ZBox IQ01, On-Lap 1502i, D:fine 4088, 4E Dual Axis Exp Pedal, VoiceSolo FX-150, Yamaha DXR 10, Gem. M2 Flute, Special 20 Harmonicas. Fender Deluxe Reverb Mahogany Cane.

https://soundcloud.com/vadie

Elantric

#11
Now that we have Google working again  - we have a return of the typical 20-30 "guests" browsing old posts here at VGuitarforums, and often its valuable to read what others are reading  - based upon a search on techniques used by old timers here.

I recommend set this as a bookmark on your browser  - and read what interests you for a fast track to learning

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=who 


Just be mindful of the date of the posts in the thread, as many go back to 2008, and a few of us here have changed opinions several times over the years. 

aliensporebomb

The longer I own the 99 the longer I see it's a wonderbox.  Many things that I formerly considered impossible are not only possible but an everyday occurrence.  Anyway, you knew that!

:-)
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

davep2000

I'm recently torn between selling my VG-99 and FC-300 for a GR-55

I've played in 5 piece bands with lots of gear, lots of weight to transport and set up
Now I want simplicity, but with quality, functional minimalism

I'd like to play in a duo, with backing tracks and DAW MIDI control for music, effects and lighting

In ear monitors that sound better than a bee in a bottle

Guitar synth keyboard stuff

My thoughts

GR-55 is a single, simple unit, currently supported by Roland
It has COSM amps, guitars, alternate tuning, 2 synth modules
The tracking has been improved
Its smaller for storage and transport
Self contained unit, expression pedal, USB WAV playback for backing tracks

VG-99 has never been fully supported, and no longer will
You need an FC-300 as well as VG
MIDI tracking for external sound modules is poor
Very programmable unit, maybe overkill for me
In ears possible as a separate output

Lots of options, but the GR-55 ticks the boxes for me personally
I'd love a plug and play and tweak to your satisfaction unit, but I know that the pre-sets demonstrate the unit's versatility
But they don't sound good

I don't have the time to tweak

I have kids a house a guitar and beer to prioritise  ;)

Should I go back to stomp boxes with a good amp???

Thoughts please

:)






Elantric

#14
Play them each for more than an hour in real world conditions

For my needs - I often play as a trio  with only a Bass player and a Drummer.

If my gear suffers long gaps &  mutes during every patch change, and I change patches more than 8 times per song - (even simply toggling between only 2 patches, but 4 times per song) I cant use that device.

Patch change time on VG-99+FC300  works MUCH faster  - minimal short gap on patch changes.

While patch change time on the GR-55 is significant "1/4 second long silent hole" in the continuity. those long patch delays with no sound totally interrupts my flow at the gig.

its important to read about the GR-55 work-aroud for live gigs - use ONE Multisound capable patch per song, and use the GR-55 Expression pedal to "pan" between the different GR-55 tones.

Read the GR-55 FAQ for details

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4006.0


and read

GR-55 - Unacceptable midi delay / lag between preset changes via midi pedal
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=13731.msg100552#msg100552

Headless68

If you can live without the pcm sounds I would go for GP-10
That said the 55 is a nice all in one unit (I found external midi to soft synths over usb didn't track anywhere like as good as the internal sounds and quite a bit behind what the GP-10 is capable of

I love the 99 but I don't care for the weight of the fc300 but it's so well integrated I will live with it
Since arriving back at the 99 I have been way more creative in diving into sound creation too - probably because I have learnt a lot since I had one before

Thinking about the fc300, it's tempting to keep my gp10 on the floor and stick an ev5 & an fc7 in the 99
Will give that some thought

alexmcginness

I have a 99 and an FC 300. When I fly I leave the 300 at home and use an FC-50 for patch changing. You may want to give it a try.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

davep2000

I'm staying with the VG-99 and FC-300
I've looked at the GR-55 and the GP-10 and looked at the user manuals
I've checked out youtube and watched the demos
And like other comments that I've read, they're both hacked up VG-99's, and I can see that
Improved midi tracking maybe
But for me personally, one thing that I enjoy with the VG-99 that you can't do with the other units,
is continuous control from a DAW like Reaper
I've only found references to patch changes via midi in the other units
Continuous controller changes in real time via midi is a really cool feature that I'd miss in the VG-99
So that's it for now, VG-99 for me  :)

Elantric

#18
FWIW. GR-55 and GP-10 include 8 Control assignments for MIDI CC# control from external DAW.

Download all GR-55 User docs here and follow the advice

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


GR-55 FloorBoard Editor Help

This doc covers all operations of the Roland GR-55
over 100 pages!
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=86
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=86

davep2000

Thanks Elantric

I checked GR-55 user manual pg 67 and 79 for MIDI/USB info

"When using program change data transmitted from an external MIDI device to switch patches on the GR-55"
no reference to any other CC's received from my DAW on that page
I read that as 'patch change' only

But, pg 57 shows CC's controlled from assisgns as per VG-99

Decision time again  :)



alexmcginness

I bought both a vg-99 and a gr-55. I use the 99 for live and the second 99 and the gr-55 in my studio. You get all the guitars and all the synths.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

Headless68

latest change is I'm now using and EV-5 and an FS-7 (ctl 3 & 4 )  - using the S1 / S2 for patch change (have done that on most of my roland gear over the years anyway).  So foot print wise its the smallest ever for me - will be adding a looper though.

shawnb

Quote from: davep2000 on March 15, 2015, 06:55:32 AM
But, pg 57 shows CC's controlled from assisgns as per VG-99

Yes, it's page 57

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