Roland G 707 to VG

Started by Brak(E)man, May 15, 2015, 09:53:56 AM

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Brak(E)man

I guess it's possible to convert a Roland G 707 to VG / gk standard but
Is it difficult and pricey ,? I think I read something about an adapter from the 24 pin but
I dont remember where ,
Also is 560 dollars a good price for the controller with the GR 700 included , both arein good shape a silver colored one
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

Elantric

#1
There are many options for interfacing pre 1988 24pin Guitars with modern Roland  / Boss GK-13  processors

Look here:

DR_JONESS - GX-13 - Roland 24 pin GK Converter l similar to BC-13/US-2
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3735.0

and DIY plans in this area

VGuitar Forums > GK-13 Reference Knowledge > GK-13 Luthier / DIY Info
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=183.0


QuoteAlso is 560 dollars a good price for the controller with the GR 700 included , both arein good shape a silver colored one

Those G-707 prices in Sweden today are unheard of over here in USA -  buy it today and spin it for $1K profit 

Odd because my old Bass player from High School moved to LA back in the mid 1970s and bought many mid 60's Fenders and Gibsons for $400-$600 in the local "Recycler" used gear newspaper and  was shipping these to a Music Dealer in Linköping Sweden for huge profit.

Times change!

Brak(E)man

 Thanx
I guess that the market here is too small for " oddball" products and leans more towards the conventional esp Gibson fender etc.

one last Q is it a good idea to get the programmer to?
I played the synth when it came on to the market and I know the reviews are mixed. The controller stuck with me though
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

Elantric

#3
The GR-700 synth is a JX3P with velocity, and the highest latency Guitar to MIDI systems Roland ever shipped.


I still own a JX3P with PG-200 programmer  - purchased it in the mid 1980s, with the goal of leaning to program sounds for the GR-700.

Then when the GR-700 finally arrived - the "disconnect" due to high latency killed all my enthusiasm   - so i opted for the rack mount Roland GM-70 ( perhaps Roland finest Guitar to MIDI system  - excepting latency )

But at 1986 NAMM I attended a special Adrian Belew solo show (sponsored by Kahler) where he showcased his custom Fender Mustang with 24 pin driving the Roland GR-700 to great effect ( I'll have to make a an MP3 and upload that before the cassette tape crumbles)

From my perspective its the G-707 that will hold value ( and climb over time) as like the Gittler, its one of those iconic guitars being played by Andy Summers in early MTV music videos


Brak(E)man

That's my view to. It's really the guitar that caught my attention in the first place
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

Brak(E)man

Quote from: Elantric on May 16, 2015, 07:14:40 AM

But at 1986 NAMM I attended a special Adrain Belew solo show where he showcased his custom Fender Mustang with 24 pin driving the Roland GR-700 to great effect ( I'll have to make a an MP3 and upload that before the cassette tape crumbles)



Please do I'd love to hear that
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

Brak(E)man

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

#7
Clean!

Still has the clear sticker under the knobs (rare!)

FWIW - a PG200 clone

http://www.synthcity.nl/programmers/dt200v2.html


Mode-machines DT200 programmer by Dtronics.

Add easy programming to your Roland JX3p , MKS-30 , GR-700

This new product, will give you many years of joy programming your synthesizer.

It has the same features as the original PG-200 programmer.
Designed with the latest technology and high quality components.
You can stick te programmer to your JX3p with the magnetic stripes on the bottom of the programmer, just like the original.
A programmer cable is included! A full PG200 clone.
The DT-200 V2 is a programmer for the JX-3P and the MKS-30.

The PG-200 also works with Roland's GR-700 Guitar Synth.
The DT200 V2 has the latest in technology, is easy to use and looks great with your MKS30 or JX3p.
The DT-200 V2 features high quality retro looking switches.

On the bottom there are magnetic strips just like the original PG-200.
DIN cord (DIN6P) is included.

CodeSmart

Quote from: Brak(E)man on May 18, 2015, 12:59:00 PM
got it today  :)
Nice looking thing. No wonder you want to get a converter.
But I got more gear than I need...and I like it!

Brak(E)man

First time I played guitar without GK in ages a part from acoustic,
The G 707 is a dream , played through the normal guitar input on GP10 great sound great feel, really good condition,  next try out will be GR 700 ! I have a programmer and some extra 24 pin external hex microphones Thanx for the DT 200 link it might come in handy if the programmer doesn't work ok or breaks
And yeah Codesmart I'd like a converter with both GK and 24 pin and several Gk out
;D
It'll look great with matching color and design on the VG99 and I can't wait to see what it'll do with SY300  8)
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

Elantric


Brak(E)man

#11
I found this clip of Gateway from 1985 where Abercrombie plays the g
GR 700 with a G 707 and there's glitches and he mixes the guitar with the synth but doesn't seem to have much problem with the latency. A nice live clip with some nice flaws an errors some intonation issues but great music.
Thought I would share it

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

Yohanes

Since I don't have 24-pin synth module, I modified my G-707 into 13-pin guitar to drive my Boss GP-10 and it work as I expected. This is my second attempt and I am very pleased with it (my first attempt is not as satisfactory and you can read at: https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=12015.msg112608#msg112608).

Materials needed:
•Two DTC114 transistor for S1 and S2 switch
•An 18 kOhm resistor
•A DIN 13-pin socket
•Panel for mounting DIN 13-pin socket
•Anything you need to rewiring and soldering the G-707 PCB

Steps:
1. Open your G-707 guitar and take out the PCB. Remove the 24-pin socket with its ribbon connector from the G2 and G3 socket at the PCB.
2. Remove R40 and R41 resistors from PCB
3. Connect one of the VOLUME VR6 potentiometer pin to pin-7 of IC4 (look at the bottom right green line mark I put on the picture)
4. Disconnect one of the BALANCE VR4 potentiometer leg from PCB (look at the attached picture) and wire it to pin-7 of IC2.
5. Replace resistor R21 (1 kOhm) with 18 kOhm resistor.
6. Connect DTC114 transistors as in the picture.
7. Connect the DIN 13-pin socket to PCB.

That's it, now your G-707 will be functioning as a GK-2A equipped guitar. I have tested it with Boss GP-10,

Note: I would like to use the balance knob, so I do the mod as above, which mean the GK Volume (and guitar volume) is always affected by Balance knob. So if you want to program your GK Volume to other function other than synth volume, please consider its interaction with normal pickup volume. If you don't like this and don't want to use the Balance knob, you may ignore step 4 above and directly connect pin number 7 of DIN 13-pin socket to pin 5 of G3 and the same with pin number 8 of DIN 13-pin to pin 6 of G2.

I hope this is informative and useful. For those who would like more technical explanation, please visit my blog at: http://kandani.blogspot.com/2015/09/modifikasi-roland-g-707-untuk-digunakan.html.
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