VG-8 - Staggering toward Virtuality -- the VG-8 arrives

Started by Tony Raven, May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM

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Tony Raven

Is there a VG/GR equivalent to NGD (or even GAS)? ;D

I was going to start a nice long travelogue, maybe even a couple of pictures... but, y'know, the weather's VERY nice today -- especially considering that there was snow on the ground a week ago :o -- & I'd really like to put some tomato plants in the ground, so I'll just place this as a stub.

I bought a VG-8 off Reverb.com for $115 delivered.
https://reverb.com/item/621298-roland-vg-8
It arrived yesterday, & powers up just fine. My biggest fear was a dying/dead display, but it's plenty bright, missing two horizontal lines & acceptably legible.

My first question has been answered!! I only found how to check the firmware version like two minutes ago, & I suspect it might have had the S-1 upgrade performed.

Which raises a second: I recall someone hereabouts saying the VG-8EX audio quality is noticeably better than the VG-8. Is this so? Someone else said the only difference is the firmware, so now I'm slightly more confused than usual.

(3) In case it's not there: is there anyone actually doing the upgrade anymore?

(4) Is there an internal "button" battery that I should consider replacing anytime soon? (I carry a curse: the warranteed "ten year" battery in my Casio watch crapped out ten MONTHS out of the factory!)

(5) If so, would changing this wipe out the upgrade?

(6) I've considered dropping $50+ on a used EV-5... but, well, let's face facts: it looks like a cheap plastic POS & user reviews seem to confirm this. The Behringer equivalent is just $30 new, & Rocktron has a pair of seriously sturdy pedals ($89/$99). Roland, of course, says DAMAGE MAY RESULT IF USING OTHER THAN ROLAND STUFF which creeps me right the heck out. Are there any "safe" options to the EV-5?


Elantric

#1
Read all threads here

VG-8/VG-8EX Discussions
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=118.0

VG-8/VG-8EX Top Things to Know
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=119.0

VG-8/VG-8EX Patch Exchange
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=122.0

QuoteI've considered dropping $50+ on a used EV-5... but, well, let's face facts: it looks like a cheap plastic POS

Looks are deceiving - My Roland EV-5s are bulletproof, never had a failure or bad pot  and far easier to carry (Lighter) and less maintenance than Ernie Ball Vol pedals 

Dweezil could use any pedal, but even he uses Roland EV-5's
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=10539.msg105337#msg105337



Tony Raven

Quote from: Elantric on May 23, 2015, 11:28:18 AM
Read all threads here

VG-8/VG-8EX Discussions

VG-8/VG-8EX Top Things to Know

VG-8/VG-8EX Patch Exchange
That's what I've been doing... for more than a year, in fits/starts... with (by my estimate) almost a quarter-million words read... yet STILL being uncertain.

Sure, I'm old-fashioned, so it just seems somehow simpler to ask a question in hopes that someone might give me an answer, rather than my clawing through ten pages of conjecture, byplay, how's-your-mom, & inside jokes, only to move nowhere toward the info I'd sought.
________________

Granted, online reviews often ain't worth the price we pay to read 'em, so I'm not turned off about the EV-5... HOWEVER, it'd still be nice to know if anyone can put forward a reason that the Behringer/Rocktron/whatever would NOT work & possibly cause damage.

gumtown

Quote from: Tony Raven on May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM
Is there a VG/GR equivalent to NGD (or even GAS)? ;D
Have you looked at the Roland GR-55?

Quote from: Tony Raven on May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM
My first question has been answered!! I only found how to check the firmware version like two minutes ago, & I suspect it might have had the S-1 upgrade performed.
This would be as updated as it gets for firmware.

Quote from: Tony Raven on May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM
Which raises a second: I recall someone hereabouts saying the VG-8EX audio quality is noticeably better than the VG-8. Is this so? Someone else said the only difference is the firmware, so now I'm slightly more confused than usual.
I believe a VG8S-1 expansion card is required
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=11089.msg80958#msg80958
which is where the "EX" comes from in the VG-8EX


Quote from: Tony Raven on May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM
(3) In case it's not there: is there anyone actually doing the upgrade anymore?
Roland service centres can do firmware updates, but I would expect the expansion card would not be available any more.
The VG-8 is over 20 years old, which is many lifetimes in tech gear years.



Quote from: Tony Raven on May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM
(4) Is there an internal "button" battery that I should consider replacing anytime soon? (I carry a curse: the warranteed "ten year" battery in my Casio watch crapped out ten MONTHS out of the factory!)
Yes, Roland/Boss gear use the CR2032 lithium button cell in gear up until 2008 era.


Quote from: Tony Raven on May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM
(5) If so, would changing this wipe out the upgrade?
Hopefully not, the firmware is etched into the internal chips and should be safe - some of the older Roland gear is a little temperamental though - no guarantees,
the memory cell retains only user patch and system data, removing it will wipe your user data,
a 'hot swap' of the button cell will work (while powered on) but I would not recommend the 'average Joe' doing it.
And always backup your user data via a midi dump first if you can.


Quote from: Tony Raven on May 23, 2015, 10:54:49 AM
(6) I've considered dropping $50+ on a used EV-5... but, well, let's face facts: it looks like a cheap plastic POS & user reviews seem to confirm this. The Behringer equivalent is just $30 new, & Rocktron has a pair of seriously sturdy pedals ($89/$99). Roland, of course, says DAMAGE MAY RESULT IF USING OTHER THAN ROLAND STUFF which creeps me right the heck out. Are there any "safe" options to the EV-5?
EV-5 is fine, they are quite durable, the internal potentiometer will wear out before the mechanical bits (causes jumpy parameter shifts).
Other passive pedals are fine, so long as the pin connections are the same in the TRS plug, and you are not trying to inject a voltage back into the EXP pedal socket.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

Tony Raven

Oops -- see, now I've malfunctioned my Quote button!! (All I get is a semi-random hash of the post's content.) Well, I'll persist.
QuoteHave you looked at the Roland GR-55?
Ah, naturellement! Fortunately, the Maserati Effect is in play: the pricetag is high enough that it dissuades me from too-serious consideration. ;) Window-shopping is therefore safe. But that solid 1980s-1990s gear...
QuoteOther passive pedals are fine...
Oy, there it is -- passive. I therefore admit Roland was correct to paste that warning on, else the typical guitar-waving yobbo (me being one) might take "pedal" too generically & plug a Tube Screamer in there. I may try one of the other pedals anyway as a volume control for stage work, & it's easy enough to check the wiring, so no downside. Thanks for the boot.

But I do wish the EV-5 looked a little less like a Transformers prop. ;D

Seems the S-1 was a "one-shot" device, not a standard ROM card: plug it in, make the upgrade, S-1 dead. And, of course, that was soon hacked, & there are plenty mentions online of S-1 cards used multiple times, fortunate for users of OOP gear.

The battery/upgrade questions are mostly to reassure myself, as (see previous) there's fragile old gear in my house that's somehow survived decades working heroically despite every manner of abuse & neglect, & there's "unkillable" stuff that bursts into flame if I look at it wrong. Simply reaching for a little reassurance that there's only so badly I can (unintentionally) muck it up.

Oh, crud -- the bulk dump. Yeah, my MIDI interface was old when dinosaurs roamed -- well, relatively speaking: a pocket-size 2:2 MOTU. Far past time for a new one.