Roland GR-30 FAQ

Started by Elantric, January 20, 2013, 09:30:41 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

tekrytor

#25
Save your money. Go to the yahoo group for the GR-30 and download the free editor for the GR-30. It's better. I bought MidiQuest and was not impressed compared to the free editor.

EDIT - or simply download it here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=25
SY-300/BeatBuddy/VoiceLive 3/GR-55(v1.50)/33/1/50/700/VGA-7/V-Bass, Yam-G10, GPK-4, DIY X-Bee HighlyLiquidCPU "Cozy-Lil-Footie", FCB-1010, other MIDI stuff, Godin Freeway SA and various other GK equipped controllers, Sonar X1, Audacity, KXstudio, Misc devices

gravelaxe

Groovy thanks guys . It does look a bit win 98 don't it hehe! I will give it a try

PD FX

#27
I have very good news!
I found some time today to hack my GR-30, I've tested my bugfix. It works perfect.
I've applied 0.010 V, or about 10 mV sinus @ 1000 hz at all non-inverting inputs of the comparator opamps. there are 12 of them.
So here's what I did:
-removed the bypass capacitors C205,C305,...,C705
-removed the bypass capacitors C207,C307,...,C707
-12 wires go from each point where the C was, and that is not at ground level ( that is to check that your using the right spot to connect the voltage)
to a small print with 12 C's, the secundairy conenction of the C's are tied together and connected to a sinusgenerator.
-the sinusgenerator generates <10mV @ 1000 Hz. just dial in the right amount to get rid of the stuck notes.

I cant say exactly how much millivolts I'm applying because i havent got a decent mV meter..

But: no more stuck notes!
:) :) :)


Elantric

#28
Brilliant!
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=7741.msg56748#msg56748


Though your prototype may look ugly or not, perhaps post pics or any additional details. I'll have to dig out my GR-30 Service Manual.

http://www.synfo.nl/pages/servicemanuals.html#sm

http://www.synfo.nl/servicemanuals/Roland/GR-30_SERVICE_NOTES.pdf

PD FX

Quote from: Elantric on February 28, 2013, 06:48:37 AM
Brilliant!
Though your prototype may look ugly, perhaps post pics or any additional details. I'll have to dig out my GR-30 Service Manual.

http://www.synfo.nl/pages/servicemanuals.html#sm

http://www.synfo.nl/servicemanuals/Roland/GR-30_SERVICE_NOTES.pdf
Thanks, Elantric!
It isnt that ugly, it just a lot of wire and small board for the c's.
this weekend I'll make the documentation.
We'll have to decide to use a 555 or something else for the sinus, I'm not that into analog electronics that much.. Do you know what is the most practical cheap small sinusgenerator? less components is more important than deadcheap.





Elantric

#30
QuoteDo you know what is the most practical cheap small sinusgenerator? less components is more important than deadcheap.

Let me research a bit, I'll explore the best fit circuit for - (a few millivolts @ 1kHz sine wave oscillator.

Here are some analog circuits, and the Maxim analog switch based circuit.

But i have heard of latest generation small Microchip PIC or Atmel AVR CPU's being able to deliver 1kHz Sine waves too.
(see "how to generate a sine wave from the high-speed PWM output." here
http://www.atmel.com/Images/doc2542.pdf



http://www.datasheetdir.com/Wien-Bridge-Oscillator-rail-to-rail-Sine-Wave-Generator+Application-Notes


some links
http://www.seekic.com/circuit_diagram/Signal_Processing/High_purity_sine_wave_generator.html




http://www.redcircuits.com/Page92.htm






More here

http://www.4qdtec.com/singen.html

http://www.epanorama.net/links/oscillator.html

PD FX

mmh.. these oscillators do look complicated to me, they all want a nice circuitboard at least..
Ofcourse any microcontrller can do it, for myself I will do this, I've got a few atmega borad here, I build everything using these, and it is very easy to make a 1000hz osc on it.. it dont need to be a sinus, it is just to feed a comparator. 2 bitports flipping will give a nice DC free squarewave.
But I  thought it might be a little overkill, using a microprocessor for just a tiny wave.. But it is probably the most convenient.
Than it would be logical to use a atmega32u4, that one can do usbmidi in one go. The only thing that needs caution is the powersupply, it should get its power from the gr30 mainboard, so that it runs without computer, but still work as an usb device..

PD FX

E.g. this one has the right specs, build in DC-DC powerregulator, and you can do usbmidid with it. cheap and convenient.
https://www.olimex.com/Products/Duino/AVR/OLIMEXINO-32U4/
A normal arduino Leanordo board wil do nicely also, is not that configurable as the Olimexino however, in terms of powermanagement.



PD FX

Here's the GR30 with the stuck note fix, and me doing a flute jam on it..


Elantric

#34
Paul - nice work - but looks like a VERY dimly lit corner of the web ;)

I look forward to implementing a similar "fix" to my GR-30!

Good work!!!

DF400

Alright, you guys are making me feel really stupid - this conversation is waaaay over my level of electronic comprehension. You lost me at " It works perfect."

Thanks for keeping us mere mortals in the loop!


PD FX

Quote from: DF400 on February 28, 2013, 07:24:16 PM
Alright, you guys are making me feel really stupid - this conversation is waaaay over my level of electronic comprehension. You lost me at " It works perfect."

Thanks for keeping us mere mortals in the loop!
I'm sorry about that DF400, but I'll explain it in short:
The Problem..
The Roland GR30 guitarsynthesizer features a nasty bug. A note may not stop, it will sound indifinitely untill you play another note on the same string.
Problem explained
The GR30 "forgets" to turn of your note when your input suddenly is too low. Simply put: when the GR30 doesnt hear anything, it wont do anything, it wont even stop the note it has detected before!
Fix explained
My fix is to apply a very small "tone" to the GR30 mainboard at some exact locations. This tone keeps the GR30 "awake and listening" to the string, even when the input has gotten to low for the GR30's frequencymeasurement circuitry
Whom it may concern
Not everybody suffers that much from this bug, its severeness is influenced by a few factors: background noise and GK output level.
Getting as much output from your GK pickup or GK enabled guitar as possible surely helps a lot to prevent these stuck notes.
The fix however, works in all cases, but involves modifying the mainboard: you have to attach 12 wires, remove 12 small components, and add a small tone generator.

Elantric and I are now discussing which kind of tonegenerator is fit to be used, it should be small and easy to build in.
We should start a separate  thread for this, Elantric, where do you think this thread should go? (There's not a dedicated GR30 space here)



Elantric


DF400

Thanks - I appreciate the explanation. I'm trying to recall if this affected the GR-33...

BrianBeuken

Hi guys
I have a GR-55 which I must admit I love more than anything I own, but I picked up a cheap GR-30 on ebay with some vague idea of using it as a backup/ lightweight alternative when I didn't want to haul my main pedal board with the GR-55 in.

But I gotta say, I love it, its not as flexible or easy to use as the GR but that ARP function is just amazing and I want to exploit it... and its also  much easier to do percussion sounds on it, shame there are so few. The 55 has better drums but not a hope in hell of being able to play them cleanly.

So, I have picked up a UX-20 and plan to use it to allow me to control both units together or selectively.

But I do have a small issue... I don't seem to be getting a lot of signal form my GK3 into the GR-30 it only hits about 3 lights on the string sensitivity and barely 2 on the high e string with sensitivity at max 8. This drops to nothing higher up the neck unless its a good hard hit, so sensitive play is not easy.

The GK3 pickup is set as close as I dare to get it without buzzing (though the guitar needs a set up so maybe I can squeeze a teen bit more) and provides a full clean signal on the GR-55.  I also have a GK2 equipped acoustic which is not so close to the strings as I'd like and its just not sending anything to the GR-30 at all...the 55 gets it though.

Is there anyway to boost the signal or do I have to live with a low sensitivity and try to get a tech to push the pickup a bit closer?

Cheers..

gumbo

Set the string sensitivity on the GR-30??    :)
Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

BrianBeuken

umm yeah as I said I did.... set them all to max 8 so was maxed out on the GR-30 side.

But in the end I decided to risk string buzz and tweaked the pickup up a bit...as a result the e string now hits 5 green lights, and I reduced the others to the same level, I still lose a lot of signal high up the neck playing soft but I think I can adapt. another 0.01mm will buzz the strings so thats all I'm going to get.

Time to start playing with settings.

gumbo

Quote from: BrianBeuken on January 25, 2014, 04:53:19 PM
umm yeah as I said I did.... set them all to max 8 so was maxed out on the GR-30 side.



..oops..mis-read your original post..   sorry!
..hhmmm, I'll think about that one..   I haven't had that problem with my GR-30s

Cheers,
Peter
Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

PD FX

Brian,
A bit strange of a problem.. the gain of the GR30 is lower than the GR55 for sure, but the difference ought not to be that extreme.
maybe I can help, therefore some questions:
-what gauge strings do you use? and what type?
-how far is your GK3 pickup from the bridge?
-do you use a splitter or do you use a simple straight GK cable?


BrianBeuken

on the Ovation acoustic....not sure what the gauge is, standard medium elixirs I think...I've got it about 1 cm from the bridge with a GK2 but no signal getting to the GR-30, moderate signal on the GR55

On my Electric Eggle, Slinky 10's about 1.5cm from bridge with a GK-3 and very very close to the strings...too close in fact, after adjusting as high as I dare the other night to get a decent signal I had to put the pickup down again after I took the guitar to rehearsals last night and the change in temp caused the pickup to sit up a little and bang strings...GR-30 getting low signal. GR55 banking away 9/10 on all strings.

no splitter at the moment straight GKC-3 cable into the synth.


PD FX

Mmhh.. It could be that the +7/-7 volt supply of the gr30 is halfway kaputt.. try check that with a voltmeter, the pinout you can find somewhere here on the forum. Most likely one half of the powersupply is missing.


Quote from: BrianBeuken on January 29, 2014, 09:30:41 AM
on the Ovation acoustic....not sure what the gauge is, standard medium elixirs I think...I've got it about 1 cm from the bridge with a GK2 but no signal getting to the GR-30, moderate signal on the GR55

On my Electric Eggle, Slinky 10's about 1.5cm from bridge with a GK-3 and very very close to the strings...too close in fact, after adjusting as high as I dare the other night to get a decent signal I had to put the pickup down again after I took the guitar to rehearsals last night and the change in temp caused the pickup to sit up a little and bang strings...GR-30 getting low signal. GR55 banking away 9/10 on all strings.

no splitter at the moment straight GKC-3 cable into the synth.

BrianBeuken

Don't think I have a meter any more...might be one in the shed I will try and make an expedition this weekend...

kcguitar

I'm trying to backup all my patches from my GR-30 to a hard drive

My equipment:
Synth: Roland GR-30
Midi Cable: Midisport Uno
Computer: Compaq Laptop, Windows XP
Software: GR-30 Editor

I'm trying to Save all my patches and parameters in bulk

I need help please!!

ron45

I only just did a skim thru some of the stuff in this thread. I was listening to some of the demos of this box on utube. I was amazed at how many of the first 10 or 15 patches I liked. And many more with some I can't use mixed in here and there. I listened to a flashy GR 55 demo and didn't like much at all. I bought one of these because it came in a flight case w/a GR1 which had the Rom card I was looking for. I thought I'd sell the `30 to get back some of the cost. So much for that idea. I very much appreciate all the work that has gone into this thread I can't wait to dig into this material. Don't have the stuff yet but I'm more excited now than when I first bought it.

Ron
3 Eastman Archtops, Ibanez PM100, Custom built tweed Princeton 34 watt 12" spkr Roland HPD15  2 Avalon 737sp  8buss 16 track Tascam Mixer  Lexicon PCM91 reverb deity Digital Performer Mac pro, Kurzweil K2500, GR 1 GR 30 GK3 on Eastman 910  64 fender jazz bass bought new  AKG 712  CAD VS2 tube mic

ron45

Thanks to Elantric for his info on the GR 30, I'm looking for a hard copy for the GR 30 Manual if anyone has an extra. I have the pdf. They're ok if there is nothing else but I'd prefer one I can hold. I'm searching around on my own but I'm here. I know to keep returning to the usual suspects but does anyone know of some other places besides half.com for used manuals?

Wishful thinking ....

Ron
3 Eastman Archtops, Ibanez PM100, Custom built tweed Princeton 34 watt 12" spkr Roland HPD15  2 Avalon 737sp  8buss 16 track Tascam Mixer  Lexicon PCM91 reverb deity Digital Performer Mac pro, Kurzweil K2500, GR 1 GR 30 GK3 on Eastman 910  64 fender jazz bass bought new  AKG 712  CAD VS2 tube mic