A story from Canada

Started by Smallcreep, December 19, 2017, 12:13:21 PM

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Smallcreep

Hey all,

Thanks for the add.

A short introduction and personal guitar synth history.

In the late 70's, I was an anti-social guitar-addicted teenager. I had owned a succession of awful plywood-bodied "guitars" which I, of course
thought were amazing.

Here, in the hillbilly hippie wilds of Vancouver Island (it hasn't changed), we had a couple of music stores. One was called "Ferguson's Music". It
consisted mostly of organs. Old Mrs Ferguson (the original Edna Boil) would regularly wheel a massive old Lowrey into the middle of the mall, put
the pedals to the metal for an apocalyptic rendition of "Yellow Bird" or "Girl from Ipanema", and scare the daylights out of semi-comatose shoppers.
But Ferguson's occasionally had a Korg monosynth in stock, which us teen muso's would bleep and bloop with until Mrs F finally kicked us out. Can't blame her.

The second music store in town, was called "Nanaimo Music". I think. This was a while ago. It was a much hipper store, but carried a bit of a slick rock star vibe. Until I walked into that place, I had never seen a human with spiked hair. I was amazed, and totally intimidated. One day, they announced that they would be selling some
electric guitars at midnight, Saturday eve, for a dollar each. People were camping out on Friday. It was epic.

These were decent stores, but there was another place, slightly out of town. This was a GREAT store, run by one of the nicest and coolest
people I've ever known. "Len's Music" was in the goldilocks zone of music stores. Great vibe, cool pro gear, a selection of amazing stuff that we
had only seen in magazines, reasonable prices, and Len actually encouraged jamming in the store. As broke and stupid as we were, he treated
us with kindness and respect. We bought everything from picks to 4560 bins from Len.

He was also a Roland dealer. One day, he announced that he had arranged for a Roland rep to bring a bunch of new products to a local
auditorium for a demonstration. This was incredibly exciting, and we sure as hell were going to be sitting in the front row.

So, in 79ish, my fellow prog rock outcasts and I piled into somebody's four-wheeled death trap, and traveled the 40 minutes to The Event.
We were astounded by the gear we saw, and the sounds we heard. Jupiters, Space Echoes, etc. It was spectacular. Possibly the best gear that
Roland ever made was included in that show. But just when we thought that they couldn't knock us out any further, the rep said, "Now THIS....is a
'GR300 Guitar Synthesizer'".

I heard something incredible. It sounded unlike any synth that I was familiar with. Not a Moog. Not an Arp. Not any other Roland. This was NEW.
Plus it had a unique and wonderful electric guitar tone.

I had to have one. My dad co-signed a loan (these things were EXPENSIVE for a kid in the 70's), and we again took Death Trap up to Len's
Music. He ordered the synth for me, and the G303 guitar. It arrived a week or two later, and was everything that I expected. It was my main guitar for
about 4 years. I did a few mods (if anyone has a G303 with a DiMarzio humbucker and weird wooden knobs, give me a shout), and used it
constantly. It never broke, and I kept it in nice shape.

Then, I started seeing and hearing GR300's EVERYWHERE. I saw Methany, he had one. I saw Crimson, they both had one. I heard it in Police
songs, The Cars, it was constantly in my ears. I loved it, and felt like I was ahead of the curve, with one of the coolest instruments ever made.

By the late-80's, it was no longer being used much. I was doing lots of studio work in Vancouver, and it had sat neglected, under my bed for
years. I ended up trading it away for some stupid thing. No idea what.

Jump ahead a few years, and I realized what a dumb thing I had done. (Throughout the course of my life, this is a feeling that I have come to be
quite familiar with.)

Jump ahead another 30 years. Last week, actually. I finally found one for sale locally, for a reasonable price. Filthy, beat up, and in surprisingly
good working condition. A recap is in it's near future, which should help clear up some slightly odd behavior. It also came with some interesting
additional GR boxes, which I will explore eventually.

So here I am. I throw myself at the mercy of your fine forum. I long ago recognized the err of my ways, and am prepared to make amends.

admin

#1
Welcome to the forum
Great story!

Glad you are reacquainted with your GR-300 !

There is a lot of music history in Vancouver
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=vancouver++recording+studio&title=Special:Search&go=Go&searchToken=357vzbvcghk9t3x2ygkrqjkoe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Mountain_Sound_Studios
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warehouse_Studio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armoury_Studios
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipposonic_Studios
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimbus_School_of_Recording_Arts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_Studios
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Flicker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Leese
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_Studios
Built from the ground up as a first class audio recording studio, the facility was originally an orchestral recording room for special sessions by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Author of "The Audio Cyclopedia", and award-winning acoustician Dr. Howard Tremaine, consulted on the original acoustic design and equipment installation, which led to Diana Ross and The Supremes, becoming some of the first clients, followed shortly by Led Zeppelin, and Heart





chrish

Yeah good story. I didn't know about the amazing capabilities of the GR300 until I purchased one this year.

I used to think gr300 Metheny -trumpet but that synth has so much more to offer.

Sure would be nice if Roland reissued an analog version of that synth or a company like Spicetone
produces a clone. And having a guitar that actually acts like a synth guitar is incredible.

I've been up your in neck of the woods only one time. Did some wind surfing at Lake Nit-nat and had the most epic session ever out of the ferry terminal  that goes to Lasqueti island (sp?) then took the ferry over there. A lot of hippies on that island.

That Island had sort of a skunky smell. ;D

gumbo

GREAT story!!

Welcome to the Forum!

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

FreeTime

There is something about 'the Island' that makes me listen more than talk. We were there a month ago for stormwatching in Tofino and Ucluelet; high winds shut the ferry down a few hours after we arrived and we were treated to a few days of jawdropping surf. I think when magic goes on holidays it disappears into the underbrush over there. 

Kenmac

Hello and welcome from Toronto, Ontario. I agree with the others, that's a good story and it sounds like you were pretty much in at the beginning when guitar synths started to make their presence known. My first guitar synth was the Roland GR-50 back in 1988 so you beat me by several years.  :) Enjoy.
"Let them brush your rock and roll hair."

Smallcreep

Thanks for the friendly welcomes!

Hmmm...."The Friendly Welcomes". Probably the worst band name. I can already see the matching sweaters.
Although I suppose it's better than "Shitty Shitty Band Band" or "13 Bitch Pile-Up".

admsustainiac: Agreed. Vancouver was a hotbed of musical activity in the 70's and 80's. Cool studios, and lots of talent. Not sure what it's like now.  According to some, there was a 20 year "creative recession" or "originality downturn" or "impenetrable talent accessibility barrier". Nickelback didn't help.

chrish: Anytime you smell anything weird here, it's weed-related. Always. Except when it's hippies airing out their vans. Actually, it's weed then too.

gumbo: Thanks! I spent some time in Oz. Loved the girls and the weather, hated the flying monkeys. (I know, I know. But sometimes the low hanging fruit is strangely satisfying.)

Freetime: It's quite nice here. The population is an interesting balance of artists, rednecks, hippies, old folks, realtors, and lesbians. All of which I'm ok with. Well, I could do without the rednecks. Although, I think that they are way more uncomfortable than I am. Combinations of the above categories can also become fascinating.

Kenmac: Thanks for the kind words. Regarding guitar synthesis, I do feel like "I was there" at the start of something unique. But in all honesty, EVERYTHING was new at that time. New types of music and incredible new bands, music videos, home computers, amazing tiny cars from Japan, and an explosion of music technology which was just beginning to ramp up to a mind-blowing decade of progress. Really, that entire run from 1962 to around 1990 was astounding. So, EVERYONE who was there....was there at the beginning of something amazing. (That sounded quite profound until I actually typed it out.)

My GR is beginning to recover from it's ordeal with the polluted caveman who apparently spent years wiping his butt with this wonderful instrument. I will never understand players who let their gear get filthy. Especially the gear that they actually lay hands on. The guitar was disassembled, and every detail has been cleaned/removed rust/polished/disinfected. I started cleaning the fretboard, and realized "Hey, this isn't ebony...it's maple!". Yeah, just about that bad, really. The funny part is, I think that the layers of dirt and biological sediment provided some protection to the neck. After the cleanup of the crime scene, the neck is actually in beautiful condition.

I also did that little cap mod to give a bit more brightness to the fuzz tone. I always found it a bit dark sounding. When I take it in for a recap, I'll get the tech to do the 12db volume increase mod too. The high noise floor is a bit much for me.

I ended up with some additional boxes with the GR. A GM70, and two US-2 switching boxes (one is still in the original box!). I'll probably sell one of them.

So thanks again for the warm welcome, and I'll now move my inane inquiries and embarrassing comments over to the main forum.









gumbo

gumbo: Thanks! I spent some time in Oz. Loved the girls and the weather, hated the flying monkeys. (I know, I know. But sometimes the low hanging fruit is strangely satisfying.)


...actually, it's the Drop-Bears that you've got to watch out for...

...although, since we legalised gay marriage the other day, they seem slightly more content to just keep sitting in the trees...

Let me know if you are travelling in this direction - we know where to get the bear repellant.
Peter
Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

pasha811

Quote from: chrish on December 19, 2017, 01:37:13 PM
Yeah good story. I didn't know about the amazing capabilities of the GR300 until I purchased one this year.

I used to think gr300 Metheny -trumpet but that synth has so much more to offer.

Sure would be nice if Roland reissued an analog version of that synth or a company like Spicetone
produces a clone. And having a guitar that actually acts like a synth guitar is incredible.

I've been up your in neck of the woods only one time. Did some wind surfing at Lake Nit-nat and had the most epic session ever out of the ferry terminal  that goes to Lasqueti island (sp?) then took the ferry over there. A lot of hippies on that island.

That Island had sort of a skunky smell. ;D

I thought SY300 was pretty close but after this thread...
Listen to my music at :  http://alonetone.com/pasha/

Chumly

I am an Island boy as well; born in Comox, Vancouver Island!
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman

chrish

#10
Quote from: pasha811 on December 26, 2017, 07:07:58 AM
I thought SY300 was pretty close but after this thread...

Here's a setup in Italy if you're near that neck of the woods.

https://www.vintageandrare.com/product/Roland-Synt-GR-202-GR-300-1880-Natural-34671

http://www.hendrixguitars.com/Va788.htm