GR-50 - FAQ

Started by dporto, February 10, 2014, 06:51:41 PM

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chrish

Quote from:  philjynx on September 07, 2019, 12:09:53 PM

Looks like your software may be 64 bit and your windoze 32 bit. You can run 32 bit software on a 64 bit machine but not 64 bit software on a 32 bit machine. That's not a windoze issue, that's universally the case with any OS.


I'd be interested to know....I see two of the listed files have 32 in their name, so they appear to be 32bit, but it's not unusual for 64 bit programs to use 32 bit DLLs (dynamic linked libraries).
I was wondering about that. I had 64-bit editor software for the Spicetone 6appeal, but only a windows 7 32 bit machine.

I don't really desire to purchase another PC that can run 64 bit software so I sold the 6appeal to raise gear money.

Trying to remember the button pushes to edit patches on the 6appeal is a nightmare. The software editor is a must have for that unit. Same with the GR50s.

admin

#51
For me, the mozt stable windows is Win8.1 64 pro, running Classic Shell

It runs all 32 bit and 64 bit apps

The worst / least compatible version of Windows is
Win 7 32 bit Home

It barely ran any program

DaveTheBear

Quote from:  philjynx on September 07, 2019, 02:49:04 PM

As a writer of windows software I can tell you it's a nightmare, there's no reliable one size fits all method of interrogating windoze to find out exactly which version it is & whether its 32 or 64 bit. So a program written (say) in the XP era, may ask the OS what version it is but either ask in an obsolete way (getting no answer), or ask and not understand the answer. My claim to fame is writing some transcription software that takes control over ms word and plays video and audio in any format (using 32 bit DLLs) runs on anything from windoze nt to date, 32 & 64 bit. It was a labour obstinacy and never made a penny! I digress.

I have a variety of windoze machines, if you want to send me the installation file(s) to investigate,  p.m. me and we'll organise it. I'll give it an hour or so just for the hell of it.

Well..
There are 3 zip files on the Yahoo groups GR-50 forum, the vbrun300.dll which goes in the windows/system folder, the main zip file with the program installer etc. and lastly the data file containing all the patches.
I checked my system is indeed running Win7 Professional 64bit

but all I get is that same error message! By all means have a go at it, Phil!

DaveTheBear


DaveTheBear


DaveTheBear

No mad rush!

I took a look at that Midiquest Librarian software demo - looks great for the fact that it has a GR-50 Librarian and editor in its library, but $279???

No thanks.

gumtown

#56
To run much very old software your best operating system to use would be Windows 98, it is the best operating system to cope with old 16 bit programs, and runs 32 bit windows runtime apps too.
You might be able to install it in DOSBOX.

Downside is you need hardware (midi interface) that runs on Windows 98, or is class compliant.

Windows 10 32-bit also has a hidden mode to run old 16-bit software, but never tried it so no guarantees there.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

DaveTheBear

I'm using an Edirol UM3-EX for my Midi needs, and there's a 98/ME Driver available for it, so I might try a friend of mine for a copy of Win98. I already have a small system partition on my 2nd drive that's empty now. I could probably put it on there..

This week will be packed with new arrivals! The two M-256 memory cards, a new battery for the memory backup on the board, Roland FC-100 Mk2 plus EV-5 and the 6 pin DIN cable (RRC).

Should be fun!



admin

Quote from: DaveTheBear on September 05, 2019, 01:51:43 AM
Hi Chris - thanks for the response!

I was wondering how many people check this forum these days!

Well, the GR-50 arrived yesterday in beautiful condition. It had spent its life in a studio rack, apparently, so there was almost no wear and tear to be seen, and the seller on Ebay had not only packed it in a nice large box filled with polystyrene packing materials, he'd even taped over the air vents on top to prevent any debris getting inside the chassis. Nice.

So, out of the box and plugged in. First off, try the rom play to see if it's making sound. Yup.
Only two demo songs tho? I remember Roland putting a few more in their other units!

Next step was to plug in the guitar.

The first 3 patches were strangely silent, bringing a slight moment of panic, but the 4th instantly put me at ease. It works!

I was a little surprised how few sounds I had available initially, but I know it's just a matter of remembering the ins and outs of LA synth editing and getting to work!
So, I restored the first patch on the machine to a more "synthy" feel and spent several hours going through it all again (nearly 20 years after first using a D-110!)

And then I found a way back into the old Yahoo GR-50 group, where I promptly grabbed the contents of the two GR-50 memory cards!

Strangely though, the first memory card, PN-GR50-01 (?) seems to be already in there, according to the charts that came with the nice clean manual... The 2nd card looks like fresh new sounds though, so...

My only disappointment was finding that much of the older software won't run under Windows 7 nowadays! There was one package with over 700 patches! AAARRRGHHH!

Hey ho. Can't win em all..

But in other news, I've tracked down an FC100 MK2 (with an EV-5!) for just £65 on Ebay - no RRC cable, but I've sourced a 2m cable off Ebay as well, so I'm sorted. It's gonna be easier than having to bend over to change patches (even though I can do it with the S1/S2 switches)... Bargain though with the EV-5 chucked in!

Just gotta find some M-512E cards now...


Is it possible to share the GR-50 patches?

Also I heard a rumor that D-110 Patches can be loaded into the GR-50 ? Is this confirmed?


alexmcginness

Quote from: admin on February 21, 2020, 12:47:16 PM

Is it possible to share the GR-50 patches?

Also I heard a rumor that D-110 Patches can be loaded into the GR-50 ? Is this confirmed?

Yes thats true and I posted a bunch here...somewhere. I cant remember where I posted them.
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.

admin

Quote from: alexmcginness on February 22, 2020, 06:15:58 PM
Yes thats true and I posted a bunch here...somewhere. I cant remember where I posted them.

They are a couple page back on this thread

Starting here
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=10564.msg192675#msg192675


Is it best to use MIDI-Ox to load the D-110 patches into GR-50?

admin

#63


Custom Multi‑Bank RAM Cards

This amazing custom multi‑bank RAM card is made in Germany. It's the equivalent of having 16 Roland M‑256 RAM cards on one device. It has switches on top so you can easily choose between the 16 different banks. There's no battery and everything is stored on an MRAM chip. The cool thing is that this card works on my GR‑1 and also works on other synths I own like the U‑20, JV‑880 and D‑110. It has a lengthy compatibility list including the Roland A‑90, D‑5, D‑50, D‑550, D‑10, D‑110, D‑70, JD‑800, JD‑990, JV‑1000, JV‑1080, JV‑2080, GR‑50, PM‑16, TR‑626, R‑880 (GC‑8), R‑8M, Akai MX‑1000, VX600 and others. The ability to move this card between different synths is convenient and a real money saver

CUSTOM_RAM_CARD

There are two RAM card models to choose from: M‑256 or M‑512. Both RAM card models will work exactly the same. However, using the M‑512 Card is overkill because the extra memory on the card is not accessed by the GR‑1 (and most other Roland synths). Your best bang for the buck it to get the M‑256 RAM card model which will give you the equivalent of 16 Roland M‑256 RAM cards, not 8 Roland M‑512 RAM cards. I was on a wait list for more than a year but it looks like production has ramped up again. I received mine at the beginning of 2021

For the DIY crowd, there are some interesting modifications discussed in the User Manual to emulate PCM ROM cards or increase the bank sizes anywhere from 16 x 256Kbit, 8 x 512Kbit, 4 x 1Mbit, 2 x 2Mbit or 1 x 4Mbit simply by adding some solder bridges. More specs and ordering info is available at the Saga Musix website

          U-20_HOMEPAGE Custom Multi-Bank RAM Cards From Germany  (External Web Link)
https://sagamusix.de/other/roland_memory_cards/
https://sagamusix.de/other/roland_memory_cards/MRAM%20Card%20Manual.pdf

chrish

Demo of GR50 with VG88. At around 5.26 the GR50 tracking speed is apparent as the guitar player executes Al Di Meola licks and it is very good. Al Di Meola also got very good results with that pan flute type sound.


fendrix

Can somebody teach me something?
Sorry for my bad english.
I have got the gr50 (got Gr09, Gi10, axon ax100 bluechip, some olds midi converters,Vg8 s1, Vg88 V2 too).
What does mean, Rom, Ram, Patch, Preset, etc?