New Boss GM-800 synth and GK-5 pickup?

[BROCKSTAR]

Its with the greatest excitement and considerable surprise that I have joined the GM-800 club.

I can only play it with external midi from my SY-1000 at the moment, I should have a GKC-AD sometime on Monday.  Fits perfectly on my pedalboard though!

Have to say it sounds fabulous!  Just going through the presets, and downloading the BTS tones.

Welcome to the club! Wait until you get into the sound packs and such, they sound much better than the stock presets!

[arkieboy]

Wait until you get into the sound packs and such, they sound much better than the stock presets!

Which packs do you suggest?  Or is it 'download everything and pick and mix'

[BROCKSTAR]

Which packs do you suggest?  Or is it 'download everything and pick and mix'

Haha I wish it was as easy as just downloading a pack and putting it into gm-800 but it's not (unless you buy each one separately then it might be?).

Have to get the roland cloud app and sign up for it (it's free) but then get the pro subscription or the other one if you want the zenology pro plug in, which then after getting the subscription, downloading all zencore only packs in roland cloud app, then they transfer to the zenology plugin, then from the plug in you have to painfully make each pack yourself one tone by one tone and export them from the plug-in before you can put on usb stick into gm-800 to use etc..

I'm on my last one finally (which i should have done today) after 2 months of doing this lol. I'll have all 133 soundpacks done, the 6 new ZEZ packs done, and all the PRST packs done.

[arkieboy]

I was under no illusions about the process to get the sounds into the box - advice like 'this pack sucks' or 'there are some lovely pads in this one' is all I need!

[BROCKSTAR]

I was under no illusions about the process to get the sounds into the box - advice like 'this pack sucks' or 'there are some lovely pads in this one' is all I need!

Lol I know, but was just telling you about it, and got carried away sorry

I'm more of the download everything guy as there's good stuff in each one lol, but if I had to choose a few packs that I do enjoy a lot myself...

SDZ001 crystal moods
SDZ018 SynthStrPads
SDZ021 NewRomantic
SDZ029 ShiftingVisions
SDZ032 AmbientPads
SDZ058 CinematicBeds
SDZ068 EtherealRealms
SDZ118 Spectral Spaces
SDZ120 Galactic Ambient

[arkieboy]

Thanks, Brock!  That's really helpful!

[Chumly]

Hi Brockstar, what do you estimate would be the total hours needed to download the whole kit and caboodle to the point where it is fully GM-800 enabled?

Is there any chance, at some point in the future, that I'll be able to download the whole mess with some sort of overarching Windows-based macro, or is this notion just pure pie-in-the-sky?

I know the chances of my question having a resounding yes, is as likely as finding a unicorn grazing in my backyard.

[admin_shawnb]

I'm probably the opposite of @BROCKSTAR !

My thinking is that (except for the expansion packs), the sound packs are just edits within Zenology Pro.  Tones that could be created by yourself within ZP.  New presets, not new samples or models.

What's fun about them is looking at the configuration, so you can see how to do it yourself.  So I mainly download the ones that get me wondering "How'd they do THAT?" when I listen to the preview on Roland Cloud.

Also...  I keep pointing to this note on the Roland Cloud:  "Sound Packs, Wave Expansions, and Model Expansions included within membership for use exclusively in ZENOLOGY. To use Sound Packs, Wave Expansions, and Model Expansions with compatible hardware, please purchase the corresponding Lifetime Key."

I.e., if you want to use it long term, buy it.  I'm not going to load anything I want to actually use long term onto my GM-800 unless I buy it.

Today, the model is clearly a "try before you buy".  You can download anything and move it over, one at a time, which is a PITA, but feasible. 

If you want to load them all in one go, buy it.

(I strongly suspect that should a Roland Cloud Connect ever surface for the GM-800 in the future, this will be much easier to do, and at the same time, there will be stricter enforcement.)

[arkieboy]

I've spent an evening browsing basic presets in the Standard trial sub - I've bought no packs - and I've moved a few into my GM-800 with no expectation they will be there in a month.

I do think I'll end up buying the vintage keys wave expansion, and possibly the strings one too.  But the main point is being able to use Zenology to edit and create basic tones - I'll need to patch in all my own synths over the next month and start transcribing some of my favourite presets.

[BROCKSTAR]

I.e., if you want to use it long term, buy it.  I'm not going to load anything I want to actually use long term onto my GM-800 unless I buy it.

Today, the model is clearly a "try before you buy".  You can download anything and move it over, one at a time, which is a PITA, but feasible

Technically I am buying them in some sort of way. I have the zenology pro subscription for $10 something a month, and they already made $30 off me, so me moving them from each pack and making my own pack out of them is no issue just time consuming, and they will still be there to use even if i don't want the subscription anymore. However I have no issue in keeping the subscription at $10 something a month going, because they give us 1 or 2 new SDZ packs a month and now 1 or 2 ZEZ packs as well which works in gm-800 too. So it's worth the $10 a month.

[admin_shawnb]

The note explicitly states that you must purchase a lifetime key for hardware usage. 

And that Zenology downloads thru the cloud  membership are exclusively for use in Zenology.

[Kitko]

GM-800 supports GK-5 mounted in Reverse

Its stated in the Parameter  Guide pg 14

Thank you! This should be mentioned at the installation section of the main manual, though

[BROCKSTAR]

This may be obvious for many but I bet some don't mess with the controls enough or give up etc..

Don't forget to mess with your ADR (attack, decay, release) stuff in Tone Modify section for each part.

Sometimes taking a boring flute tone or a pluck tone etc. etc.. and turning it into a pad of some sort works great or if you have a pad / synth sound, shorten those ADR's and make something plucky out of them etc..

I have my graviton midi control pad on my guitar set up for the attack and release on switches, so I can turn any sound into a sustained pad sound if needed haha.

[BROCKSTAR]

New soundpacks in zenology pro for your gm-800



https://www.rolandcloud.com/news/zen-core-sound-pack-drop-trap-now-available



https://www.rolandcloud.com/news/new-zenology-sound-pack-electric-film

[arkieboy]

Trap is hardly my cup of tea, but the electric film pack demo sounds pretty good I have to say.  Will have a listen properly.