GM800 expansion capacity

[chalicerok]

I have been trying to find out exactly what the expansion capacity is for the gm800. In other words how many additional wave expansions can be added plus how many user tones can be stored in the unit. This is really important if you're looking at purchasing some of the wave expansion and voice packs. Knowing the limitation of the device is certainly going to make a difference in how much you purchase.
I contacted Roland support today because I couldn't find any information regarding this anywhere and trying to talk with a live support person at roland now is almost an impossibility. If anyone has those specs please share them

[BROCKSTAR]

I can't even get wave exz files to load. I keep getting errors on every single one I try.

[Bluesbird]

I can't even get wave exz files to load. I keep getting errors on every single one I try.

Even the ones that you purchase a lifetime key that are specified to work on the GM-800 under the GM-800 tab in the Cloud Manager?

[BROCKSTAR]

Even the ones that you purchase a lifetime key that are specified to work on the GM-800 under the GM-800 tab in the Cloud Manager?

Yeah, I don't know if it's just user error but I got them on the usb memory drive as the manual says how too etc.. but I can't get any to load.

[adamqlw]

I managed to load an expansion yesterday.

I did not see this mentioned anywhere in the manual or online, but the USB drive gets formatted to FAT16, which has a 4GB partition size limit. My 2GB memory card was recognized, but my 64GB one was not. I don't have other sizes to test, but if you are tearing your hair out over your drive not being recognized, try one 4GB or smaller.

[Matteo Barducci]

Format your USB key into GM-800, then use it for file transfer

[jwhitcomb3]

What a headache. Amazing Roland has not implemented core MIDI and requires updates and file loading via a memory stick. No thanks.

[adamqlw]

FYI

**: 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.

[BROCKSTAR]

FYI

**: 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.

Yeah but you can take any of those sound packs in zenology pro and save it from zenology plug-in and put on usb and stick in gm-800 and works fine. I tried it 🙂 I've also been using sound packs i've downloaded in gm-800 and working fine. However model expansions didn't. So maybe if i saved wave expansions from zenology pro to my computer, then over to usb and put in gm-800 it'll work, will try that later.

[germanicus]

Yeah but you can take any of those sound packs in zenology pro and save it from zenology plug-in and put on usb and stick in gm-800 and works fine. I tried it 🙂 I've also been using sound packs i've downloaded in gm-800 and working fine. However model expansions didn't. So maybe if i saved wave expansions from zenology pro to my computer, then over to usb and put in gm-800 it'll work, will try that later.

It would not make sense for them to allow you to move wave expansions to the gm800 WITHOUT buying a lifetime license for it.
Its one thing for computer based software to give you access, where they can manage the monthly access (and deactivate the software if you fail to continue paying the monthly fee). Otherwise its insanely easy to rip them off. You pay for a month access, download all their premium a la carte expansions with new waveforms, move them to the gm800, deactivate the monthly subscription, and you have everything in the GM 800 for 10 bucks.

[Matteo Barducci]

It would not make sense for them to allow you to move wave expansions to the gm800 WITHOUT buying a lifetime license for it.

No, because in GM-800 you have only 256 locations

[BROCKSTAR]

It would not make sense for them to allow you to move wave expansions to the gm800 WITHOUT buying a lifetime license for it.
Its one thing for computer based software to give you access, where they can manage the monthly access (and deactivate the software if you fail to continue paying the monthly fee). Otherwise its insanely easy to rip them off. You pay for a month access, download all their premium a la carte expansions with new waveforms, move them to the gm800, deactivate the monthly subscription, and you have everything in the GM 800 for 10 bucks.

So the wave expansions I have are useless then since they won't load into gm-800?

They are on my usb stick, the usb is in my gm-800, i go to menu then usb memory option, hit expansion option and it says "EMPTY", then I click the button below install option and there's a list of all my expansions and everyone i try says system error (e021) and some say unsupported file.

[germanicus]

So the wave expansions I have are useless then since they won't load into gm-800?

They are on my usb stick, the usb is in my gm-800, i go to menu then usb memory option, hit expansion option and it says "EMPTY", then I click the button below install option and there's a list of all my expansions and everyone i try says system error (e021) and some say unsupported file.

I have no idea. I dont own zenology or a gm800. I am simply commenting on what was quoted above by adam:

FYI

**: 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.

If I were Roland I would do the same for hardware units. You want to use expanded waveforms, you pay the amount to own it in perpetuity. Its impossible to control the licensing otherwise. Do you see my point? If you could load anything you want into the gm800, you never have to connect that unit again to a computer for licensing upkeep. Its a piracy issue. They cant enforce monthly licenses on them. With zenology pro, it does call back/phone home to maintain activation (from what I read). Your gm800 does not.

Gotta pay to play baby!

They give you a taste and then get their hooks into your wallet!

Welcome to the world of MIDI LUST. j/k

I think the Rolands exosystem is a bit expensive long term.

Compare vs UVI vintage vault and Arturia V collection, both of which have a greater diversity of synths (moog's, dx7, ARP, Pianos, Melotron, Rhodes). Roland made some great synths over the years, but so did many other companies and UVI and Arturia arent only limited to one manufacturer.

I do think its awesome that Roland has finally given you the option to have a floor unit guitar synth that is expandable. Super cool.

[IMH1234]

The whole situation and lack of clarity around the software platform is a big part of why I am not yet ready to pull the trigger on this unit. It is frustrating as they have otherwise come up with a product I have been hoping for for a long time - a more robust solution than the 13 pin cable, a dedicated standalone hardware synth unit with a proper synth engine, compact form factor, tracking that compares well with FTP, a solution to link up in my rack with the VG99 and it works as a midi sound module.

Unfortunately, the reliance on a computer to access its full functionality, lack of clarity what this functionality actually is and no confidence that Roland/Boss will support Zencore in the long term is enough to hold me back right now. If the full spec was available on the hardware (with onboard control of all the parameters) I would buy this in a heartbeat. As it is I have other more pressing (if less exciting) things to purchase for the studio first

[Matteo Barducci]

As I wrote before, you could subscribe to Roland Cloud, download all Wave Expansions and Sound Banks, import them into Zenology, export them and cease subscription.

Everything will work

[germanicus]

As I wrote before, you could subscribe to Roland Cloud, download all Wave Expansions and Sound Banks, import them into Zenology, export them and cease subscription.

Everything will work

Wow so even the ones they require you to purchase lifetime subscriptions keys to use in hardware units? This seems like a rather big oversight on their part.

Not according to this article:
https://support.roland.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042999652-ZENOLOGY-Can-a-Sound-Pack-Wave-Expansion-that-was-downloaded-using-a-Membership-subscription-be-loaded-into-a-hardware-product-

Maybe its a bug.

[Matteo Barducci]

Wow so even the ones they require you to purchase lifetime subscriptions keys to use in hardware units? This seems like a rather big oversight on their part.

Read carefully: that article tells you that you can download a subscription-owned pack only into Zenology and not directly into hardware (but you can do it on Jupiter-X and Juno-X using Roland Cloud Connect authorization USB pen...).

I told you to load into Zenology, then save it again outside it and put on USB drive to import them into GM-800...

[Jim Williams]

I have had an Ultimate subscription for a few years now and I prefer the sounds to many of my other VSTI's. So, when I got my GM 800, I was set to go. I formatted my USB stick with the GM 800 and loaded up some of the sounds just to see and it worked fine for me. This is where the GM 800 shines for me. My synth sound has been from my FTP and a Roland XV 5080. I have been happy with that sound, but it is a bit cumbersome. I have it in a rack with my Axe Fx III and it sounds great. I have been trying to use the combo of my SY 1000 with the GM 800 and through my Zenology software I can get all those great XV sounds and more. It is in many ways a better rig, but we will see how it goes when I get my GK 5. Right now, I am using the SY guitar to midi and that is kind of week compared to the FTP.

[BROCKSTAR]

Ok so i opened zenology pro in my DAW and went to the expansion files and loaded up 4 sounds from different wave expansion packs in a new bank, saved it and it saved as a .sdv file and put it on usb stick, into gm-800 and they loaded into the unit...

Ok I take it back. Earlier I loaded them and they loaded fine but didn't test sound until now. For some reason 3 won't play and 1 plays only on high E string lol...

Gosh all of this is confusing lol.

[IMH1234]

As I wrote before, you could subscribe to Roland Cloud, download all Wave Expansions and Sound Banks, import them into Zenology, export them and cease subscription.

Everything will work

Which for many users would be ideal - The thing that initially most excited me about the GM800 was that it looked like it would give me deep sound design capabilities within a standalone guitar synth module. The more I see though, the GM800 appears to be a (much) improved GR55 style PCM synth where you can import sounds and do limited editing in the unit but which needs connecting to a computer to do anything deeper. Computer based workflows don't interest me much (I have lots of fantastic sounding soft synths that I already don't use) and the fact that the Zencore functionality is neither transparent or documented in a proper written manual makes it a much more considered purchase than it would have been otherwise - will probably still take the plunge but only once I am comfortable it is a useful tool for my music

[Matteo Barducci]

Ok I take it back. Earlier I loaded them and they loaded fine but didn't test sound until now. For some reason 3 won't play and 1 plays only on high E string lol...

import 4 tones from different Waves Expansion Packs into Zenology (one at one time...), save them into 4 user banks, then export them as .sdz sounds into the USB stick. Plug the USB stick into GM-800, transfer the 4 tones into appropriate user memory slots and import each of them into a Part in a new Scene...

[MacWilson]

Read carefully: that article tells you that you can download a subscription-owned pack only into Zenology and not directly into hardware (but you can do it on Jupiter-X and Juno-X using Roland Cloud Connect authorization USB pen...).

I told you to load into Zenology, then save it again outside it and put on USB drive to import them into GM-800...

Ok, let me see if I got this straight. As another person pointed out, the sounds need licensing, so just getting a temporary subscription and downloading EVERYTHING to the 800 can't work. They also suggested perhaps only lifetime subscription users could do this for licensing reasons. But what you are saying is that worn't work either, and what you need is a USB license key like an iLok to store the data? (Roland Cloud Connect authorization USB pen)

This is probably not right, but maybe progress.

[Matteo Barducci]

The sounds doesn't need licensing. What Roland is doing is to let you buy for a lifetime some of them or use them into a subscription model for a temporary period. After you have them on your computer, you cannot export them if you don't load into Zenology, that is authorized by your subscription. The sounds are in compressed archives, they only reveal themselves once loaded.

The difference is merely by loading them directly into hardware (and you need the purchased lifetime version of the banks) or load them first into Zenology and after into the USB drive

[Witelite]

From Roland Customer Support

The Wave Expansions are the ones that require the most memory, since they include a number of new waveforms (the sound packs do not require as much  emory).
 
The GM-800 is specified to be able to load at least 3 of the wave expansions available on the Roland Cloud. Some of the wave expansions require more memory than others, so you should be able to load at least 3 and possibly more.

[germanicus]

Read carefully: that article tells you that you can download a subscription-owned pack only into Zenology and not directly into hardware (but you can do it on Jupiter-X and Juno-X using Roland Cloud Connect authorization USB pen...).

I told you to load into Zenology, then save it again outside it and put on USB drive to import them into GM-800...

I have read it carefully. Have you? It mandates that you need to buy a Lifetime key in order to load it into a hardware product.

ZENOLOGY: Can a Sound Pack/Wave Expansion that was downloaded using a Membership (subscription) be loaded into a hardware product?
2 years ago Updated
No. Sound Packs/Wave Expansions downloaded using a Membership (subscription) are only for ZENOLOGY. If you want to load them into a hardware product, please purchase a Lifetime Key.

Is their intent here "please purchase a Lifetime Key" OR "please purchase a Lifetime Key OR simply resave it once its in zenology and then load that version onto hardware so you dont need to buy a lifetime key".