After trying again last night to get reliable behavior out of the Roland guitar synth, I'm abandoning the chase. If I continue, the outcome seems inevitable in that I'll throw it out a window and there are two very good reasons for not doing that:
The problem remains the pseudo-MIDI cable used to connect the guitar. Because it's not a standard MIDI cable (i.e. it has more pin-outs), it's a difficult cable to find and, unfortunately, it's singularly unreliable. I've had the problem I'm having now multiple times before in which various of the strings won't sound through the synthesizer. Each time the problem was solved by replacing the cable.
The Roland GR-20 won't be thrown away but rather it will be shelved until whatever mysterious provenance brings another cable across my path. The cables were extremely difficult to find even in America so it probably won't be soon but that's alright. The unit isn't required for what I play, it's just an interesting extension of the sound of a guitar.
If you haven't heard a guitar synth, it sounds like the synthesizer capability is just trickery: well, you can play drums on the guitar, huh? I bet that just blows Al DiMeola right away!
Yes, the guitar synth does permit playing drums on the guitar but that's not my purpose unless I'm seeking only to amuse. In general, one balances the synth tones against the native sound of the guitar and the result is a very rich melding of sound that can't be achieved any other way. This was the specific reason I got the Godin xtSA guitar as it does MIDI translation better and faster than any other guitar I've ever played. However, I've fallen in love with this guitar for multiple other reasons and the MIDI capability can wait. If you've ever played an instrument with an ebony fingerboard, you'll know what I mean.
- The Roland GR-20 was an expensive unit and does magical things when the right cable is used to connect the guitar
- It's not my window!
The problem remains the pseudo-MIDI cable used to connect the guitar. Because it's not a standard MIDI cable (i.e. it has more pin-outs), it's a difficult cable to find and, unfortunately, it's singularly unreliable. I've had the problem I'm having now multiple times before in which various of the strings won't sound through the synthesizer. Each time the problem was solved by replacing the cable.
The Roland GR-20 won't be thrown away but rather it will be shelved until whatever mysterious provenance brings another cable across my path. The cables were extremely difficult to find even in America so it probably won't be soon but that's alright. The unit isn't required for what I play, it's just an interesting extension of the sound of a guitar.
If you haven't heard a guitar synth, it sounds like the synthesizer capability is just trickery: well, you can play drums on the guitar, huh? I bet that just blows Al DiMeola right away!
Yes, the guitar synth does permit playing drums on the guitar but that's not my purpose unless I'm seeking only to amuse. In general, one balances the synth tones against the native sound of the guitar and the result is a very rich melding of sound that can't be achieved any other way. This was the specific reason I got the Godin xtSA guitar as it does MIDI translation better and faster than any other guitar I've ever played. However, I've fallen in love with this guitar for multiple other reasons and the MIDI capability can wait. If you've ever played an instrument with an ebony fingerboard, you'll know what I mean.
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