The Roland GR-20 is the older model of Roland's guitar synthesizer and I might have some enthusiasm for getting a newer one if I were not bumming rides from Mary to get to the supermarket to get tomatoes. The device is working but erratically so there's no clear answer on whether it will serve any useful purpose. Some of the regulars may remember the sounds it can add to the basic guitar sound and they can be quite awe-inspiring.
It was worth all the hassle it took to bring it over here but the GR-20 will go over the side if it doesn't start behaving better. It's still got some time yet to prove itself as it may be that settings got confused in the long time since I last used it. The unit is not mandatory, it's just that it gives a quite interesting expansion to the sound of an electric guitar. The Godin xtSA was made to exploit synthesizer capabilities so it's definitely coolest when it's doing it but we'll have to see if that's possible.
It's also conceivable that the erratic behavior is because of the 13-pin cable from the guitar to the GR-20 as I've found these cables to be highly-prone to failure, typically with one or more strings failing to sound after using the cable for a time. Replace the cable and, presto, the strings start sounding again. Unfortunately, the cables are expensive and quite difficult to find as they are NOT standard MIDI cables, presumably because one of the pins carries power and consequently another one for ground.
More to come on this as I evaluate it.
It was worth all the hassle it took to bring it over here but the GR-20 will go over the side if it doesn't start behaving better. It's still got some time yet to prove itself as it may be that settings got confused in the long time since I last used it. The unit is not mandatory, it's just that it gives a quite interesting expansion to the sound of an electric guitar. The Godin xtSA was made to exploit synthesizer capabilities so it's definitely coolest when it's doing it but we'll have to see if that's possible.
It's also conceivable that the erratic behavior is because of the 13-pin cable from the guitar to the GR-20 as I've found these cables to be highly-prone to failure, typically with one or more strings failing to sound after using the cable for a time. Replace the cable and, presto, the strings start sounding again. Unfortunately, the cables are expensive and quite difficult to find as they are NOT standard MIDI cables, presumably because one of the pins carries power and consequently another one for ground.
More to come on this as I evaluate it.
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