The Roland GR-300 holds a unique position in the world of guitar synths. While the sonic potential of the GR-300 was limited, its incredibly fast and accurate tracking made
The Roland GR-300 holds a unique position in the world of guitar synths. While the sonic potential of the GR-300 was limited, its incredibly fast and accurate tracking made it the only guitar synthesizer to ever live up to the marketing hype. So naturally, Roland Corporation created quite a stir among guitar synth enthusiasts with the announcement that the new VG-99 would include a software emulation of the GR-300.
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Recently, GR-300 modules have sold for close to $2000 on eBay, with complete systems featuring the G-303 controller selling for over $3000. This is well above the cost of a complete VG-99/FC-300/GK-3 rig, which made me wonder, would the VG-99/ GR-300 emulation compare with the original 1980 version?
What makes the GR-300 so special?
To appreciate the unique qualities of the GR- 300, let’s take a look at the unusual design of this early guitar synthesizer. Before the GR-300, most designers used a pitch-to-voltage circuit to generate a control voltage to drive a VCO, or voltage controlled oscillator. In other words, the guitar fretboard was basically substituting for a keyboard. This approach is much like today’s MIDI guitar synthesizers, which convert the pitch of a guitar string into a MIDI note.
The advantage of pitch-to-voltage systems, like pitch-to-MIDI systems, is that the guitar controller can be interfaced with similarly equipped gear. The ARP Avatar, for example, could be expanded with other ARP modules, or similar vintage synths. The GR-300 broke from this tradition, and used the output of the Roland hex pickup to directly drive the guitar synthesis process. It was a closed system, but what the GR-300 lacked in expansion and voicing options, it more than made up for in its remarkable ability to almost immediately translate fretboard actions into distinct synthesizer sounds.
While conventional analog synthesizers typically offer a variety of waveform outputs, the GR-300 has a unique sawtooth waveform not found on any other analog synthesizer. Because the cycle of the waveform from the hex pickup drives the synthesis process, Roland designers realized that lower notes would be much louder than higher notes. In fact, with each successive octave the waveform would lose half its amplitude. The solution was to simply chop off much of the top of the waveform, as this would keep all the notes at the same volume across the range of the guitar. This was certainly a brute-force approach, but this shifting sawtooth waveform gave the GR-300 a sound not found anywhere else. In the nineties, Roland sound designer Scott Summers sampled his own GR-300, and the unique GR-300 waveform started to show up in some new Roland guitar synthesizers. But sampling the GR-300 was clearly not the same experience as playing a GR-300.
Blue Box in a Silver Box
After much input from internet user groups, and perhaps after seeing the price of their venerable GR-300 soar in used gear markets, Roland promised to recreate the sound of the GR-300 inside the VG-99. Were they successful? Absolutely. After playing a GR-300 for years, it was quite disconcerting playing the VG-99/GR-300 emulation for the first time. The sound is all there, from the “spit” of the GR-300’s attack, to the characteristic breakup of the sawtooth waveform before the sound stops.
And Roland included all the features of a complete GR-300 rig, including pitch sweep controls, envelope filter modulation, LFO and even hex fuzz, a feature that was actually a part of the vintage guitar controller and not the GR-300 itself. When Roland claimed to completely emulate a GR-300 in the VG-99, they were serious. The new VG-99/ GR-300 has more creative options, along with the bells and whistles of modern technology: USB and coaxial digital outputs, and more effects than an entire eighties studio. For the critical tests, I plugged a Roland-Ready Fender Stratocaster into a converter/splitter so that I could play the VG-99 and GR-300 at the same time. Audio samples of these tests are available online, along with waveform photos and more info for the guitar geek.
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When playing complex patches, the emulation of the GR-300 is virtually indistinguishable from the original. However, critically comparing the two synths side-by-side reveals a few minor flaws in the emulation. First, the waveform generated by the VG- 99 looks exactly like the diagram of the waveform found in the original Roland GR-300 patent application. But the actual GR-300 waveform lacks the crispness of the emulation, and has a very slight harmonic peak. Consequently, with the filters wide open on both synths, the VG-99 is perhaps a bit sharper and brighter in tone. However, once you start to close the -24 dB low pass filters down, the waveforms become nearly identical. Speaking of the filter, the emulation of the dramatic analog filter is also amazingly accurate, though the resonance is a bit more aggressive on the VG- 99 than it is on the original GR-300.
Emulating analog synthesizers in software actually presents some philosophical issues for designers. Do you slavishly recreate the sound of a 25-year-old synth, or do you recreate the sound of the synth as the original designers intended? And what is the sound of a GR-300? No doubt that after 25 years many of the components in my test GR-300 have lost their original electrical values. But since no one is building new GR-300s, this was the best test rig I could come up with.
Also of concern is the amplitude envelope. The decay of a sustained note using the VG- 99/GR-300 closely followed the actual decay of the unprocessed Strat sound. However, in the GR-300 the sound was a bit more compressed, holding at a fairly steady level before abruptly dropping off. The GR- 300, both real and emulated, does have a compression switch, but I had this turned off for these tests. For moderate to fast playing, you cannot hear the difference, but one of the pleasures of playing a GR-300 is hearing a low note sustain for twenty or thirty seconds before fading out. In the sustained audio samples, the VG-99/GR-300 always fades out before the original GR-300 does.
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A minor note: the VG-99/GR-300 does not specifically mimic the “string select” feature found in the original GR-300. There are three modes of operation in the GR-300. Mode one is hex fuzz only, mode two is a combination of hex fuzz and synth sound, and mode three is synthesizer only. Pat Metheny, for example, only uses his GR-300 in mode three for lead voice. On the original GR-300 you can turn individual strings on and off, but only in mode three. The VG-99/GR-300 does not have this feature in the GR-300 section, but provides a way to switch individual strings on and off through the guitar modeling parameters.
The VG-99/GR-300 certainly recreates the analog fatness and vibe of the original GR-300. Perhaps Roland engineers had an advantage modeling the GR-300. Software emulations often suffer from being too perfect: the oscillators work too precisely, and the MIDI-based keyboard tracking generates perfectly intonated pitches. The VG-99/GR- 300 readily recreates the human quality of the original GR-300 synth, because any flaws in the Roland GK guitar controller are reproduced. The subtle difference between playing the same note on a wound or unwound string is heard, as is the inherent intonation compromises found in any guitar fretboard. It is these subtle differences that make the sound of the GR-300, real or virtual, more complex and interesting to the human ear than typical synthesizers. Unlike most synths, playing the same note twice does not create the exact same sound.
And now for Version 2.0?
My quibbles with the GR-300 emulation are really pretty small. For most GR-300 players, the VG-99 is well worth the money, since you can now keep your pricey vintage gear at home. Also, the VG-99 offers something the GR-300 never had: presets. Players pretty much had to stick to one sound, since there was no way to store and recall settings. Connect the FC-300 to the VG-99, and you can easily changes patches and recreate the octave shifts that are an essential part of the drama of any GR-300 solo. The VG-99 also lets the user assign more than one function to pressing a footswitch or moving a pedal. So hitting the CTL 1 switch can simultaneously change octaves, engage filter modulation and tweak the final output equalizer.
The VG-99 is software based, so there is always the possibility that Roland engineers will address the envelope issue in a future version, but even if that day never comes, I am truly impressed with the work that Roland put into the GR-300 emulation on the VG-99. Unlike most software vintage synthesizers that can exist solely in a CPU, the VG-99, like the GR-300, requires input from the real world to start its engines. And the dual-channel VG-99 will let you actually play two GR- 300s at the same time. Just try to track down the equivalent vintage gear to do that: two GR-300s, a super-rare Roland US-2 splitter, and three of the 24-pin cables. With prices steadily creeping higher and higher in the vintage market, you might be able to afford a new car for the same money!
With the VG-99 now providing my GR-300 tones, my elderly GR-300 is getting some well-deserved rest. Everything old, it seems, is new again.
Roland
rolandus.com/
Reverend Jetstream 390 Solidbody Electric Guitar - Midnight Black
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Contender 290, Midnight BlackPearl Jam announces U.S. tour dates for April and May 2025 in support of their album Dark Matter.
In continued support of their 3x GRAMMY-nominated album Dark Matter, Pearl Jam will be touring select U.S. cities in April and May 2025.
Pearl Jam’s live dates will start in Hollywood, FL on April 24 and 26 and wrap with performances in Pittsburgh, PA on May 16 and 18. Full tour dates are listed below.
Support acts for these dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for these concerts will be available two ways:
- A Ten Club members-only presale for all dates begins today. Only paid Ten Club members active as of 11:59 PM PT on December 4, 2024 are eligible to participate in this presale. More info at pearljam.com.
- Public tickets will be available through an Artist Presale hosted by Ticketmaster. Fans can sign up for presale access for up to five concert dates now through Tuesday, December 10 at 10 AM PT. The presale starts Friday, December 13 at 10 AM local time.
earl Jam strives to protect access to fairly priced tickets by providing the majority of tickets to Ten Club members, making tickets non-transferable as permitted, and selling approximately 10% of tickets through PJ Premium to offset increased costs. Pearl Jam continues to use all-in pricing and the ticket price shown includes service fees. Any applicable taxes will be added at checkout.
For fans unable to use their purchased tickets, Pearl Jam and Ticketmaster will offer a Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange for every city, starting at a later date. To sell tickets through this exchange, you must have a valid bank account or debit card in the United States. Tickets listed above face value on secondary marketplaces will be canceled. To help protect the Exchange, Pearl Jam has also chosen to make tickets for this tour mobile only and restricted from transfer. For more information about the policy issues in ticketing, visit fairticketing.com.
For more information, please visit pearljam.com.
The legendary German hard-rock guitarist deconstructs his expressive playing approach and recounts critical moments from his historic career.
This episode has three main ingredients: Shifty, Schenker, and shredding. What more do you need?
Chris Shiflett sits down with Michael Schenker, the German rock-guitar icon who helped launch his older brother Rudolf Schenker’s now-legendary band, Scorpions. Schenker was just 11 when he played his first gig with the band, and recorded on their debut LP, Lonesome Crow, when he was 16. He’s been playing a Gibson Flying V since those early days, so its only natural that both he and Shifty bust out the Vs for this occasion.
While gigging with Scorpions in Germany, Schenker met and was poached by British rockers UFO, with whom he recorded five studio records and one live release. (Schenker’s new record, released on September 20, celebrates this pivotal era with reworkings of the material from these albums with a cavalcade of high-profile guests like Axl Rose, Slash, Dee Snider, Adrian Vandenberg, and more.) On 1978’s Obsession, his last studio full-length with the band, Schenker cut the solo on “Only You Can Rock Me,” which Shifty thinks carries some of the greatest rock guitar tone of all time. Schenker details his approach to his other solos, but note-for-note recall isn’t always in the cards—he plays from a place of deep expression, which he says makes it difficult to replicate his leads.
Tune in to learn how the Flying V impacted Schenker’s vibrato, the German parallel to Page, Beck, and Clapton, and the twists and turns of his career from Scorpions, UFO, and MSG to brushes with the Rolling Stones.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Katana-Mini X is designed to deliver acclaimed Katana tones in a fun and inspiring amp for daily practice and jamming.
Evolving on the features of the popular Katana-Mini model, it offers six versatile analog sound options, two simultaneous effects, and a robust cabinet for a bigger and fuller guitar experience. Katana-Mini X also provides many enhancements to energize playing sessions, including an onboard tuner, front-facing panel controls, an internal rechargeable battery, and onboard Bluetooth for streaming music from a smartphone.
While its footprint is small, the Katana-Mini X sound is anything but. The multi-stage analog gain circuit features a sophisticated, detailed design that produces highly expressive tones with immersive depth and dimension, supported by a sturdy wood cabinet and custom 5-inch speaker for a satisfying feel and rich low-end response. The no-compromise BOSS Tube Logic design approach offers full-bodied sounds for every genre, including searing high-gain solo sounds and tight metal rhythm tones dripping with saturation and harmonic complexity.
Katana-Mini X features versatile amp characters derived from the stage-class Katana amp series. Clean, Crunch, and Brown amp types are available, each with a tonal variation accessible with a panel switch. One variation is an uncolored clean sound for using Katana-Mini X with an acoustic-electric guitar or bass. Katana-Mini X comes packed with powerful tools to take music sessions to the next level. The onboard rechargeable battery provides easy mobility, while built-in Bluetooth lets users jam with music from a mobile device and use the amp as a portable speaker for casual music playback.
For quiet playing, it’s possible to plug in headphones and enjoy high-quality tones with built-in cabinet simulation and stereo effects. Katana-Mini X features a traditional analog tone stack for natural sound shaping using familiar bass, mid, and treble controls. MOD/FX and REV/DLY sections are also on hand, each with a diverse range of Boss effects and fast sound tweaks via single-knob controls that adjust multiple parameters at once. Both sections can be used simultaneously, letting players create combinations such as tremolo and spring reverb, phaser and delay, and many others.
Availability & Pricing The new BOSS Katana-Mini X will be available for purchase at authorized U.S. Boss retailers in December for $149.99. For the full press kit, including hi-res images, specs, and more, click here. To learn more about the Katana-Mini X Guitar Amplifier, visit www.boss.info.