Roland GR-20/GK-3 Reviews

Ever since hearing metal and rock bands blend guitar synths in their music, I always wanted to get one for myself. The GR-20 has the best sound engine so far. For its price, it certainly is worth getting considering that older versions of guitar synth pedals does not compare to the GR-20. There aren't all that many guitar synth pedals out there other than this one, so basically there's not much choice other than the best. Don't you wonder why other guitar synth brands are obsolete? That's because the GR-20 stands the test of time. The GR-20 is dominant in every way.

Introduction
I recently purchased the Axon AX-100 from Sweetwater. According to all reviews, it is the best guitar to midi converter available. And I agree, it works very well. However, it is not (for me) very portable. So, I took a chance and purchased the Roland GR-20 through Craig Wilson at Sweetwater.

I say chance, because there are quite a few reviews that state the GR-20 tracks noticeably slower than the AX-100 (especially on the lower strings) and does not trigger external synths as well.

Setup
It took less than 10 minutes to unpack and setup the GR-20 to work with my GK-3 equipped Epi Les Paul.
The GR-20's string sensitivity adjustment is much easier than the AX-100 method. The negative, the AX-100 can be setup for four separate guitars (8 with the new firmware)--the GR-20 only stores settings for one guitar, so you must recalibrate it for each guitar you play.

Tracking and Note Recognition
For my style of playing (bare finger fingerpicking) the GR-20 tracks just as well as the AX-100. It keeps up with my fastest alternate picking as well. Shredders may reach its limitations, but frankly, shredding and most synth sounds are not a great combination.

External Synths
I connected the GR-20 to my Yamaha S03 synth and it triggered perfectly well. I could sense a slight amount of latency, but certainly not a show stopper. I had both the GR and S03 outputs in the mix and they sounded perfectly in sync with each other.

The one negative is the GR-20 pitch bend range is fixed at 24 semi-tones (two octaves). That's great for its high granularity/resolution, but my S03 patches range from 0 to 12. Thus I have to set each S03 patch to 24. I knew this going in, but with the GR allowed a flexible PB range or a chromatic option.

GR's Internal Sounds
I have not had time to work through all of the sounds, but the pianos, organs, strings, brass, and wind instruments sound great. They are significantly better than the throw-in internal sounds of the Axon.

Bottom Line
I believe most guitarists would be perfectly happy with the tracking, note recognition, and external synth triggering of the GR-20. Can't wait to play this unit live!

I bought this about 3 months ago and I use it in a gigging band. We play classic rock and many of the effects are on target. You have to play and adjust levels to get the best sound but overall it is a positive thing to have in a band that does not have a keyboard, sax, or sitar player. Out of all the effects, I only use around 10 that I programmed into the User bank for quick recall.

One thing to consider is that you might have to alter your guitar case to fit after you install the GK3 pickup. It depends on how close your case fits the lower body of the guitar. I had to cut foam out of mine and lay back the cloth, but it worked. Now I just got another Strat with the new SKB case and I did not have to alter that case when the Roland GK3 was installed.

It takes a different touch on the guitar when the synth is engaged. Piano does not slide and it will not slide on guitar either... that sort of thing. Realize what instrument you are emulating and play accordingly.

I rate it 4 stars (great) because of a bit of a learning curve and sometimes it does not track as quick as I would wish. Overall it was worth it to me and the band to get this.

After bouncing back and forth between the Axon and the GR-20 for the past six months, and having used the GR-20 live, I wanted to amend my previous GR-20 review.

Using a Godin ACS SA Nylon guitar I have a problem with notes being triggered when I pull off (to move to the next note). Since the GR-20 has limited adjustability, this is a bit of problem with some patches (i.e., piano, organ) , especially in the live setting.

The secret is to mute the strings, something I do without thinking on my G3 pickup equipped LP, but I find the technique more difficult and foreign when playing finger style with the Godin Nylon string guitar.

I have been told that I need to improve my expression / hold pedal technique, but I find that difficult to achieve when playing faster parts.

Anyway, I still love the sounds of the GR-20 and the ease of setup and use, and having everything in one box (sound module and pedals) is great for live playing. It would be near perfect if it had the hyper adjustability the Axon offers.

Anyway, I purchased a cheap road case and a Motif ES rack sound module for the Axon and will use that combination for future live use.

Pickup:

I had been looking at guitar synths for years, but the prices and doubts about tracking accuracy always made me hesitate. Well, I finally took the plunge and I'm glad I did. The new GK-3 Pickup, once properly mounted to your guitar, tracks great. In my case, I tried the double-sided adhesive tape, but was not satisfied with the stability of the pickup. Consequently, I purchased an inexpensive (but decent) strat copy at the local music store, drilled two tiny holes in it, affixed and adjusted the pickup. Now, it jams! Realizing that no guitar synth will ever track 100%, it's close enough for me. (You may find that the adhesive tape is fine for you).

Sounds:

There are enough sounds to satisfy most any situation; I like many of the string, sax, horn, bass, organ and piano sounds. As you have probably heard, the guitar sounds aren't that great; ignore them and use a real guitar for those lead parts. If you have any experience with synthesizers at all, you already know that a certain percentage are "throw-away" patches. The GR-20 is no exception, but still, there are enough great patches to buy it. Also, if you want more, the GR-20 acts as a midi controller, so you can use it with other synths.

Durability:

Admittedly, the unit is small, light and compact and made out of plastic, but it seems rugged enough if you don't get overly agressive with it. If you use reasonable care with it, it should last for as long as you want it to.

Controls:

The GK-3 pickup allows you to advance through the patches from the guitar (cool!), but it would have been nice to be able to punch in the patch number from the floor using your foot. As it stands now, you have to reach down, select the bank of a family of sounds, then turn the encoder dial to find your desired patch. You'll have to put your live performance patches in the user bank in some kind of order if you want to get to them quickly on stage. The built in expression pedal is sweet for volume and other effects, such as changing the rotary speaker sound on organ patches.

Summary:

This unit is very quiet which is real apparent when you switch to your guitar only sound or the mix setting when the natural guitar sound is playing through. This makes the GR-20 excellent for recording into sequencers, etc., using either audio output or midi. Kudos! In total, after using it with my recordings and projecting it into live situations, it would be hard to do without it now. In other words, no regrets.

Rating:

I give it an 8 or 9 out of 10, especially when factoring in the price and the superior tracking abilities of the GK-3 pickup. It may not be the most programmable guitar synth out there, but it doesn't need to be. If that's real important to you, then maybe you should spend the extra money and buy the GR-33 or something else. In my case, I'm diggin' it.