Roland G-505 Guitar Synthesizer Controller, GR-300 Polyphonic Guitar Synth

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"Up for sale, a 1980s Roland G-505 Guitar Synthesizer Controller and GR-300 Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer [SN 090427] in 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original 24-pin cable. First introduced in 1980 as a follow-up to the GR-500, the GR-300 is perhaps best known for its usage by Pat Metheny; produced at the venerable Fujigen factory in Japan, this versatile guitar synth can deliver a huge range of decidedly unique sounds, with a hexaphonic fuzz circuit, VCO synth, and combinations of the two. This GR-300 comes complete with the G-505 Guitar Controller, taking its design cues from a Strat with a sleek ash body, one-piece maple neck, and a trio of single coil pickups alongside the synth pickup.

The G-505 Guitar Controller guitar has plenty of natural sparkle and shimmer, and the Roland PU-134S pickups deliver a bevy of Strat-style tonalities via the five-way selector switch. Weighing 8lbs 12oz, the G-505 has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.

The maple neck has a slender C-shaped profile carve with good shoulders, gaining appreciably more heft and roundness in the upper registers, measuring .810” deep at the 1st fret and 1.015” at the 12th. The fretboard exhibits light finger wear through the gloss, and the slender fretwire ostensibly benefits from a level and crown in this guitar’s lifetime, showing virtually no wear. This Roland plays cleanly up the 25 1/2“ scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod, and the nut measures 1.650” (42mm) in width. The headstock features a bullet truss rod nut and gold “GR” logo, and the Gotoh tuning machines function reliably. The back of the headstock retains the silver foil serialized sticker.

The electronics on the guitar controller are untouched, with a control scheme including Master Volume, Guitar Tone, Guitar/EG Balance (Blend), VCF Cutoff Frequency, VCR Resonance, and LFO (Vibrato) Depth knobs. Additionally, the three-position Mode toggle enables on-the-fly switches between Hexaphonic Fuzz only (Mode 1), Fuzz and VCO synth tandem (Mode 2) and Synth only (mode 3). The controls are capped by the original sextet of knobs with ridged grips for easy adjustments, and the three-ply white pickguard rounds out the plastics.

Cosmetic wear on the gloss Metallic Blue finish includes a number of nicks and dings on the body as a whole, most prominent along the lower bout perimeter, with some finish chipping adjacent to the output jacks, and some very subtle texturing in the finish on the top. The neck profile retains its smooth gloss, with a handful of shallow marks that have no impact on playability.


GR-300:

This GR-300 is in remarkably good shape for being a floor based unit, with sparingly little wear on the enclosure save for a small area at the top.

Features:

-Up to 6-voice polyphony
-2 oscillators per voice
-VCOs (voltage controlled oscillator) are directly harmonically locked to each string, but can be tuned separately
-VCF (voltage controlled filter, low pass) -24 dB per octave, with envelope modulation (attack and sensitivity)
-Low Frequency Oscillator, for Vibrato Effects
-Built-in foot switch controls the VCO mode (single/dual), VCO harmonize pitch (detuning of the VCO's), and VCF mode (on, bypass, or inverted)
-Pedal control input for the VCF
-Synchronized, flashing LED status indicators
-Dimensions: 15.7" (W) 11.4" (D) 3.9" (H)
-Response Time: 3.32 ms

The original 24-pin cable is included, along with a gigbag for the guitar controller. The cable features an ingenious clip-in design on both ends, ensuring no accidental unplugging occurs."