		4.8 (2)
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Roland GR-20 Guitar Synth with GK-3 Divided Pickup

Although not entry-level priced, this is the BOSS/Roland entry-level guitar synth and delivers the goods!!

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Searched Roland GR-20 Guitar Synth with GK-3 Divided Pickup in Reviews

Very Cool Tool

Ease Of Use	This unit is very easy to use. The fact is that there is so much sounds you will have fun for months just finding them out. There is 1 knob for the type of instrument, and 1 other for the preset. Everything on the unit is just so well designed that I didn't have to use the manual.
Sound	Don't get wrong, this sh*** can output almost anything! There is instruments that can Slide (Oh yes, it do slide!) like a Sitar or a Trumpet, and others that are hard notes like Pianos for example. The right pedal can be used for so much, volume, shifting... You can hold your MIDI sound forever. There's more than 1 type of HOLD or GLIDE. You can Tune your guitar with it, you can make morphed instrument. Example: the 3 first strings (E,A,D) is a BASS, and the 3 others are piano tuned in (E,A,D) also so you can simply find out your notes. You can morph two instruments, you can play piano + strings, you press Hold, the strings just won't end, and you put your GK-3 pickup in Double Mode so you can play Guitar over that Chord. WHAT THE... That's just sick. Too much for a human brain.
Reliability	I did not have problems with this, I don't move it a lot. All knobs works perfectly after 1 year of use. But for the GK-3 Pickup it's you should be more gentle with it. The plug is hard to remove and I always scratch my paint.
Customer Support	Have not used.

Liked about it	-All crazy possibilities -Easy to Use and to understand -Very intriguing sound, I wasn't expecting all those possibilities from a MIDI thing.
Didn't like	-GK-3 Pickup (I mean... the plug is always scratching my finish cause its harder to remove than opening a pickle bottle.) But no real dislikes, maybe the price, but guys... this is like buying a totally new guitar. Sometimes I feel I could do the same with my Guitars plugged in a computer... Never tried, don't need to.

Overall satisfaction:

4.5

By Phenixer
Jul 06, 2010

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For all those guitarists that need other instruments on their recordings!!

Ease Of Use	Ok--this unit takes some time to get used to and tweaking. The sounds are amazing and clear and integrate extremely well with other floor guitar processors (BOSS GT-8, VOX ToneLab LE, Pod XT Live, etc.). It has functions that allow you to MIDI sync it to your patches and tweak the attack of the tones based on what type of guitar input you are providing (strumming, picking, tapping, etc.). You need to spend some time matching these or the attack and subsequent sounds will be just a little off. However, if you put in the time, this is an awesome tool, especially for recording multiple tracks at the same time. I set up for a piano sound with finger-picking and got an awesome 12-bar blues recorded with both guitar and piano at the same time. WOW!! I found that the GK-3 pickup installs easier on a Les Paul (or other stop-bar bridge equipped) guitar with the included mounting bracket--trying to fit it onto something like an Ibanez RG using the provided two-sided tape and shims was just too much of a hassle. Otherwise, extremely intuitive and easy to use--just play your guitar and strings, sax, piano, organ... you name it comes out. You can even play drums on your guitar strings. (Takes a little practice).
Sound	I'm currently running this into an interesting setup. I have the guitar signal going directly into the GR-20 and have guitar effects running in a sidechain as outlined in the GR-20 manual using a VOX ToneLab LE. Then the signal gets split stereo out of the GR-20 with each output feeding a single Crate V5 that are spaced wide apart. Makes for awesome stereo sound with both the GR-20 and the VOX when the GR-20 is disengaged. Easy to switch the outputs to your recording console or DAW for recording.
Reliability	The unit is made of plastic and I've heard of others having issues with the casing breaking, but I've had no issues thus far. Keep in mind I'm controlling it with either MIDI from the VOX or via the pickup controller. I very rarely step on it except for sound holds.
Customer Support	Haven't dealt with them.

Liked about it	MIDI controllable from any MIDI device. Able to control patches from the GK-3 pickup. ANY SOUND YOU WANT CAN COME OUT OF YOUR GUITAR--GUITAR PLAYERS CAN PLAY PIANO WITHOUT SWITCHING INSTRUMENTS!!!
Didn't like	Little bit of a learning curve. Case is somewhat flimsy and I've heard stories of breakage. Expensive, but worth the money.