Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
#592576 - 18/03/08 11:38 AM
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I've finally bitten the bullet after finding a mint GR33+gk3 on eBay, so I should
hopefully be playing with my guitar synth this weekend. Woo. Hoo.
Question
though, is there any particular model which is preferable? I've seen pickups on Strats and
Les Pauls, but are there any factors which affect the unit at all? (Other than having
enough gap for the pickup!) I have a variety of guitars that I can use for this and all
are nicely playable to me.
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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Studio Support Gnome
Not so Miserable Git
Joined: 22/07/03
Posts: 8995
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#592591 - 18/03/08 12:06 PM
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string spacing and pitch stability..... they typically work better on hard tails than
trems... especially with less than perfect palm technique...
(EG, NOT your
ibanez.... , )
--------------------
if you don't know who i am, i aint gonna tell you.
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Jumpeyspyder
Joined: 20/01/06
Posts: 1238
Loc: Yorkshire
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#592598 - 18/03/08 12:22 PM
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Hard tails are definatley best - but I did get by with my GK-2 on a floyd Rose guitar for
a few months. If the pickup is second hand it may not have all the spacers etc,
so fitting to a gibson with a tunomatic bridge or similar may be trickier. If
you need the manuals get free from roland US here
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Studio Support Gnome
Not so Miserable Git
Joined: 22/07/03
Posts: 8995
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Jumpeyspyder]
#592601 - 18/03/08 12:25 PM
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i'm pretty sure I've got assorted GK spacer bits knocking around 
-------------------- if you don't know who i am, i aint gonna tell you.
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#592607 - 18/03/08 12:50 PM
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I'm moving my GK2a over to a Strat this weekend. As you saw Dave, it's currently on a
Squier Tele and I'm sure the metal bridge plate it's currently stuck to is affecting it.
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leslawrenson
Joined: 14/03/06
Posts: 2509
Loc: Outside Mothercare
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#592663 - 18/03/08 03:26 PM
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I have a GK3 attached to my Jap Strat '57 Re-issue. It tracks very well.
But,
as Max says, it's all about getting the pickup set-up right. That took me ages.
The good news is, that it is well worth the effort.
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#592673 - 18/03/08 03:47 PM
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Well I've supposedly got the Gibson attachment thingy coming as well so it may start out
on my gold top at first. My plan for my Bits'OCaster is to install a GK kit in it - that's
semi-hardtail (trem set to only go one way).
Next silly question - strings. Do
thicker strings give a stronger signal (more mass vibrating over the pickups being my
logic) or does it make no odds? I was planning on sticking 10s on the GT anyway.
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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leslawrenson
Joined: 14/03/06
Posts: 2509
Loc: Outside Mothercare
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#592682 - 18/03/08 04:09 PM
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Don't know the answer to that one, Dave. Common sense would tell me that the thicker the
string, the better the detection.
But 9s work well enough for it not to matter.
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ASG
member
Joined: 20/01/03
Posts: 302
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#592683 - 18/03/08 04:17 PM
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Quote Dave B:
My plan for my
Bits'OCaster is to install a GK kit in it - that's semi-hardtail (trem set to only go one
way).
Next silly question - strings. Do thicker strings give a stronger signal
(more mass vibrating over the pickups being my logic) or does it make no odds? I was
planning on sticking 10s on the GT anyway.
I have mine on a "Bits'OCaster" with the trem set roughly the
same way (five springs fairly tight but not blocked and typically the arm is removed).
I use 10s.
Regards, Andrew
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cubadog
new member
Joined: 10/07/03
Posts: 17
Loc: Norfolk England
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593529 - 20/03/08 08:54 PM
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A couple of other suggestions:
Godin and switch and of course fender do have
roland ready guitars - which do go from time to time on ebay (i've actually imported a RR
strat via ebay for £350)
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593596 - 21/03/08 12:14 AM
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I hear what you are saying, but I could happily wander into Reading tomorrow and get a
Freeway SA if I wanted (yet) another guitar. Actually, I quite liked the neck on that as
well.... no! I have too many already.
Not heard of 'Switch' so that's something
to check out.
As for the RR Strat ... err ... the ones that I have seen have
been display units that are bascially falling to bits. They hadn't even been out long
enough to get scuffed. I'd rather not pay a premium for _two_ names on a guitar. lol
Delivery was attempted today and I suppose that the Post Office won't be open
tomorrow so I'll have to wait until Saturday to have a play. Which is handy as I'm out of
10s anyway, so I'll pick some up at the same time.
Exciting. Isn't it.
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593648 - 21/03/08 09:20 AM
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Quote Dave B:
I hear what you are
saying, but I could happily wander into Reading tomorrow and get a Freeway SA if I wanted
(yet) another guitar. .... no! I have too many already.
a) Bank holiday I'm afraid so you can't and
b) You can never have too many guitars - just not enough space to keep them!
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593659 - 21/03/08 09:50 AM
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But it's Friday today ... so isn't tomorrow the Saturday .... And I posted early this
morning....
See now look what you've gone and done. I'm interested in getting a
cheap Godin now! Bah Humbug ...
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593660 - 21/03/08 09:52 AM
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Phew! Guitar works are out of stock (according to their website). Bad news is that it is
cheaper than I remembered...
Damn that wascally wabbit!
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593663 - 21/03/08 09:55 AM
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I'm quite happy to meet up in Reading tomorrow Dave, just in case you want a second
opinion.
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593664 - 21/03/08 09:58 AM
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: --]
#593668 - 21/03/08 10:03 AM
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Quote Wonkey Wabbit:
And there's
always eBay
Interestingly, he wants more than the RRP as a starting bid. Good luck to guy - hope he
gets it. It won't be from me though.
Also, it's the black and I've kind of
fallen in lust with the sunburst finish with the maple neck. Dan and I tried the black one
last year (actually he handed it to me and said "here - you'll like the neck on this one")
and it feels lovely to play. IIRC, it's a couple of quid more expensive, but I'd happily
pay more for something that looks that good.
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593683 - 21/03/08 10:24 AM
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Are you sure about that RRP and your not confusing it for the RRP for the basic guitar?
Guitar Works had an XTSA around the £600 mark last time I was in there and Regent Guitars
are doing the Freeway SA for £499. DV24/7 for £462. So you wouldn't want to pay more
than the starting price on that eBay jobbie.
The sunburst finish is a bit more
expensive than the solid colours £599 at Rose Morris) (presumably they have to use better
looking wood for the body).
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593914 - 21/03/08 09:39 PM
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Yep - you're right there. I was looking at the Classic not the SA. DV reckon £507 for the
flame maple burst which is still a good price I reckon. But if / when I get one, it will
probably be GuitarWorks. I'll just have to wait until I can justify the cost now. I did look up 'Switch Guitars' though. Nice. But a little too 'metal' looking for my
tastes. I must be getting old ... Less than 10 hours left until I get my GR. Woo. Hoo.
-------------------- Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#593941 - 21/03/08 11:32 PM
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Well I didn't fit the GK to my Strat today. I started work on another (friends) guitar to
fig new pups and a replacement toggle switch. Took the old lot out, then rewired the old
toggle switch back in (D'oh!) which I had to obviously replace, wired the bridge pup to
the neck pot (D'oh! x 2 ) and after disconnecting that, started wiring the neck pup to the
bridge volume pot (D'oh x 3). I decided I'd leave my own guitar alone after that. It was
not the right day to do the work. 
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594023 - 22/03/08 10:23 AM
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Even worse - the package waiting at the Post Office wasn't my GR after all! Bogus. I'll
have to wait until next week for it now then.... 
-------------------- Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594027 - 22/03/08 10:35 AM
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Oh dear! Was it anything exciting?
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594475 - 23/03/08 06:21 PM
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My GK-2a is now fitted to the Strat and it's a lot better than on the Tele. I've been
able to turn the sensitivity down a fair bit, so the Tele's steel bridge-plate (a modern,
not vintage style bridge) was having a big effect on the pickup.
It's running
into a GR-20 and I must say that the tracking seems very good on most patches - although
it does seem to be patch dependant. On some it's really quick, and others there's a
noticeable delay or double triggering on the bottom strings - even though this doesn't
happen on most other patches. I need to read the manual a bit more closely to see if
there's anything adjustable on the individual patches.
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594490 - 23/03/08 06:59 PM
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Just books Wonks. Still, nice to have something new to read.
So how have you
attacked the GK to the body? Have you had to drill holes? Or are you just on the sticky
pads at the moment?
Now I'm starting to regret having so many guitars without
scratchplates...
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594541 - 23/03/08 08:46 PM
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No, I used a little adapter a guy sells on eBay. Works well and doesn't need any extra
holes as it re-uses two scratchplate screw holes. Made from stainless steel so it's non-
magnetic. 
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Studio Support Gnome
Not so Miserable Git
Joined: 22/07/03
Posts: 8995
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: --]
#594578 - 23/03/08 10:09 PM
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errr... are you saying that with a straight face Simon?
(that's a little
unfair of me.... )
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1140
in
addition it's not the case that any (even nickel alloyed austenitic) stainless steel
can truly be said to have zero effect on small scale magnetic fields in the vicinity....
(and yes, Pick up's are small scale magnetic fields..... by comparison, ) ..
-------------------- if you don't know who i am, i aint gonna tell you.
Edited by Max! (23/03/08 10:21 PM)
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active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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On the other hand the GK is sitting right next to the bridge which is steel and will have
a much greater effect on the magnetic field of the GK than the stainless steel adapter
will ever have. And it's not that far away from the bridge pickup either, which will have
an even bigger effect on it (and vice versa).
I just see it as a huge
improvement over its previous location and it saves me having to drill holes in the
guitar.
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Studio Support Gnome
Not so Miserable Git
Joined: 22/07/03
Posts: 8995
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: --]
#594602 - 23/03/08 11:24 PM
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granted , and all fair enough mate.... Captain Pedant was merely passing thru and
it's the last part I'm particularly impressed with....  hope you're having a wail of a time with it !
-------------------- if you don't know who i am, i aint gonna tell you.
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594670 - 24/03/08 09:47 AM
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Ta for that Wonks. I see that there's both Strat and humbucker mounting plates available,
so I might get one of each and see if the h/b fits on one of my Gordon Smiths.
--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594674 - 24/03/08 10:00 AM
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The drawback with the humbucker one is that the way the holes are drilled, you can't
re-fit your mounting ring over the top of the plate, so you use the plate to attach the
humbucker mounting screws. This leaves the pickup standing pretty proud of the guitar.
Looks like it's designed for guitars where the bridge humbucker is very near the bridge
so there isn't normally enough space to mount the GK because of the thickness of the
pickup mounting ring.
It's a shame they don't make another version which allows
you to re-fit the mounting ring over the top (you might have to file it down to stop it
becoming too high), but the current offering doesn't leave enough space for you to do
that, even if you drill your own holes.
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594675 - 24/03/08 10:02 AM
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You'd think that he'd at least spray them in nice colours ... black, white or metallic
should cover a lot of bases. Still, another little job on the list...
-------------------- Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#594677 - 24/03/08 10:03 AM
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I don't think he does them for bases.
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2pods
Joined: 12/10/04
Posts: 23
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: --]
#594961 - 24/03/08 10:51 PM
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I was looking at the metal things too. However, I'm in the process of selling my
Tokai, and my Variax doesn't have ANY pickups, so it's back to double sided tape. I always find with tape the GK tips/leans over towards the bridge because of the weight
of the cable  What did you think of the RR strat ? Usual mex quality ?
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#595033 - 25/03/08 08:18 AM
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I thought of getting a Variax to put the GK on to create a very versatile guitar. but
decided against it as it would have meant running the Variax on batteries if I'd wanted to
plug the guitar in through the GK pickup (as this wouldn't pass through the phantom
power). To make use of the remote power option for the variax, you'd need to run two
cables to the guitar, which I thought was rather unwieldy.
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arkieboy
member
Joined: 07/11/02
Posts: 379
Loc: Oxfordish
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: --]
#595040 - 25/03/08 09:03 AM
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Although my experience is rather old, I always found running my natural guitar sound
through the CD24/GK lead was unacceptably noisy. Tried everything - resistors, lifting
the screening, lifting the earth... in the end I just cable tied the GK lead to a guitar
lead using the guitar lead to offer some strain protection for the much more expensive
synth lead. I'll be buying an Axon unit in a few weeks myself - hoping this is
one part of guitar synthesis that has changed!
-------------------- arK music
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--
active member
Joined: 29/05/03
Posts: 6085
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: arkieboy]
#595072 - 25/03/08 10:25 AM
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There's certainly a small ground loop happening when I plug in the guitar to an amp and
the GR-20 to an active PA speaker which I need to sort out - DI box on the GR-20 output
should do it - but the guitar output isn't noisy at all on its own on my unit.
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Dave B
Joined: 03/04/03
Posts: 5368
Loc: Maidenhead
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#596038 - 27/03/08 10:19 AM
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Woo. And Hoo. I finally managed to pick it up from the Post Office and get it home. Which
is nice. So I've sticky'd it onto my GS Graf, plugged it all in and got it working. Nice.
It's a bit rough and ready so tracking isn't amazing at the moment, but still playable. I
might bite the bullet and drill some holes for the pickup on another guitar though and
fine tune the pickup that way. But I can see the attraction of having a piezo bridge
driving it - no faffing or fiddling, all built in. Suddenly that Godin looks quite
appealing....
-------------------- Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)
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richship
Joined: 21/03/08
Posts: 2
Loc: Baltimore, USA
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#599314 - 03/04/08 01:33 PM
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Can someone post a link to the adapter plate guy? My search skills are failing me for some
reason.
I'm installing a GK (actually a Yamaha G1D) and the humbucker is too
close to the bridge, so I could use that HB ring/GK adapter I know I've seen before. I'd
like to at least try it before getting out the router.
Thanks.
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arkieboy
member
Joined: 07/11/02
Posts: 379
Loc: Oxfordish
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: Dave B]
#599322 - 03/04/08 01:52 PM
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hmm - DI box, now that was one thing I never tried... and I can't think why either. Can
you report back when you've tried it? The plates fit the wider, later pickups,
mine will need drilling to fit my smaller GK2. But the quality is great, and the steel
looks fab on my black Eggle! Very industrial. Try searching e-bay for 'pickup
mounting plate' Steve
-------------------- arK music
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richship
Joined: 21/03/08
Posts: 2
Loc: Baltimore, USA
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Re: Roland GR/GK - any particular guitar?
[Re: arkieboy]
#599442 - 03/04/08 06:32 PM
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Found and bought the mounting plate, thanks. The exchange rate is rough these days. I
assume you UK guys getting some good deals.
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