I Love / Hate the Roland GR-55 Guitar Synth 

I've had one for about 7 years and use it live as well and your spot on my friend excellent job! Thanks

Excellent video. Could you please post somewhere the mods you did to get the SEND / RETURN jacks?

After using the GR-33 for over a year and having to haul around a set of pedals to process the "straight guitar" sound, I wanted an all-in-one solution, and the GR-55 seemed to be the perfect solution. I tried for about a month to get the GR-55 set up the way I wanted, with similar-sounding synth patches to those in my GR-33, and similar-sounding guitar patches to the "straight guitar" stuff I do with external effects (a Zoom G3 multi-effects pedal in this case), but actually trying to use the unit was pretty annoying and never got any better -- all of the issues you enumerate here were things I encountered. In addition, the GR55 cannot be "played" by anything other than its pitch-to-MIDI thingy, driven by the pickups in an appropriately-equipped guitar - I can't plug a keyboard MIDI controller into it and play its sounds (which would have simplified my gear a little more, as I also play keyboards). Also, I had a lot of issues getting "ghost notes", even when turning down the string sensitivity, and messing with the other various settings, and trying my various GK-2A- and GK-3-equipped guitars (and even my Godin xtSA). I feel like I gave the GR-55 a fair shake, and still couldn't really fall in love with it. I ended up selling it and sticking with my old, tried-and-true GR-33+G3 solution. So I definitely agree with pretty much everything you've said in this video. Cheers, and best of luck to you, Mr. Russell!

I have owned mine since it came out. I am a gear junkie. This unit still amazes me with all that is going on. And there is. Took me some time to adjust and learn the product. Tracking is amazing with the Godin guitar i bought for it. I get called in to do sessions with different artists to do piano, synth and even some trumpet. 12 string patches are very cool. But be forewarned, this unit is set up the way YoU want. let someone else play it and it wont be the same. Will keep me happy well into retirement for me.

You keep saying that your reviews get people to buy this, but this review has pretty much talked me out of getting it

Hi Kennis I have a question dont know if u will see this or not. Apparently there is a light that needs to be replaced? I have had mine 6 years and now I have no light which makes it hard to use because I have to go sound..I don't see anything on youtube about parts replacements. The exit button no longer works either. Yikes.

Good show, Kennis! I used the 33 for about 10 years, had designed my patches, about 8 of which i had 2 keyboards and basses on last 2 strings. So I could provide my acoustic guitar sound with 2 keys and a bass. This was nice in groups that had no bass or keys, just guitars and drums. I loved being able to do guitar out, into FX pedal, back in, then mix all sounds from my guitar live. Now with 55 I have to figure a new way to do this, maybe install 1/4" input, output like you did. I guess we have to manufacture our own pedals!

He is absolutely right!!! I abandoned Roland synths and went with the Fishman Triple Play system... Roland dropped the ball with this!!!

I'm glad that I never bought a GR-55. I have a Carvin Holdsworth HF2S Fatboy with a graphtech hexaphonic synth controller. Thanks for sharing your vast experience using the GR-55. Your "complaints" are valid and the very reasons I will never buy this unit. Thinking of getting an older GR-20. It'll suit my needs better. 🙏

I am so glad i saw this video. I'll just keep my Gr-20 with my Line 6 Standard and keep waiting for something better from some other company, or....

Thank u. Makes me realize I should stay with my current set up(BOSS GT 5 & Roland GR 30) instead of buying the totally lacking GR 55. I mean I want those new features and sounds and probably responsiveness however. With my Godin LGX SA I run the synth into 2 inputs for stereo through 13 pin connector, the processor sounds go into 2 more inputs for stereo from the first 1/4" plug and the piezo acoustic sound through the second 1/4" plug uses a fifth mono input. Midi out runs Logic Pro X Instruments for a Total of Four separate sounds I can blend or isolate at once from playing the guitar. And I Have no shortage of control pedals. Brilliant! I love and live with Roland and BOSS products so here's hoping they are listening. Cheers to them and you and everyone...

Hey Kennis, thanks for all the vids and info, it's good of you to give your time, I appreciate it. Just a question, I notice a lot of people change the pickups in the XTSA, why did you and which pups did you choose?

Is there any way to permanently disengage the expression pedal for all patched?

Roland GR 20 is the best when it comes with the knobs, easy to control.

Good comments on design flaws. Once you get on the VL extreme; then you can add more problems.

I have not been playing my GR-55 recently but when I did, I always used a floor controller like the Behringer FCB1010. Switching and controlling patches has never been easy.

I agree and I am more of a button pusher. What I was used to on older Roland Synths was being able to split analog guitar and synth, but on the gr55 you have to go in and actually fugure it out.

Apparently you can assign 8 different effect levels (on/off or various levels with exp pedal) to the 3 ways of switching (exp pedal/pedal on off and CTRL. It would be easier to have 8 seperate switches but it's not as bad as just having the control switch.

I bought my GR-55 partially because of you years back. I bought it when I was 14 as a gift to myself. Mainly because I had cheap gear up to that point, and figured instead of getting a $$$ cab, $$$ pedals and a bunch of new guitars, this thing seemed to do all of those things in one package. Hooked it up to $400 ibanez guitar, and while I had a lot of fun with it, I think it heavily stunted me. Everything I recorded or played left a sour taste in my mouth. To this day it still sounds bad, and I kinda wish I didn't buy it because it turns me off playing electric. I guess on in a positive way it made me play more acoustic.

Hi all. So this was designed and made over 10 years ago. Has there been an updated better version made??

hmmm I dunno man... I don't think you are coming at this pedal from the right angle. For one, this pedal pretty much requires a midi controller like the Behringer FCB1010. Even if it had say 4 switches on there, it wouldn't be close to enough. I don't think its fair to complain about the number of switches or what they do because you really should be getting a midi controller anyway. I also don't see the purpose of the fx loop. It has its own built in fx loop that you can move pretty much anywhere and putting a distortion pedal or any other pedal you normally put in front of the amp before it just seems kinda useless and I dont think would sound all that great tbh. Just use an A/B switch to route to remedy your complaint about what if you have to use another guitar that does not have the GK. This pedal is like a brain that you need to buy a body for it separately. I would prefer to choose the body (ie type of midi controller I want) myself anyway. Also, I think the menu interface is "there if you need it." It should be set up on the computer.

Wow, watching this video a second time, I'm sticking with my Roland GR-33 and VG-8 units from circa 2000. However, the Roland SY-300 looks like it might be fun for some experimentation in the traditional synthesizer/oscillator sense, with no need for the 13 pin GK cable, letting you use more guitars readily with your regular 1/4" cables and jack input. I have a Godin LGXT and LGX-SA hard tail, which are both amazing instruments, with or without the synth, but it works very well with them, for sure (used the LGXT/GR-33 combo on a lot of paid gigs). I do have an issue with the LGX-SA not holding the cable in, so might need the receptacle 13 pin GK input replaced. I haven't found any local folks yet that work on them at the moment. TBD. Somehow I found the LGX-SA used in a rare cherry sunburst. Makes a great Les Paul too, and the third voice acoustic circuit is great too. Lots of convenient controls on those guitars, for all three "voices" or circuits. Heavy out on gigs though, get a wide 3" or greater, well padded strap.

I hear yah Ken...I used it live for gigs...small 3 pc act...but yeah u really gotta adjust so many variables even with the saved patches I made...like the sounds but ...yeah...it’s a lot of work in a band situation.....I like it though ...it’s fun....

Since Godin designed their guitar to work directly with the GR-55 I am thinking I am stuck buying this brand. Do you have any other guitar synth you have tried. Planning on purchasing in a month. either their Multiac nylon or steel string or the XTSA you bought. Been playing 40+ years and had the Roland GR-30 years back. Blessings, Brian

Great video! Do you really think Roland will present a new Version of GR in 2019?

I totally agree with all of your observations about the GR-55. I've used almost every guitar synth Roland has made and this one is an incredibly bad design. In fact, I was so frustrated with it that I sold all of my Roland gear and reinvested the money in a Line 6 Variaxe and Helix set up. The guitar sounds are leagues ahead of the Roland and I'm planning on adding an Electro-Harmonix pedal to cover the synth sounds.

Whens he get on with it?

I had mine for a long time as well. Your pros are pretty much the same for everybody :-) but your cons I kind of disagree with some of them well not so much disagree but I have no complaints about some of them. But there is a few of your cons I do agree with. Now it's like from the the silence you get between switching patches, I haven't really noticed that with the units mainly because I've only used it for recording so far. But I know one thing when I was going doing live stage work I was using the RP one and the RP 12 from the DigiTech. And yes they are very notorious for the silence between patching. That's why I had hooked up two units both the 1 and 12 just so I can switch easily on the main one which was the 12 and still have the one filling in the blanks!! :-) so basically I use the 12 for my main one and having the one as a little tiny background filler. Which I hardly ever really switch patches with. :-) so yeah the DigiTech units definitely had that major issue which I didn't like either. The other thing I don't like about the gr 55 even with the module that one person release to help with Ghost Notes doesn't really all that work much at all. And I didn't like the GODIN freeway midi pickup. To me the transducers just did not work right at all . It made so much noise all over the place. I do like the gk3 a lot better.

Can you research the Tight Tele Stack. Exp On Mod settings? The max setting is an unknown code. Maybe you know someone who can explain.

download the gr55 floor board......problem solved......all roland stuff is like that steep learning curve.....but very versatile

As far as the straight guitar out on the back of the gr55, why couldn't you just plug your guitar out into your external effects pedal and send that to your sound person?

Kennis, how did you wire the EFX "'loop" ?

I just got my Roland Guitar Synth I bought in 2005 out of the attic and have tried to crank it up again. There is delay between plucking a note and hearing it, which I didn't notice when I first had it. I've noticed on other GR55 reviews that others have complained about this - obviously it makes the machine utterly useless. Anyone else had this problem? Is my machine faulty?

Spot on Kennis, i got rid of mine ( always the terrible tracking !, in my opinion the GR20 tracked better ), how could Roland drop the ball so badly, look at what Electro Harmonix are doing with their 9 pedals, Wake Up Roland !

I saw and I know many people who sold their GR-55 because of frustration they can not use the equipment. In fact, it's not very easy to use ... I have my 7 years ha and until I use only 3 acoustic patches, I love my gr-55, I would never sell it, but I agree that Roland has complicated the synthesizer's features too much . however, there is an excellent forum on GR-55 where members are very good at extracting the maximum that the Gr-55 can offer. There are also many patches available for download free of charge, as well as an excellent graphical patch editor for Windows, fully graphical and easy to use, free to download. The forum address is: www.vguitarforums.com visit if you do not know yet, you'll like it. hugs from Brazil

I totally agree, and I am one of the guys who you helped Roland sell me a GR55 as well as teach me how to use it before it even arrived! It's a shame some issues can't be addressed in a firmware update. I've always thought the fixed patches were rubbish and a rushed out waste of fixed memory space. I also think some of the sounds (as opposed to patches) are totally unusable too like the comedian sound effects etc, although some I once thought were unusable ended up in some slightly psychedelic tracks here: ru-vid.com/show-UCU9W1LQV6bt5i6fNI1wkheg. The GR55 is still awesome for a guitarist recording at home (me) but like you say, it's not such a great design and it's functionality could be vastly improved, I'd also like it to have an overall smaller footprint. Thanks for a great video!

I'm a ugandan in qatar hw much is one now?

Roland/Boss functionality have always been piss poor. I own the GR55 & RC300 loop station and they both are painfully difficult to figure out.

I was just given one of these by a friend and so far I can only come up with a list of things it CAN'T do. Primarily and most importantly being input midi cleanly and efficiently and play it's audio through a DAW at all. Not to mention the whole process of dealing with this thing un-necessarily convoluted. It's like Roland freaked about not having a product in this category out so they just whipped it together and said, "Here, you figure it out!" They even say on their website that they won't be able to help you with any questions regarding the GR-55. So in other words. Don't trust Roland.

Black panther: Get this man a shield... i mean new roland synth

Yes, you are right! i was never satisfied with the roland products. they give a lot but their engineers should think a lot to make it easy for contractors. they would have to work hard and make it easier for customers to use. however, this has not been the case for years. probably the whole management is not doing enough.

Roland Customer service is not good in fact just to send them a email is a pain !

First, let me say I am on a fixed income and what I buy has to work, or I waste the little money I have on something useless. I have lot's of time on my hands, but not so much to get a "PhD in GR-55" by studying the manual for 6 years before I ever use it... sounds terrifying. -- I am very interested in the Godin xtSA from your video review on it. Along with that I have been considering the GR-55, until I heard this "all hate" video from you. There is nothing on here about anything you "love." -- One of the questions I have for you is... if you want to run straight guitar sounds (extra pedals, etc) to the mix, why doesn't the 1/4" out of the xtSA guitar help you do that? Isn't that the idea of buying the 3-in-one guitar thing? But then you got cables hanging off the guitar... My first guitar synth was in 1979. I was one of the 300 people who actually owned an ARP Avatar guitar synth. The pickup never worked right, and it became just a piece of "techno-crap." From this video, and most of the comments below, it just seems like this GR-55 is another worthless piece of "techno crap" that makes the huge conglomerate corporation lots of money, but leaves the buying public holding a lot of false promises/ I still don't think they've conquered or improved the guitar synthesizer idea for 40+ years of making attempts. -- Sounds like I'd save a ton of money by buying a used GR-33 instead, and maybe going the extra bucks for the Line 6 Helix. But that's $1,500 away and living on disability that means its about 6 months away if I can find a music store nice enough to give me an extended lay-a-way. Still making technology for rich people I see... Maybe I'll just stick with pedals only for my street ministry... meanwhile people are going to hell every day and I need to be out there. Guitar synth or no...

What if we draw a design to the next gr series 😂

I have never been happy with the GR55 live. I have used guitar synths since the GR1 firs came out many year ago. I have had every version since. I still use the GR1. It has better sounds as far as I am concerned. Especially the "growling sax". I can't get that with any other version. The GR55 had some great ideas and does have some great features but they didn't make it user friendly. I have messed with them for several years and never been happy playing them live. I wish they had taken the best of the previous versions forward and just added new features. But instead they left off the most important tones and features of previous versions, especially like the GR1. I don't know what happened with Roland. If they come out with a new version I hope they listen to people who are actually using this stuff, like you Kennis, and others and not just let the computer programmers run wild. Real working musicians, like guitarist should be at the top of their list

I gigged a GR55 in a covers band for 3 years and loved it. Yes it's quirky and flawed but it's still an amazing piece of kit. You're right about the presets, they are pointless and useless but wrong about the controls. Using the assigns and switches you can get at least 5 variations on each patch. It's far better than changing patches. You need to be able to work the interface on the fly but I found it best to use the 3rd party software for creating patches and developing them using headphones they were pretty close for final use maybe with some tweaks during rehearsal. For gigging I just pressed the buttons and it worked every time. You set it up then it just does the job. It's a compact, flexible and powerful unit when you learn how use it properly. The 13 pin cable is a pain but a small price to pay for what you get. I did acoustics, synths, altered tunings and multiple sounds. It's classic Roland. Brilliant but flawed.

Why would they give you a GR55 for your comments…..Apparently you have not figured out how to use this device....Yes it is designed to have each function programed. It does take time. If you knew how to use it properly your would have figured out how to link it to your computer, then it is a breeze to configure.

Tons of good points, but the guitar out CAN be programmed to include the guitar/amp/effects models. To be fair, changing it from the way it comes out of the box isn't super intuitive.

Just as an add on, I have various Roland products and it's fair to say pretty much everything they do is very good but so hard to learn, like you say you HAVE to read the manual!!! C'mon Boss/Roland.... we play guitars!!!!

Lol, Guitar Center employees get befuddled when you ask them for a set of 12 string electric strings, much less a new guitar synth

I understand the frustration! But you really need to get in the computer side of things! Everything can be controlled with third party controller via MIDI, Korg sells one $150, Behringer simple one $100, the more complex X is $179 to $579, and allows access to everything the menu won’t let you. Trust me! Watch a few keyboard synth videos on the subject. The smooth transition is a new thing. An update may fix that in the future, if the synth is capable of it. I know the new 800 is. Also use a midi foot pedal like the Behringer $179 lifesaver! No offense, you’re not in the analog guitar world anymore. I have three boards all connected together with midi, the Boss RC300, the GT1000, and the GR-55 then the GR-55 is also plugged into my Integra 7 (Roland synth) the arc-300 into my Boss 880 drum machine, the Gt-1000 via FX loop all my EHX, Earthquaker etc… and all of it to my IPad for midi control. It’s not simple! Plus I have Modular and VST to deal with. My foot Pedal has 16 pads and a expression pedal. Then I pick my most used and route them to a boss midi 5 pedal. I’m not going to lie to you,it sounds complicated and it is, but once you get it the way you want it, it’s golden! Use a table, not the floor, have metal stands for iPads and controllers, and a laptop! Your not a guitar player anymore, your a synthesist! Peace

Hey Kennis, you might of sold a lot of units from your vids but you have also saved a bunch of people from buying this unit and for that I/We thank you for helping us to not make a mistake. Your points are all valid and I can hope that Roland are listening. You should be working for Roland in their product development because the guys they currently have don't know $hit.

Like your video! Roland should be improve this Synth, assuming the cost of this one, it should be more practical with many functions and post tutorials about its settings. Roland think more in the musicians

Just want to say how much your GR-55 tutorials have helped me get the most out of this great synth unit...Thank you...!! You mention you changed the pickups of your Godin ... what did you go for...?

The program he's talking about is probably GR Floorboard, by Gumtown at V-Guitar Forums. I wouldn't even try to use my GR55 without this program.

I truly don't mean to be rude wth my comments here, but you clearly do not understand some basics of industrial design, dsp chipsets, manufacturing processes, product pricepoints. Of all your complaints 99% fall into personal preference/experience/interpritation, which is perfectly fine, but doesn't mean the unit sucks (which is basically what you are saying in this video). I wouldn't hold your breath for Roland to send you a new version in the future - your view is myopic, too narrow, too personal. The fact that you dont understand why there isn't a 1/4" input illustrates a lack of understanding of what is going on with a unit like this. Again, I dont at all mean to make it personal because it's not, but what they created here and packed into this unit froma technology standpoint for approx $700 is truly impressive. Perfect - not even close...but still awesome and a great value. What other option do you have? If it was easy, there would bne a pile of guitar synths on the market.

I work for roland, I programmed the unit. I apologize I was drunk and doing crack. You remind me of Blake Shelton. I agree with you, I'm currently working at McDonald's.

A little late to this party but wanted to add my observations. First I want to say that I have watched many of Kennis' posts and gained a lot from them. Many kudos for the continued great work. Most of the points that he makes on this particular post are valid but IMHO a few are misdirected. I've been using the GR55 for 5 years in a live environment. In doing covers I'm able to add strings, sitar, flute, sax, alternate tunings, Hammond B3 (with leslie), Rhodes and acoustic piano. All this along with some pretty fantastic COSM models to boot giving me great tones for anything from Gilmore to Santana. Is it a lot of work and a general PITA? Yes, undoubtedly. Are the 900 factory preset patches a waste of time and money? Absolutely! But in my experience the GR55 is worth every penny I paid for it and has paid for itself many times over. The biggest single issue I had was with the cheap 13 pin cable that was shipped with it. I was constantly struggling with induced notes, crackling, pops and other noises when the cable was moved. I replaced the original cable pretty quickly with another cheap ($20) cable assuming that I just had a lemon. The problem didn't go away though until I bought a not so cheap ($75) replacement from Gittler Instruments (gittlerinstruments.com/d13-cables). That was 4.5 years ago and haven't had the noise problem since. One other point that I wanted to touch on. Kennis' leading comments on pedal function would be well placed if the GR55 was a guitar effects pedal. To be clear, the GR55 is NOT an effects pedal, even though it can be used to accomplish that function. It is a synthesizer with guitar effects and COSM built in. Being able to assign 3 separate patches to pedals 1, 2 and 3 is certainly a royal pain BUT so was growing callouses when I started playing guitar 50 years ago. The switch on the XTSA guitar (as well as on the GK3 pickup) switches between patch BAYS (1 thru 99) with each bay having 3 patches which are then selected using the 3 pedals. The system is flawed and doesn't lend itself well to live performing without some glitches. Once you get all the sounds you want you may still have to go in every now and then to 'align' 3 patches in the same bank but only if you're going to be using multiple voices in the same song. The answer to all of that though is to use MIDI to select your patches, but that's another story altogether. Peace!

I went to this from the GR-1, and I Can't. Live. Without. It. My biggest quibble is when you change certain parameters it screws up the other patches, which can ruin a gig. I don't expect Roland to do a newer version of this anytime soon, as so few people know what to do with one. Their new gtr synth would be useless to me. In one night I have to use Tele, Rick 12, nylon string, piano, flute, LP/Marshall, banjo, 𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮. Not sure Roland consulted real working musicians. The MIDI implementation sucks too. I guess it's like a B-29 - you need it to win the war, but the engines keep catching on fire.

I took like a duck to water with the GR55. I experienced none of these gripes. It is almost an appendage now after all these years. Love it.

Any news about the Boss SY-1000? Did they send you one for testing? You desserve it....

I just sent an email to roland about this video. oct 26, 2018. its about time they hear us out.

I Can't live without it, but I agree with almost everything that you said. Even the exp pedal they should put two. I'm still waiting for the new one.

Hello, Kenniss! I am a new subscriber - great video; spot on! These matters; and also an extra double Ctrl connection would have been great if was added to this legendary great beast of a guitar synth! I have been using Roland and Boss since late -70,s. GR-300, GR-700, GR-50 (still have it), VG-88 etc! But GR-55 has changed my approach to play guitar, improvising, composing and creating musical soundscapes! BUT I am sorry that they have made a lot of compromises - like you have explained, some chain controls and the great intelligent harmonizer from GX-700 and VG-88. I also agree with most users complaining of the presets that ame along with the factorysettings. I mean - what happens in Roland group? They create such a great beast like GR-55; people buy it, go home, unpack the box - to discover that there are no useful great synthesizer sounds AT ALL? Just patches of guitaristic sounds blended with weird sounds... Why dont they spend a little time and effort - or find people to help them out - on order to make more synth patches that sound fantastic, and that are useful for guitarists that are thinking out of the box??? But anyway - I just love it! I have spent thosands of hours tweaking and experimenting, and I have posted two demo,s of patches of ambient dreamy landscapes - easy to use in a musocal way. I troed to find your mail adress with no luck. I hope it is ok to send it here, hope you see it, and it would be great to hear from you about what you think! 🙏 I have also made some very useful system settings for the GK controller. 🎸🐻 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DBKwpHX8hNg.htmlsi=ToRgFi-CH4MiwPVa

You can pan the processed guitar left and the synths right, then they come out of the left and right outputs. So you can send them to your front of house sound person to process separately. The only thing you lose is stereo effects.

Hello Kennis, are you think is it possible a New Roland Synth in next NAMM 2019?

Also, the tempo is lost when you change patches so if you configure multiple patches for one song you need to program the tempo as well in order to use sync'd effects like delay. It really sucks that they don't allow direct 1/4" guitar input to use as an effects pedal. Kennis thanks for all the videos you've made on this. I just ordered the Meloaudio controller and can't wait to have stomp box mode. What a HUGE oversight on Roland's part on these many features, regardless of the reason. For the price I am quite disappointed in this product. There are things that I love about it, but I would not recommend it.

The BIGGEST design flaw is the plethora of crap sounds that nobody in their right mind would ever want to inflict on the public. A Bought one, tried it and got rid as it was a waste of money👎🏻

Thanks! You are great! You pointed out every problem that I’ve encountered. You are a great asset for Boss to design a perfect guitar synth. They should thank you and reward you for this video.

After having so much fun with my GR20 which i used with my pedal multi effects modeler I couldnt wait to jump into the GR55 and then sold my GR20 Thats when the fun ended for me Maybe if i loved all of the hours and hours of programming and tweaking trying to figure out what sounds i wanted and or liked best i mightve loved it but i gotta say i just never loved all the tweaking and started really missing what it was like just playing my instrument That was over 5 years ago I love the GR20 and just scored one today in mint condition with the GK3 for $180 and am stoked!!!!

Hello Kennis I remember watching your videos back in the day and they were instrumental (pun intended) in my purchase of the GR55. To this day it is still my favorite piece of gear even with it's flaws, the worst being an occasional stinker note on the piano based patches. You are so right Roland was lackluster in not creating an editor for something so complex. I hope the next version will be more user friendly and even contain some of the rich sounds from the GR20. Though not editable the GR20 had some beautiful sounds despite it's latency issues. Take care sir thank you for your videos. I hope Roland will remember you when and if another version is developed.

own mine for a decade, but only recently learned that tracking (in particular on my 8-string Conklin) could be improved by adding a (quite cheap) subsonic filter wich dramatically improves tracking with piezo pickups... not needed for the original Roland magnetic pickup, but... for me, about 75 Euro (with VAT and shipping) worth the game!

Great video... I have watched all of your other training videos. I bought a GR-55 last year but found it very hard to navigate and configure, as you have pointed out. I also was not too fond of the 13-pin cable. I use this with my Godin Multiac and XTSA guitars. I think the sounds are fantastic and that is the only thing that keeps me linked. I think the GM-800 has solved some of the issues you mentioned here, and I was wondering if you have tried this unit. I think it is very overpriced, but maybe it is worth it. Any thoughts?

as an avid fan of Roland gear from synths to grooveboxes its typical of them to take what you want and spread it over many product lines,, very frustrating,, for example they put crumby sample time on their fx board's but yet they do awesome samplers!

Hi, Can you use this sound : 80s brass 7 with audio player ? this sound cut out when i use audio player 😮

I love my PCM sounds on mine....but hate the guitar/amp modeling! The synth stuff almost makes it worth the time and money invested, but the I pull up a guitar patch? Makes me wanna sell the damn thing! I use a boss gp-10...guitars great, but synth is limited. And amp modeling sucks! So, I have to run both thru a us20 a/b/y and normal guitar thru a line 6....too much just to do what gr-55 should do anyway

I cant figure out the Tight Tele Stack set up. It controls EQ boost with EXP pedal. Look under the EXPON / MOD CONTROL /. MIN ( 20 Hz ) and MAX set to crazy code, 0” / / iShC( …………… and unknown characters. Check it out. I like the effect but can’t build from scratch. Whats up with that?

Hey Kennis. I have had my GR 55 for over 2 years now (one of the reasons I bought it was watching your videos about it). I also lead worship at my church and have been through my fair share of equipment. (from a Zoom pedal to the BOSS ME 70 playing through a VOX valvetronix). Instead of changing guitars on the stage, I just change a patch which makes life really easy up there (and less time setting up and down). I absolutely LOVE the GR 55 and have not looked back. Having said all that I have to agree with most of what you said above. However, I have definitely worked ways around it. Especially the usability. I plug my pedal up to my PC and use a third-party application to edit the sounds, which makes it FAAAAAR easier to work with. It is still, by far, the best workstation for a musician who sometimes plays solo on stage :)

glad I watched this, I was going to by one I picked up a Godin Freeway with a 13 pin controller built in but meh, I'll keep looking.. there is another guy who tapped into the 7th and 13th pin on the other side and uses it for a guitar jack, works, easy mod but FFS no guitar input? dafugg is it for, a keyboard? fookin roland... the einsteins of the effects world... lolololololololololo

Thanks! You saved me from making an $800 frustrating mistake

i love my gr30... but this GR55 SUCKS... its not even a synthrsizer its more like a crappy modelling monsterous pedal.. yeah i know if you got a masters degree in software writing and you bring you screw driver hammer and soldering iron you can get into this thing and find some lame versions of piano and sax sounds but this is a far cry from their fairly easier to use and access synth sounds pedals from days long gone by..there are so many more things wrong with this piece of crap rhar its almost impossible to keep track of..too bad it was not a lemon model but this thing sucks intentionally..what happened did one of the higher up in roland lose a bet with some other company..or were they too busy destroying the genius that was the yourock guitar? i don't know but the world of the guitar synth is freaking embarrassing..we can go to mars but we cant make a descent guitar synth..roland has got this market on lock with its nazi monopoly of the guitar synth world its borderline if not out right illegal..someone in congress really should do somerthing about this companys practices in regards to the guitar synth..from that stupid propietary 13 pin connect the joke that is the gr55 with its pickup its all cr-APPLE based business practices that actually makes them less money but i guess it gives them more power?? power to make guitar music suck even more than it has been being offered to the public by these morons who pick the most most bone head versions of an instrument that is capable of such dynamic ranges of harmonic possiblities and is the ultimate accompanyist for singers and song writers and expressive quality of tones and colors that it has no rival its an entire orchestra that you can take anywhere and dont even need electricity ..sorry pianists but its true and you dam well know it !!!..gosh i think i need to write a book cause these rants in comments like the gr55 just dont cut it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ps at least any mispelling shows that i and not half-a-gram-really or some other think for me product wrote what you are reading... so inconclusion blah blah blah......oh and on a serious note ................... Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour... :).

Had anyone have their gr-55 pedal malfunction? The sound breaks up when pressing volume pedal. Notice when applying volume slowly it crackles …. Then sounds normal after getting pass that …. No longer able to. blend patches in a subtle way…

Engineers understand neither the practical use of products nor how to inductively apply the math and analytics they spent years learning to solve real-life problems. They only know their little world of electronics and their narrow minded mangers' instructions. Managers also live in a totally different world that understands even less than the engineers, nothing but finance and accounting. AI will possibly replace such engineers and managers. However, It will possibly also replace musicians too.

i love mine....that being said its taken me 3 yrs to have an understanding of filters. evelopes, ect. i use mine for old school, synth sounds and its perfect for that, the gr55 floorboard editor is a life saver, there are also midi footswitchs that open up a world of switching possibilities. the thing is awsome. its not for someone who does not want to study and alter their playing to suit the device. what do ppl expect from a synth?

The reason, I believe, you can't plug in a 1/4" cable to use the effects is the unit needs a digital signal provided by the gk3 pickup.

Coming from the Roland VG-88, I hate multi-purposed pedals like those up and down bank ones.Thats actually the main reason why I didn't buy this unit.

Tame Impala's Currents album changed the game and pushed the limits for sounds on the GR-55

Well said Kennis, True on every point....and not applying effects to the guitar out!!! What the hell were they thinking??? It never crossed my mind when I bought one that they wouldn’t do that.

can I control VST's in Logic and get a MIDI notation readout via USB with GR55? Thank you

Is there a floor unit that can produce guitar FX and wind / instruments, ALL IN ONE, without any additional attachments to be fixed onto the guitar?

You might as well get over the fact that Roland doesn't care about people over a certain age because they are marketing to young people. We are old. Because the people working at Roland are young. They design things for the gamer generation who can multi task like crazy and and do things on the synch 2 X faster than you. They can remember 2 X more than you as well. I can't see why you would want to change that much on the fly any way unless you want to be a one man band. As far as asking for freebees to review, that's just sad.

Beyond Roland engineers not understanding end users' needs and desires, modern musicians themselves don't understand music. Music and songs are the harmonic layering of sounds to create dissonance and resolution, giving the effect of color, mood, and, most importantly, motion. Cool orchastra blends of synthesizer sounds may even make such a feat more difficult. The one unsung genius of combining and orchestrating modern sounds into songs was the Beatles studio sound engineer.

Hi ! I have the black version of the GR-55 (any difference from the blue one ?) I wanted to ask you what you think about the GR-55 as an audio card in terms of pre-amp quality. As you know, you can connect it to any DAW (I use Cubase) & use it as an asio audio card (only for the guitar connected to it - no mic input in GR-55). Do you recomend use it as audio card for the guitar or if I have a dedicated pro audio card connect the GR-55 to that audio card & record from it (I use the SPL Crimson 3) ?

pre- programmed sounds. So you should be able to make up your own and store anyway and put in any sequence for each song. Download settings for each song by song # and adjust it all live with foot control ?

The 13 pin cable seems very fragile compared to 1/4" . The cables are also expensive because they are proprietary. I bet anyone that came up with a 13 pin Blutooth wireless unit would make a mint. It's nice that grfloorboard exists but Roland should have included a web app available via the USB/MIDI interface to accomplish the same thing. That's fairly standard on configurable USB connected devices. You're absolutely correct about the patch selection interface. It makes no sense that I can change banks on the GK-3 but then have to go to the stomp switches to select the patch in that bank, or twirl the rotary select. The fact that in a MIDI setting none of the patches can be used is annoying. The first rule of digital devices is: make it hackable and encourage hacking. You will get a fan community and a cottage industry around your product that supports niche features you can't afford to work on. Roland is thinking like an old school stomp box company when they should be thinking like a computer company.

Hello ı m from Holland how can we solve the problem ghost sound. İs opt 01 availeble ? Thank for your time

It seems that most of the complaints are sort of the life of a keyboardist (going through the manual, configuring patches, grouping them appropriately). Perhaps Roland picked up their keyboard synth engineers to design GR-55 but didn't really thought of what would be a guitarist mindset

Thank you ,for your honesty. I have to find some other fx. This vid help me,to save my money

Roland do really need to come out with a new version of this GR55, how old is it really 11 years already ?

So far, nothing from Roland. Maybe they gave up on guitar synths?