Roland GR-09 Guitar Synthesizer

Pretty simple- good manual and lots of options/features. It's not as easy as the GR-1 but it's not made with as much functionality. Example- the display is a very simple three character set up. Same group/bank/patch identification and location process for the sounds. It's pretty easy to use given all that it can do.

Sounds are very nice. I love the contra-bass, and many of the pads are good. The horns are better than on the GR-1. The GR-700 synth sound is a classic, LOVE IT. I'm using it plugged into my powered mixer. Built in effects are the same reverb and chorus as on the GR-1, with less onboard ability to tweek the efx, but that's ok.

It's at least 15 years old (best guess is it was made in '93?), and works fine, no problems with switches/knobs/tracking. I'd only worry about the 13 pin cable shorting out, not that they are prone to breaking. It's just that if they do short out or get kinked, they will surely make you sound like crap. Those cables either work or they don't. I've had no problems with the cables I bought 4 years ago, but I do take care of them. The GR-09 itself seems great, no issues, and yes, I would use it without backup.

no opinion, never tried to contact them.

I play various kinds of music, and the GR-09 is very usable. I love the sax(es), the contra-bass, the gr-700, the horns, some of the strings, and a surprising amount of pads, organs, keys sounds.
I've been playing music for 29 years, mostly guitar. If it were lost or stolen, I've got a GR-1 to fill the synth duties, so I'd probably not replace it with the same thing. I'd love to have something with newer patches, but it's not a deal breaker for me. This thing is great.

Roland GR-09 Users Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roland_gr09

Most of the sounds are usable out of the box. The Pianos and Strings are exccelent. It very easy setting up your own patches and the manual I found easy to follow.

Some of the sounds are a bit naff but most of them are very good and shape up well against todays equipment. The Pianos have a richness that stand out, some of the stings and pads are exccelent. Where this really comes in to its own is with the growling sax sound. I love soloing using it. The natural expresivness of playing a guitar blends perfectly with the sax.

Dont bother puting this through a guitar amp. I tried this through several including a Roland JC77 and none of them cut it. Through a PA on the other hand and the GR09 sound vibrant and rich in tone.

I used it live in about 30 odd gigs and never had any problems with it. Its made of plastic but feels solid enough

Never used them

When I origionaly bought this (11-12 years ago) I was playing in covers band doing stuff from Queen, Elvis, Stones, Tina Turner etc... I had been using a GR50 but needed something at my feet and this fitted the bill. Used it on numerous solo's (Queen - I want to break free, Carless Whisper etc) and to pad out the songs (Simply the best, You'll never walk alone etc). It sounded great and tracking was never a problem, at least with its own internal sounds. The only thing I didnt like about this was using it with a PC or external sound module - Tracking really sucked big time.


I recently sold mine as I am moving on to other things but already I miss it. I may replace it or buy a newer model in the near future.

The only reason I'm giving it an 8 in terms of value is because I payed #750 12 years ago. I guess you can pick them up now for around a #100 + GK2 P/U which in my books would give it a full 10

As easy as they could have made it. I have used it for MIDI recording into a 486 computer, which I still use because of the old 16-bit Soundblaster card to which I added a Roland SCDB-7 Sound Canvas wavetable daughterboard. That 10 year old SC board sounds better than the MIDI on new sound cards, and for some reason has less latency.

The realism (or lack of realism) of synth sounds from the guitar synth has to do with bend range, which you can adjust on the GR-09. For example, a piano patch doesn't sound like a piano unless the bend range is set to 0. That way, notes do not bend at all. On the other hand, other instruments such as violins or saxophones can bend notes.

Although I don't find most of the guitar sounds convincing, I still give it a 10. Growling sax is one of my favorite patches. Incredible for live playing.

Very reliable, except the 13-pin cord. wiggle it and you get noises and dropouts. Replacement cords are a good fifty bucks, and there is no cheap substitute.

Never dealt with customer support, but the product is so good I never had to.

I would not want to go without my GR-09. I would replace it with another Roland guitar synth, probably a newer model, at the first opportunity. It gives me powers of sonic expression I wouldn't have otherwise.

Easy to work with and edit sounds. Too bad the display is so small and terse. Manual is quite clear. I should have bought a unit with the expansion card though. Pedal board in conjunction withe the GK2-A is very easy to use to change presets and user sets on the fly.

Nice set of patches of which I mostly use basses, organ and grand piano. Using a Mexican Fat Strat with GK2-A through RP80 guitar pedals then to a Marshall AVT-50 (direct guitar sound) and sending the synth output through the PA or a Yorkville KB100 amp.

So far, it has been holding up very well, and I am using it for rehearsal studio and live activity. Just the 13-pin cord that worries me, so I have backup just in case.

N/A

I play progressive hard rock and metal, and it's very useful for getting the mood and atmosphere sounds as well as extra deep and clean bass for the heavier metal tunes we play. I've been playing for over 35 years and own another Strat and an SG, as well as some other various instruments, effects and amps. I also own a Roland GR-1, which I use at my home studio.

Not to bad to work with the newer units got easier and better sound but, used it can be a bargain.

not too bad in the sound department but, later I hooked it into PC Sound modules (NI FM very cool) and hardware modules. It can get you started just watch out for secondhand pickups your better off with a new one.

Seemed to be reliable enough but, I upgraded pretty quickly so I didn't keep it for more then a year.

Who knows it was secondhand and out of production so, I never tried or had too

Good unit to get started with as they can be bought cheap used.

two knobs step through most of the patch editing.
the 3 digit display is somewhat archaic.
too bad it has no display so you can name your patches but you get 128
bank-group-pedal patch combinations

arguably the best sound tones roland has.
its got two grand pianos and several sax as well as all kinds of horns basses organs synth leads and backing pads.
I have the expanded tone set to go to 360 fron the standard 180 so I also
get sound effects like explosion gun shot thunder and wind

very reliable. rarely needs to be reset or have the expanded sound board reinstalled

have not dealt with roland tech support

works great for pink floyd.
I've been playing for 10 years. I got it with a gig bag and pickup, all cables etc.
if it was lost ot stole i'd look for a replacement or similar unit.
it does help you make music more than it gets in the way
the tracking can be sloppy like other guitar synths, but its ok if you pick and strum close to the pickup

I have used this for at least 5 years now and I still have trouble editing on the fly. I guess part of that is my fondness for fiddling. With that exception the ease of use is quite high. I use it for recordiing live with a godin LGXT into a VGA-3 modelling amp. Between the amp and the synth I can sound like an entire band.

The only reason I dinged it one point is because the GR-30 and GR-33 have better sounds. I love the strings and some of the brass patches but the guitar patches just plain suck but then why would use them on a guitar anyway? I like some of the unusual patches like rain and thunder which are great to add to some pieces at a volume just above inaudible.

I have never, never, never had a problem with unit. The cord, that is a different matter. Get a spare, get a couple of spares.

never had to deal with them directly but their website sucks for support.

I use this device for layering over live playing and for recording individual tracks. I am not a keyboard player so I use this for recording simple piano and organ parts which it does very well. If I lost this unit I would probably upgrade to a GR-33 or even a GR-20 but I would prefer the same unit.

Bought it new in 1994. One of my best purchases.

Ease of Use???? Read the manual. You can get it. But read the manual. Editing easy enough and there are plenty of quality sounds in there to get you started.

Sound Quality is excellent. I've got an old strat copy guitar which I've refurbished. Got about $200 in the whole thing and it sounds and plays great. Practically stole it off a guy who owned a music store that went bankrupt. Even had a hardshell case! But I digress.... I installed the GK-2 pickup and it's been great.

I have the following amps with this rig: Crate 212, Fender Super Reverb, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Peavey Bandit Transtube, and now a Tech-21 Trademark 60 (which I love). My guitar/synth combination has sounded excellent with all of them. No problems.

I've gigged regularly with this unit with a 60s/70s/80s classic rock band. Our setup is 6 pieces. Other guitarist plays bass on 50% of the tunes. When he plays guitar, keyboardist kicks bass and me and the sax player become the horn section with the brass settings doubled with the trumpet or trombone doubled. Adding a real sax gives us a real fat sound.

I have also filled in for various other bands keyboard players using the synth/piano/organ settings. Folks wonder where all the key sounds are coming from.... it's really funny to see them looking around for keys. Piano, organ and other keyboard sounds will require you to finger pick for a realistic keyboard sound. A piano player doesn't "strum".

Can I depend on it? Have been since 1994. Without backup. It's been stomped on, spilled on, rained on, dust & dirt, and so far it's been a workhorse.

However, the replacement cable is ridiculously expensive.

Never dealt with them. Fortunately haven't had to.

In addition to gigging with this, I also use it to drive my midi studio so I can add piano/bass, etc. to midi files for backup on solo jazz gigs. I don't use this guitar on the gigs, just for the data input and it is excellent for that as well.

This rig is a good match for me.

I turn 50 this year. I started playing when I was 10. Saw the Beatles on TV and figured that looked like a pretty good job. Own about 8 guitars, all high quality, but none of which are collector pieces except for an old Guild acoustic. However, they all do different things and sound good to me.

I'd replace with one of the newer models if stolen.

This is a quality instrument that has been a good companion for about 10 years. It's taken me thru a lot of music and the trip is not over yet.

the Roland Gr09 was very easy to use right away ! I did have a problem getting the pick-up to to work on my Martin-Sigma Acoustic-electric so i decided to put the pick-up on my Horner-pro les Paul copy wiht some 2-sided tape. it's been two years and it's still going!!

mostly, I use the unit at home in my studio to controll other (older) synths such as a TX-7,Roland D-110.Casio CZ 101 and Alesis Nano-Synth. Seems the older the synth the better it tracks!Some of the sounds i get remind me of Lee Ritnour.I've started to tweak the effects and the make a difference.

i bought the unit used with a pick-up (about $300 for both!)and the 13-pin cord made alot of noise if you wiggled it.however.i was fortunate enough to find "some" in a cut-out bend at a local music store foe about $15 a peice!I lok forward to using it live but first ,i have to get a way to get sustain like a keyboard!If anyone knows how to please let me know!! I've tried everything i know down to using a "POCKET PEDAL"and no good. No problen with outboard gear,just the Gr-09

Roland has discontinued the GR-09 and there is no referance to it on it's site ;which I think is a shame.i would like to be able to get the patch names to show in SONAR as do my other synths .Anyone having info on hor to do this with out doing a lot of typing is encouraged to reach me! Also,if anyone knows where to find a expander card write me as well!

I play everything from R&B to latin Jazz and does what it does very nice i also have an old IBANEZ controller that i used befoer i got this so I'm not afraid to use the Roland as a "live"synth controller instead of mixing it with the guitar only