Roland GR-300

I had the opportunity to buy a Roland GR300 with a Roland G505 Stratocaster-like controller for a good price. The guitar, some say Ibanez built it, others mention Tokai or Greco ??? who knows, maybe they are all the same company ??? is not bad at all. A previous owner installed Schaller tuning mechanisms and a Floyd Rose tremolo. It stays in tune very well. Someone put a humbucker at the neck position, which broadens the sound palette. I have no way of knowing if the remaining two single coil pickups are the originals. But they sound very good and Fenderish. They have that Strat twang in the in between setting. In sum, a great guitar in its own right. It???s the sunburst version with a maple neck. My girlfriend thinks it looks good too. It???s even allowed in the living room. Not a small feat.

As to the GR300 synth itself: this is also a gorgeous looking machine. A sturdy light blue metal box with flashing red leds all over. If a function is off, the corresponding led is not off, as you might expect, but flashes instead. A led flashes for each string you hit. Christmas-disco every day of the year. Roland clearly knows, or knew, what guitarists want.

It ???s a limited but very well sounding and extremely fast and well tracking synthesizer. I used to be ??? was trained as ??? a guitarist, playing blues and jazz and everything else, except classical music, but slid into making dance music with computers and synthesizers. Bought many old analogues, and now stumbled over the GR300. Glad I did. I???m enjoying playing guitar again for the first time in years. The system is easy to operate. No need to adjust your playing style for this guitar synth. It always tracks well. It has yet to miss a note. I guess Roland figured guitarists don???t like too many knobs and buttons. Just eight knobs and a few buttons on the box, and a few on the guitar to control it. In case you need it, which is unlikely, you can find a manual at this excellent website that is dedicated to older Roland guitar synths: http://www.joness.com/gr300/index.htm.

The sound of the GR300 is limited but great: pure analogue, and, therefore, lively sounds. Just one waveform: some sort of saw tooth. Two VCOs are available for each of the six voices, which enables some kind of chorus effect. However, one of the VCOs is always tuned to the same tone as the guitar string it belongs to. The other one, however, can be detuned, more than an octave up or down. Two presets for detuning the second VCO can be set and selected by a footswitch. You can also choose to play just the detuned oscillator, or mix it with the guitar sound. No way to set the relative level of each of the VCOs though. They are either on or off. A knob for setting the balance between the guitar and the synth sound is available though (on the guitar).

The filter sounds good as well and can self-oscillate. While each string has its own VCO, there???s only one VCF for all six strings. This makes sense: if you strum a chord, the filter will open or close for the whole chord and not per string, which would probably sound messy. The VCF and resonance knobs are not on the GR300 box, but on the guitar, which makes sense also. The VCF can be controlled by any volume pedal connected to the back of the box as well ??? I use a Korg EXP-2 pedal. The envelope controlling the VCF only has variable attack time. No selectable decay, sustain or release time. As the envelope can be inverted, you can choose the speed of the filter opening or closing after you hit a string. The sensitivity of the envelope can also be set. I don???t know exactly what this parameter does. For sure it controls the extent to which the filter opens (or closes), that is, the amount of attack. It seems to react to your playing style as well. The way you play may also affect the speed of the envelope opening or closing. There???s no envelope for controlling the VCA. You have to do that by your playing style, which, needless to say, makes the machine very expressive.

There also is an LFO. But it is fixed to the (tuning of the) second VCO. Unfortunately, there???s no way to assign it to the filter. The LFO is turned on or off by touching some buttons on the guitar, near the bridge. The depth and the speed can be controlled.

The GR300 may be used just as a superior doubler, it must be the best doubler ever, or a great and funky autowah. It is also possible to play saw tooth bass lines that scream and are squelchy like a TB303???s, or that are punchy, almost like a Moog. The machine will always sounds like a synth, which is a good thing in my opinion. But it is possible to do primitive trumpet, or other horn or violin sounds. However, it will still sound like an analogue synthesizer (trying to imitate these instruments). Just as an old Moog will do.

I read somewhere that its sound has an eighties feel, but I to me it has more of a seventies vibe. May be my trusted all-tube Fender Vibro Champ though, that has been with me for more than 20 years. Don???t know which technology is in the GR but I wouldn???t be surprised if it is all discrete. It has to warm up to stay in tune.

I read on the net that a guitarist named Pat Metheny used the GR300 a lot. I downloaded some of his tracks and must say that I don???t like them at all. He seems to use the synth in just one, a bit cheesy way. The machine can sound very differently. I used it, for example, to jam with some house/dance musicians who brought along their synths and computers. It was great to play mean synthy bass lines and dreamy analogue pads on guitar.

Finally, the GR-300 can be used as just an effect box. Mix in the two VCOs with the guitar sound to get a beautiful natural chorus. Add LFO to this recipe for some weirdness. Tune the second VCO to a fifth or an octave and get the effect of a 12 string guitar. Let the filter open slowly under you chords and get a dreamy delayed effect behind the chords. Sometimes it sounds like an organ is subtly playing along. These are just a few examples of the possibilities

I bought the GR300 second hand. It must be almost 30 years old now, but is still running well. The G505 guitar probably only got better while time passed. I???m considering to have the frets of the G505 renewed though. The weak spot of the system is the special 24 pin cable. Mine crackles sometimes, which scares the hell out of me. It seems likely that in a few years there will be plenty of blue GR300 boxes and G505/202/303/707 and 808 guitar controllers around. But not enough cables to connect them. So grab a ??? reparable ??? cable if you can. Apparently, not all available cables can be fixed. I was lucky and found a not too expensive Boss SCC-700 cable that fits as well.

I emailed Roland to ask about the cable. They say they can fix some, but not all of them. It depends. And that they no longer sell them. I must say they were not too helpful.

I have a lots of fun playing with it.

The GR-300 is very easy to use. Simple and friendly to the use. Remember the old GR-500 with 50 knobs and switches? Well, the GR-300 has 8 big knobs doing all the work.

My synth setup: Roland G-303 Guitar Controller (or Gibson ES-335 with GK-1 pickup) -=> GR-300 -=> TC Electronics Sustain -=> BOSS DD-5 -=> Mesa/Boogie Caliber 50.

The Roland GR-300 is a fantastic machine. I play jazz, fusion and avantgarde music and use the GR-300 for either soloing or ambient sound textures. On the GR-300, the sound goes from soft and dark to screaming sharp depending on the settings. The sound quality is very good and full of life somehow. The tracking is also very good but I have to say that a very small delay will occur when you play from Bb and down on the low E-string. The GR-300 can mix your normal guitar sound with the synthesized sound and this gives you outstanding control on the sound you want. The only really bad thing I have to say about it is the sustain. If you play low on the E, A or D string you will get a sustain holding 30-45 secs. But if you play higher up the neck on the G,B and E string you will NOT get such a sustain. That is why I use a TC Electronics Sustain pedal with it. Then, of course, I can get all the sustain I want. But it should have been build in to the GR-300 somehow.

The GR-300 is very dependable. My GR-300 is from in 1983 or so and I have never experienced any problems with it. But it is recommended to let it warm up for a few minutes before playing. It comes in a metal case (weights 5 kg) with two solid iron handles protecting the knobs on the control panel.

I live in Denmark and I have used the customer support here many times. They are always helpful and friendly.

The Roland GR-300 is the most important piece of gear I own. I have 2x GR-300, 2x G-303 and 1x GR-100 and I really like them because they are so unique. If it were stolen I would commit suicide (just kiddin). I compared the GR-300 to all other Roland guitar synths including VG-88 and GR-33 but they all sucked. The GR-300 is from another world of. Go and find one.... now!

I bought this guitar synth used in '85. Played it live and in the studio then. Real easy to use; just set the buttons to the sound that you're looking for and there you have that nice, warm, analog string or brass sound that was the guitar synth standard for that period. No memory, no programmable anything, just set and play.

I played my G-303 through my GR-300 to a set of Marshall and Roland Jazz Chorus amps for a wide variety of sounds. It's so cool to be able to get Fripp, Metheney, Summers, Hackett and Page sounds from that era. On some cover songs I could actually replace real synth parts with my guitar synth equipment. There's no substitute for that analog sound and perfect tracking.

I've gigged with it, stepped on it, fallen on it, dropped liquids on it and it just never quits. The only weak part is the cable and it's a little expensive to replace.

Never had to deal with Roland.

I will play that thing 'til it just stops. I've already started to show my two year old son how to play guitar on my G-303 / GR-300 and he gets all excited about the sounds that he's producing. I've tried latter Roland guitar synths but nothing sounds or tracks as good as my GR-300. I know this synth's value is rising everyday as a collectible but I don't think I'll ever be willing to sell it.

This is 20 years old and has analogue stamped all over it, very easy to use. Not an LCD display in sight, twiddle the knobs till you get a sound you like, its that simple. Of course, you cant store patches, no software upgrades, but its so easy to get that Pat Metheny, Andy Summers, Robert Fripp sound, so who cares! I know this is an old unit, but I thought it about time someone gave it a few words.

My guitar synth came with the G808 deluxe guitar controller, very warm sounding Ibanez built guitar. Guitar sounds great before you add the warm analogue synth, synth sounds are limited, but the grainy analogue warmth is unique. Put through distortion, endless Fripp like sustain can be easily reproduced.

Solidly built, the blue box resembles a tank, mine looks like it just came out of the box. The guitar is very high quality, thru neck, mahogany high gloss varnish. Have used it many times live with no problems.

I have dealt with Roland tech support in the past and they have been very helpful, but a little expensive for spare cables, etc.

I play a variety of styles, from rock covers to beatles to ambient and I have used this synth on many tracks. I also use a Roland GI10 for midi conversion, but nothing has ever tracked as well as the GR300, due to the fact that the strings vibrations arent converted to Midi. They are simply followed by an envelope generator I believe, so the unit responds to every style of playing you throw at it. A basic guitar synth that does its job well, more sounds would be nice, but at the time the GR300 was designed this was not an option. Someone would have to offer me a very good price to part with my GR300.