Roland GR-33

The reason I rate this a 7 is because to change banks or groups you have to hold the S1 button on the gk2 pickup and press the footswitch at the same time. After you get used to this flaw it becomes very easy to scroll through the factory preset patches. Editing is a breeze if you have any experience programming processors. I would suggest that you take the time to use the manual while you program becuse it can become confusing at first

I use the synth with a epiphone dot,a boss GT3 and a couple tube screamers going through a Sunn alpha 212 amp. When using this unit you have to understand that you will not like all of the tones that comes out. Some tones have very bad tracking under fast picking while others are extremely fast. The tones that you can use are amazing!!! I spent 20 hours in the first week programming because there is just and astounding amount of possibilities. The guitar effects on board are worthless(distortion,od and such) but thats not why you buy one of these toys.

I have never had any problems with reliability from any boss products that I have ever had so I expect that this unit will hold up. I would think that anyone that is buying one of these has a pretty good grasp of how to treat gear because this pedal isn't exactly childs play. It is made out of plastic though..........

Never had to deal with them

I have played for about 17 years. When I got this unit I kicked myself for not having one sooner!!!! I have been especially using the breathy sax,steel drum,marimba, pads,flutes and saw synths. It is great playing with the keyboard player and the people in the crowd can't tell where the sound is coming from. The look on their faces is priceless when my guitar IS the drum solo!!!! Just some advise though... if you are gonna shell out the scrilla for this you should also get the boss FS6 extension control pedal. It makes bank changes so much easier and it is the only way to take advantage of the tap tempo arpeggiator and delay functions

In terms of ease of use, the GR33 is fairly simple and once you understand the editing features its pretty easy to navigate through.

OK...here I go! There are great sounds on the GR33. I dont dispute that. And adding tones make some interesting hybrid patches that are very useable. HOWEVER...this unit will throw out a ghost note or some freakish hell note completely out of the blue on you and ANYONE who tells you it dosent is flat out a liar. I have had the GR33 for several years and I have YET to create a patch, play a preset without it happening eventually and totally from left field. I have participated in NUMEROUS discussions with ROLAND on this subject and I feel like at this point we should all be able to agree that it will blow a freak note at you at any moment. I sure would like to see some real bottom line discussion on this rather then the same old tripe like "its how you play the strings". Thats utter crap. You can play the strings in a gazillion different styles and ways and you will ALWAYS get a ghost note at some point. The best thing I can figure out to minimize it is to set your string sensitivity lower. I am now down to 2 or 3 on most all strings now...I have reduced its frequency but its no resolved entirely. I believe the issue has more to do with guitar synthesis technology...its just not there yet and is certainly not there with this unit.

Any rig that tosses out some hellish freakshow ghost note other then what your playing at very inconvienent moments is not reliable for live gigging.
Its a plastic unit. I think 600 dollars for a plastic unit that cant consistently produce its sound and effects is completely overpriced. I think producing a plastic unit that your heavy feet and boots has to work is well....whats a nice way to say it....how about flat out stupid.

Until SOMEONE, ANYONE from Roland's synth department can admit that unit PRODUCES GHOST NOTES and offer realtime on the ground recommendations on how to correct it rather then this "denial" thing or " we are completely bewildered and never heard that one before" then I have nothing more to say to Roland on this issue. Dont bother contacting them as they cant even admit there is an inherent problem in the first place which I find utterly insulting

I low rate it because of ghost notes with no one able to offer any viable explanation for this or suggestions as to how to eliminate it TOTALLY.
On my rig, I have a Roland XR fantom rack (no ghost notes with that), and also midi into a Korg keyboard (no ghost notes with that either).
If there is anyone out there, who can have an actual discussion on the issue of ghost notes and have suggestions FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME. If your going to send me an email stating you have never had that problem, I am not interested.

THis is a fairly easy to use processor. It follows mostly linear multi-effect editing protocol that has been around for years in roland/boss products

Samples are pretty good, JV series synth samples. Outdated as of now ('06) though. The gr-20 has updated samples.

I had it for about a year (3 gigs a wk) then.... IT FREAKED!! Sent it to the local dealer/repair tech. He said that they almost never come back (2 ever!). He looked over and over and was stumped. So back to Roland it goes........

Roland Gets this product and they call back the tech and say it is water damage (suprise). Thing is it was check over and over for water damage. The local guy is PISSED. He thinks Roland is trying to pull one over on us. He claims he likes to look for water damage, that he likes to find fault with the customer ( it usually is), but there wasn't any with this gr33. So now it is figured out that even though the warranty is still in place and all that goodness, but Roland has DISCONTINUED the gr33. Well that might mean that product support is scarce now for the product as well!! The war is waging with roland as of now and it is fierce!! I have spent alot of money on thier poducts (3000+) and this is first problem. I just want to say.. REMEMBER YOUR CUSTOMERS. YOU ARE A LARGE COMPANY HELP OUT THE CONSUMER

Great device with great sounds. When I had it working it was the ultimate accessory to the guitar and playing music with the guitar.

started getting good pad, string and individual wind instrument sounds right from the start. the brass benefit from a little tweaking but even those are up to roland standards.

almost exactly what i was expecting from a roland product. I can play the piano plink from Buju Banton's "murderer", the organ from Bob Marleys "no woman", and the horn riff from Teach de youth and sound believable.

on the east coast, many reggae and r&b bands are using 2 keyboard players instead of a guitar player. they sacrifice the "skank" but they increase their sound palette overall. with the GR-33, guitarist get back the edge... which translates into dollars.

been gigging with it for over 6 months with no backup.

also, the midi tracking is working well. the manual says that i can get better tracking by making the setting more sensitive, but i haven't needed it.

never had to, hope i never have to.

i play reggae, r&b, and go-go. the gr-33 works great for both thickening up the guitar with undergirding synth sounds, and as a secondary keyboard.

i even started using this in the studio connected to my roland xv-3080.

The only thing that would make this better is if it had a built in effects processor for the guitar itself.

every thing is easy to use to get the sound you want from the gr33 synth and editing is a doddle .it come with a manual but ive never bothered with it

i play my roland gr33 through my marshall ampstate amp the gr33 is not noisy on any setting at least not for me.the effects are as good as guitar effects.you can use the gr33 through any amp .you can get some famous atrists sounds but remember this is a guitar synth so it your looking for guitars sounds theres only one on the gr33 .the best thing about the gr33 is the sounds are 110% real the trumpets and saxophone and all the strings plus hundreds more sound like the real instruments .you know what a sax sounds like and a trumpet to when you play a note or a chord on the gr33 thats the sound you get. all i can say is roland are the kings of real instruments sound no one can beat them there the best if you dont have one of these guitar synths i recommed to anyone to buy one .if your into studio work like i am you need look no further all you need is the gr33 forget hireing a sax player or a trumpet player or ant other instruments if you want these sound added to your music you have it all here you do it all your self and the best thing is its all original played by you

very reliable .on stage you would allways need abit of back up

never delt with company never needed to never gone wrong on me

my style of music is a mixture of jazz/blues some of my music can sound abit like film theme soundtracks ive been playing for around 30 years now .i have a collection of 40 guitars mainly 60's 6 of them being acoustics and 12 string acoustics ive 4 amps and ten differant guitar multi effects units plue a couple of keyboards and other gear to just to many to list.if it got lost or stolen i'd try buy it again.what i love the most about the gr33 is that the sounds are so real.i dont hate nothing about it .my favorite feature are all the strings that the gr33 offers.never compared it to other products no need to this is the best by far.it helps to make music more intresting

editing is kindergarten. results are as u would expect with a 1080. manual is clear by roland standards. does vs 2 solve the problem with the wah pedal staying at its lowest value once engaged?

always go separate inputs for guitar and synth. No noise. Good effects.

i would use it without a b/up

they are v helpful down there in wales

ambient world jazz

30 years grief from the muse.

xv 5080, mpc 3000

way best guitar synth ever but doesn't track OTHER synths as well as the gi20. forget its midi out imho

cards and 5080 sounds

superb machine

anyone got any downloadable patches? links 4 such?

This unit is fairly easy to setup for good sounds! and the manual is well laid out.

The editing is quite good to, and all buttons and dials are easy to use to.

I think for the price the sounds are gr8! and most are very close to the sounds they copy.

I have tried thru a line 6 spider mono amp and the sounds were good even thru that! then i tried thru my vetta 2 and the sounds were fantastic, and i could here no noise at all.

Also the tracking was excellent too!!

Lets hope it is! i have only had a couple of weeks! i think could have been made a bit more robust like the vg-88 tho.

I have rang Roland uk with a few questions and they have allways been very helpful and knowledgable.

I think overall it is a gr8! little box and i can get loads of different sounds from it.

I would like it to be a bit bigger like the vg-88! and have a control on it to go thru all the pacthes so u do not have add one.

It suits my style of playing because i love to experiment with loads of different sound effects and i love that part of music.

Pros: Easier to use than the GR-30. Nice backlit alphanumeric display. Built in expression pedal.

Cons: No cutoff, resonance or velocity switching parameters. You cannot create your own arpeggiator patterns like on GR-30. No detectable improvement in tracking speed.

I've owned a GR-30 since the day it was released, and I dont see a huge difference in the GR-33's quality of sounds. In fact some sounds on the GR-30 are BETTER than the GR-33; in particular, the cello, flutes, choirs and organs. Saxes, horns, strings and pianos all sound like the same samples from the GR-30 to me. Of course this is only my opinion, but the way Roland's press hypes this thing, I was expecting a big difference in sound quality and I just dont hear it. The only place the GR-33 really excels is in electronic and techno synth sounds. Oh, and it has doo wop scat singing, which is good for a laugh but will you really ever use it?

The multi effects are a nice addition, but I dont use them that much.

Roland synths are very reliable.

I have never dealt with them. Their support website is lame.

I have been playing over 30 years and play everything from ambient\experimental to world beat, rock and blues.

I dont mean to knock the GR-33, its another quality Roland guitar synth. Then again, I am glad I didnt sell my GR-30, because there are sounds that I can get out of it that are better than what the GR-33 can do. Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp still use the GR-30 even though the GR-33 has been out for years. That says something, because those guys have been using guitar synths since pretty much day one.

If it were stolen or lost I would probably pick up another GR-30 instead. You can get one used for a couple hundred less than the GR-33. IMO, the GR-30 does realistic sounding instruments better. But if you are looking for wild, spaced out synthy sounds the GR-33 is probably more up your alley.

First off, I realize that the GR-33 is a designed primarily as a guitar-synth. I have used it that way with a Fender "Roland-ready" Stratocaster and a Fernandes "Sustainer" guitar w/ GK-2A pickup since it came out about 5 years ago. I submitted a review of it here on Harmony Central as guitar-synth (in the Effects review section) a few years ago. However, I've been using it lately as a synth module with a keyboard controller, so I decided to write a separate review of it based on that application.

Although a guitar controller accesses the GR-33 via a 13 pin connector, a synth or keyboard controller can use the GR-33's midi in and out ports, just as you would with any module. As far as "ease of use", it's quite user-friendly, especially compared to most keyboard synths or synth modules. That is partly because there are less editable parameters available. Although it is certainly programable to a degree, as I'll explain in more detail below. It's ease of use is also likely due to the fact that it's designed as a guitar-synth and Roland probably assumes that guitarists (in general) are not as technologically-oriented as keyboardists.

This is the third Roland guitar synth I've owned so my learning curve for this unit was insignificant. I've also owned and programmed a number of Roland synths over the years, so I'm pretty familiar with their architechture. This one is as easy as it gets. Editing sounds is a piece of cake, although, as I said, it's not as programable as many synths.

The manual is decent, considering Roland's reputation for complaints about their manuals. There is also a video owner's manual available which I bought and consider worthwhile having - although it is totally focused on it's use with a guitar, rather than a keyboard.

The sound engine of the GR-33 is taken from Roland's industry-standard JV-1080 rack synth module. So the GR-33 is basically a floor mounted version of the JV-1080, with some modifications. In fact, some of the the features that distinguish it as a guitar-synth, make for some interesting and useful features as a keyboard-controlled synth module. Having a built-in assignable expression pedal is something you don't see on most synth modules. There is also a bank of four foot switches that control such funtions as wah/filter, glide, hold, and arpeggiator/ harmonist.

Also, being a guitar-synth there are a number of selectable velocity curves that relate to how the guitar tracks. These are useful for touch sensitivity on the keyboard and add a dimension of expression to how the synth responds to your playing.

It's got 48 note polyphony, which is more than enough for guitar, but not quite as good for keyboard, although I find it adequate for my needs. One of the drawbacks of this unit is lack of expansion capabilities. There are no slots for ram card, expansion boards, etc. However, for my use as an additional tone module in a synth rig, there are plenty of sounds to choose from and expansion isn't as important as if it were my only synth. However, it can definitely stand alone as a sound source with just a midi keyboard controller.

While it doesn't have a sequencer, it does have an arpeggiator. However, the arpeggiator is not the high point of the GR-33. It's not the best, but can be of some use. Although if your controller synth or keyboard has a better arpeggiator, you can use it on the GR-33 sounds via midi. Another feature that the GR-33 has is a send/ return loop (mono send - stereo return). There's also a jack to plug in a pedal for bank shift.

As I mentioned, the GR-33 uses the synth engine from the JV-1080, so you know it is loaded with excellent and useable sounds of every category. There are 128 patches in rom and 128 user spaces. Each patch can have two different tones with separate effects for each. There are a total of 384 tones to choose from to make up a patch, so there is quite an extensive pallet to create from. It also has a fairly decent effects processor with 40 types of editable multi-fx. So while you can't alter most of the building block parameters of the tones, like waveform or LFO, basic things like envelope (attack, sustain, etc) can be tweaked. I understand there are software editors available, but I haven't tried any as it's really so easy to tweak from the panel.

There are some excellent presets, as well as some less inspiring ones. But getting in there and layering various tones and altering the effects and editable parameters can yield some interesting results.
The kind of music I use it for is ambient electronic/ New Age/ soundscape-type stuff. So the sounds I'm working with are mostly atmospheric pads and special effects. Also choirs, bells, flutes, and strings. There are some great sounds in these categories, but after some tweaking, I've come up with some incredible ambient pads that sound nice by themselves, but especially wonderful when layered with other synth sounds from my keyboard controller.

Although I don't use them as much there are also an abundance of "realistic" sounds like piano, bass, drums, brass, organ, ethnic instruments, etc. I'm probably not the best judge of these, but I own and have owned many synths of various kinds, and in my humble opinion, the sounds in the GR-33 compare favorably to what's out there.It's definitely an upgrade from the last Roland guitar-synth which was based on the Sound Canvas. I'm not saying that the piano or orchestral sounds are on the level of say a Kurzweil K2600, but I'd venture to say that they are quite good. Given the overwhelming popularity of the JV-1080, I assume many people would agree. This is a general purpose module that could be used for almost any kind of music - although it doesn't have as much of the type of dance or techno sounds that are found on many contemporary synths.

One interesting thing is how the GR-33 responds to a keyboard as compared to a guitar. With guitar-synth controllers, tracking has always been an issue. Some sounds track inherently better than others, although it usually quite easy to "glitch" or mis-trigger a note from the guitar. However with a keyboard controller, it's a non-issue. It triggers like any synth module - perfect every time. I've also noticed that some of the patches that don't sound great with the guitar have a whole different feeling triggered from the keyboard and work much better.

I've had mine for almost 5 years and it's been totally dependable - no trouble with it whatsoever. Generally, I try to gig with backup equipment whenever possible. I don't have another guitar-synth, but I have other synth modules if I was using it with keyboard controller. However, the GR-33 feels relatively low risk for having trouble with, so I wouldn't be as worried as I would with some equipment if I had to play a gig without backup.

I haven't had to deal very much with the company, but some of the interchanges I've had with tech support have been useful once I actually got a hold of them. Plus, a Roland rep I met recently at a trade show in northern California was extremely helpful and went the extra mile to be of service. So, I know that Roland is not necessarily known as the tops in customer service, my experiences have been ok.

I've been playing electric guitar for over 30 years and synths for about 15. Before the GR-33 I had a GR-30, and before that a GR-50. Pretty much, whenever Roland makes a significant up-grade, it's time for a trade-in. The GR-33 is the best guitar-synth Roland has produced yet. There's not much on the market that compares, especially at that price. Unless there was something better that came out at the time, I would definitely buy this again.

Using the GR-33, a guitar-synth, with a keyboard controller is obviously not the most common application for it, but it's a great option. It's relatively small, compact, and easy to travel with. Also, having the unit on the floor under the keyboard, allows some good real-time control with the expression pedal and 4 foot switches, especially when using it layered with other synths. Playing it with a keyboard after using it for a long time with guitar, opened up a whole new collection of sounds because of the difference in the way they sound played by guitar and keyboard. Also, I'm editing some patches differently for keyboard use.

This is one of many synths in my rig, including Korg Karma, Triton Rack, Wavestation SR, Kurzweil K2000R, Roland JD-800 & JD-990, Kawai K5000R, and others. But I find that I'm starting to use this a lot as a secondary tone layer with keyboards, especially for live playing. What's especially cool is that in a live setup, I can have the GR-33 ready to be triggered by both guitar and keyboard since they have separate inputs. The GR-33 triggered by guitar can also send a midi out back to the keyboard which opens up a whole other combination of sounds.

So, all in all, it's a pretty versatile module, especially if you think outside the box a bit beyond it's intended usage. I highly recommended it in my previous review for guitarists. Now I would just as highly recommend it for keyboardists as well, especially for it's studio-standard sounds, real-time control options and expression abilities in an integrated, portable package. It's definitely become an essential part of my rig first as a guitarist and now as a synthesist. I don't give out 10's a lot, but for me, this one deserves it.

The Gr33 is not as easy to use as the GR20, but then again you will tire of the GR20's sounds and not have much of a chance to change anything. With the GR33's dep editing capabilities, you have way more tonal combinations available, but you'll have to put a little work into it.

Generally speaking, the unit is easy to edit until you get down into the many sub-parameters and tryig to divine how they affect tone.

The manual is decent and complete.

Overall, the GR33 is not noisy. i am using it with a P90-equipped Gibson archtop (ES-137P) into a Gibson Goldtone GA15-RV guitar amp (or sometimes a Fender Acoustasonic Jr acoustic amp).

The effects in this case are the 384 tone bank choices - sax, sax ensemble, flutes, ethinc instruments, brass, synths, guitar sounds, percussion, bass guitars, strings, organs, and more.

The guitar tones aren't all that great to my ears, but I do like the basses, organs, keys, horns, and strings.

Now, don't take this the wrong way, but I am of the mind that with this $600 synth, coupled with the $200 GK pup, and your $1,500 guitar, you can about equal the tone from a $129 Wal-mart keyboard.

That's not necessarily a bad thing since those $129 keyboards have lots of good sounds nowadays. I guess what I'm saying is that you won't equal a $2,000 keyboard synth with the GR33.

When you think that the GR33 is about the only affordable game in town for us 6-stringers, it's not a bad deal.

So far, so good. Seems dependable to me.

I play pop-rock covers in a band and dabble in jazz and hard rock on the side. I've been playing for mroe than 10 years and own several Fender tube amps and Gibson archtops.

I bought the GR33 after owning the Gr20. I don't use a guitar synth a whole lot in my music, but outgrew the lack of customization of the GR20 pretty quickly and wanted the deep editing that the GR33 affords. Ha and now that I've got it, I don't have much time to tweak it... go figure.

The GR33 does hlep me make music by forcing me to appraoch tunes differently when not playing straight guitar sounds.

I've been playing guitar for forty years, synths for twenty ... this is the unit (combined with a Godin Multiac nylon string guitar) I dreamed of in the early seventies.

Some sounds are great. Some I will never use. I miss a number of sounds from the GR-30. I love doing sound design ... and the GR-33 allows for a lot of exploration and expression. I am primarily an electronic musician (who loves the sound and feel of classical guitar).

I've never had a problem with the GR-33 ... be careful about stomping on pedals to hard ... sometimes digital noise is generated. This did not happen with the GR-30.

WARNING: I was house-sitting for some people who had three pug dogs. One of the bastards peed on my GR-33, while it was on, and fried the circuitry. I had to replace the unit, losing all my patches. Unfortunately, the dog was not electrocuted.

haven't used it, but I have always loved Roland stuff.

As I said before, this is a dream machine for me when combined with the Godin nylon string guitar. I have created lovely string pads with the harmonizer that just float beautifully behind my chords ... I can do screaming lead guitar sounds with a nylon string guitar ... with my backing tracks on my iBook (mostly done in reason) I can go out and do any kind of music I want ... folk, pop, jazz ... all with the tonal shading and colors and expression available in the GR-33 ...

So, to the competition out there ... I recommend you get cubase for windows xp & forget guitar synths ... :)

After having used the tedious editing method on the GR30 for several years, changing to the GR33 was a breeze - I changed for two reasons; for the patch dial (why would Roland not put this device on all there Guitar synths? Can you imagine not having one on their keyboards?), and for the expression pedal, to get volume and 'leslie' effect control on the organ tones which I use all the time. Editing is very easy with this unit; complex editing like assigning one tone say to strings 5 & 6, and the other tone to strings 1 to 4, is very simple and logical with this unit. Manual is good.

Guitars: Custom made Berketta with GK2A built in, and a Brian Moore as a backup guitar. Put the synth through a Peavy KB/A 100 keyboard amp...never through a guitar amp. and never mixed in with an analogue signal. Unit is quite to use. The effects are good and I been able to find all that I need but much of this has required some design/redseign of the patches from the tone menue - thats OK but just take a lot of time and experimentation to get it right. It's glitchy where harmonics are concerned; you need to play very clean or else...drop you head with embarrasment.

Here is the problem: I use this unit live, once it starts screwing up, you cant risk using it in a performance. The GR30 13pin sockets were good - the cable that came with it was made with a crimped ground line at each end (not soldered), I used to have to WD40 spray the jacks before every performance to dissolve the oxidization on the copper wires to stop crackle every time I moved the cable. It worked but irritating. The GR33 however has become more problematic - it is about to be checked out for an unpredictable jack/socket pin failure at both the synth end and the guitar end - the unit is at present too unreliable to be used for a gig. These 13 pin connectors are flimsy as best and let down the whole package - its a foolish cost-saving exercise by Roland - as a friend said to me: if they could have supplied it with the worlds cheapest 'D' connector as used on computers at least it would be a possitive rigid connection, and we could upgrade the quality later. So, I am looking into replacing the whole connection system with a 'D' plug system...as everyone knows they are locked into position by two screws, they have long pins so that contact is assured, and they just arent going to move around.

Customer support in Australia is Phase Engineering in Sydney and they have always been helpful, fast, and creative in there assistance.

There isnt much alternative gear in the market that one can use easily live. This unit should have been made in metal...METAL. Plastic units the size of this wont last the distance - even a child can accidently step onto this and crack it. If I break it, I wont replace it - I'll go back to 80's analogue dinasours like the GR300 and the GR700 and wait for Roland to one day wake up.

This is my first guitar synth. I've had this unit for about a month now, and I'm finally learning how to use it and get what I want out of it..I woulden't say its hard to use, the manual explains everything, and its pretty straight forward.

I'm using a Roland GK3 mounted on an Ibanez MMM Baritone guitar.
I find this guitar to be a good choice for a synth host, since the extended neck scale and string through body aids with string tenstion, with helps with the tracking.

Sound wise its very clean, so there is no feedback and white noise.
Provided you use decent cables.

Now we come to the important part the sounds..
I must say that I was impressed and I still am with this unit, but at the same time, slightly disapointed since it doesn't do as much I was expecting sound wise.

There are around 384 sounds, but a lot of them are not very musical or not my style and would never use (Such as brass sounds)
Alot of the tones, sound cool and interesting, but they are not musical in the sense, that they are just walls of computerized space sound (Maybe thats your thing !!) like toy ray gun sounds.

I use it mostly for the string orcestra sounds, which sound awesome when set right.

I was kind of disapointed too with the fact that you can only combine two tones together to make a patch (Although, I'm not sure about this, but I'm 90 % sure its true).

At the moment I'm running this unit with my KRK V8 Studio monitors.

Its made of plastic, so as long as you have use a little TLC with it, I'm sure it will be fine.

Never used or called them.

I play a blend of Hard rock/Industrial with a melodic touch.
I like bands like APC and the Vast or use alot of strings in their music. I've been playing for around 8 years now.

I use the GR-33 with a Brian Moore i2.13. It was pretty much plug and play. I set the sensitivity down a bit on the pickups and got a really playable set up. The manual is fine IF you have alot of background in synthesis and MIDI, but for alot of guitarist it leaves alot to be desired. Needs some coverage basic MIDI concepts. Editing patches is good, and is made even better by some utilities off the net. The GR-33 is alot less complicated than my GT-6, which is a incredibly deep product.

The GR-33 sounds like a good, not great synth. I have a Roland XP (JV) workstation that I think sounds better, but I'm still in the tweaking stage of getting the GR running. I like the sound of the XP better than Fantoms and Korgs so to me it is a high standard. The GR is quiet. The effects section (for synth sounds only) are good.
In my mind there are two modes to play a GR synth in. There is a fill mode where you pretty much play rhythm guitar with the synth layered at a lower volume than the guitar signal and the synth follows you and provides fill and depth of tone. The GR works great in that mode, and doesn't require much in the way of playing adjustment. The HOLD function works very well in this mode, but is not as necessary as you may think.
The other mode is to feature the synth, IE, turn off the guitar signal and play the synth alone. The GR works well here too and with the Brian Moore is a pretty solid setup. The GR will reward sloppy technique with sloppy tracking, but if you play well, it nails the tracking.
I can get pretty much all the sounds out of it I want. I like the nylon string guitar (which does not sound like a real nylon string guitar, but like a recorded one, if you catch my drift) Breathy Sax is cool. I'm still working on getting a cool flute sound out of it, but am getting close. The pads and strings (which is what I bought it for really) are really good.

I've owned Roland Gr products before and they are reliable and can be trusted.

I've only talked to Roland once and they were OK.

I play at home in a home studio and in a church worship team. I've played for many many years. I would replace the GR unit in a heartbeat.
This is my second attempt into guitar synthesis, my first being with GK unit attached to a US Strat going to a GR-30 synth. That setup was OK, but I had alot of rogue signals popping up that embarrased me. Now with the Brian Moore i2.13 (reviewed seperately) and the GR-33 those issues are fixed. My main goal is to do something to thicken out my tone a bit in a way that is substantial but does not smack the audience in the face that there is a synth running. I like the sound of faint or distant pads. I think this is the most useful mode of the guitar synths. I may get into more elaborate setups (like string to string manipulation) that made me choose the GR-33 over the GR-20. I'm delighted and surprised that the guitar emulations have higher potential than I thought, specifically the nylon string sound and bass guitar.
One thing that I hope to get around that I had hit before was coming up to a juicy solo and having people say, don't play guitar, play sax or something! I'd do anything for the sake of making a song work, but I hate doing something just for the novelty of it.
Eventually I will be using the GR as an input device for my sequencer which I have tested and it works well.

Setting up the hexaphonic pickup is little bit tricky. But using and editing patches is easy. Once you install the pickup it will only take minutes to generate great Synth sounds. Manual looks quite good.

The sounds are awesome and truly exceeded my expectations. I am genuinely excited about the possibilities with this thing and it will open many new doors for me soundwise (Who needs keyboard players!). I have the unit directly connected to my digital recording workstation and the sounds from my monitors are fine.

The tracking is excellent but I found clearly picking each note rather than trying to pull off or hammer on works best. I play quite a lot of fast alternate picking type sequences in my playing so this placed little difficulty for me.

Can't really say at the moment.

Haven't used it yet.

I play hard rock music and this unit will help to provide contrast to my recordings. I have fitted the GK2A pickup to my deluxe fender strat. Only downside is that the pickup controller looks ghastly on my guitar. Might get a professional installation later on. Every guitarist should get one it is so good for expanding the sound possibilities on offer.

Fairly easy to use but it has so many features and things you can do that it takes some time to play and experiment in order to find the right sound that fits your taste and style. The LCD display is very nice

Playing synth guitar will definitely change the way you play.
Tracking can be a problem if you play sloppy. The GK-2A pickup and GR-33 tracks very well but you will hear pops and weird notes if you don't refine your playing with some extent of accuracy. Some sounds track better than others. Sound quality is excellent on the GR-33. I use mostly the sax, nylon guitar, organs, and other wind instrument sounds. It's just awesome to play these sounds from a guitar.

Top notch as with all Roland and Boss products.

Never needed them

It's just amazing to be able to play and combine synth sounds from a guitar with a flip of the switch. People will just be amazed at where the sounds are coming from. No other pedal board or sound effects can give you the wide range of tones and instrument sounds as a synthesizer.

Getting around the GR-33 becomes much easier in a fairly short time.
The menus and their functions are laid out well. After a little while, you won't need to have the manual handy to do things. Personally, I have gone back to the manual when building more complex harmonic parts, but day to day I can zip right thru to get a patch running during a performance.

The sound quality is equal to a Roland keyboard, duh! It is a Roland keyboard. I would strongly suggest using a PA, keyboard amp or combination of guitar and bass amps to get a fuller sound. Your guitar amp alone does more harm than good to the sound quality.

I've had my unit for better than a year, traveling to performances a few times a month. Like any other electronic gear, plugging into unknown ac sources and plugging in live cables are the best ways to zap any gear. Avoid it. Get a spare 13 -pin cable if you plan to move it around alot.

Haven't had a need to talk to Roland. The manual is very complete, but it can't answer every question.

Overall this unit is a must have for any guitar player who likes to record, or expand the types of music he is playing. Since you can get every sound available, the possibilities are endless.
Performance wise, you can't compete with a piano player who's playing notes with ten fingers, but he can't compete with you using a guitar to play strings, horns, woodwinds and the like, since you can do much better pitch bends than a keyboardist with a wheel!

I would buy this unit again in a second. I tried the newest incarnation, this unit is still better. Go out and get one. And after a while, you'll be shopping for Brian Moore and Godin guitars!

"Simply Amazing". I have been interested in getting a Guitar Synth for over twenty years, and this unit does not fall short. Alot of people might not have the advantage of having the proper gear to run this thing. First: a RMC equipped guitar is necessary ie: Brian Moore i2.13, or similiar Godin. Second: Run the synth sound and your regular guitar sound into a mixer separatley, live or recording. The manual is comprehensive, and the firmware or upgrade is not important to me at this time

I am using a Brian Moore i2.13 with this unit. There is absolutely no noise. Very easy to program and control. I do not like to use alot of effects so I simply try to use the basic synth programs when editing. I really don't know who uses these things besides Pat Metheny and Al DiMeola, and I dont want to imitate them anyway.

Alot of people complain that it is made of plastic, I have bought a large "CORE" pedalboard and I use two BOSS FS-5U pedals via insert cable to control the the UP and DOWN patch Bank Shift. If I ever use it live, I doubt anything would drop on it, "You Never Know Though"! I would use it without a backup.

I contacted Roland at their California number off their website, about the cord I needed to use for the FS-5U pedals. The guy was really nice and told me to simply use a insert cable, and that there was no need for the PCS-31 cable specified in there manual.

I love this thing,"and I don't work for Roland". I think the Guitar "The Brian Moore" has alot to do with it. I play harmonic rock/jazz/you name it. One complaint: I wish it had RAM cards to add sounds. I will have to buy a XV-5050 I guess. Oh well!

Reviewer "Anonymous" of 8/26/03 would have no problems if he'd learn to play. It's probably his picking technique that is causing his "clunks". I have been using this unit for a year and have learned that some patch voices require more precision than others. The GR-33 does look daunting right out of the box, but the manual does get you going in short order and you will be editing patches within a half hour.

The piano sounds are excellent and the strings are very good. The organ sounds are not bad, but require careful editing. I also sporadicly use some of the horns, which are very convincing if you use the proper phrasing. With attentive editing I was able to duplicate the synth sound Toto used in "Africa"

I do gig with this unit but, as other reviewers have commented, am concerned about the plastic case. I have rack mounted mine (by securing it to a sliding rack shelf) and control it with a Behringer FCB1010.

I'd give it an 8, downgrading it only for the case. I would like to see a rack mountable version of this unit.

Great synthesizer!!!

After reading the manual from front to back I was able to make my own sounds and fix the factory sounds I liked. The manual actually sucks, because it's over the place. But it's all there once you start to play with it. Would be much easier if they had a tutorial in the manual. I got the grapelight editor which is mentioned in other reviews and can be dowloaded at www.ludgerhesse.com. I also updated the os to version 2.0 at the roland site. If you take the time and edit the sounds you will find that this thing really rocks.

Ok, I run this through a 1986 strat and a les paul sustom. Got the new GK3 pickup for the Les paul and it sounds great. I hook up to my Fostex 450 mixer and then into two rotel mono amps amps and a pair of Klipsch heresey speakers at home studio, and to my guitar rack live.( into the PA ) The GR 33 should really be used in stereo, great sounds and you can adjust the panning on each patch for great stereo location. It sounds average through a dedicated guitar amp. The Gr 33 is never noisy, and has many great patches ( once I fixed many of them). I have made many of my own sounds and down loaded many patches from the web. One of the main reasons I bought this unit though is so I could use my EMU proteus 2500 with it. It works great with perfect tracking and allows me into a world of over 4000 new patches so far! I run this into a piaa tube head which warms up the digital sound, then into a BBE 882. Finally into a alesis mq 230 EQ. The on board effects are very good except for the guitar effects ( over drive , distortion) They should leave these effects to boss and boutique pedals. Yea I can get almost any sound from it, but I can also hook into almost any other synth and play their patches also. The quality is great and I can out synth our keyboard player. We play a kind of techno pink floyd with more drums and harmony.

They could learn from their sister company Boss. This thing should have a diecast aluminum body. The plastic is strong but if a roadie jumps on it you are Screwed. I have another for back up.

Don't bother with Roland, the support is terrible. It's like you owe them for even buying their stuff.

LIke I said this thing is great. You can use the sounds that come with it, or hook up to your favorite synth and use those sounds. It is easy to make good sounds, READ the manual. Stereo mix in is great. I have owned the gr 1, gr 9, gr 30, and now this. Anyone who thinks the gr 30 sounded better needs new ears. You got to be nuts. This is the best tracking GR ever. I still have my GR 1 because it has some sounds and features ( built in sequencer ) I love. But the GR 1 tracks awfull, and can't really be used with another synth ( too slow ). I wish it was made of metal, had a more solid expression pedal, knobs for decay and release like the gr1 and the new gr20, a built in sequencer, and a second gk input for another guitar. But this thing has really nice sounds which can be made much better. The ability to use any midi synth for more sounds, without buy a gi-20, it is noise free, not that expensive, and is fun to use. Oh yea, you can now replace the whole band.

Not too bad really. Once you understand the basic concepts, fairly easy to get a good sound. Reading the manual is a must to get the GK pickups etc. set up right.

Using it with a Godin Multiac Steel SA. Using a Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus for a nice effect on the raw guitar sound. Play through a Peavey Ecoustic 112 at home, and a Peavy 6 channel mixer/amp at church. Playing more accurately is an absolute must, as well as playing the instrument in a different style to get the sound of an organ etc. As has been mentioned by others, many of the patches are WAAAAAY "over the top." However, the soft pads and strings patches are just perfect for our contemporary parise/traditional hymnns worship service!

I'm happy with the quality. Granted, it doesn't have the solid feel of the Cool Cat "tank" pedal, but treated carefully it should last for a good many years.

Haven't had to deal with them. Hope I never do.

Since we are very small, I am forced to be a "one man worship team" and was looking for a way to get a fuller sound than just my Larrivee acoustic guitar. The reaction of the congreagation was amazing when cranked up the Cathedral Organ for our opening hymnn! As we flowed into contemporary praise, the soft pads filled out the sound wonderfully. Our congregation is older/retired folks and I wasn't sure how they'd take to all this "electronic gadgetry." However, The response was overwhelmingly positive. I searched high and low for a cheaper way to get the job done, but this box has been the only thing I've tried that really give me the "whole magilla." Would be nice if they replaced some of the really "spacey" patches with something usable. I just can't seem to come up with a appropriate place for Molten Lava in the service!

You need to read the manual . I use to have a GR-1 which was more complex to use and not as intuitive. Once you know your way around, piece of cake with a Gr-33. Manual is far more easy to understand then the mediaval and obscure gr-1's.

The piano, voice pads, some accoustic guitars and a couple of bass are pretty good and usable. Sax is ok if you stay in a tight range , as a sax should be. Organ ...nahh. Electric piano mmm... all right , I have heard better from Yamaha. Of course Roland kept a price point when they built the GR-33. The future looks bright, especially with the price of computer memory going down. No jazz guitar, strange choice.. I would build a module with very strong basic sounds (piano, organ, Rhodes, guitars , sax , reeds and brass etc) and forget about volcano, human percussion and all that silly stuff. A gr-33 is intended to replace a keyboard player and I never heard them play kaboom and volcano.

Very very reliable. By the way if you get a hum using guitar out jack, use a 3 sprong/2 sprong adaptor to remove the ground from the guitar amplifier.

Very helpfull.

To use a Gr-33 , you need a perfectly set-up guitar. Mine is a Gr-ready Mexican Strat. I had to replace the synth Pick-up with a gk2a kit because the white plastic cover that contains the pick-up keeps it too far from the string, which causes a weaker signal. It works, but not enough Dynamics. I tried everything to close the gap but this is a poor design. The replacement is the same brand (Roland Gk2a internal kit) with a better design, closer to the string. The tracking is almost perfect, less ghost notes than the Gr-1, but narrower range of dynamics. Of course, you can adjust it to your liking. I use this unit to replace a Keyboard and double my guitar parts. It works flawlessly, but I have a very precise technique , since I studied the guitar many years. Sloppy strummers will be sorry and Pearl Jam type of guitar player would be better off with an accoustic guitar.

This thing is a fucking pain in the ass to get sounds out of. Expect many clunks especially with subtle parts. Editing patches is easy. Manual is cool. Unit has not been upgraded. Overall its VERY frustrating.

Sounds kicks ass WHEN ITS NOT CLUNKING OUT. Its not noisy. For this unit, I'm going direct to disc so no amp needed. The clunks wreck the entire thing and REALLY piss me off.

I cant depend on it. How can I when I hardly get it to do what its supposed to do and its not like I'm new to this stuff. I'd never use it at a gig.

Customer support sucks ass. I say that cause I tried to get some repairs done on a fucked up unit and didnt get a phone call or an email back. So now I'm sitting around with a $600 piece of worthless gear that even if it did work, wouldnt work properly. I'm giving this department a 1. I'm giving them one point for picking up the phone and negating the other 9 for not doing anything when I expressed the problem.

The patches sound great if you can get them to trigger without getting fucked up. For the most basic passages, plan on doing several takes because the sensitivity is all over the place. Bottom line is I'm not happy with this thing, I'd be better off hiring a keyboard player and getting the music tracked properly.

I have an XV-3080 and an MC-505,and compared to programming patches on those two, this one is child's play. If you're used to Roland's patch programming paradigms, then you won't even have to refer to the manual. I think Roland did this because they figured guitarists would much rather play then program synths.

However, I did go through the manual, and I found it adequate.

Anyhow, once you've figured out how tones merge together to form patches and how you can stick fx on top of it, editing and creating patches is a breeze.

It's got great sounds out of the box, and they're a good example of the power of the box. However, if you couldn't program your own sounds and it ONLY came with the presets, I wouldn't have bought it. Fortunately, it's programmable :)
This is not to say that the presets are bad; rather, they're not my cup of tea. One man's good sound is another man's industrial (heh). So, as opposed to saying it sounds good, I'd reather say, yeah, you can get the kind of sounds YOU want if you bother dwelling deeper into the unit and playing around with the 384 tones. There is definitely enough raw material to work with.
Some of the patches are noisy, I think, especially the Grand Piano and the flute although not unbearably so.
I play directly into a mixer and use the unit mostly for composition and studio work. It's great for this purpose. The effects are good, but I prefer to effect the sound through my recording gear and use mostly the weirder in-built stuff, like the leslie and the hexa-chorus.
I don't really try to sound like my favorite artists so I can't really tell how good this unit is for emulation (ie if you're a cover band), but for getting your own stuff down, its awesome.

It's been pretty sturdy so far, but it's plastic and I wouldn't trust it to continue working if you were to drop it heavily or have something fall on it. I have the ZOOM GT pedal which is made of metal or alluminium and you could kill someone with that thing. So, if I were to take it to a gig, I'd probably take a back up (if I could afford it)

I haven't dealt with them.

To summarize, I mostly compose my own stuff, so far that I have found it brilliant. I create ambient music, sometimes heavymetal ( although I use the POD for the crushing tones). THis is perfect for newage & synth based stuff. If you play metal or rock, you'd be better off with an amp or a Line 6 POD.
I've been playing for over 8 years now, and I've found a whole new aural soundscape opened up because of this unit.
If it were stolen, I'd buy another one, unless Roland comes out with a newer model. They keep improving their stuff (except for the MC-505, MC-909 fiasco ;) ) so I'd guess that the next in series would have the XV engine plus better tracking.
For the price I paid for it, I think it's brill and it's definitely a great addition to my studio.
If you're a guitarist and have ever wished to have a larger repetoire of sounds, then this unit is for you.

easy to get sound, yes because i had a gr50 before this product so, i'm incredibly surprised , and as i usualy use effect, so not difficult to understand/progrm

wow, really impressed,the piano, wow,the strings ;wow, great job roland !

WHY roland did put a hold pedal , that you have to stay on it with your foot to keep the sound sustained !!!! i start a song, want to hold some strings, and my feet have to stay in the hold pedal, and i have to jump with the other to touch volume or wathever,roland ???

awfull

good box, i use it with a vg88 , but as i did a gr300 patch with my vg88(www.herbuel.fr.st), the gr300 patch makes me laugh (lol), but for piano, tromper/brass, strings, and bass, wow, great machine!!!!