Roland GR-700

Don't forget, there's actually TWO products that form the basis for this review; The Roland GR-700 (floor based synthesizer unit) and the Roland G-707 Guitar controller (see separate review) that's the (usually silver) weird shaped guitar (a bit like a modern day aircraft carrier) that you need to get any sounds out of the GR-700 floor based synthesizer unit. I understand, you can use the two earlier guitar controllers as well, but maybe with less control over the sound?? I'm not sure, as I've never tried them.
Personally, I find it dead easy to get good sounds out of it; It came programmed with 64 of 'em! Editing is ok without the PG-200 programmer (it's a case of selecting a parameter by using the footswitches and then using the edit knob on the G-707 controller to adjust the parameter value), and dead easy with it. I have the PG-200, but I'll often just play with the presets. I think I'd have struggled without the manual. Luckily, a brilliant chap at Roland UK called Steve Barrett Located me one and sent me it FOR FREE!! There's not many big companies that'll do that. The manual itself is OK but the dreaded Pidgen English is used. I think all Japanese companies were guilty of this when this was made. They probably all used the same translators. Who no doubt are still having a good laugh at their handiwork!! I have no idea what revision mine is (if there were any revisions) and whether or not the presets are original is doubtful after 20 years or so. The tracking delay isn't bad on mine, but who knows if they differ. I think most instruments differ a bit so maybe mine is just a "good tracker". There's practically no delay unless you programme a slow attack on mine. When I think about it, the delay can't have ever been that bad, 'cos Steve Hackett played some fast licks on one, as did Jan Akkerman so, although there is obviously a delay, it's hardly noticeable.Mine is totally stock, from what I can gather. I'm giving a 7 here 'cos it's not rocket science, but I reckon you need some idea of the principles of synthesis to start editing sounds successfully. Then again, maybe not.

Oh, I forgot to mention the MIDI capabilities of the unit. Well, there's only MIDI out. WHAT DOES THIS
MEAN?? Well, you can link up to another MIDI equipped synth or sound module and get the sounds of those
units playing thru the Roland. So, I can MIDI up to my keyboard synths and get their sounds coming thru my
guitar. What's the point??
None really, as I like the sounds of the GR-700. No MIDI in. What does this mean?? Well, I can't get the
sounds of the GR-700 coming out of my keyboard synths. SWIZZ!! There's a patch (sound) on my Roland
JP-8000 called, I think, GR-300 solo, and with a bit of editing, I can get it close to the GR-700, but it would
have been nice to get these real Analog filters coming thru my keyboards. I've just seen the keyboard version of
this synth (the JX-3P) on EBAY UK, described as immaculate, for #219.00 GBP. That's gotta be good
value.

My present setup with this synth is; Roland G-707 > Roland GR-700 > Mackie 1202VLZ Mixer > Genelec 1029 Active monitors. I'm looking to get the Genelec active subwoofer shortly. Even without the sub, the bass is AMAZING!! Deep, warm and much more real sounding than my V/A keyboards thru the same setup. You see, it is real, whereas Virtual Analogue is just that; Virtual. There will always be that "Digitality" as I call it, to their sound. Having said that, I own three of them (Roland JP8000, Oberheim OB-12 and Novation Supernova 2 Keyboard OS:2.0) and I love them all. The Supernova is bloody close to the sound of an Analog synth, but when you A/B them, the real deal is best in terms of warmth. I use them all the time, as I find one might do a Moog sound best, another might do the best Roland Jupiter 8 sound (guess which one that is) and another might nail the Prophet sound. I'll keep all of them 'cos when you think what you'd need to spend to just get one of each of those synth's let alone all the other's that they can do (there's ARP'S'S, JUNO'S, WASP'S, TB-303'S, YAMAHA CS'S ETC) I'd be in for #####'s. They're close enough sounding for me. There again, a guy who'd worked in recording studio's for 30 years told me that analog synths sounded different amongst themselves anyway. Even Minimoogs could differ from one to another with the same settings dialled in!! One could even sound different from one day to another!! The GR-700 has DCO'S (digitally controlled oscillators) rather than VCO'S (voltage controlled oscillators). In laymans terms they're analogue oscillators controlled digitally; ie; much more stable for holding the tuning (of the oscillator, not the overall tuning of the instrument) Before the advent of DCO'S, tuning could be a nightmare, as they were prone to fluctuations caused by temperature, humidity, vibration, ETC. Don't worry, they're still proper analog oscillators. The chorus built in to the GR-700 is fantastic. It must be analog, and there's only one setting (it's either on or off) but it's the most lovely, organic chorus sound you'll ever hear. It doesn't bend the pitch, but rather, it seems to wrap itself around the note, adding interest to even one note droning away. One of my favourite Guitar players is Steve Hackett, and I can get close to his sounds from the late '80's and '90's. Of course I don't really sound like him 'cos I'm crap and he's brilliant but a man can dream, can't he...
I wish there was a distortion built in, like on the earlier Roland GR synths, but I've got a good few nice pedals anyway. The "Hexa-Distortion" on the GR-300 is meant to be unique though, so I wish it had that built in. I'm giving a 9 here, 'cos it's a good deal better than my EHX Micro Synth, and if push came to shove, I'd probably give that a 7.

Well, this is a 20 odd year old Analog guitar synth, with quite a few battle scars over it's pressed steel body, a connecting cable that could give up the ghost any time now (they're reputedly very expensive to replace, so I might get a local electronics guy to see if it can be repaired) and the GR-707 controller looks all of it's 20 years old as well, but I only record at home with it so I hope it'll be fine. I wouldn't gig with it even if I did any gigs. I started wanting one of these in 1984 when I was 23, so finally getting one is a dream come true. It seems to me that anyone who did gig with one of these would not need a backup, but there again, circuit boards weaken, connections become loose, leads fray....
I'm giving an 8 here, 'cos it's made of steel, and the controller was (reportedly) made by Ibanez, so not a cheapie.

Brilliant!! Yes, that's Roland I'm talking about!! Roland UK were very helpful in getting me a users manual for it. A chap called Steve Barrett sent me one free of charge!! This is for a product that was discontinued in about 1986 or 87!! I once tried to get a manual for a Yamaha combo from about 1991 and they denied ever making it!! For a good 15 minutes, I told the lady that it's a Yamaha combo, the model number is this, the serial number is that, and she said "We've never made a combo of that type; It's not ours" I told her that it say's Yamaha on the chassis itself, as well as the Cabinet, but to no avail.
I've heard some bad news stories about Roland, but all my experience with them so far (not just for this synth) has been good or very good. I'm giving a 10 'cos you can't beat a free users manual!!

I play and record at home, so it'll never see another stage gig, but it looks as if it's seen a few already. I record my own, ambient stuff. I'd like to try to put a soundtrack together someday. I tried it recently, just putting music to a nature programme and a talking book!! I was well pleased with the results, and that was just spontaneous playing. I recorded the talking book with me playing along with the GR-700 direct to my Fostex FD-8 digital 8 track and the results astonished me.It was as though the music had always been there. The talking book was an old "horror/thriller" on cassette read by Denholm Elliot, so there was plenty of chance for "spooky sounds" as well as basses and pads, and they sounded excellent. I've been playing guitar for 30 years and also own 2 Les Pauls, 2 Strats, and SG and a Tele, all American made. One Les Paul is the 1957 Goldtop Reissue (see my separate review) worth about #2000. The Roland G707 Controller (their name for "Guitar") is great, except when you try to play it sitting down; YOU CAN'T!! Bloody silly, I'd say, seeing as though you might want to be sat down and a bit closer to the floor unit for editing than being stood up, but it was the '80's after all. I don't remember pirate outfits and men wearing makeup being a good idea either. If it were stolen, (I'm not gonna lose it) I would look for another one, and maybe pay a bit more for a better condition one. As I said before, I wish it had the Hexa-distortion built in, but there you go. It definitely helps me make music, and also to expand my playing, as "guitar-licks" sound crap on this, so you put a bit more thought into your choice of notes; ie; underplaying on horn-like sounds and just letting pads(chordal-washes)sustain, sounds great and "un-guitaristy". Jonny from Radiohead has to try one of these. If he hasn't used one already, that is. It cries out for use on the next Radiohead album, and I'll bet he could get something weird and wonderful out of it. I'm giving an 8 here, 'cos it's not perfect in design but it has some of the best synthesised sounds I've ever heard.

It's really difficult to use. I wish there was some way I could tell what I'm editing. So I went through each edit parameter and wrote a summary one what each one does... although some seem to have no effect. Editing parameters with the guitar to me was unheard of. No newer roland guitar synth compares to this in my opinion. Never would I ever mount a new pickup onto that beautiful g-707 silver guitar (mint condition!) I love the challenge of working with this at one time top of the line technology.

Wicked sound effects. I love the three options for having a mono out + stereo out and a guitar out. Bank 4-7 was really fun. I tried playing the nintendo zelda theme :-D. I use a little zoom 606 fx processor (which by the way matches the 700 perfectly so i keep it on top of it being a pedal only about 1/8 of the size.) for adding phasers and wahs and other miscellanious stuff to the old synth.

I would never be rough with this vintage piece of machinery but... it look really... big... and tough...

NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER! If I were to talk to someone that makes decisions for roland I would tell them that if they make a synth they should at least ACT like they made it.

I play industrial music. Everything about this setup is everything I need. I would most definatly buy another one if something were to happen to it. Ever since I saw Amir from Orgy on stage with this guitar I fell in love with it. Such an exotic design... My favorite feature about the g-707 controller and the synth is it's crystal clear sound and punchy sound. This is my first guitar with humbucker pickups so I'm probably over-reacting. Theres one slight problem though... for some reason even on the full synth setting on the controller I can still hear the analog guitar coming through. If anyone has a solution to this problem I'd greatly appreciate it.

Very easy but you have to spend time with it to learn how the individual parameters effect the output. I'd love to get my hands on the programmer but haven't really tried. The manual sucks! Whomever translated it needs more schooling in English and it could have been much more comprehensive considering the retail price tag.

I run a mono signal directly into my p.a. system.I don't think the system is noisy at all. The effects are great IMHO. The only artist that I have tried to copy is Pat Metheny because his patches are fairly easy to duplucate. My hero is John McLaughlin but the GR700 will not do what JM's synth rigs can do!!

I have had this thing for over 12 years and the only thing that has failed was the chord. It is a might expensive to replace but a good tech should be able to repair it but it will cost you. What else can you do? I should take better care of it. I just heap it on top of everything else in my truck and it works every time.

I have called them twice and they were helpful. They told me how to find out if I had the latest firmware upgrads and when I called about the cable in 1994 (?) they had two available. They cost so much I took the cable to a music store and they fixed it. I should have bought an extra one though. I wish that there was a pitch bend upgrade...I realy miss that.

I play quite a few styles as I am an oldster (53). Jazz, blues, new age, classical, country, blue grass, rock, oldies, just about everything except rap and most international musics. I have been for 39 years. I also have a 97 american strat, 92 510 dreadnaught Taylor,
90 Epiphone, Roland MC50 and SC88 Sound Canvas, Pignose 20 watt amp. and tons of Ibanez effects, ADA MP-1 preamp. Ibanez DM-1000 digital delay, Digitech DSP 16 processor Tascam 424 cassette deck, NEC PC Pentium MMX 233. f it were lost I would invest in Axon's product. It is what John McLaughlin uses.
What I love about the GR 707/700 is the number of patches you have available. I think this piece of gear is very reliable. Today I did adjustments in the back to he sensitivity pots. I hate not being able to send pitch bend data out to other MIDI machines. I also don't the fact that you can only send via MIDI channel 1. Some of the music I create could not be done without this. No Way!

It is easy to use once you realize that you must tune the Guitar, then tune the tracking pickup. Takes time, but simple. Also string sensitive, try different types.

I used to run the mix output of the footboard into a distortion pedal (one so old it had square domino-resistors in it!) then an EH clone pedal. I'd run one clone output into a roland 60 watt cube amp, and the other into a sears 100 watt silvertone tube amp with the reverb up. with both pedals set on mild effect, I could transition from distorted guitar to really ethereal coctau twins sounding stuff (hey, maybe because they used a GR700?) By the way, gotta love the sound of a stereo chorus into two tonally different amps (too bad the cube amp reverb and feedback sucked, but I just turned the reverb off and fed back through the silvertone.)

Absolutely, until the cord began to go resulting in what is often mistaken for tracking error, but is actually TRACKING PICKUP SIGNAL STATIC between guitar and box.

the guitar and box are 10 on reliable, the cord is a 4, aging to a 0.

Haven't tried...

Industrial. It was the perfect thing to have, well worth the $.
I haven't played in years, I work doing something different now.
I have a closet with a micromoog, ARP, Casio FZ-1, and a ton of processors I will set up into a studio someday, someday...

BTW, Roland Germany has it in thier virtual museum, see http://www.roland.dk/roland/museum/leaflets/gr-700_leaflet.htm

This is kind of a cool unit if your band doesn't have keyboards. Simple controls. Select a bank and then select a patch. Programming without the programmer is a little tough because you need the guitar controller to edit some of the paramters. I used the G-505 Strat. The manual was sufficient but if you don't know what waveforms are or what oscelators do you'reinthe dark. The sounds however are lush and fat like most any analog synth would be.

The sound quality is very good but working with a keyboardist who uses the latest sampling techniques and layers the Roland can get lost in a sea of sound. The Hammond patches I found were the best. It would have been nicer if it had a built in reverb but this unit is pre-multi effect (1984). I ran the guitar jack into my processor into my guitar rig. The synth end I ran directly into the PA mixer. The output stage has either a 1/4 out or XLRs. I ran the XLR stage in stereo because it was quieter and it has a great built in pre-amp. The only drawback was obviously the tracking. On some of the bass patches the lag time was very evident, but on others such as the strings if you retard the attack time it's hardly noticable. If you're looking to do EVH riffs on this, don't bother. Some programs will handle it but most won't.

I had mine for 7 years and never had a problem. You must take care of the multi pin cable. It may not be available any more. The going price for a replacement was about $125. Never needed a backup because of the keyboardist. If it went down only those on stage would have noticed because not too many non-musicians know what a guitar synth is. Come to think about it I went into a guitar shop here in So. Az and they didn't know what it was either.

N/A

I play classic rock in clubs and new age rock on recordings. I never used it in the studio because you can do more with keys in the studio than with this thing. In a live situation however it's another story. The band became very fat sounding and I would play solos as in "Nights In White Satin". The flute was very convincing. It turned a few heads because a flute sound was coming froma guitar. But on the down side, some of the patches are midrangy and can get lost in the mix if everything is coming through the mains. I mike my guitar 4-12, run a line for the keys, and the drummer uses Roland V-Drums. All that plus 3 vocals makes for a lot of sound. I eventually traded it and my vintage LP for a new Zoom GFX-8 and a new Musicman Sillouhette also reviewed here. It was tough to get rid of it not because of any attachment to it but because the store didn't want it. They were afraid they would get stuck with it. Depending on your area you may want to think about whether you want to get saddled with one of these. They're big and bulky (I called it an aircraft carrier) and they are hard to get rid of depending where you are. In Boston these things are going for $500 and up. In Arizona you can't get rid of them. There's a local store here that sell gobs of vintage equipment and there are usually 2-3 on the floor all the time.
However if you don't have the luxury of multi-keys in your band this thing is a great way to keep from having to pay one. A good mix of guitar and synth coming from your mix will fatten a very thin sound very fast. You won't use it on every song but having a lush B-3 behind your rig does wonders. So for that reason I won't buy another. Got too much stuff now anyways.

This unit is quite easy to program, especially with the PG200 programmer. The thing that isn't so easy is setting up the GR-707 guitar for optimum performance. Pretty basic analog synthesis circa 1984.

I play this unit as part of my MIDI guitar synthesis and delay loop effects rig, all run direct into a PA or recording console. It is a bit noisy, the chorus adds even a touch more noise, but it does have a pretty strong overall analog sound quality. I use it exclusively for ambient washes/soundscapes and it is very impressive at coming up with these type of sounds

I have had very few problems. Had to replace backup battery and repair a dislocated footswitch (wasn't actually broken, just dislocated) and I currently gig and record with it regularly. I do own a second unit as a backup, but would have no problem goind out with just one on it's own.

It is pretty much non-existent as far as Roland support goes. No more parts, accessories or upgrades. Those 25 pin cables are no longer available, as well as a MIDI in upgrade that was an aftermarket option. (I wish this thing had MIDI in!)

I perform improvised ambient/experimental music and the GR-707 guitar is my primary instrument. Even though I have it MIDI'd into a rack of newer synth modules and effects, I still use the GR-700 and PG200 programmer for it's ease of use and great ambient drones/pads/textures. I wish it had MIDI in and a converter cable to use the old 25 pin guitars with the newer synths from Roland. It definitely inspires me to make music. It's only real drawback in my current situation is it's weight (especially when you add in the Anvil flight case) and no latch on the hold pedal.

As one of the first owners of this unique monster I must say it was
pretty easy to use. The most impressive aspect was the ability to
create powerful Horn parts due to the attack and chord structures
that a keyboard (in my experience) cannot achieve. The secret to success with this unit was playing a part to match the tone ie. If you
had a flute patch play something a flute would play and not a guitar.
My biggest concern for discontinueing the use of mine was that my band
became so dependent on it, if it were to have broke down, we would have been sunk so I gradually phased it out.
I still have mine and wish I could locate one of the big cables to
hook it up.

The sounds (being typically roland) were great. The tracking was
sometimes annoying. The 707 (ugly as it is) Was actually a fine
playing and sounding guitar.

With support being almost non-existant I got a little nervous after setting up if something was wrong but it never failed me.
(Breaking a string meant break time)

Roland was cool with it for about the first 3 years but I think they
wanted to consider it not worth the hassle.

I play mostly top 40 and the GR 700 was absolutely wonderful for the
Huey Lewis, Robert Palmer and heavy keyboard and horn stuff.
I wish it had midi in.
I will probably never sell this unit because I miss it and will more than
likely use it again someday ( if I can locate a cable)

This unit was built in the mid 80's and it still sounds great and has awesome sounds and sound gererating capabilities.I've compares it to the newer GR30, and basically I think the main difference is the GR30 has sample like sounds that reproduce a piano, flute, banjo, etc. I don't know if its sampling technology or just an exact setting of various oscillators that achieve these perfect sounds.
I'm actually searching for some cartridges that come with the GR 700. I think my GR 700 might be able to achieve these sounds too if I could find the configurations. The cartridges that came with the unit were called M-16c's. Settings can either be saved on the cartridge, or can be manually configured.
If anyone has either M-16C cartridges or knowledge of how to configure the unit to achieve various sounds, i.e. piano, strings, etc. please e-mail me at GUITARDOG_1@MSN.COM
I'm willing to pay, ofcourse, for either the cartridges, cartridge copies, of configurations. Thanks

Great. Many sounds can be created. I just wish I can locate some presets or cartridges with presets for achieving sounds like: piano, sax, organ, etc. I've come close, but theres so many combinations of settings, its almost impossible without knowing exactlt what to configure.

Midi in and out. The guitar is unique looking, by the way, unlike todays models, the GR 700 comes with a special guitar controller, the GR707, that has a built in synth pickup. You can select either guitar, synth, or various balances of both.

Been working fine for 4 years now. It was built in 1985 or 1986 and still going strong.

Bought this used, no support available

oUTDATED, BY HIGHLY COMPARABLE TO NEWER MODELS

They never realy worked too well, but that was part of the charm of this unique instrument.The PG-200 editor is handy, but all the functions are accessible from the floor unit and/or guitar.Our 707 controler is a very uncomfortable instrument to play, and tracks no better than the 808, a quite nice guitar built by Ibanez.

Although a synth background helps with programing, the "quaint" manual gets you started with more than a few good laffs.

If there was ever any product support for this thing, they never told me. In fact it was like they had never heard of it the day after I bought it.

The GR-700 requires a unique approach to guitar playing.... practice a bit with it, and it will suprise you.

We build up loops and washes in Pro Tools, then slice and dice... They keep asking us how we make those sounds.

Very tough.........but don't kick the foot pedals off.

Helpful?......Upgrade?........Repair?.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...LOL... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
choke..........

This silly thing was SO expensive I just couldn't sell it. I still have it... maybe in 50 years it will be worth something again. I might even use it again before then.

Does anybody else wish it had a midi in? I know......not fiscaly possible... Maybe someone will GIVE me a JX3P.

Okay, you have a guitar controller and a floor unit with some good-sized pedals...big deal! This thing is a piece of Pillsbury Toaster Strudel to use, screw the cake. On the floor unit, there are 8 patch pedals, bank, edit and hold pedals and that's it! It's so simple. The manual is sufficient. I just wish there were sliders and knobs on the unit without having to buy the programmer.

First off, I've never been too picky when it comes to sounds like "that bass could be more punchy" or "that chorus could be more lush". There are plenty of parameters to edit, which is great cuz I'm an edit freak. If you use this guitar synth or any guitar synth, use a keyboard amp. I use the Roland KC-100. The tracking is pretty good but I don't mind if the unit mistriggers, which it does occasionally, particularly if you "try" to play an open string, which can be a pain in the ass; that may be, though, cuz I tune down to hell. I don't care for shred-like solos and shit, so this thing is great; I'm more into melodic organs, filter sweeps, high synth pads, and stuff like that, so speed doesn't matter for me. I really don't do string bends that often either.

The floor unit is built very well. It's a silver metallic monster! The pedals are heavy duty and there really is no breaking the membrane buttons. It would definitely depend on it. The G-707 guitar I use with it, on the other hand, is mostly plastic and more fragile, but it's a guitar, it's not on the floor being stepped on and stuff. I would use it without a backup. Besides, another one would take up even more space...heh.

I guess it's just a matter of who you talk to. Some are more knowledgable than others. I've had both kinds. They all seem friendly though.

A rundown:
things I love: the look, the huge bright LCD display, the simple patch-recalling, the G-707 controller, the handy memory cartridge, the ruggedness, the editable parameters
things I could do without or I wish it had: more controls, the mistriggering, and...uh...hmmm...
summary: I also own the GR-30 which I absolutely love. In general, I am very satisfied with Roland products. I also have their SH-09 analog synth. There is no comparing the 700 with the 30, since the 700 was made in '84 I think, so I can't expect it to have an arpeggiator or midi connections and stuff. I got the floor unit, guitar, 24-pin cable, and the guitar case for $320, which I jumped all over cuz it was a steal. Would I buy it again? Probably not, just because that I have my GR-30, not because the 700 sucks. I fell in love with the industrial look, but I was and still am impressed by the sound of an '84 guitar synth. Did I mention that I love the LCD display??

The GR-700 is very easy to use if you have some analog/subtractive synthesis background, and even easier if you own a Roland JX3P, since the guts are the same thing. If you don't know a THING about synths, you may find yourself in the dark, not understanding what each parameter does. This is probably not for a snot-nosed 15 year old who wants to sound like orgy, but doesn't know a thing about synthesis. The manual is standard Roland fare of the early 80's. grammatical and punctuation errors abound, as well as brief, unspecific explanations of functions. again, synthesis background is necessary. however, once you have the manual and have tried everything out as you read it, it's quite easy to operate, especially if you have a G-707 controller, with the edit knobs built right in. since i have a JX3P, i personally give the GR700 a 9/10, but other people may rate it lower.

The analog sounds in this mo-fo are unbelieveable. it's two osciallator (DCO) structure with a full-fledged VCF section, as well as a three-pattern LFO, with both envelope (ADSR) and LFO modulation. if you have a JX3P, you'll know how warm it sounds. you can get nice strings, pads, basses, drums, reeds, FX (oh god can you make FX), and pretty much anything else you can make with a 2-osc analog synth (the DCO's are syncable, desync'ed, or on 'metal' [ring modulator, kinda]). the only thing that sucks about it is when you have the guitar out plugged in, and you switch to guitar mode on your 707, there's a lot of background static, so if you play industrial metal, you may want an A/B box or a really good noise gate, if you think it might help. i would use an A/B box though.

well, it's 85% steel, except for the end pieces and the pedals. on mine, two of the pedals are loose, but they still work. also, i have problems with it cutting out on me - after some work with some newsgroups, i determined the culprit was a faulty voltage regulator on TR-1 on the main power board. after i got it re-soldered, it's been working like a gem ever since. i suspect it will continue this way, as long as i keep transporting it in my anvil case and wipe it off now and then. when i opened it up, it was built like a tank.

Hmm. Roland. Roland US is pretty crappy. they don't care a whole lot if you can't get your GR-700 working or not because it's 'obsolete'. thank god for Roland UK!! they hooked me up with a new cable, and also provided some A+ techie support. avoid Roland US!!! they get a 2, but Roland UK gets an 11 (if there was 11)

The GR-700 and G-707 combo kicks all the way. i have used a GR-1, and trust me, analog guys are way better off with a nearly two-decade-old GR700. i find the G-707 to actually have BETTER tracking than GK2A pickups with a GR-1 or GR-30. the GR-700 is a million times more versatile (because it's actually synthesis instead of sampling), and the sound quality and 'phatness' is a lot better. the GR-700 is one fun machine, and even cooler with the edit knobs on the G-707 for cutoff sweeps and more! oh yeah... and the touchplates are pretty bizarre! long live 80's guitar synths!!!!!!!!