Roland G-707 Synth Controller

Review is for the Guitar Controller; Price paid is for the whole package; Controller, Synth Unit and 24 pin Connecting Cable. Read my review of the Synth unit GR-700 as well.
This is the (usually silver, sometimes black or red) weird looking Guitar Synth Controller, shaped a bit like a cross between an Aircraft Carrier, an M-16 Rifle and Cloudbase from Captain Scarlett!!
Made between 1984 and 1987 in Japan I believe. Not sure exactly when mine was made, but some have suggested it was made by Ibanez for Roland. 22 frets, 2 nickel plated humbuckers, Bridge unit has 2 x touch plates for vibrato on the synth sounds, no coil taps, 1 x master volume knob, 1 x guitar tone knob, 1 x balance knob, 3 way Gibson style pickup selector, 1 x cutoff frequency knob, 1 x edit knob, 1 x vibrato knob and 1 x mode selector switch (phew!). Very nice trem system (vibrato tailpiece) with 2 x sealed bearings inside it! Despite what some say, mine WILL NOT not go out of tune, unlike my Strats or Gibson SG with Maestro trem. I really wang this thing and it stays precisely in tune all the time. The neck is lovely; a nice handful, not thin and weedy like a lot of '80's necks. The frets are a bit low for my taste, but the playability is spot on. I think the neck is Maple (with a shiny black finish)with a Rosewood 'board, and the body is Alder. It's very light and well balanced when used with a strap, which you have to 'cos you can't play it sat down. It just slips down all the time, so that the neck is laying across your thighs. STOOPID!! Mine is in good ORIGINAL condition; ie; not new looking, but just nicely aged and worn in. There's a bit of buckle rash on the back, and a couple of chips but it's 20 years old!! The lovely Silver finish is applied quite thick, yet the acoustic volume is VERY LOUD! This seems to fly in the face of current wisdom, which seems to be THICK FINISH = THIN SOUND. Not so with this guitar. I wonder if the stabiliser bar which connects the body directly to the headstock has anything to do with it? Maybe...
The tuners are unbranded, generic 6 in a line types and they work fine on mine. Mine has a bit of fingerboard wear but no fret wear?? Could have been refretted but it doesn't look like it to me. Maybe the frets have been dressed, which would explain the low profile?? Who knows, it plays and feels great anyway, as long as your stood up!!
I'm giving an 8 'cos I'd prefer a Strat style body, but it's a bit like your girlfriend; you'd like her to look like Britney Spears, but you love her anyway!! Besides, she'll do things Britney would never do!!

The basic guitar sound is thick and warm, and not very bright; again a bit like the girlfriend then. Very detailed sound though, due in part I think to low output. There's no coil taps, so it's a case of dialling in more treble on the amp (in my case the Mixer) My setup for this one is; G-707 > GR-700 > Mackie 1202vlz mixer > Genelec 1029 active monitors (synth only) Cornford Harlequin MK1 (Guitar only) and sometimes a Yamaha SR-50 112 S/S Combo which Yamaha deny ever having made... The G-707 is quite Les Paul-ey in sound; I should know, I've got two of 'em!! In fact, my 1999 Standard is a bit brighter sounding than this!! Strange really, considering it's a light guitar with a bolt on neck. It could be that the signal path (going thru a master volume, tone, balance and blend controls) and the sheer mass of the very heavy trem unit is chopping some treble response off?? Don't know, don't care 'cos it sounds great to me. The pickups aren't the most powerful I've ever heard, but as I've said, the warmth and detail more than makes up for that. There's good sustain, again very Gibson-ish, and this with a bolt-on neck and alder body!!. Now the synth sounds are great, but then thats the GR-700 making those sounds, so I'll stick to the guitar sounds. I'm giving a 9 'cos it please's me as much as, but in a different way to, my Gibsons and Fenders.

Now bear in mind here, it's a 20 year old guitar, and a well played in one at that. When I got it I instantly restrung it with 10's and was about to raise the action quite a bit, but I decided to leave it as it was and I'm glad I did. Let me explain why. My natural guitar style is somewhere between Neil Young and Bernard Butler; ie; not a technical player at all, sometimes sloppy, always aggressive, with a pick action most lumberjacks would fear!! I really dig in to it!! So, when I got the Roland, it was Rattle City as the strings were just bouncing off the frets!! Know why?? I was playing in my usual style on a guitar that was designed for unusualness!! That's to say, it was designed to control a synthesizer!! Once I'd grasped that, and with a Steve Hackett CD bunged on for inspiration, (He used Guitar Synths very tastefully) I began to play differently; Sometimes totally underplaying, but always leaving out the guitar licks, and Lo and Behold, there was the sound I wanted. There was no rattles or buzzes 'cos I wasn't rocking on it; I was using it to control the synthesizer unit, like it was designed to do. The action is like butter; string bending is silky and the trem is fantastic. If I decided never to use the synth unit, I would raise the action and I'm sure I could Rock & Roll on it but why should I? I've got plenty of other guitars for that, but only this one for controlling a synth. The finish on mine is still very good and I'll bet when it was new it was beautiful. There's a bit of tarnishing on the nickel plated pickup covers but you can still see your face in 'em. Looking at it now, 20 years after it was made, I can imagine what it was like when it was new; STUNNING.
I'm giving a 9 here 'cos I can't fault it, but you can't play it like a normal guitar; adaptation is necessary.

To me it looks as if the guitar has been well used, maybe live I don't know, but certainly, someone has "put it thru it's paces". It's still solid, there's nothing hanging off or broken, the trem stay's in tune NO MATTER WHAT I DO, and all the plating is still there albeit a bit tarnished on the pickup covers. The trem and bridge unit itself could be brand new, there's no rust or anything. As previously stated, the finish is a bit "buckle scarred" on the back, thru to the wood in one part, but have you ever seen the pic's of Claptons "Blackie"?? The poor old thing has no paint on the back, it's all worn away!! The strap buttons are great; really big ones. No slipping off them once the strap's on. I don't gig, just record at home so I'll never know if it's giggable but plenty of people in the '80's and '90's gigged them so.. Some guy called Amir from Orgy(?!) gig's his evidently... like I'd know...
I'm giving a 7 'cos it may look like it's been gigged a bit, but maybe it hasn't.

Good news here. Roland UK were extremely helpful in getting a manual for me. I spoke to a chap called Steve Barrett and he sent me a pdf copy via e-mail, and even a copy of the GR-700 manual thru the post FREE OF CHARGE!! RESULT!! I reckon this is great stuff. Yamaha are the PITS in this area. A year or so ago, they denied ever having made a combo I was trying to get a manual for!! Yamaha Japan told me it was made in 1991, and that I'd have to contact Yamaha UK for a manual. Yamaha UK said they'd never made such a combo, and it must be a counterfeit!! I told them Japan had advised me when it was made and I was put on hold and left there. I got the impression the handset had been put in a drawer or something. I called back and had the same thing happen TWICE MORE!! That was my last dealing with Yamaha Customer Support. I'm not saying I'll never buy Yamaha again, I have since, but where there's a Roland option, I'll always choose Roland, on the strength of their Customer Support. Warranty is probably about 19 years expired so I'm on my own if anything goes wrong. I'm giving a 10 here as I think they're great.

I've been playing for 30 years and as well as the Roland I also have;
1999 Gibson Les Paul Std, 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue, Gibson SG Std with Maestro vibrato, 1999 Fender AM Strat Std, 1999 AM Tele Std, 2003 Fender Highway One Strat, Gibson Songbird Dreadnought Style Acoustic. Amps are Cornford Harlequin MK1, Yamaha SR-50 112 S/S Combo, Mackie 1202VLZ desk (Synths drum machines and Vocals) Genelec 1029a Active Monitors. Effects are too many to mention, but things like MXR mains flanger (original '80's) Boss CE-1 Chorus, Yamaha E1005 and E1010 Analog delays, loads of MXR, loads of EHX.... The list goes on and on. I use processing on the Guitar sound but apart from a bit of Analog delay, nothing on the Synth sound. It's lovely just as it is. If it were stolen I'd definitely get another. I had a Casio Guitar synth in the '90's (MG-510 I think) that I couldn't get on with at all and for a while, it tainted me against Guitar Synths, but now I've got this, I realise what I'd been missing. The Casio was thin sounding and stiff playing. This is Thick and Creamy. The Guitar equivalent of a pint of Baileys Irish Cream!! I wish I could play it sat down. Well, I can with a strap but it's not comfortable and feels "wrong". Yet it feels perfect in a standing position?? Apart from that, there's nothing I would change. I'm giving a 9 here, 'cos it stands up against all those other so called "real" guitars and comes out shining. And I'm not sure what they'll look like in 20 years time. With the soft nitrocellulose finish on the Gibsons, they'll be lucky to avoid dents and dings!! Fenders seem to be a bit more hardwearing. Like comparing a Silk Shirt to a pair of Levi's I guess. One needs more care than the other.

Exactly the same as everyone else has said. Mine is a light golden champagne in color.

As a guitar, I can't find a fault with it. Geart neck, beautiful frets, the pickups have that pauly tone that I crave, and despite what some have said, I found that the trem stays perfectly in tune, no matter what you do to it. And true, you have to get used to the stabelizer bar, and you need to get a leg brace from someone to sit properly with it. A bit of getting used to I guess.
As a midi controller... ehhh. Grace notes from hell when you midi to another keyboeard, and the JX3P sound engine is dated. It sounds, and works better with a G300 box. As much as I HATE and DESPISE strats, the Roland ready strat is a better controller, but sucks ass as a guitar. As a guitar, the 707 is a 10. As a controller, 7.5

Absolutely perfection.

As a guitar, it's durable as a tank! No tuning issues, no problems with sound. It's a great guitar. Controller? It's ok if you can deal with Belew type of grace notes.

Haa!

Yea, i'd want another if it dissapeared. Been playing for twenty or so years. My other babies are: Aria Pro Prototype, '72-74 Penco Paul standard Goldtop, Peavey t-22, A BC Rico Wave, '67 Telestar, '62 Dan Electro Longhorn Bass, and a '80 Kramer DMZ6000B bass. I play with various software synths, a 66 Estyey 9 watt tuber, a 70 Oliver 35 watt tuber, and a '70's Marlboro 20 watt transi, through a Digitech RP#. Great guitar, if you want to get used to it.

esta guitarra controladora midi fue construida en los 80 s y es 100% japonesa, tiene un dise?o muy moderno y tiene microfono convencionales y tambien midi. Algunos parametros se pueden controlar desde el instrumneto pero solo pude comprar la guitarra (sin la pedalera) La unica modificacion que tiene son las clavijas Sperzel

Suena muy pareja, ideal para tocar en vivo.
Buena ganancia

Esta guitarra es hermosa, su dise?o deslumbra a todos !!!

Con esta guitarra toco en vivo desde 1998. fui de gira la Japon y ellos tambien estaban sorprendidos por su forma. Creo que tuvo mas exito fuera del Japon.

Quize conseguir un potenciometro y todo el mundo se me cago de risa mal....

Esta guitarra me encanta. Conozco otros due?os y estan igualmente facinados. Espero poder tenerla toda la vida.

I?ve got three of these sexy things (one sliver, one black, one red) and I love them all. I always wanted a guitar like this. Sleek, weird, an astro toy capable of unleashing the wrath and rage of outworld's tonal hostilities. In a nutshell, a Roland G 707. At the time of introduction, the guitar was a myth in itself (Midi guitar in itslef was). Anyway, the clear fact is that Roland's dedication to the guitar synth made them the de facto industry standard with their first commercially viable guitar synthesizer, the GS 500, introduced in 1977 up to these days with the GK2A. Is true that during Roland's second series of guitar synths (roughly from 1980 to 1984) a number of guitar builders also produced instruments that were capable of controlling synth sources, but always under Roland?s standards, sincesuch ?third party? instruments produced during this era were targeted at "driving" the GR 100 and GR 300, both Roland's guitar oriented floor synthesizers. At the end of that period, in late 1983 and to the amazement of the pack, the G 707 and GR 707 were introduced, with modest success until their discontinuation in 1986. Those instruments had one thing in common: they were all expensive and they were targeted at "off mainstream" market shares, so oddity wouldn't bother. By late 80's, and now facing competitors in where nobody before dared, Roland decided to go further and upped the ante with the introduction of the GM 70 guitar synth. This unit were capable of accepting all previous "second wave" Guitar Controllers, with the odd multipin DIN jacks and all, but welcomed the latest advances in synthesis and was fitted in a metal one-space rack unit, which was the "top" tendency at the time. This unit was the peak of the technology, which opened doors to the third wave of guitar's synthesis, foundation of what you use these days, when Roland still reign supreme in the field.

Anyway, this was the last Roland guitar synth system to be produced under the standard, along with its GR700 synth counterpart. Why this odd? One of the problems all guitar controllers suffer from is the open G string on a guitar is normally 'dead' vis-a-vis all other strings. To attempt to solve this, Roland added an ABS resin stabilizer bar in parallel and above the guitar's neck. To complete the joy of playing something uncommon, you have the GR700 floor unit (a huge improvement as it was basically the guts of a JX-3P adapted for use as a guitar synth). In a nutshell, it is a six voice, two DCO per voice, conventional analog poly-synth.

Shared basic specs of my three guitars are as follows: Asymmetrical "Sharkfin" mahogany body with supplementary stabilizing graphite composite upper bar, connecting to graphite reversed headstock. Presumably made under contract for Roland by Fuji Gen Gakki, who also built the Casio and Ibanez MIDI guitars this might arguably be the most radical design of all times yet!. Rosewood fingerbaord on finished maple neck, with 22 jumbo frets with dot markers, this could be a joy to play. Why conditional?. Aside from the "stabilizer" burden and after getting used to it, you should consider this one a very fast neck, but the uncomfort that this bar presents, including the fact that the fingerboard keeps hidden from your line of sight, is unprecedented.

Hardware also presents notes of novelty, since along with the usual 6 in line chrome tuners, you have Roland?s proprietary non locking tremolo unit. Even while this is an interesting piece overall, and we highly appreciate that Roland ventured into guitar hardware this deep, the 707 is extremely sensitive to tuning changes, thus rendering this whammy (as stable as a regular Fender) virtually unusable under modern standards. Electronics are composed by 2 Roland covered humbuckers (2 conductors medium output ceramic niel covered pickups). All built in synth electronics made by Roland, basically founded on a GK1 hexaphonic o

Obviously everything under my own personal perspective and perception, the tone and timbre of the G 707 is somewhat unique, very professional and consistent. Sporting a devil-may-care attitude and looks, the overall sound is reminiscent, from aloof, to an 80?s Les Paul, probably due to its features (humbuckers on mahogany) being specially attractive her "sweet spots".

I was particularly impressed with the tones you can pull from the neck pickup, which gives a curious versatility to this guitar. Jazzy, round and warm (I wouldn?t dare to go as far as saying ?sweet?) this guitar will satisfy even the mildest of players. Bridge pickup tones are roaring, yet detailed, and every rock sound in the book is positively right there. The output is moderate, and the guitar is relatively silent so as soon as you get used to the guitar?s action and ackward playing comfort, you?ll be all set. Hardcore metal players will be although dissapointed, since the instrument?s character is far from being contemporary for that style (nothing that couldn't be tweaked anyway). Notwithstanding, this one shreds like any other camper out there, if you get to know her well.

Rock, blues, jazz, progressive and even country players will feel right at home from the beginning, no matter which amp you use. In one of my guitars (bought used) an annoying buzz persists

For the record, I checked this babe out both as a synth controller and as regular guitar. The former was checked with both the floor synth unit GR 707 and the GR to Midi Converter GM 70, hooker to a Proteus 1, Ensoniq EPS, Ensoniq EPS 16+ and an old Yamaha DX7. Within the digital domain, this controller is adequate, even while most on board controls serve to nothing, being resanably fast and accurate. Obviously you can get better results with the modern GK series or optical systems, but this will accomplish most Midi tasks with aplomb. Within the analog realm, is in where this alien monster really shines. I will not review the gorgeous lushness and fatness of the GR 707 analog sounds (probably object of another review), but be noticed that the guitar handles and profits from 100% of its compadre. It?s fast, it?s accurate and program changing is a breeze. Editing from the on board controller, on the other hand, is kinda ackward and 0% intuitive, but that?s nothing that could not be fixed with the (today unexpensive) PG200 programmer, which will also be useful if you have a full sized Roalnd keyboard synth from that era. I like this controller a lot.

Regarding the former, this babe was tested with several rigs, including a 1981 Marshall full stack, 1985 MOSFET, 1987 half stack and 25th anniversary full stack as well as through my trusty ADAs MP2 and MP1 (coupled with an ADA MicroTube 100) through Fender HMs (4x12), and Crate (2x10) cabinets ?mono and stereo-.

Never recorded with this one, exception made by a couple of times with my 4 track tape personal studio for demos. Headroom of the analog timbres were just too much for the MT4X, but ?regular? guitar sounds came across loud and clear.

This guitar is somewhat hard to play (it?s the most bizarre beast you can get this side of an Auserwald after all), but keeping it up in tip top shape is easy. No adjustments (neither relevant nor minor) were required in order to accommodate these guitars to my own personal playing style, being the neck perfectly aligned and balanced and the action conveniently low (even the ones procured used!). Nothing abnormal was to fix or adjust on any of the three. Construction details were impeccable ?something natural for a guitar of this price range (remember that the 707 was one of the most expensive guitars at its time!), and the fingerboard had no dead spots or buzzing all along. My silver one needs some minor adjustment, but that?s my mistake, coulnd?t blame on the guitar.

I always took good care of these guitar, and if you do so, you might expect a friend for life. All hardware is of high quality and the chrome finishing should present problems to no one. Nitrocellulose finish coating is very good and nice, so these guitars may be deemed reliable and durable. Out of the three, the silver one ages evidently better than the black or red, which have a marked tendency to fade to opaque as times goes by.

Never contacted the manufacturer regarding these particular instruments, so it wouldn?t be fair to rate this.

I've been playing for more than 20 years now, and own roughly 70 guitars and 7 amps, including an Ibanez XIMG 2010, other Rolands 303 and 505, Yamaha G10, and a Roland Ready Strat, US made. If you?re interested in pictures or just further details on these amazing babes, be welcomed to my homepage at HTTP://ELECTRICGUITAR.50MEGS.COM

It's impossible to compare the G 707 with any other guitar! Either you L-O-V-E it or you just hate it. Take it or leave it. I did take 3.

Made in Japan by the Roland company circa 1984-1988? Passive electronics, 24 pin analog cable with normal 1/4" guitar input. This crazy fella has a "stabilizer" bar running across the top to ensure better tracking. Upturned headstock. Dual humbuckers, 3 way toggle switch (bridge position, neck position, both). You can get a range of tone from twangy tele to thick EMG loaded Jackson. For a guitar made for synthesizing, it has unbelievable tonality.

Musically, I like turning the guitar into a whole new vehicle of sound and the G707 does this very well. I'm using it through a JC120 and sparingly I'll run the gr700 (floor synth that it connects to) through a flanger, phase shifter, distortion, envelope filter or a ring modulator or something like that. I can get really tweaked out weird noises with it. As for straight guitar, I have found that the 1/4" output sounds better than the analog one. Has a lot more les paul fullness and punch. Sounds great through my JC120.

Keep in mind that this guitar has been around since 1985, it still plays fast and feels great. I can tell the pickups are a bit decrepit, I'm going to put some seymour duncans in it most likely but played the original pickups for the sake of anyone who wants a review here. Tuners feel really good. It's bolt on and feels really solid. The stabalizer bar is bolted and glued so even if you held it and shook it, chances are it's not going anywhere.

It's made by roland so I'm sure it'll be around for quite a while. I would definetly gig with it, it's presence is an ominous one. It feels like it's sturdy enough to last another 16 years.

Roland are great people but since this make and model are so old, I doubt that you are gonna get any help on this one. Don't try sending it to your nearest guitar dealer either, this is a wicked stallion of an instrument.

I have been playing for only about three years but have rapidly developed a unique style. The 707 fits it better than almost any guitar I've ever slung around my neck. The only other one I have is a Fernandes Vertigo Elite with the sustainer pickups in it. If you get the controller make sure you get the GR700 floor unit with it, it has the cheesiest 80's analog synth noises in the world. Did I mention it has a synth pickup screwed in behind the bridge pickup? If it were stolen I'd definetly look for another one. My musical project is industrial/experimental/light math metal so the 707 works for me. If you want to lay down old replayed SRV blues crap go get a fender and cry yourself to sleep at night.