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The GR-30 was my first hands-on introduction to guitar synthing...and what
an intro!
It allows me to do two of the things I enjoy most at the same time--playing
the axe and playing with MIDI. Some of Roland's presets are real knockouts, IMO, while others are rather
sad. The violin/fiddle sounds are a bit disappointing because when a
note is sustained on one of these patches, the loop points are very
noticable.
I'm guessing Roland did some scrimping here in order to save on memory and
keep the price down...?? The drone sitar and flamenco sounds made strong first impressions. Some of
the brasses and winds could have been thought through more carefully...but
that's where the editing controls come in, right? I found the piano and organ patches the most difficult to deal with
on the guitar, likely because of my own playing limitations and the nature
of the samples themselves. The guitars as a group were, IMO, the best layed out of all the types, which
really isn't surprising, considering the people this box is targeted for. More percussion kits and individual instruments would have been very nice. An expansion module would also have been good, like on the GR09. But
there's always cost to think about. A MIDI thru connection would have been welcome too. Though alot of the factory patches sounded so-so to just plain bad, Roland
did leave alot of room to explore on the GR-30. The programming options
aren't as extensive as on other gear like the Sound Canvas and the JV/XP
series, but there are still all kinds of ways to play around with this
synth and make it sing like an angel or growl like a rabid dog. Btw, if anyone's interested in a good jumping off point for GR-30 material,
might I suggest The GR-30 Page (www.hmtnet.com/users/gbraun/gr30.htm)
It has patches, audio demos, editors, articles, reviews, and other
worthy and interesting links to visit. Drop over any time. Gord B.
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