[Synth] Play Guitar Synth with the BOSS GP-10 and Roland GR-55

Hello,Yoshitaka posting here.
Due to the pandemic, my band has disbanded and I have been unable to have any real band sessions. In such a situation, I started to enjoy a different type of performance by collaborating on Instagram. I have especially started creating and offering accompaniment sound sources to my followers who I have become good friends with.
In sound source production, I started with acoustic guitar only, then I added guitar, bass, and rhythm, and after that, I wanted to try keyboards and even a horn section. In this situation, what I’m playing as an amateur guitarist who cannot play keyboard instruments is the Roland /BOSS guitar synthesizer equipment. Here, I would like to touch on the currently available GK systems,the BOSS GP-10 and the Roland GR-55.
I have also included links to my own performance videos for reference.

1. Current State of Guitars with GK Terminals

In order to connect a guitar synthesizer, you will need a guitar that also has a 13-pin GK terminal. Using an existing electric guitar, the GK-3 pickup can be purchased and installed as a stand-alone unit, which can then be connected to the GP-10 guitar processor and the GR-55 guitar synthesizer to play it.

ROLAND / GK-3

However, the GK-3 is a rather large external component. Personally, I think it doesn’t look very good when installed. Therefore, I think that guitars with built-in pickups for guitar synthesizers would be easier to use in addition to looking good.
Apart from custom-ordered guitars, Godin is probably the only company that currently offers a lineup of guitars with GK pickups, and those with the SA (synth access) name correspond with these guitars.

Typical examples are Godin xtSA

GODIN GUITAR / xtSA Trans Black Flame

I used to play this guitar. It’s a versatile guitar that supports three outputs: electric, piezo (an acoustic sound), and GK (synth). Made with rich-light fretboards with fast rise time, and output to the GK terminal via RMC piezo pickups.
In the late 1990s, Aria Pro Custom Shop had a lineup of guitars/basses with GK jacks in their catalog. The original Roland company worked with Fender to release the Fender GC-1 powered by Roland in the early 2010s, and it was based on the Stratocaster. Today, the GC-1 can still be found at flea markets and auctions, and those in good condition can fetch for more than the price of a new one at that time, which makes me think that the Stratocaster's ease of use must be special.

Now that I have finished talking about the guitars needed for guitar synths, I will quickly introduce the GP-10 and GR-55.

2.Guitar Processor BOSS GP-10

The BOSS GP-10 is a guitar synthesizer that consists mainly of guitar-based sound sources, although the name “guitar processor” is difficult to understand. It can be connected not only to the GK jack, but also to a standard phone jack, and it has a built-in effect sound source that is said to be equivalent to the BOSS GT-100 multi-effects pedal.

BOSS / GP-10GK GK Pickup included

With this equipment and a guitar equipped with a GK jack, you can enjoy a variety of guitar sounds without having to change guitars when performing live or recording at home. It also has built-in synth and bass sounds, so you can play synth and bass on your electric guitar.
You may have the preconceived notion that such a digital device can only be used for modern music. I modeled and reproduced the Nashville tuning used in Princess Kaguya's song “22-sai no Wakare” (22-year-old Farewell) with the GP-10. Nashville tuning and other irregular tunings require the strings to be replaced and tuned each time, and live performances require multiple guitars to be prepared in advance. However, with the GP-10, it is possible to use the same tunings on different guitars. With the GP-10, you can preset various guitars such as a normal acoustic guitar, a guitar in Nashville tuning, or a 12-string guitar, and instantly switch between them with a switch on the guitar or on the GP-10.
Reference GP-10 performance with Nashville tuning guitar added (Vocal training in progress. Thank you for your understanding)
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CaSB1M2uMQQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The GP-10 is also a very useful piece of equipment when used in combination with a computer. The following points are particularly useful.

(1) Easily create sounds on Windows or Mac and add/overwrite them on the GP-10.
The dedicated application BOSS TONE STUDIO for GP-10 is required (free).
(2). Guitar performance can be converted to MIDI and a MIDI sound source can be played.
In this case, the connection is a USB A (PC) to B (GP-10) cable, which is very inexpensive and easy, unlike a MIDI cable. I used Studio One Prime (free) and installed it on my mobile PC. Of course, there is a delay (latency) compared to playing the main sound source, so it is not suitable for live performances, but it is very useful when making sound sources for home recording.

As I mentioned above, a guitar with a GK jack and GP-10, I can use acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and even effectors (and possibly bass and synths), so I can use the minimum amount of equipment for live performances or home recording.
For reference, the GP-10 can be stored perfectly in the MUSIC WORKS EBB2-S/BK effects board case. It is also easy to carry.

MUSIC WORKS / EBB2-S/BK Effects Board Case

3. Guitar Synthesizer Roland GR-55

This is a full-spec guitar synthesizer that can use as many as 910 sound sources, including wind and orchestral instruments, without relying on external sound sources.

ROLAND / GR-55S-BK

The GR-55S-BK is a full-spec guitar synthesizer that can freely combine tones (sound sources) to create, for example, a flute and acoustic guitar in unison. However, all operations must be performed on the main unit and not on a computer. Although the display is large, it can be a bit cumbersome if you are used to operating a computer.
Since 156 batch lists are provided by the manufacturer preset, there may not be many new things to make, but personally, I feel that there are a little less unnecessary synth bells and whistles.

It is a fairly large product and you cannot easily create sounds on a computer like the GP-10, but even so, it is still a core piece of equipment for Roland guitar synthesizers even now, nearly 10 years after it was first released. Anyone can see that it was highly perfected at the time of its initial release.
Example of performance with Fender GC-1 and GR-55 (335 series sound ⇒ Flute sound)
The following performance uses the preset sound source without editing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CV7fhjbP3uh/

4. Utilizing GK's equipment

Even though I described the characteristics of each piece of equipment above, the truth is that guitar synthesizers are all about settings. It is necessary to adjust the sensitivity and other settings through trial and error according to the strength of your picking. In my case, if I follow the manufacturer's instruction manual, I feel that the synthesizer is too sensitive to strong picking, and aftertones and touch sounds are noticeable, so I use a less sensitive setting. In addition, it’s absolutely necessary to tune the instrument well.
Even so, when modeling other instruments, for example, it is difficult to reproduce the bowing of a violin or the blowing of a wind instrument on a guitar, so I gradually increase the number of instruments that can be used. When I first started using it, I mainly used the GP-10 guitar synthesizer, then the GR-55 preset wind instrument synthesizer (flute is easy to use, but saxophone is difficult), and so on. As I get into guitar synthesizers, I may want to get both the GP-10 and the GR-55 (and possibly SY-1000?). But the GP-10 alone is quite manageable. If you combine it with a free DAW on your computer, you will be able to expand your sound variation even further. For someone like me who is super bad at playing the keyboard, this is a great piece of equipment. Please check it out.

That is all.
Thank you for reading my article to the end.

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