Roland GK-2A Midi Pickup

CrippledYak

New member
Hell with midi....

I just recently purchased a Roland GK-2A with the hopes of plugging straight into my computer. I have everything I need as far as the computer side of things go (USB midi port, software, etc., etc.) but I soon found -- to my disappointment -- that the GK-2A uses a 13pin din instead of the standard 5 pin midi... I contacted Roland and apparently there is nada I can do but find a GI-10 midi controller (which is discontinued and is virtually impossible to find) or spend all sorts of money on their guitar synths ($800++) when I really have no use for it (I'm quite content with what I have setup on my computer). When I originally called Roland, the tech support guy said he didn't really have a clue and that I'd have to talk to someone in sales, which seemed a bit funny to me; I'm thinkin' the sales guy (overeager sales guy I might add) was just trying to upsale me, there _has_ to be an easy way to do this. Anyone hav any ideas?
 
The pickup and the connection it comes with is designed to talk to Roland's MIDI guitar interface. The whole reason that the plug won't fit into a MIDI port is so that you don't screw up your MIDI gear.

You didn't for even one second believe that the pickup by itself would allow you to send MIDI to any MIDI capable device, did you?

In any event, you would be using your guitar as a controller, you would not be recording your guitar into your computer (even with the part of the setup that your are missing).

How did you get the pickup without the rest of the kit anyway?

If you just want to record your guitar into your computer, I recommend a POD 6 passport (cheap and good).

If you wanted to use your guitar as a MIDI controller after all, then you need to get the part of the hardware that you are missing. Who sold you a pickup all by itself?

Carl
 
The pickup only converts pitch to voltage. You also need the Roland hardware "brain" to turn it into MIDI. Thye current model is the GR-33. The VG systems also use this pickup, I believe.
 
Krakit said:
You didn't for even one second believe that the pickup by itself would allow you to send MIDI to any MIDI capable device, did you?...

well I might of had a false hope that someone would of created an "all in one" device (I seem to remeber the G-Vox being a plug and go sorta thing, but I also seem to remember the G-Vox not being very good), Long & Mcquade Music (the store where I bought it, one of the larger music stores up here) led me to believe this was the case.


...In any event, you would be using your guitar as a controller, you would not be recording your guitar into your computer (even with the part of the setup that your are missing)...


Come on now, I may be hopless, but I am not that hopless -- I am looking to use it as a midi controller. I did some callin' around to see if maybe another shop had some idea; apparently there is a cable that converts from 13pin din to computer com port and includes software (I assume to translate the pickup signal to midi?)... I'm gonna check it out and see how we go... letch'all know.
 
You mean run a program on a PC that will stand in for the synth brain of the GR-33? Whew, I suspect it will be horribly slow...
 
Do you have any syths or sound modules to control? Just want to make sure you understand MIDI is not audio.

Look on EBAY for the Roland 'brain'.
 
AlChuck said:
You mean run a program on a PC that will stand in for the synth brain of the GR-33? Whew, I suspect it will be horribly slow...

I don't know about that, but you are right, it could quite possibly be far to slow (though I can't imagine they'd manufacture such a thing if that were the case). I'm really not sure if the guy I talked to is wacked or not, but I'm willing to give it a try... I've spent a helluva lotta money there lately so I'm sure they won't mind taking it back if it doesn't work.

TexRoadkill said:
Do you have any syths or sound modules to control? Just want to make sure you understand MIDI is not audio.

Look on EBAY for the Roland 'brain'.

Didja all go to a tech school for internet dialup support (first rule, always assume the client is a complete idiot) : P .. I'm just jokin' around, I appreciate that you're just tryin' to save me a lotta headache. I am looking at using it to control Mellosoftron (and no, I'm not trying to plug into a vintage Mellotron keyboard) vitual sampler [http://www.polyhedric.com/software/ml/], but more importantly I'm probably going to be using it for _midi_ work in Cakewalk. I have a Fostex VF-160, I really have no interest in recording _audio_ directly to my computer. I did have a slight misunderstanding (assumption???) about midi pickup technology, only being famliar with G-Vox (years ago), which I believe came with it's own midi converter -- I guess I just figured the technology would be at that point, and seeing the pickup said "Roland Midi", not "Synth" one would think that it would be midi and not need a seperate converter.
 
Sorry for talking down to you. It's amazing the questions people ask here that would be solved by reading even the most basic MIDI primer.

Good luck with the Guitar synth.
 
TexRoadkill said:
Sorry for talking down to you. It's amazing the questions people ask here that would be solved by reading even the most basic MIDI primer.

Good luck with the Guitar synth.

No worries man :) ... like I said, I acknowledge that y'all are just tryin' to help -- hell, I've done stupid things before. I'm almost done bludgin' at work and on my way to pickup that cable/software, I'll post the result.
 
aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggggg.......

Well it looks like I'm the owner of a new GR-33. The cable guy was wacked out on cough syrup er somethin'. I guess I've spent a ridiculous amount on my studio, why stop now? That's what credit is for anyway :).
 
I am interested to hear how you are doing using that as a controller. I recently really really really thought about getting one since I can play guitar much better than keys, however, because of latency, like I play to fast for the controller sometimes, I didn't get it. I would like to get one someday for usage as a midi controller. Anyway, let me know how it is going.

--MIKE
 
I'm with mastahnke on this, Yakster. Let us know how it turns out. I have an old Ensoniq keyboard for MIDI, but I can't play keys to save my life. If latency isn't super bad, the Roland stuff just may be the way for me to go, so I'm very interested to know how things go for ya.
 
well...
the unit was both more, and less than I expected. The stand alone unit is pretty amazing, it has some great patches, but also some completely useless ones (tell me, when would you ever need to use a "Molten Lava" sample). As far as using it as a controller, there is still a bit of a problem with latency. I found chords to be impossible (both stand alone and as a controller), and it seems to like to throw in a random note here and there. I would say using the unit as a controller live would be out of the question. In the studio, a lot of high-end midi software has misplaced note and various other error filtering, so if you are using it to just write sequences, I think it should do the job. With this said however... work has prevented me from really spending the time to learn the system. The number of features is unbelievable; I more or less just plugged it in and went for it. I think one big problem I'm having (at least with the misplaced/random notes) is the pickup mounting. The included hardware is pretty lame, and I haven't prepared the guitar I actually plan to use with it. Another issue is I am using a Pentium notebook with your basic everyday soundcard, isn't exactly a powerhouse system. I will be moving my actual system home soon, and will be using a Gravis Ultra sound (w/8meg wave table). I am hoping with a bit tweaking the results might be quite a bit different. I will definitely keep ya'll posted (I hope to dedicate this weekend to getting the damn thing working right). If anyone happens to have any suggestions give me a shout. Lat'a.
 
>Another issue is I am using a Pentium notebook with your basic everyday soundcard, isn't exactly a powerhouse system.

Not an issue at all. A P90 system should be able to handle the MIDI with no trouble. As for the chords- look around for a setting that will allow separate channels of data for each string. This cuts down on those confused note starts that get sent.

I wasn't at all impressed with the overall effectiveness of the Roland converters. The real deal is the Axon Neural Net. Much better accuracy and much smaller latency.
Good enough to use LIVE!
 
drstawl said:
>Another issue is I am using a Pentium notebook with your basic everyday soundcard, isn't exactly a powerhouse system.

Not an issue at all. A P90 system should be able to handle the MIDI with no trouble. As for the chords- look around for a setting that will allow separate channels of data for each string. This cuts down on those confused note starts that get sent.

True, it's more than fast enough for the midi side of things; however I've been using it to control wav samples and I'm afraid it is just too slow to do that (especially once I add in a few loops/layers). I'll check out that channel setting and see how I go with that, thanks :)
 
I've got the gr33 and a mounted gk2a pickup, and there are big plus's, and some minus's ...

First, the tracking is VERY dependent on the sensitivity settings on the gr33, and the PROPER placement of the pickup.
Also...clean playing is of the utmost importance, as just laying your hand across the strings like you may have in the past, can trigger those unwanted notes...so, just don't do that, if possible. But they have a "finger tapping" sensitivity mode, that allows you to play pretty sloppy and get away with pretty much.

as far as latency, there in none to notice, with the exception of some on the low E string when playing bass patches etc....and it is still usable though, but no Stanley Clarke hysteria allowed. A work around is to play it an octave higher on the guitar, and transpose the patch down an extra octave...latency then pretty much gone.

The gr33 brain is pretty decent as far as the sounds, if you like Roland, but the presets really suck and are really just suggestions or starting points. You'll get A LOT more mileage out of the unit if you come up with your own patches. And yes...molten lava patch for a guitar...I agree...why???:rolleyes: And...patches for a Strat...huh??

But now...you have a MIDI out of the GR33, which of course allows you to plug into any MIDI capable device...and the sky is the limit then...eh?

The gr33 is plastic, the cheapest price available(new), but the most bang for the buck, works reasonable well to be a useful instrument, and I have used mine live all the time. You can find older gr30's on Ebay for $200 sometimes... some like those better, but if you just want a MIDI out brain..there ya go.
 
Ah, Roland GR-30...

I just sold my Roland GR-30. Had it for a couple of years. I bought it because I didn't know how to play keys, and I figured I could author MIDI with it. It never worked well for that, because the tracking was never precise enough.

Until recently, I was playing in a band, and we recorded a song with a cello part, and I played mandolin. When we played the song live, the mandolin was unnecessary, and I missed the cello. So I started using the GR-30 live, yes live, to play the cello part, and even a cello solo! This song always scared the bajeezus out of me, because I had to be SO on top of it, so precise. One false move and GRONK, the GR-30 would send out this ear-splitting wail, and the whole band would turn around and look at me. :) I gronked a couple times at live performances. But mostly, the audience would just be looking around for the keys, and they'd eventually figure out it was me. Always much applause.

I had no use for the unit since the band ended. I bought a Yamaha S80 keyboard, and the GR-30 went up on eBay. Been teaching myself keys and about synthesizers. I thought my old Roland VS-880 8-track was complicated, this S80 is a nightmare. At least Sonar is easy!

-ElSilva
p.s. Anyone wanna buy a VS-880EX?
 
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