Roland GR55 Guitar Synthesizer Demo with Alex Hutchings

[@XENONEZZ2]

The GR-55 is indeed very much here 10 years on....very prophetic Alex...!!....and what a brilliant guitar synth it still is...!!

[@GaryBeilby]

True!

[@taikoking1]

This is absolutely hands down the best demo for the GR55. Chappers you are such a good sport, Alex is so relaxed, the two of them make it really enjoyable to watch and listen.

[@BryanDenham]

I never really had a problem having fun all day with my guitar but once i got this GR-55 i cant put it down. its an awesome piece of musical equipment , its worth every cent spent , if your thinking about getting one but your not sure , take my advise GO GET IT ASAP you will love it.

[@twoweelr]

absolutely the best demo I've seen on a guitar accessory...period. Thanks.

[@SurrealNotion]

Will definitely have to look Alex's music up! What a player! Thanks for the tips and video on the GR!

[@PatrickWard4]

Hello from 10 years in the future. I just bought one of these as it seems to be the best pedal option for PCM synth sounds (virtual instruments) from guitar. Even the modeling side of this pedal is quite good by today's standards.

[@muhammadfitriidris4381]

i really love see every alex demo video.. you are very expert on every pedal n show all funtion on the pedal.. i don't see anyone like alex when he demo pedals

[@rogerblack3519]

It got 100% better as he went through. Great player. I can see soooooo much scope especially for solo players. I am in the USA in 2 weeks I will. Get one there.

[@UnitedEffect]

Great update on Alex Hutchings use of the GR55. It seems the tones and tweaking can get as deep as one wishes to go.

[@UnitedEffect]

To trigger a synthesizer you need a hexaphonic pickup(pu). It's really like having 6 mini pu's,one for each string.It is needed to run any midi device by a guitar. SOME guitars have it built-in, such as Alex Hutchings' Godin LSGX...they are in the saddles, along with a 13 pin midi out. I just bought a Carvin HF2S which also comes with built-in hexaphonic pu's in the saddles and a 13 pin midi output. If you're using a guitar without this option you need to buy the GR55 with the GK-3 pu included.

[@larryh.3173]

There's also the Brian Moore models, their iGuitars.

[@UnitedEffect]

YES you DO NEED the pickup! Unless you have a midi equipped guitar. ie. built in hexaphonic pickup and 13 pin midi out. Without it, a guitar with regular magnetic pickups will not be able to trigger the GR55.

[@Shornetastic]

That is magical. By God that is magical. Magical. All the tuning stuff is really cool; but the amp modeling quality not AS much - still good. I think it'd a wonderful tool to use the synths and the tuning functions with the rest of the output being dry and letting the amp to the rest of the work. Trombone is very cool. Would probably also need an unclosable wallet with money just spilling out the sides.

[@GenXFuturist101]

Man you really gotta love the GR-55 & Alex kicks it riteously :-)

[@lancerains4185]

This guy has an amazing sense of timing...

[@therealericjackdaniels]

04:53 DADGAD Wow... that sounded friggin awesome

[@freeelectron8261]

Cool vid - thanks! Looks like the GR55 is pretty amazing.

[@EvilSean62]

he said " ten years from now " etc ... well ... im still loving mine and have miles to go before i sleep

[@andertons]

@harryjamesthomas right (Tortex Sharps made buy Dunlop) albeit they aren't actually made from tortoiseshell anymore! Not since 1980!

[@m1234n1234]

one of the best vids on youtube!

[@knuckle47]

Great.., I'm debating on upgrading my GR33 ... Always look for your GR work. ...love it

[@777i2i]

got one in the post - can't wait

[@tomsmusicroom2]

loved it , fantastic video, and alex only lives in bristol,

[@PeterDad60]

This device is perfect for producers who are tired of paying actual musicians to make music for their shows/commercials and whatnot. No talent required, just connect any electric guitar, hit a sting and let the GR55 do the rest. I have already seen/witnessed producers using computers and music programs to make entire soundtracks for commercials. He was very happy as he did not need to hire musicians-more money for him! Heck I'm sure you could hook up a keyboard in place of a guitar and produce those wonderful, rich tones that people love to listen too. Ahhh, it's great to live in an age where talent, skill or training on actual instruments is becoming a thing of the past. Hey, man, in just a few decades people passing themselves off as "musicians" will just press buttons and have the music of others play and splice them together and remix it all. So then the best future musicians will be those with the most extensive library of past recordings that they can loop/splice/remix and present as their own original creations. Me? I still play my violins, guitars, sitar, sarod, veena, sarangi, rabob, oud, gauguin, pipa, erhu, bouzouki, banjo, upright bass, drums, viola and cello. No I am not a master, but I do enjoy playing these actual instruments. Yes, I did study violin and my teacher was Nina Chemolev and she was a Juliard School of Music Graduate and I learned to read and play classical music studying under her. Every other instrument I learned from listening to other people play - like Ravi Shankar on sitar, Farid Al Atrash on oud, Pandit Ram Narayan on Sarangi, Banana Fingers (Andres Segovia) on Classical Nylon Stringed Guitar and Jimi Hendrix on electric guitar. -Peter

[@lomoholga]

What the hell are you rambling on about you angry man

[@lomoholga]

Hey everybody- try to not have any fun playing the guitar-- no synths for anyone!!

[@statueoftheabyss6886]

You would expect to have seen this type of comment say 10-15 years ago. Why make snide comments on a piece equipment that by todays standards is relatively old? Its also unfounded, follow any instrument on social media, ie instagram etc and see for yourself that there are plenty of young and upcoming musicians who's talent is just mind-blowing (I assume partly due to how freely available good quality online tutorials are). From that point of view its fairly exciting to see what the future holds, as for making a career from it is another matter but highly doubt that a guitar synth will affect that a great deal.... From a more technical point of view "just connect any electric guitar, hit a sting and let the GR55 do the rest", is actually quite inaccurate. Firstly you need a Midi equipped Guitar with the roland 13 pin standard or a roland GK pickup, then the ability to adjust your playing style to suit and the programming proficiency to make the most of this unit (as from what i hear its a nightmare to program and stock sounds/programs are awful). So a one stop multi instrument machine, orchestra destroying unit is unlikely. Much more of a unit for guitarists who would just like to add a different colour to their palette.

[@hobbesismycat]

Awesome loop jam starts at 13:38

[@andremigcasol]

my gold is to reach 6% of your ability, alex!!

[@Mr.Goldbar]

i really liked the design the skyline joke

[@Axeman-uf5kr]

What a legend. Alex Hutchings has taken second place in my favourite guitarists list. Guthrie's still number 1! Wonder what HE would do with one of these things.....

[@bubba2248]

Guthrie? Would probly use it as a doorstop...lol

[@theverbalrelease]

I liked the part with the guitars.

[@AdamIronside]

Really cool box of fun indeed!

[@bryanguner8082]

thank you so much , i appreciate the answer. Just to clarify tho even bass synth comes out sounding normal ? no danger of blowing out your amp.

[@cast390]

Sounds great but why do all the heavy distorted guitars sound artifacty?

[@xprophet9]

Also, although there is no latency in the modeling, you will experience artifacts in some presets when shredding unless your technique is flawless.

[@xprophet9]

Finally, there are many goofy and cheesy sounding tones but you will also find many useful ones. It would be great if it controlled analog external synths like the 2600. Can it do this?

[@tjvalion2110]

Alex is a BEAST!!!!

[@m1234n1234]

4:55 is amazing :o...so nice

[@CampfireHedphaz]

If I ever obtained one of these I'd have even less of a social life than I do now, but take pride in it.

[@CMSpida]

@RobChappers ripped, buff, strong

[@drdan141]

19:00 For those like me who are wondering if the GK-55 will work in a live setting with a normal guitar rig on the side

[@georgemavimbela]

is there any other that has done it better than the GR55 that comes with Piano and Organ sounds.

[@m1234n1234]

omg 14:10 sounded like super smash bros music!! i love this thing!

[@MrRockstar1968]

Great demo and fantastic effects unit. I'm wondering though, were the drums added later to the guitar riffs or were they actually played on the effects unit whilst playing the guitar?

[@Nicksperiments]

Stephen Luke he’s using a backing track with the drums. It is possible to play drum sounds on this unit but it would be ridiculously hard to play both at the same time. You could make the bottom string have the drum sounds and the rest guitar but that would be be hard to get the timing right

[@beenay18]

Gr55 produces sound from midi(sampled sounds) and amp modeller. Sy300 produces sound from synth(oscillators). How does gm800 gets its sound from- midi, synth or amp modeller?

[@harryjamesthomas]

@AndertonsMusic oh :L Oops, thanks for the update

[@NoelHaven]

YOU NEED THE PICK UP, Promise.

[@harryjamesthomas]

@DeathMagneticX3 sharp tortex picks, they are made from tortoise shell

[@berntedvinsson5397]

How many hours did you spend to make your user bank? In my GR-55 theres only 8 useful sounds, can i download your userbank and add them to my GR-55?

[@thomascox7466]

Alex is BOSS!!!!

[@TruthSurge]

.6 seconds? That's horrible lag. That's over 1/2 second between the time you hit the string and the time you hear something. I guess he sucks at math. 500 ms (milli, not micro) is half a second. Surely he must mean something more like 5 to 10 MILLIseconds. This is like 8 years ago. Is there nothing better out there for the last 8 years?

[@Nicksperiments]

TruthSurge I’m not sure what the delay is but it’s not really noticeable at all. I’d say 5-10 milliseconds is about right. There’s not really a market for these things because most people either don’t care about synth sounds on guitar, or people don’t want to spend $600 (even though most people’s pedal boards cost way more than that with 1/4th the capability of this)

[@edwardstables5153]

if you mean do you need the pick-up, then no i don't think you need it but it expands the pedals ability's by a huge amount.

[@justsomeguy1074]

You need the 13-pin pickup to trigger the synth/sampled sounds.

[@Dimanchy_Boss]

Hello, do music on your Boss GT 1000 using your smartphone via usb and OTG cable, as it works on the Boss GT 10 (fx chain, DGT). Please!

[@komkritrientong5963]

He is geniusman.

[@MARS-GREENH0USE]

12:00😮😮

[@phostenix]

"Alex, can you play Am pentatonic, though?" Hilarious

[@ibanezxiphos700]

I lol'd at the design the skyline joke. I don't think anyone else got it

[@bomdelux]

@macbros1337 I'm sure if you are looking for heavy distortion sounds, you don't need to be spending neigh on £600 to do so. Also, don't forget that there is no amp involved here, so regular guitar sounds won't sound as thick and full.

[@TheRuobi]

OH F%$K!! THAT THING IS INCREDIBLE!!!

[@DannyPeel]

If anyone can step in for The Captain... it's Alex freakin' Hutchings!.

[@RobChappers]

@CMSpida What does "hench" mean?

[@justsomeguy1074]

Hench - (of a man) having a body that looks big, strong and well shaped, as if he has done a lot of exercise.

[@xprophet9]

You will notice latency in the synth. Demonstrate it or it will be presumed to be a deal breaker. In point of fact, the latency is the best it has ever been and you can work with it.

[@johnharpdalton7766]

Dear Andertons, for decades I've played an E A D G C F fourths tuning on guitars. Can this handle that with ease?

[@OM9012-j7y]

Yep

[@Jacksonkellyfreak]

That's the tuning Alex uses

[@Johnharpdalton]

@@Jacksonkellyfreak Really? That's interesting as I've hardly ever met another player who does.

[@Jacksonkellyfreak]

@@Johnharpdalton sure enough. He mentioned it toward the end of the video

[@calixtosoftware7021]

no ban thanks

[@ch3zn1ck]

I can't seem to find any info on this question: does anyone know how to assign a sound to each string individually?

[@rpcarnell]

What's he playing around 13:30 ?

[@Nicksperiments]

Ygor Nimoy a guitar

[@frankalma6179]

Does it have the steve vai effects on BALLERINA song??

[@aKidNamedJosee1]

whats a pickup?? cuz i looked online and there is different prices and one includes the pickup and the other one doesnt

[@valentindumbrava7124]

Can it play clasic instruments like violin and others ?

[@phililpb]

yes

[@DeathMagneticX3]

DId he say "sharks" when he was talking what pics he uses? as in those Sharkfin picks?

[@mijit.859]

Can you get the Greek Bouzouki sound effect(s) !?? 😨

[@jdjmillar]

Tampon advert before a video for Guitar synth ? !!

[@RicardCastro]

Godin

[@MarkSchuster-ym3iy]

Tracking is good

[@Harrysound]

I have the same shoes as alex

[@julp8728]

Harrysound who cares

[@matereo]

A peadlboard/synth for guitarists who are mental

[@samueltrinidad9921]

Can you put the GR 55 directly to the P. A., withoutt using a Guitar Amplifier?

[@justsomeguy1074]

Yes

[@CMSpida]

Damn Chappers. dude your getting hench.

[@bryanguner8082]

can you use a gr55 with a tube amp?

[@justsomeguy1074]

Yes

[@jackloganbill605]

dang alex is incredible...must be something wrong with my GR55, doesn't sound anything like that... ;)

[@JimiWinfield]

Alex Hutchings

[@xaviermusic3475]

How did you connected your guitar to the gr55 without GK3?

[@acmilanccmr9]

leo DJ Hey bro. It can't. Gk3 is needed or you must buy a GODIN Guitar (with MIDI 13 pines).

[@christiandufour4152]

The guitar is a Godin LGXT. You don't need the GK3. On their website look for their guitars under Synth-Midi.

[@spencerholmes1047]

Alex Hutchings makes me wanna buy this efx unit. But somehow he seems more like an anologue pedal board guy to me.

[@FrancoisLamouche]

i dont know what u guys are doing in the music world, and what u are aiming at, but unfortunately the latency of the synth part of the machine makes most of serious and/or modern plays impossible; im pretty amazed to hear and read what i see here. at least to bass, 100% sure i dont recommend the gr55. flm

[@chrisamadeus4647]

The Nuts

[@cameronsd]

11:44 was sooooooooooooooo hectic

[@sebastionhawk5565]

14:20 !

[@DeathMagneticX3]

@jtm1music Aaah Ok :D Misheard him :L

[@grizzli1994]

13:08....Holy Shit.....

[@fraser149]

design the skyline reference xD

[@brianlcurry3545]

i wanna be you when i grow up!!!!!!!

[@bugjr]

15:08: ERRRRRAAAANNNUUUUUU!

[@Aleks15region]

даааа,крутая машинка,интересно сколько стоит

[@harrydemooy1754]

electro Harmonix key9

[@jtm1music]

@DeathMagneticX3 no sharps

[@davidellis2579]

He is not using the GK3 as stated. The Godin guitar has its own pickup that is mounted at the bridge. Expect to have more latency using the GK3.

[@odgeUK]

Is Alex the son of Anthony Worral Thompson?

[@creationmind2508]

They talk too much lol

[@stevenblakeakahashburns]

Hahaha ffs @11:35 u sexy beast ............Alex.......?

[@vubear]

Unimaginative rubbish. Bring back Gundy Keller

[@ertsveldje]

stop playing with your fingers between you legs

[@rogerblack3519]

You get a fabulous device so you can lay down keyboard sax trumpets and play over the top. Even nylon strings. But why play shit on it? Are you 12 years old?

[@rodneyworthington2972]

Rubbish!