Tone Up Your Guitar Game with Roland GK-3 MIDI Kit!

[@rickycompton2610]

Wow this turned out Sweet I like the white it always has that clean look to it, I almost bought a Roland Strat back in the day you made this build look easy Tony.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes I always liked Olympic White (since Hendrix) and nearly bought a 61 in about 71 but not enough money :( sadly. The black pickup surrounds looked cool too I think. Yes I was looking at them but never did get to them... I love to see that at the time. Thanks for watching.

[@rickycompton2610]

Happy New Year Tony to you and the family, can’t wait for more of your in depth reviews.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Nearly happy new year :) won't be long and have a great new year yourself and family etc. and thanks for watching. Some more over the next two days... interesting in their own way but worth watching...

[@lousekoya1803]

Hey Mr Tony !! Greetings from Quebec ! Wish you the best and lots or years ahead !

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Now I have not been to Quebec but maybe one day... in any case thanks for watching and also have a great new year...

[@lousekoya1803]

@@tonymckenzieofficial Hey you too ! I'm near Montreal so if you ever come down , I'll bring you to a great Italian restaurant , my treat ! 🙂

[@Hangfireflyer]

Been a while since we’ve seen you, love these videos makes me fall in love with guitars all over again 👌👌

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes the UK has applied many twists and turns - some affected my outlook on making money for others to effectively steal. At one stage I changed a lot of things in my life between the previous videos and now. But that's the UK... thanks to the current wastrels in government power. I sincerely hope the country can get past these clowns and business survives. But I'm really past that now and am back making videos. Since 2009 and STILL going... one day it will stop but for now here I am - I'm Back! :) Thanks for watching and have a great new year...

[@Hangfireflyer]

@ All the very best to you and yours for the new year🎸

[@humblegeorge]

I have really been looking forward to this one :>)

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well thanks for watching ... always appreciated.

[@brian1749]

Great info and amazing playing at the end!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha don't think the playing is anything except a jam :) but appreciated :) and thanks for watching.

[@LevonsWound]

looks great, happy holidays from California!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ah California dreamin... Only been twice but it was (2004 and about 2011) wonderful... even visited escondido and they had a parade on... plus all the other places someone like me might go :) A wonderful place... got to be better than here in the UK. And thanks for watching and have a great new year.

[@humblegeorge]

time stamp 20:13 Tony early on I thought white pearl would bring it into a real nice guitar.The olympic white does look real nice.

[@humblegeorge]

Out standing video ! Thank you Tony .Dude,you inspire me :>)

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well I like Olympic white re Hendrix - always been a favorite ;) Thanks...

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Hopefully and I know you can do this stuff... :) Regards.

[@RubyDimasStudio]

Thanks for this

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

My pleasure! Honestly it was a difficult one to complete... and thanks for watching and have a great new year.

[@monsirto]

You're not wrong about the hassle. I use an octaver, mel9 and a filter for poly and just track to synths with a Gi20 for mono.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Actually as I am a glutton for being held down and screaming I thought this Roland MIDI kit would do the same thing... and it did! :) But I did learn from it, not least in the layout of the kit etc. so it was worthwhile for me, but not recommended. And I created the guitar out of various bits. Thanks for the info on how you do things... I really don't come from midi etc. but I'm always willing to learn. Interesting stuff. Thanks for watching and have a great new year.

[@aipsong]

You were dreaming of a white Christmas, and voila!!! The guitar looks great !! And, as always, you gave us a full « Blow by Blow « description of your trials and tribulations. Thanks !!!! Have a great and productive New Year.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha indeed I was - I had to do something with that body. But the Nitro took around 7 weeks to cure properly... then I coated it again and then with a clear top... not recommended to try that stuff out. I doubt I'll nitro a body again - simply too much aggro. The MIDI install was difficult I can't say anything else. And (again I'll admit this) I broke a wire on the midi pickup fitting it because the body holes were not quite big enough and that took some finding. I re-drilled the body with bigger holes to solve that. It should have been easier. But it was all made up in general of parts I had lying around. Hey Ho. And yes you have a great new year too... I think we all need one these days. Thanks for watching.

[@Scott__C]

Good stuff Tony. I did this once a long time ago. I remember the pickup itself was kind of fragile, the end with the wire cover particularly. I broke one and had to get another.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha I know about that... been there too. A real pain and can be hard to fit. Tip for anyone - if you think the hole is big enough for the wiring - it is not! The connectors don't like going through blind bendy holes... Excellent point and not lost on me - although I did not actually tell anyone through almost embarrassment! In any case thanks for watching and have a great new year...

[@Scott__C]

@@tonymckenzieofficial You too Tony!

[@obiwanjacobi]

I replaced the two big black up/down push buttons with a momentary mini switch. That switch is in the middle in rest and can be pulled up or pushed down and will return to the middle if you let go. Works great and doesn't require two big hole but only one small hole. I also put the LED light on a not so invasive place - you can leave it out completely if you like. Note: I reworked a broken Casio MIDI guitar (MG-510?)

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Great points and exactly what I like to see in posts - good info from someone that has done it all... and thanks for watching.

[@tylerstravels0610]

Hey Tony all the best mate, yep its not easy, i fitted 1 to my Ibanez rg 1570 and also 1 to my Ibanez RG2610, never again 🙂 Did work brilliant with my Roland GR55 though, but spent way to much time messing with parameters etc just spoilt thwe fun out of playing guitar. You made a awesome job though that guiatr looks awsome, wll done mate and all the thew best for the New Year, take care

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes it was a trip for sure - but not a 'walk in the park' as you say and you'll know exactly what its like. The MIDI thing re external GK I have used off and on over the years, and the GK-5 (its better) is good, although marred by 'extra' interfaces to make it work on the (for example) SY-1000 or many others - it just works on the GM-800. Basically I made something from bits lying around and ended up getting it all going finally :) Thanks for watching and also have a great new year in 2025.

[@tenlittleindians]

I still got a Roland GR-707 guitar. It's a great regular electric guitar too.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Hang on to it... over time that will creep up I'm sure. Thanks for watching and have a great new year...

[@deeseen3495]

Great vid T as always! What is that Marshall amp behind you 1987X?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

The Marshall amp is a 1959HW hand wired and I did review it on mt channel (which had a name change for the handle thanks to KZbin and some crazy regulation - tonymckenziecom was not acceptable for the handle - so, although the channel remains the same name, the handle is @tonymckenzieofficial ) I guess... and it IS a guess. The 1959HW review is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ml62d6erZtKdjJIsi=ScGocnrNAN6EsQ7X and hope you like it. The Mezzabarba is far more interesting :) and that too is reviewed on my channel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWW6fZtmq76Uf9Usi=n9Gy4_xAMBuuSsZ_ and thanks for watching. Have a great new year...

[@deeseen3495]

@@tonymckenzieofficial Beautiful T thanks.. Well I look forward to watching. See you soon then & happy new year!👍🏼

[@robertbuffalo8287]

Installed my Roland GK3 kit back in 2006. Bought the Roland VG-99. The guitar is a Strat neck-thru with Kinman Pickups and a Kahler bridge. I have a Floyd Rose nut which stays in tune great. My lay-out for controls is a lot different than your build. I run my Roland VG-99 thru some highly modified Roland Keyboard amps to be more for guitar including the 10" base cabs. Sounds amazing when I run the Kinmans thru my tube amp and stereo thru the Keyboard amps amps with the GK3 system. I can do three part harmonies.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Excellent. I have a VG-99 still! It was a very useful device for sure. I went through the pain :) and you probably did the right thing. I think best to guitar through amp and synth through separate stereo setup too... and the sounds are really impressive. You're beating me easily on the synth stuff for sure but I do find it interesting hence crating this guitar. And thanks for watching and posting that info - useful for many - and have a great new year.

[@Testinggearshowingitworks]

hello im a noob to these things, what midi effects pedals, preferably cheapest one would work with this gk3 midi kit? thanks

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

If the device is for example any of the roland guitar synths (or others) and it has a midi port you could make it work. But if its a dedicated guitar synth roland or boss it would be perfect. I have other videos on this subject check my channel. Thanks for watching.

[@LouCondon-j1v]

I have many guitars and amps but I only own one Ibanez, the Joe Satraini the middle one about $1500. What other Ibanez would you recommend that isn't a JS or a JEM?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Oh as you will see on some of my videos (you won't believe this) I have a black now very tatty RG550LTD they made for a couple of years. I bought it from the USA in about (not sure) 2000 or so and fitted a jazz in the neck, screamin demon (middle not used) and a Vai humbucker in the bridge. Cost me $500 with a bad case... and he shipped it from Cali USA. In fact, although I have about 20 guitars that guitar is simply the best playing guitar I have and beats them all hands down. The pickup in the neck is important to be a jazz because it loses all the 'flubbiness' that are usually neck pickup based. Heres a link to the review : kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZKXip-Yh6xohrcsi=xxmjUUNtydE1UWU0 and sincerely that really IS the best player here. It's a Japanese one btw. Thanks for watching and have a great new year...

[@rickdeckard1646]

Joe Satriani plays like you!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Clearly - have you been to a party and are STILL drunk :) Nearest I get to JS is the strings... sadly. Thanks for watching.

[@mooseymoose]

Or you could just use MIDI Guitar 2 (soon to be 3) and skip the hardware.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well this in its own way was good to do and learn from - and I certainly did! Thanks for watching.

[@vubear]

Actually MG2 works even better with a divided pickup. You can run a separate instance of MG2 per string and get much better tracking

[@mooseymoose]

@@vubear Ahh, good to know.