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YouTube Published on May 12, 2012 by WayneJoness
http://www.joness.com/gr300/GR-500.html
"The Roland GR/GS-500 paraphonic guitar synthesizer system was introduced in 1977, and it laid the foundation for the very successful Roland vintage 24-pin guitar synthesizers, like the GR-300 and GR-700, that would follow a few years later. The GR/GS-500 uses the same 24-pin cable as the later synths, and many of the control voltages, string outputs, etc. are the same across all the synths. The different systems are not 100% compatible, but can be engineered to work together with a few modifications. The GR-500 has five sections: guitar, polyensemble, bass, solo melody, and external synth."
Playlist:
Roland GR-500 Vintage 1970s Analog Guitar Synthesizer - Introduction and Review
Roland GR-500 Polyensemble Section - Infinite Sustain Engage! - "The first synth section of the GR-300 is the polyensemble. In the polyensemble section, each string is processed through proprietary Roland waveshaping chips to produce a variety of sounds. The GR-500 brochure describes the different polyensemble outputs with terms like "wood," "soft reed" "brass" and "strings." But to me, they sound like four different kinds of buzzy guitar. The Polyensemble has a three stage envelope, identical to the envelope generators in the bass and solo melody section. You have control over: attack, decay, and sustain. With it's polyphonic effects, and smooth envelope generator, the Polyensemble may be one of the most musical sections in the GR-500."
Roland GR-500 Solo Melody Section - True Monophonic Vintage Analog Synthesis - "The most ambitious section of the GR-500 is the Solo melody. The Solo Melody is built around a last-note played priority pitch to voltage monphonic synthesizer. There are two waveforms available, a 16' pulse width modulation wave, 8' pulse width modulation wave, and 8' sawtooth wave. The width, or duty cycle, of the pusle wave can be manuall set, or controller by either the LFO or envelope generator. The Solo Melody has the same attack, decay, and sustain envelope genetator as the bass and poly snsemble sections. In addition to processing the mono synth output, the -24 dB per octvae solo melody filter can also process the polysensemble output. This is a great addition, enabling use of the low-pass filter with polyphonic input."
Roland GR-500 Bass Section - Floor Rumbling Analog Bass - "The bass section represents the first real, pitch to control voltage synthesis in the GR-500. Like the polysensemble, there are multiple voices: Percussion, soft and hard. For me, this translate to percussive effects similar to the percussion simulation on a vintage Hammond organ, the soft sound, which is like an upright bass, and the hard sound, calling to mind a pick bass. Like the polysensemble, there is a three stage envelope generator."
Roland GS-500 Guitar Controller for GR-500 (Introduction) Features - "The GS-500 guitar synthesizer controller is a solid and hefty instrument. Even with substantial parts of the body cut away to accomodate the electronics, this guitar still weighs around 11 pounds. The retail price on the GS-500 was somewhere around $1,000 in 1977, which translates into around $4,300 in todays currency. So think of the GS-500 as being in the Paul Reed Smith category of guitars, or the high-end Moog guitars, and not a mass-produced instrument."
Roland GR-55 and GS-500 Performance Video - Vintage Analog Guitar Synthesis - "In this demo I use all four sections of the GR/GS-500 independently and together: Bass, Polyensemble, Solo Melody, and Guitar,"
Roland GS-500 - Demo Video with GR-55, VG-99 and BX-13-VX Guitar Synthesis - "I thought it would be cool to play the latest Roland guitar synthesizer, the GR-55, with the first Roland guitar synthesizer controller, the GS-500. I custom built a BX-13-VX for the GS-500, and did some quick demos. It works surprisingly well!"
Roland GR-500s on eBay
