Roland GR-300 Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer with G-808 Solid Body Electric Guitar (1982)
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Item # 11401
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Roland GR-300 Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer with G-808 Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1982), made in Japan, serial # 322887, natural finish, Walnut & ash laminated body, maple & walnut laminated neck, ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
At the end of the 70s the music industry was abuzz with the concept that guitars were on the way out and synthesis the wave of the future. Riding this wave Roland introduced the GR-300 analog polyphonic guitar synthesizer and its accompanying controller instruments, following earlier efforts including the Arp Avatar. While there have been plenty technological advancements in the music world since the 80s, this particular little unit still very much reigns as the pinnacle of analog guitar synthesis.
Although by conventional synthesizer standards the GR-300 has a simple tonal palette the unit offers, to this day, the most accurate and musical tracking ever achieved in a guitar synth. It certainly has the artist roster to speak for itself, most notably including Pat Metheny, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew and Andy Summers.
Unlike today's more common pitch-to-MIDI pickups, the GR-300 guitar synthesizer uses all analog tracking with no latency. Additionally, many of the guitars natural artifacts, like the initial "atonal" pick attack are translated to be musical and natural sounding, where MIDI pickups can often output wildly inaccurate notes or strange glitches. Because of this, the GR-300 synth requires minimal player adaptation and is reliably easy to play. A fairly unique approach to the pitch detection treats lower fretted notes differently from higher fretted notes on each string, true to the nature of the instrument. The analog technology is not without its own quirks, but they are generally endearing and musically usable: for instance, the aforementioned pick attack is translated into a sound very reminiscent of the "spit" sound heard at the beginning of a trumpet phrase.
The synthesizer has two selectable oscillators, each tunable to +/- one octave and the "duet" option to use them simultaneously, in unison, octaves or any interval in-between. The two foot-selectable pitch settings have dedicated rise and fall controls and can be switched as latching or momentary. The synth also features a pitch-modulating LFO and an envelope filter, each with their respective depth control (LFO) and frequency cut-off control (envelope filter) residing on the guitar itself. On the instrument there's also a resonance control and the ability to select and/or blend the synthesized signal and the output of the two magnetic humbuckers - and, finally, a master volume control for it all. There's also a "touch" strip on the bridge pickup which turns the LFO (vibrato) on and off. Lastly, the GR-300 has the ability to select any specific strings to be synthesized, offering virtually endless possibilities in augmenting or complimenting the raw guitar sound.
In many ways a continuation of the earlier GS-500 and GR-500, the Roland GR-300 and Greco-made G-808 guitar pairing was the real flagship of Roland's guitar synths of the early 1980s and prominently advertised as such. While most people are likely more familiar with the G-303 guitar made famous by Pat Metheny, the G-808 was the premium professional instrument of the two. The Alembic-inspired guitar features laminated neck-through construction, a slimmer neck with an ebony fingerboard and gold/brass hardware. The G-808 was one of the finest guitars available from Greco at the time and a monumental upgrade in quality and playability from the GS-500/GR-500 predecessor.
Overall length is 39 3/8 in. (100 cm.), 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This iconic setup is complete and in nearly mint condition, appearing barely used and retaining all the original packaging and documentation. The GR-300 floor unit is impeccably clean and shows hardly any wear at all to the blue finish. All knobs and footswitches are intact and present and all the graphics and lettering remain perfectly intact. The G-808 guitar controller likewise looks virtually unused, with no notable dings or scratches to the natural finish and hardly any wear, if any, to the original jumbo frets. The set frankly looks like it was purchased new in 1982, played briefly and put in a closet for the next 40 years!
Electrically, both the floor unit and guitar controller are all original and operate perfectly with all functions behaving as they should. The GR-300 floor unit has seen recent service, where two capacitors were replaced. All connectors and pots have been cleaned and the set comes with the original (and virtually irreplaceable) 24-pin connector cable, still in exquisite shape.
One of the wildest additions to our showroom as of late; a truly phenomenal sounding- and playing example of the best analog guitar synth ever made in collector-grade condition. Overall Near Mint Condition.
At the end of the 70s the music industry was abuzz with the concept that guitars were on the way out and synthesis the wave of the future. Riding this wave Roland introduced the GR-300 analog polyphonic guitar synthesizer and its accompanying controller instruments, following earlier efforts including the Arp Avatar. While there have been plenty technological advancements in the music world since the 80s, this particular little unit still very much reigns as the pinnacle of analog guitar synthesis.
Although by conventional synthesizer standards the GR-300 has a simple tonal palette the unit offers, to this day, the most accurate and musical tracking ever achieved in a guitar synth. It certainly has the artist roster to speak for itself, most notably including Pat Metheny, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew and Andy Summers.
Unlike today's more common pitch-to-MIDI pickups, the GR-300 guitar synthesizer uses all analog tracking with no latency. Additionally, many of the guitars natural artifacts, like the initial "atonal" pick attack are translated to be musical and natural sounding, where MIDI pickups can often output wildly inaccurate notes or strange glitches. Because of this, the GR-300 synth requires minimal player adaptation and is reliably easy to play. A fairly unique approach to the pitch detection treats lower fretted notes differently from higher fretted notes on each string, true to the nature of the instrument. The analog technology is not without its own quirks, but they are generally endearing and musically usable: for instance, the aforementioned pick attack is translated into a sound very reminiscent of the "spit" sound heard at the beginning of a trumpet phrase.
The synthesizer has two selectable oscillators, each tunable to +/- one octave and the "duet" option to use them simultaneously, in unison, octaves or any interval in-between. The two foot-selectable pitch settings have dedicated rise and fall controls and can be switched as latching or momentary. The synth also features a pitch-modulating LFO and an envelope filter, each with their respective depth control (LFO) and frequency cut-off control (envelope filter) residing on the guitar itself. On the instrument there's also a resonance control and the ability to select and/or blend the synthesized signal and the output of the two magnetic humbuckers - and, finally, a master volume control for it all. There's also a "touch" strip on the bridge pickup which turns the LFO (vibrato) on and off. Lastly, the GR-300 has the ability to select any specific strings to be synthesized, offering virtually endless possibilities in augmenting or complimenting the raw guitar sound.
In many ways a continuation of the earlier GS-500 and GR-500, the Roland GR-300 and Greco-made G-808 guitar pairing was the real flagship of Roland's guitar synths of the early 1980s and prominently advertised as such. While most people are likely more familiar with the G-303 guitar made famous by Pat Metheny, the G-808 was the premium professional instrument of the two. The Alembic-inspired guitar features laminated neck-through construction, a slimmer neck with an ebony fingerboard and gold/brass hardware. The G-808 was one of the finest guitars available from Greco at the time and a monumental upgrade in quality and playability from the GS-500/GR-500 predecessor.
Overall length is 39 3/8 in. (100 cm.), 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This iconic setup is complete and in nearly mint condition, appearing barely used and retaining all the original packaging and documentation. The GR-300 floor unit is impeccably clean and shows hardly any wear at all to the blue finish. All knobs and footswitches are intact and present and all the graphics and lettering remain perfectly intact. The G-808 guitar controller likewise looks virtually unused, with no notable dings or scratches to the natural finish and hardly any wear, if any, to the original jumbo frets. The set frankly looks like it was purchased new in 1982, played briefly and put in a closet for the next 40 years!
Electrically, both the floor unit and guitar controller are all original and operate perfectly with all functions behaving as they should. The GR-300 floor unit has seen recent service, where two capacitors were replaced. All connectors and pots have been cleaned and the set comes with the original (and virtually irreplaceable) 24-pin connector cable, still in exquisite shape.
One of the wildest additions to our showroom as of late; a truly phenomenal sounding- and playing example of the best analog guitar synth ever made in collector-grade condition. Overall Near Mint Condition.