The VOX could also work well for Bass.
Still my favourite amp in there. There's just something about Vox tonalities that
works. Back to bass though - I would not be surprised if they come out with a Bass version of the XE next. It's a logical next step.
Got to say I prefer the real thing (my mate's Triple Rec) to the GR2 Mesa model
It's a tone I don't think anyone has got right in a modelled form for some reason - soft or hardware. The GR's Mesa cleans work well for ultra clean stuff - better than the DI or the JC, but the high gain side of the models always fall flat.
the GR3 Demo that I've installed it sounds better than GR2.
I've noticed that too. I'm pretty sure they've updated the sound engine in V3, and
all the amps have improved as a result. But the newer amps have definitely improved the feel and responsiveness over the older generation. Hopefully they'll go back and redo the older amps for V4 and incorporate the advances.
Also think the've got Waves and Amplitube beat for sound (tried both) & the interface is way, way easier to use.
Amplitude have a bit of an edge with the ability to mix & match preamp, power amp and speaker, instead of just amp and speaker. Also a bit easier to use for your average guitarist, who is a technophobe at heart. But GR has them all beat for flexibility and power, as well as the tone quality of models. The interface takes a short while to get used to if you're not used to rack rigs, but with prior experience or a few minutes it's not difficult to figure out. They've come a long way with making it as simple to use or as complex as you want.
Don't thnik they'll ever add VST support to it, but here's hoping...
Everyone is screaming for it, I figure it's only a matter of time before they cave. What could also help with the adoption and durability of GR is throwing open the door for third party modules - with hundreds of independent developers adding value to their system, their system becomes that much more desirable. That's one of the reasons VST won out over DX as a plugin/instrument standard.
The 13-pin MIDI thing would be cool, but I'm sure if anyone does it it will be Roland first.
Maybe, but somehow I doubt it. Roland seem to have sidelined the 13-pin standard as a MIDI conversion format, and have been progressively dumbing down their converters since the GM-70 (IMO). The opposition (Terratec Axon) has the edge and there is no way Roland can retake the lead - we've reached the theoretical limit of how fast and accurate the conversion process can be. I've spoken to Andras Szalay (the inventor of the Axon conversion technology) and immediately realising this, he licensed the technology to others and moved on to other things. Not to say that some other bright spark couldn't come up with another approach the way Andras did, but it's highly unlikely and the simple fact that the sound has to happen
before it can be converted, limits just how fast it can be.
Roland are putting all their time and R&D into the VG technology - latency free and still a relatively young technology, with plenty of scope for progression. The GR-300 model in the new VG-99 kind of pointed the way forward. Where they are (as usual) ignoring the potential is with the software side - and that's where someone will eventually step in (hopefully) and challenge them. IMO, the only ones positioned to do this are NI or Line 6 - or possibly someone like Korg or Yamaha, if they put the research in.
there's no fuzz pedal models included in Session/ XE, but I don't think it will bother most people. For everyone else (meaning probably 90% of guitarists), it's perfect!
Yeah, not me. I'm in the 10% anyway, for another reason - the lack of the "Split" module makes it useless for me (I need to process piezos and magnetic pickups simultaneously).
Sorry 'bout the long post, but I love this stuff! Nice typin' at ya...
