GR-300

Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer

Courtesy/Thanks to: Roland

Description: Text below found on joness.com. A very comprehensive and informative site about the GR-300.

The Roland GR-300 and G-808 guitar combination was the original flagship of the early 1980s Roland guitar synthesizers. It was this combination most prominently featured in advertising promoting the breakthrough Roland guitar technology. While more people are familiar with the G-303 guitar, thanks to Pat Metheny, the G-808 was the premium guitar, with complete through-neck construction, gold hardware and more. The G-808 was simply one of the best guitars available at the time, and sold with the GR-300, the finest and fastest guitar synthesizer ever built.

In many ways, the original GR-300 and G-808 combination was a continuation of the earlier GS-500 and GR-500 guitar and synthesizer combination. These two systems used the same 24-pin cable, but the GR-300 was in many ways a simpler system than the earlier GS-500/GR-500. However, the GR-300 and G-808 offered a level of playability that had been promised since the introduction of the guitar synthesizers. When players picked up a GR-300 and G-808, they did not have to adjust their style to play this expressive system. And with the G-808, players did not have to compromise of their choice of guitar. The G-808, with its high end hardware, through-neck construction, and ebony fret board, was as good as any mass-produced guitar on the market.

The initial success of this system lead Roland to introduce a variety of controllers, ending in the mount-on GK-1. And the GK-1 was followed by the GK-2 and the new Roland 13-pin standard. The overall trend in the last twenty-five years of Roland guitar synth design has been to reduce the profile and features of the controller, and add more features to the synthesizer. The new VG-99 continues this trend, with ribbon and d-beam controllers on the unit itself, and the FC-300 extensive foot controller. In fact, it is a lasting tribute to the GR-300 that one of the key features of the new VG-99 is a complete emulation of the original GR-300! But for fans of analog, vintage synthesizers, there is nothing like the original GR-300 and G-808.