ROLAND SYNT CONTROLLER GR-202 Guitar Natural + GR-300 Synthesizer code Va788

The Roland G-202 guitar is the least known of all the vintage Roland guitar synthesizer controllers. The unusual G-202 is a bit of a Fender/Gibson hybrid. While the body shape and neck are the same as the Fender-inspired G-505, the G-202 has a fixed bridge with humbucker pickups. The knobs are the same ones as used on the G-303/G-808 guitars, but the Roland PU-120H pickups and TP-130 bridge appear only on the G-202. For people who like the Fender design, but do not want the issues involved with a floating, tremolo bridge, the G-202 is their "go to" vintage Roland guitar synthesizer controller.

The Unique G-202 Electronics Card 
Most notably, the G-202 guitar has its own electronic card which is distinctly different from the cards used in the G-303/G-505/G-808. The most obvious difference is that the G-202 card has the components (resistors, capacitors, opamps, etc.) installed on the same side of the board as the control pots. In the G-303/505/808 cards, the control pots are installed on one side, and the components on the opposite side.  The G-202 has 1S188 diodes, and uses them not as noise gates, but to provide the waveform clipping to produce the fuzz sound. The G-202 does not have the additional opamp stage or any additional capacitors to smooth out the fuzz tone. As a result the G-202 is not as dense or smooth as the G-303/505/808. e same size, a G-505 card can be installed in a G-202 guitar without any changes. 

 Body: Ash
 Finishes available: Acrylic, red, white, blue, natural
 Neck: Maple One Piece
 Fingerboard: Maple
 Frets: 21
 Bridge: Adjustable
 Nut: Polycarbonate
 Tuning machines: Gotoh
 Pickups: Two Roland PU-120H humbuckers
 Scale:25 1/2"
 Truss Rod: Single, Adjustable
 Neck Width: 1 5/8"
 Body Width: 13"
 Body Depth: 1 3/4"
 Overall Length: 39 1/2"
 Weight: 7 lbs 3 oz

GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer
The blue GR300 has six VCOs (one per string) that are controlled by the string pitches as well as hexa-fuzz plus an LFO, tuning presets and some control over the attack of each note. The decay of each note is controlled by the way you play the guitar and this makes the system far more versatile than it first appears. As one of the sound sources on this unit are now true VCOs then a few new techniques become available. First it is now possible to apply vibrato to open strings, secondly each string can now produce two notes (one from the divided pickup and one from a VCO). The pitch of the VCO's can be offset by two preset controls that can be selected by footswitches. Envelope attack can be slowed down and the strings that will have a synthesized tone on them can be individually selected. There is a compression on / off switch but unfortunately the infinite sustain of the GR500 was dropped. Many of these functions can be selected by footswitches and the state of these are indicated by LEDs that flash if the function is off or steady if the function is on. The guitar controllers for the GR300 were the same range that were offered for use with the GR100. The controls on the guitars now allowed control of VCF frequency and resonance, guitar / synth balance, oscillator / hexa-fuzz selection and LFO on / off through the use of two concealed touch plates. All this was achieved on guitars that looked very conventional, however examination of the back of the guitar shows that there is a large amount of electronics inside it. The improved tracking of the GR-300 combined with the GK1 and BK1 pickups offered clean and fast tracking which allowed guitarists much more versatility in their playing. The system is still considered one of the greatest guitar synths ever manufactured despite the limitations of the synthesizer engine due to its minimal filter and envelope settings. Both Andy Summers and Robert Fripp have praised the G303 guitar as a perfect marriage of the guitar with synthesizers. One of the things that made the GR300 and GR33b guitar and bass units so playable and attractive to guitarists was the series of controllers Roland offered. Controllers include a number of models that were fashioned after popular guitars by major companies. All the Roland guitars were made at the Fuji Gen Gakki factory, under contract to Roland. The Fuju Gen Gakki factory also built guitars for Ibanez, and made the Fender Made-In-Japan guitars as well!  After the perfect tracking of the GR300/GR33b series Roland went on to create new floor units that were a huge leap forward in their synthesis technology. Unfortunately they also abandoned the tracking system that made the 300/33b such a useful and playable instrument. These silver monsters are great synths but the tracking systems inside them is mediocre compared to the previous generation. The G33 and G88 bass controllers had exaggerated double cutaway bodies. An actual Fender P-bass type body was also available for a while. Roland GR-808 With the advent of MIDI, Roland introduced two new systems. The G-707 guitar, an angular instrument with a stablizer bar joining headstock and body, was offered with the GR-700 analog synthesizer. The GR-700, a huge pedalboard, included enough memory for 64 different patches-- and a MIDI Out jack. However, the MIDI signal was confined to MIDI Channel 1 only, and no pitch-bend data was transmitted-- two very severe limitations upon potential expressiveness. The G-707 also lacked the hex-fuzz generator featured in the earlier G-*0*-series guitars.