Roland GR-300 Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer with G-303 Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1984), made in Japan, serial # 403050, natural finish, maple & mahogany laminated body, laminated maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black tolex 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.
Out of all the guitars built to accompany Roland's GR system, the G-303 is perhaps the most recognizable as the instrument made famous by Pat Metheny, but which was also documented as having been used by other notable guitar experimentors Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew to name a few. The natural maple and mahogany body still seems to draw inspiration from the Alembic aesthetic school though perhaps less so than the more ornate walnut G-808; some afficionados of the synth guitar also credit a perceived tonal superiority also to the three-piece laminated maple set neck rather than the latter's through neck. The dual humbuckers and corresponding electronic circuits in both guitars are the same.
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 only lightly used and the guitar even retains the often lost transparent settings plaque. 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. It even retains the original box with the original cables and protective plastic overlay. The G-303 guitar controller only shows light use overall and minor fretwear. 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 expired electrolytics 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 Excellent + Condition.
