ROLAND VG 88

Description

SPOTLIGHT REVIEW
Sound:
A terrific sounding guitar synth. Since the problems with it are most notable, I'll mention those, though. It's fairly difficult to tweak it to make a warm, natural guitar tone. The acoustic guitar sounds are great when mixed with other instruments, but on their own they sound a bit dull and lifeless. On the other hand, there is no way you can direct-in a guitar through effects and get as great a tone unless you shell out more cash for the VG-8. But the greatest asset is having a ton of tones in one box. It seems to excel most at bluesy, driving guitar sounds, crunchy sounds, and backup rhythm guitar. In general, this is the main stuff you need for rock, and being able to switch from convincing tone to tone without doing anything but tapping a pedal is excellent. Ironically, it does a completely unconvincing job of emulating a GR-300. Go figure.
Feature:
Programmability is both terrific and aggravating. The sysex MIDI controls were poop last time I checked (maybe there are some new editors out there), and this does mean that you have to go through menu after menu to make your own programs. Not a deal-breaker, but certainly a pain in the tukas. The upside is that the programmability is mighty thorough. There are plenty of sounds you can make from straight out driving guitar to totally wacked noise stuff to realistic Moog synth basses to decent acoustic guitar sounds. Oh, and you can program a wild-sounding electric violin. Pretty slick.
Quality:
It's a Roland product, so the quality is the closest to perfect in the electronic instrument world. I use it nearly every day for hours, switching programs, using the pedals, etc., and not yet have I had a problem with it. It's been dropped, punted, and pulled around by the guitar cable. I'm tempted to go drive over it to see if it's as indestructible as a MemoryMoog....
Signal Processing:
AD Conversion: 24-bit AF Method (Normal Input), 20-bit (GK Input)
D/A Conversion: 20-bit 128x oversampling
Sampling Frequency: 44.1kHz
Patches: Total 260 (Preset: 160, User: 100)
Nominal Input Level: -10dBm
Input Impedance: 1M
Nominal Output Level:
OUTPUT: +4dBm
GUITAR OUTPUT: -10dBm
Output Impedance:
OUTPUT: 2 k
GUITAR OUTPUT: 2 k
Dynamic Range: 100dB or greater (IHF-A)
Display: 160 x 64 dots Backlit LCD, 8-segment 2-line LED
Connectors:
GK IN
GUITAR IN
GUITAR OUTPUT
OUTPUT (L, R)
PHONES
SUB EXP PEDAL/SUB CTL (1, 2)
MIDI (IN, OUT)
Power Supply: AC 117/230/240V
Dimensions (H x W x D): 101 x 504 x 303mm (4 x 19-7/8 x 11-15/16 in.)
Weight: 4.9 kg (10 lbs., 13 oz.)
Accessories: GK Connecting Cable C13-A (5m)