Here is a question in my comments from Joey from Germany and my subsequent reply:
Hi Darren,
Your Demos of the GR-55 sound as bad as the original GR-33 sounds, and the tracking of the GR-33 seems to be the same as the GR-55.
From the GR-33 i never used the factory sounds, because they are realy terrible, but i found out, that you can get very good synth-sounds out of the GR-33 by using two different tones, and editing the patches with the effects, brilliance/brightness and volume functions.
With the GR-33 i never had tracking-problems, cause you can ajust it very good and you will have to play different as with guitar-sounds.
Over the years i bought many keyboards and synthesizers and i must say, the GR-33 is one of my favorite synthesizers. To find such a full, rich soundmodule you will have to pay thousands of dollars for a lot of synths, to have so many different sound in one box. I think, most of the musicians and guitarists who tried out the GR-33 never found out, what is in this Guitar-Synth!
But i’m very interested in the GR-55 because i read, that the synth-sounds can be full edited, just like a vituell analog synth…..?!
Is that true? Have you experimented with that funktions?
I am not sure if it is an issue with your grasp of English when you say that the GR-55 demos sound as bad as the GR-33 sounds. The quality of sound from the GR-55 is superior to the GR-33. I actually found the sounds from the GR-33 quite flat compared to the synth I had before – the GR-1, the grand daddy of them all. Yes, the presets of the GR-33 are rubbish. Yes, you do get best results combining sounds and creating your own patches.
The installed patches on the GR-55 are equally underwhelming, but with editing you can come up with some good stuff. The tracking is also superior on the GR-55 to the GR-33. If you are thinking of upgrading your kit, I recommend you check out the GR-55 at your local store before buying.
Hope this helps,
Darren
