Trying to decide between VG-99 and GR-55

[aleclee]

I'm getting ready to go down the 13 pin path. I have a piezo-equipped guitar that needs some electronics work so I figure while I'm rewiring it, I'll go the full monty and go with a 13 pin setup.


Where I want to go with this is to get more "alien" guitar sounds. I'm not particularly looking to play keyboard parts with my guitar, just to get farther away from traditional guitar sounds. From what I've read, this points me more in the direction of the VG-99 as the GR-55's strength is PCM synth sounds. I'm looking for some insight into:

• How far can the VG-99 take you from the traditional guitar/amp sound? I'm not looking for full-on keyboard timbres but something that sounds more in that direction. I like the idea that the COSM "synth" engine is not limited to 128 steps for velocity and has no added latency from pitch-to-MIDI conversion.
• What's the timbral range on the GR-55 when it comes to sounds that guitar-ish sounds? Am I going to feel like I'm triggering a keyboard synth with guitar? How well do they blend with modeled and non-modeled guitar sounds?

Please keep in mind that the traditional amp models in the Roland devices aren't a big deal to me (for some reason :lol). The ability to use it for modeling traditional rigs is a plus but not a huge differentiator.


Thanks in advance!

 

[Shredology]

I had a GR-55 and used it with an RMC equipped Brian Moorefactory 13-pin system. I even bought the RMC mod chip to put in the GR-55. I found it largely unusable. The tracking and stray noises, squeels, chirps, etc were such that I could not imagine using it in a gig situation. That being said I have seen youtube videos of guys playing it with Godin 13-pin equipped guitars with great sounding results. I set it up with all the tips and tricks I could find online and it was a no-go for me. Have not played the VG-99