"Signal and noise problems - may have been device/product specific and/or due to device incompatibility, but they were all Roland" submitted December 27, 2010
By a customer from hotmail.com
Overall
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: Former semi-professional musician, hobbyist
Music Style: All styles, though prefer jazz, funk & contemporary Christian
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Sound:
Not applicable
Feature:
Not applicable
Ease of Use:
No learning curve. You should essentially just be able to plug it in.
Quality:
I'm really not sure if there is a problem with the specific unit itself, or whether it is a culmination of issues, but I tried to use it with a Roland VGA-7 digital modeling amp and a Roland GR-33 guitar synth using a Fender Roland-ready Strat with a GK-2A built-in. It worked good intially, but it wasn't long before I started to have issues with pops, distortion/white-pink noise, sound cutting in and out, etc. It seemed as though maybe there was too much signal flowing through it to handle? I was fairly disappointed because being able to combine my straight guitar with a modeled guitar & amp, and then a synthesizer sound on top of that was a truly beautiful experience and it sounded spectacular. But then, again, after what couldn't have been a very long time in use, it just became unusable due to it not appropriately selecting the right device, or dropping one of the devices from the mix when both were supposed to be functioning, or popping in the second device when only one was selected. I never checked into support as I just didn't have the time, so maybe it was an issue of bandwidth and/or unit compatibility, or maybe I just had a faulty unit. I don't know, but it's nice to see that other people rated this very high, so I may decide to pick up a new one or call tech support to see about repairing or replacing it now. But before I do, I plan to retry it out with a new VG-99 and the GR-33. I'm just wondering if the VGA-7 amplifier may have had anything to do with the signal break-up and crossover issues. If it worked as it initially did, it would be an awesome tool to create some great sounds with, and I would recommend it highly, but for the problems I've had with it and the corresponding price, it obviously wasn't worth it to me. Sorry...
Value:
I'd say not... unless the 13 pin connections are somehow really complicated and expensive. It apparently can't handle a lot of signal/bandwidth, if that's the right terminology, but it just seemed like it fried itself after only a few months worth of truly minimal use. Outwardly, it seems very rugged, but again, it seems like the guts or internal wiring fried up and couldn't handle processing my two devices for whatever reason.
Manufacturer Support:
Can't say, unfortunately, but for other products, Roland has seemed to have pretty decent support.
The Wow Factor:
It looks nice and would be very functional, if it worked correctly!
Overall:
It's unfortunately the only compatible product for the GK series 13-pin connector products. If I can get ROland to replace it, that would be awesome. It still seems really rugged, but the quality and functionality didn't seem to last very long, which was very disappointing.
1 of 1 people
(100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?
Questions? Our gear experts can help!
800-zZounds(800-996-8637)
Mention Reference
Number
MFV-9DCY When You Call.
Toll Free En Español: 800-460-7976 m-f 9AM to
5PM EST
Follow zZounds on:
Customize Search Results for Your Location
A temporary customer reference number is assigned to each customer only while they are shopping on zZounds.com. If you call our customer service department for assistance, this number makes it easier for us to answer any questions you have about products, services or purchases.
A temporary customer reference number is assigned to each customer only while they are shopping on zZounds.com. If you call our customer service department for assistance, this number makes it easier for us to answer any questions you have about products, services or purchases.
enlarge