{"id":6985,"date":"2013-08-01T13:39:18","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T20:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/?p=6985"},"modified":"2013-11-12T12:08:29","modified_gmt":"2013-11-12T20:08:29","slug":"g-5-gc-1-v-guitar-strats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/01\/g-5-gc-1-v-guitar-strats\/","title":{"rendered":"G-5 & GC-1 V-Guitars – What’s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"

They are Both Roland Powered Fender Strats<\/h2>\n
\"V-Guitar<\/a>

Roland GC-1 and G-5 V-Guitars<\/p><\/div>\n

Roland is in the guitar business? How did that happen?\u00a0Actually it\u2019s not exactly new, but this time, it\u2019s very different. Back in the day, there were Roland branded guitars made to be used with guitar synths<\/span>, including an infamous Jetson\u2019s looking one called a G-707<\/a>. These were made for Roland in an OEM factory in Japan back in the day, and they were so striking that players like Jimmy Page<\/a> actually did ads for them.<\/p>\n

\"Jimmy<\/a>

G-707 Guitar<\/a> and Jimmy Page Ad<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

V-Guitar Promo: Summertime Savings<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"gc-1<\/a>

Roland V-Guitar Website<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

But that was then. Roland\u2019s venture into guitars is in partnership with non-other than Fender<\/a> and is based on the most iconic and popular guitar in the world, the one and only Fender Stratocaster. There are two types: the G-5<\/a>, and the GC-1<\/a>, and they are both incredible.<\/p>\n

These two guitars share some basic features. They both start with the same unique instrument: a \u201chybrid\u201d Strat. It\u2019s mostly made from American Standard Strat parts: the alder body, 22-fret neck, frets, and tuning keys are the same ones found on<\/span> every US Standard. The pickups and bridge are of the vintage type found on old Strats<\/span>, and now used in Mexican standard Strats<\/span>, so it’s a hybrid. They come in two cool colors: a hand-painted three tone sunburst with a rosewood fingerboard, and black with a maple fingerboard.<\/p>\n

See an Overview of the V-Guitar by Fender and Roland<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Difference Between the G-5 and GC-1 V-Guitars…<\/em><\/h2>\n

\"roland<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is where they differ, and also the reasons why they say \u201cPowered by Roland\u201d on the headstock<\/a>:\u00a0the<\/span> G-5 has a sound engine built into the guitar, and what it does is awesome. See these two black knobs (see picture on the left)?\u00a0The bottom one allows the G-5 to sound like other<\/span> completely different guitars<\/span>. A G-5 is like a trunk full of guitars in one really nice Strat. It can be a Tele<\/span>, a Paul with vintage humbuckers<\/span>, a Gibson L4 jazzbox<\/span>, and four different types of acoustic guitars: a Martin dreadnaught<\/span>, a really nice nylon string, a Dobro, and even a banjo. Just turn the knob, and your G-5 sounds like a totally different guitar.<\/p>\n

G-5 Stratocaster $200 Rebate<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The other knob completes the magic: it lets the G-5 produce alternate tunings electronically, so if you want to be in drop-D, it\u2019s just a knob click away, instead of changing entire guitars or holding up the show while you try get<\/span> your E string down to D. It also gives you open G, great for slide or playing almost any Stones song, a killer 12-string setting by actually adding 6 extra virtual strings, and more. You want one guitar that does the work of 20? The G-5 is your axe<\/span>.<\/p>\n

GC-1 Stratocaster $100 Rebate<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Roland<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is a GC-1:\u00a0notice<\/span> it has some different controls from what typical Strats<\/span> have. The GC-1 has divided pickup and a connector that hooks up to guitar synths<\/span>, so you can make not just guitar sounds, but pretty much\u00a0any<\/i>\u00a0sound. Do you need to do a piano part in a song? A GC-1 and a Roland guitar synth let you do it on your native instrument-no keyboardist required. For that matter, do you need any other sound for your band or studio project? Horns, organs, saxes, old analog synth tones, even basses and drums-are now yours to play whenever you want. And of course it\u2019s still a cool Strat, so you\u2019re still the guitar player, but now you can even combine the guitar\u2019s own sounds with the synths<\/span>. It\u2019s like the 60\u2019s meets the 21st<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0century<\/span>, all in one guitar.<\/p>\n

Please visit the V-Guitar website<\/a> for more details about the G-5, GC-1, and G-5A V-Guitars. Watch videos, listen to sound examples, and compare technical specs.<\/p>\n

Do you like this blog post? Share on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n