Review of the Roland VG99 V-Guitar System

[admin]

Review of the Roland VG99 V-Guitar System

can be found here:

http://tweakheadz.com/reviews/review_of ... d_vg99.htm


Excerpt:
The VG99 can be as simple as any other guitar/amp modeler on the market. You plug in your guitar, find a preset and wail. There are plenty of presets--200 factory and 200 user. If you are a traditional guitar player, you can stop there. You'll enjoy some great tones and effects. You'll also get to play with a D Beam and Ribbon Controller, some things Guitar men and women aren't used to. But the VG99 is more than that. Roland set out to make the most powerful guitar processor on earth, and claim they have achieved it. It certainly does carry a high price tag.


But such is the cost of Roland's professional line of V-things. The V-drums cost as much as a good used car, the V-Synth is not far behind and now the V-Guitar System joins at the modest cost of $1200. As you would expect from Roland, the build quality is excellent. The buttons are the same as those on the Fantom. The display is monochrome, but is laid out clearly and has big bold fonts for the preset name that could be helpful on stage. Clearly, Roland thought carefully about what features to put into the VG99. It aims to please just about everyone that will use one, whether live or in a professional recording environment and most certainly for the home tweaks doing the DAW thing.


http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--ROLVG99

[Kaje]

Excellent review Tweak

One thing that always bugs me about modellers, and that is mainly when you use them live. I find that there is always a slight delay when switching patches especially if your going from one pre amp to another. So i do wonder how the VG-99 gets on here?

[admin]

Thanks! I am still experimenting with the VG99, but on the switching delay, there is --none--if you use the 5 user assignable "direct patch" presets at the bottom of the unit. There is no bad pop either going from clean to heavy distortion. One could switch in the middle of a chord in time with the music and have the distortion hit exactly on the beat.

[musicnoob]

Thanks for the review, Tweak.
I don't possess a VG-99, but downloaded the manual to see what connectors it has. I have a few questions and hope you can answer them.

1. Is it possible to use the VG-99 as a channel insert in a mixer ? I don't see any indication that it is possible or am I missing something ?

2. How do you yourself record an audio guitar track (not midi) with the VG-99 ? Through the USB, the Sub Out XLR or the main out ?

3. Is there some kind of meter that tells me whether I reach 0dbVU ? If not, how can one find out ?

4. How come you never reviewed the Boss GT-Pro in the past ? The VG-99 looks like a successor to the Boss GT-Pro.

[Tweak]

Hi musicnoob

1. the only way is to use the guitar 1/4" input/output on a dual 1/4" TS to TRS insert cable. Still, using it this way leaves a lot to be desired and could cause impedance issues. It would be far better to take the L/R main outs to the board line inputs and Use the GK3 for the input.

To use the VG 99 as an FX processor I would take a send out of the board and plug it into the guitar input (which you don't need it you use the GK3).
That would let you switch in amp models and the FX rack after the sound was recorded. Note: I have not tried the above. I am speculating theoretically.

2. Any of those 3 ways work

3. There is no meter. There is a "patch level" knob which I use to adjust the output. I watch Logic's waveform display as i record. But you have to really crank the levels to get near 0db FS, which is something to avoid.

4. The VG99 succeeds the VG88, which was a floor stomp box.

http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--ROLVG88

[musicnoob]

Thanks for the info, Tweak.

[lecter]

Excellent review Tweak....

I just wanted to know if the Guitar to Midi function works via USB? If so, which way works better, via USB or using the Midi Out connection of the VG-99?

Also I was wondering if you know if the tracking system of a Godin synth capable guitar works better than using a GK-3 pickup

Thank you very much for any feedback you may be able to provide

[lecter]

Anyone?

[Tweak]

I find that the VG99 tracks much better using standard MIDI with USB disabled. Through USB there seems to be more errors. Maybe its just mine, or its a bug, or the manual is not clear enough on setting up USB midi.

I don't know anything about the Godin's tracking.

[cobbler]

Noob question,

When using it with a GK-3 pickup installed, do your existing pickups and switches work as well adjusting the sound or is it just using the GK-3?

Thanks!

[Tweak]

Your regular guitar output plug into the GK3 controller. It sends both the original guitar signal and the gk3 pickup signal to the VG99. At the VG99 you create the sound. You can use just the regular guitars sound, which is still controlled by your guitar's knobs and pickup selector; or you can use just the GK3 sound, or if you want, a blend of both.

With the regular guitar sound you can still use the VG99s effects, gates, processors and modeled amps.

[cobbler]

Thanks for the quick reply. Sounds like a fun toy.

[boskar500]

Hi,

I have a couple questions. How easy is it to make your own pre-settings? Is it easy to use it live? And would you say its worth the big price tag? Thanks!

[washburn100]

Just read the review and comments quite a while since it was posted. To answer the Godin question, I use a Godin xt-SA through my VG-99 and it works and sounds great. There is a new firmware version for the VG-99 which adds several piezo pickup settings to go along with the GK pickups. It has a specific setting for RMC piezzos that newer Godins use.

I record into Sonar 7 using the USB connections for my laptop, or the s/pdif out to my EMU 0404 sound card on my desktop, and the recording quality is excellent. The VG-99 allows so much control, tones, effects, and sounds with pristine audio. The nice thing is that all this does not impact my CPU usage. You can also feed a dry mix to the sequencer and re-amp when mixing to add or change effects as needed.

The guitar-midi is amazing with very low latency (I do have a powerhouse laptop however) and I use it for all kinds of soft synth control escpecially Dimension Pro. I get very few missed or wrong notes. This is because of the settings for midi on the VG-99 which range from type of hold to playing style and even chromatic settings. Once it is configured to your liking, it works flawlessly.

The main reason I purchased the VG-99 was for guitar effects that weren't software based and use a lot of CPU. The VG-99 is great for this but after purchasing I would not hesitate to use it live on stage. If you take the time to pre-program your most useful settings, switching between them can be done with the push of 1 button. The changes between patches are silent and instant.

Although expensive, the VG-99 is a great unit and worth the price tag.
My 2 cents worth!

[emajewski]

Hi all,
I have a VG-99 and the FC-300 which I'm very pleased with. I also have started to use a GR-33. Currently I use a Roland US-20 to alternate between the 2 devices via 3 - 13 pin cables. I use Brian Moore guitars with the 13 pin outputs and it all tracks very well (best on the VG-99, good enough on the GR-33)

With 13 pin cables being traditionally long, I'm looking to minimize the number of cables and the setup time. So I figured I might be able to eliminate the US-20. Using the guitar to midi feature on the VG-99 I have a 13 pin cable going from my guitar to the VG-99 and a midi cable from the VG-99 to the GR-33. Both units are set to poly. The tracking is just terrible on the GR-33.

If anyone has any ideas I can try to fix this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Eric