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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
 Posted - 08/22/2006 : 22:35:45
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Jonathan Quinney from Roland/Boss is currently doing a UK tour demoing most of the current line of Boss guitar gear. I went to this afternoon's session at Dawsons Music in Reading and found it very interesting. Jonathan proved to be not only a very capable guitar player but also a good presenter. A bit disappointing that only about 10 people bothered to turn up but it gave us all the opportunity to be on the first row 
The following units were demoed (in the order they were demoed):
GT-8
RC-50
Roland GR-20
TU-2
OC-3
TR-2
AC-3
CS-3
GE-7
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DS-1
OD-3
SD-1
BD-2
OS-2
DS-2
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MD-2
MT-2
PS-5
GE-7
PH-3
BF-3
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NS-2
DD-6
DD-3
CH-1
CE-5
RV-5
BR-900CD
Jonathan started off with a Steve Vai medley using the GT-8 before going through the unit in detail. Very impressive how different amp simulations can be combined and stereo modulated. The slicer effect was another GT-8 feature highlighted with a great "won't get fooled again" demo.
The RC-50 is an awesome unit. Jonathan demonstrated how songs can be built up by adding layers. He recorded 3 different parts and then soloed on top of them. Very cool. He also demoed how a guitar solo or voice track can be removed from a recording. Very cool how he replaced Jimmy Page's solo on Stairway to Heaven with his own.
The GR-20 was demoed using the Roland ready Strat (while he used a PRS for everything else). It is fantastic to hear a guitar become a piano, banjo, sitar, flute and so on. He demoed the Jazz classic "Take five" playing the saxophone solo and that would have fooled me if the song was on the radio. His trombone demo was maybe not as close to the real thing but nevertheless very fun.
On to the compacts. He had 24 pedals plugged in. Not sure how much sound disappeared along the way but it still sounded great at the end of the loop and I guess that's what counts. Jonathan played demoes of EVH, Gilmore and Slash and recommended combinations of 3 pedals to get the sounds. Great to hear the good part of Beat it without hearing Michael Jackson.
Some good points made during the compact pedal demo too. Use a GE-7 both before and after the distortion to easier bring out solos. The unfortunate use of Sweet Child of Mine demoed this successfully. Jonathan used the CH-1 for single note chorus and the CE-5 for chords. I've never thought of this and I could suddently hear why the CH-1 is still in sale after 17 years.
I had hoped to see the RC-2 but unfortunately they hadn't received it yet. In the UK it will retail at 149GBP and it will have the same specs as the RC-20.
Finally he did a short demo of the BR-900CD. Over the course of 5 minutes he recorded 3 tracks, mixed them, bounced them and showed different mastering settings.
If you're anywhere near any of these sessions I highly recommend going. The tour isn't widely advertised but you can find the schedule here: http://www.roland.co.uk/guitar_events.asp |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 23:01:20
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Robin Trower similarly used a CE-2 for single-note soloing back in the '80s -- sounds like a "depth" all the way up, "rate" all the way down sort of setting.
/Gilmour
//sorry
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 23:05:59
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How did he avoid tone sucking, by the way?
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 23:10:26
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| I don't think he did. With that many pedals linked there's bound to be some tone suck but I never heard the direct sound so I wasn't able to compare. |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 23:11:53
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Would have made a good demo for the EH-2, if it were still available...
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StratoSphere
Double Platinum Member
Canada
2232 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 23:26:43
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| it would have been intersting to see but no RC-2 is just teasing. |
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 11:11:00
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quote:
Originally posted by stahlhart
How did he avoid tone sucking, by the way?
His playing probably doesn't suck... 
I think tone-sucking actually starts to curb after a bunch of pedals. In the store I work at, we often have 14-16 Boss pedals, in series with a TU-12 (I think that's the model) and an FV-50 (on one of those big old Boss display boards) and while it does suck the tone, it's hard to notice a difference between that and the five that I use myself. |
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Boss demo with Jonathan Quinney (UK)
