TROUBLESHOOTING SOUND AND MIDI DIFFICULTIES WITH THE GR-30

Just so you know, I make no claim to being a bonified MIDI authority of any kind. The tips and to-do's that follow are the result of things I've tried, ideas from other MIDI users, and stuff I've read about. I hope one or more of these pointers and the accompanying links will help you work out whatever problems are plaguing your GR-30 setup.

This page is always under construction and so will be modified as new information becomes available, and as I am found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise out-to-lunch on any point(s). :)

Paul Duivestein

This page was last updated : maandag 26 juli 1999 00:25:13

• Make sure your MIDI cables are secured properly and in good working order.
• You might be surprised how many MIDI-related miseries are caused by old and worn or improperly connected DIN connectors. I once had a week of cut-off and 'hung' or 'stuck' notes, checksum errors, data1, and 'MIDI off line' messages, all because one end of a MIDI cable wasn't pushed in all the way.:( Check and double check all your connections. It's the easiest thing to do, yet it could save you a lot of hair pulling and nail biting.

  If one or more of your cables seem to be damaged or worn out, I would suggest replacing them, as opposed to trying to fix them yourself, unless of course you know exactly what you're doing--which I don't:). In my opinion, you should avoid using the cheaper cables, like the kind Radio Shack sells. Those sold at music stores are probably a better bet, though a bit more expensive.

• Turn tracking acceleration OFF.
• If, during playback of MIDI data from a sequencer, or when playing on your guitar, you hear what sounds like static popping sounds coming from the GR30, try turning off the synth's tracking acceleration function, a feature that slightly reduces the response time between picking and the actual sound of the synth. Each of the eight levels of Play Feel has an alternate setting option, represented by a dot in the corner of the GR's display. Eg. Normal feel with acceleration enabled looks like 'nor.', while Normal without acceleration looks like 'nor ' See p. 37 and 38 of the manual for more details.

  As an option, you can send one of these messages to the GR30 from a sysex-capable sequencer or other utility: acceleration ON, acceleration OFF.

• Set the GR-30 for poly mode reception
• There may be occasions, such as when playing the GR from a keyboard, or when using the GR to receive MIDI data from a sequencer or MIDI player, that you'll need to setup the synth for polyphonic reception--> 1-channel operation, instead of the normal 6 channels in mono (power-on) mode. Otherwise, the output could sound stunted--notes doubling up or getting cut off prematurely (before they reach their decay/release stages). To set the GR-30 up for Poly Mode reception, turn the power off, then while holding the PATCH (VALUE) + button, turn the power back on. To get back to normal (mono) mode, turn the synth off, wait a few moments, then turn it back on. See p.82 for details.
• Turn local off
• This action disconnects the guitar controller from the GR's internal sound source, preventing data from your guitar's hexaphonic pickup and control unit from clashing with that from another MIDI source as the two reach the GR30's MIDI In, causing notes to sound unnaturally short or garbled. To turn local off, power down the GR30 and turn it back on while holding down the 'EDIT/PLAY' button. See p.78 for more info. See p. 78.

  Note: MIDI control change number (cc#) 122 is assigned to local control and is supported by many keyboard/synthesizers, particularly newer ones. Unfortunately the GR-30 doesn't support this type of MIDI event and therefore won't respond to local on/off messages from a remote device. The MIDI implementation chart on p.98 bares this out.

• Turn thru off
• If your sequencer supports a feature called 'thru', 'soft thru', 'midi thru', or 'midi echo' (most do), and if both the GR30's MIDI In and Out are connected to your computer/interface, you may experience a note doubling or phase-like effect, caused by a MIDI feedback loop between the GR-30 and the software, where the synth's output is rerouted back through its MIDI In. This is generally considered to be an undesirable situation; the sound is strange and at times unpleasant to hear, + it wastes the polyphony of your synthesizer by having it play twice the actual number of notes needed at any given time. However, the problem can be resolved by turning 'thru'--or whatever it's called on your program--off. See your sequencer's manual or online help for details.

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