Roland GR-20 Workshop Manual page 7

Wood Bass
It only makes sense that patches that emulate guitars and
basses should be easy to play from your guitar, and they are.
Turn the BANK knob until the BASS/GTR indicator

lights.
Okay, you're already playing a guitar—so why play guitar or bass
patches? Because you've got quite a collection of great guitar and bass
sounds in the GR-20.
Try the first patch in this category: a really nice upright sound called

"Wood Bass. "
Turn the Number/Value dial to try out the other patches in this

category. You'll find electric basses, synth basses, and all sorts of guitars
and hybrid instruments.
Don't forget Patch 40, Guitar & Pad—it's really beautiful.

Trumpet
Turn the BANK knob to light the BRASS indicator

and play the first patch in this category: Trumpet.
Trumpet is a very realistic patch as long as you play its notes as a
trumpet player would. For example, you can't slide between notes here,
because you can't do that on a trumpet.
Try playing, clean lines, or simple two-note harmonies for a trumpet

duet sound.
Turn the Number/Value dial to try out different sounds in the BRASS

category, and then give the WIND-category patches a try.
RHYTHM/PERC Patches
Let's finish our tour in the toybox: the RHYTHM/
PERC category.
Turn the BANK knob to select RHYTHM/PERC.

Turn the Number/Value dial to choose Patch 37, Tambourine and Tabla

Phrase.
Try this: play the low E string and let it ring to start playback of a tabla

pattern. Now play the other strings to add tambourine.
Check out Patch 23, Drum Kit—in this patch, each string plays a

different sound in a drum kit.
Try out the other patches in this category. They run from melodic

percussion instruments such as vibraphone, all the way to insanely fun
rhythm patterns.
Tips for Playing GR-0 Sounds
You may have already noticed that playing GR-20 patches from your guitar is
a bit different from just playing guitar. This is because when you're working
with the GR-20, your guitar is not really acting as a guitar: it's acting as a MIDI
controller that just happens to look and feel like a guitar. As a result, you've
got to keep some new thoughts in mind as you play.
The GK- is a Very Sensitive Pickup
In order to faithfully catch every nuance of your playing, the GK-3 listens very
carefully to what you do. In fact, you might say it listens more carefully than
most musicians do. It captures even the tiniest notes you play, including
those that are sounded when you pull off a string, or squeak a string.
Normally, you don't even notice these sounds, but the GK-3 has to notice
everything in order to successfully capture your playing style.
What this means is that you've got to play very cleanly and carefully to avoid
making unintended noises. When you're playing lead lines, this is pretty
easy to do, but you'll need to practice playing chords and finger-picking to
get them super-clean. Busy strumming is especially difficult to do without
accidentally causing pull-off notes.
Tweak a Sound
You can adjust each sound's Play Feel to make it work optimally for you. The St
(for "Strum") Play Feel setting can be especially helpful as you practice using the
GR-20 since it tells the GR-20 to ignore soft notes. We'll explain how to
change a patch's Play Feel setting, and how to store it as a User patch in the
Customizing GR-20 Patches Workshop booklet. (You can also read about it on
Page 21 in the GR-20 Owner's Manual)