A terrific sounding guitar synth. Since the problems with it are most notable, I'll mention those, though. It's fairly difficult to tweak it to make a warm, natural guitar tone. The acoustic guitar sounds are great when mixed with other instruments, but on their own they sound a bit dull and lifeless. On the other hand, there is no way you can direct-in a guitar through effects and get as great a tone unless you shell out more cash for the VG-8. But the greatest asset is having a ton of tones in one box. It seems to excel most at bluesy, driving guitar sounds, crunchy sounds, and backup rhythm guitar. In general, this is the main stuff you need for rock, and being able to switch from convincing tone to tone without doing anything but tapping a pedal is excellent. Ironically, it does a completely unconvincing job of emulating a GR-300. Go figure.

Programmability is both terrific and aggravating. The sysex MIDI controls were poop last time I checked (maybe there are some new editors out there), and this does mean that you have to go through menu after menu to make your own programs. Not a deal-breaker, but certainly a pain in the tukas. The upside is that the programmability is mighty thorough. There are plenty of sounds you can make from straight out driving guitar to totally wacked noise stuff to realistic Moog synth basses to decent acoustic guitar sounds. Oh, and you can program a wild-sounding electric violin. Pretty slick.

It's a Roland product, so the quality is the closest to perfect in the electronic instrument world. I use it nearly every day for hours, switching programs, using the pedals, etc., and not yet have I had a problem with it. It's been dropped, punted, and pulled around by the guitar cable. I'm tempted to go drive over it to see if it's as indestructible as a MemoryMoog....

Another Roland trademark: Great product for a reasonable price. They're like Toyota in many ways. Sometimes the stuff can be a bit bland, but they do everything you need.

I've not needed support for this unit, but I've had to deal with Roland many times in the past. They're just okay. The manuals, of course, stink. And they're not up online. And their website is a navigational nightmare. And getting warranty work can be a bit trying. But, in general, you usually don't need much of that stuff with a Roland. In other words, they don't have the personal service of a company like E-Mu, but they're also about a bajillion times larger.

It's totally cool.

Rock, Experimental

The best of all guitar modeling devices available. Great for live or in the studio. Has settings to play through any sort of amp, headphones, or direct into a mixer / recorder. Emulates an infinite variety of guitars and many popular amplifiers. Pitch shifters can be used for alternate tunings, harmonies, or "capo" effect. A great sounding box.

Better box than the VG-8 was, because you can use your magnetic pickups from a guitar without the special GK-2 pickup. 24 bit digital, better sounding amp and guitar models. Could use stereo effects loop, memory card, and detachable AC cord. Has a foot pedal for expression built right in.

Solid as a rock; metal, not plastic. Gigged and recorded it a ton, no problems whatsoever. Good thing, because it's pretty expensive to keep a backup for. Worst oversight is the non-detachable power cord, what the heck were they thinking?

Replaces a lot of guitars and amps. More expensive than other amp modelers, but has the most features. Plus no other modelers allow individual processing of each string, which has all kinds of benefits including pitch shifting, harmonies, detuning, etc.

Excellent support both by the manufacturer and third party user groups (www.vg-8.com). Free OS upgrades, though you have to send it back to Roland or risk trying it yourself and maybe frying your motherboard. I've not needed any service at all besides the upgrade.

An easy way for anyone in a cover band to have an entire arsenal of guitars, amps, effects, and sounds at their disposal. Easy to carry compared to all the gear it replaces.

funk / rock and pop / rock

If you play Top 40, this is the unit. Shift from Metal to Acoustic 12 String with one button. I play through a Roland Cube 60 - clean channel only, line out of amp to the PA, and it kills on everything. Only downside is the harmonizer/pitch shifter - I think my previous GT-3 did a better job. On the other thousand sounds, this is as good as it gets for versatility.

Hook up a 2-button footpedal to this and you're set for live action - control every potential effect between this, the CTL button, and the onboard pedal, and you can do some very crazy things, totally alter the sound within a patch to cover a given song.

Not a 10, as it takes a while to get used to this - but once you're there... Wish Roland promoted more trading of patches on their own site - they're missing a big opportunity here that most of their competitors are exploiting. Tweakability is huge on this, I've had it 5 years and never got to all the features...I go there by necessity, but am rarely disappointed.

Roland makes solid stuff. Period. The only weak link in the chain is the 13-pin cable, make sure you put some strain relief in there.

I like these guys. Just blew a speaker on my Cube 60, just out of warranty, they replaced it in 2 days no problem, no charge.

awesome friendly customer service. actually bothered to write to me and tell me i could get a free upgrade. then paid for it to be picked up and delivered back to me.