Anyone got a cakewalk Instrument definition file for the Roland GW8 or Prelude?

I know this used to exist on the Roland website but the links have all been removed.

It will save me hours of creating one

thanks!
Nick

I do not (never had either of those) but hopefully someone can help you...

Is there any sound in the GW8/Prelude that is unique that you don't have in the G70/BK9?

Hi Diki, There are lots of the synth sounds (leads, pads and basses) in the Gw8 which I really like but are not in the BK9 or G70.

Also - I like to use the GW8 over the BK9 and G70 sometimes because of its portability. I have it connected to a laptop and can take it on trips easily / move it around the house etc

I'm getting to the point where weight is more of a factor than it used to be, but 20 lbs for a solid 76 note arranger hasn't yet become an issue! I don't think it ever will...

I've tried so many times to play piano parts on a 61, and I always found myself whacking the end stops at either end (painful!) or having to transpose a split's lower part down an octave and have a hole in the middle of the keyboard (only painful to the ears!) to compensate.

Thank God the BK9 is so light! We both know what a tank that G70 was! 😱🤣

I have been experimenting a fair bit with the GW8 side by side to the BK9... matching up all the sounds including the drum kits that are identically named on both boards.

Its very interesting, all the drum kits are extremely close across the full 128 velocity range. some of the snares and high hat samples are different on the GW as opposed to the BK9 on some of the acoustic kits but not ALL of them... also for some other sounds like Epianos I have tried are missing a sample switch at a higher velocity on the GW8 that are present in the BK9 (and the G70)...

The main takeaway when comparing all 3 boards is that the BK9 is EQ'd much higher / brighter out of the box. When you play around with the EQ and brighten it up on the G70 and the GW8, they almost sound completely identical.

To me - all 3 boards are unique and have features that wont allow me to part with any of them...

the GW8 - extremely portable and lightweight. has a great synth selection and feels very warm. I love the two live controller knobs to edit sounds, EQ and effects on the fly without menu diving...

BK9 has an amazing selection of sounds - lightweight high quality 76 keys - extreme large range of sounds across ALL categories. All round the board sounds amazing - probably better than anything else I own and have played in my history of playing synths and arrangers (I hate the OS though and the fact that u need to use the scroll wheel for navigation)... - all it needs is the up down, left right buttons and that would have helped it significantly....

The G70 for obvious reasons - pro quality all around. the Touch screen / navigation - minimal menu diving, the Keys, the Set list, the sequencer, it goes on...

Still one of the biggest cons on all Roland arrangers for me is not being able to create a style part that can bypass chord changes... hence why I tend to lean more towards using SMFs to play along with, which I am getting used to as it becomes a breeze to create and edit them using the make up tools (on the BK9 and G70)

There might be a way to bypass chord changes... record the part as a drum part. Send it out as MIDI and then back in to the same board on a different MIDI channel mapped to a voice like Lower or Right 2. Another option: if you're bypassing chord changes then you're talking about a MIDI sequence so you don't need an arranger per se. You could add a Yamaha QY700 outboard hardware sequencer, or even a Motif XF Rack module. Maybe the best of all worlds...?

One last thought (because ya know, you need another Roland arranger for your stable ;-) On the E-A7, the multipads ALWAYS transpose but they are still active while an SMF is playing. You can copy style parts, including the Bass part, to the multipads and then play over the SMF. E-A7 is the only Roland with multipads, and the only one that can use the arranger and SMF player at the same time. For the record I agree 100% that Roland should have included a "Bypass" or no transpose parameter, would have made things much easier. FWIW.