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.

That sounds like the answer there Ted. The BK series (not sure if the GW could) can have as many Drum Parts as you want, and a MIDI Set can be Linked to each Performance allowing you to direct the Part to the MIDI Out. But you're going to need some kind of external MIDI processor to rechannelize to non-drum channels, as CH10 can only be used for Drumkits (if you are returning it to the BK).

I'm finding MIDI Sets to be very powerful for quickly routing style Parts, Song Parts or live keyboard playing to address external gear. I'm USB-ing an iPad Pro to my BK9 and it's amazingly easy to route what you want to where you want it to go. But you DO need to plan a little bit in advance, as you only get eight MIDI Sets globally (and no way to back them up other than paper and pen!😱).

But put much of the onus on the receiving device, and those 8 MIDI Sets will suffice!

Yes, MIDI Solutions sell "black boxes" that can transpose or transform MIDI data. Check out the one called the "Event Processor," it might be able to do exactly what's needed to take the sequence playing on the drum channel and feed it back in to the same board, for playback by "Right 2," etc. If you pursue this solution and get it working, please post back, especially if you document the settings and hardware in a YouTube video, etc. Following!!

There's a multitude of tablet and computer apps that will do a simple rechannelization and send the MIDI back to the arranger. MIDI Solutions boxes are an expensive way to do a simple task...

I'm not sure I understand the need for non-transposing style parts unless it's for percussion, though. In which case, creating an extra Drum Track achieves the goal without the need for transmission and rechannelization.

There's another way to create non-transposing Parts on the BK9, though. Roland's Key Audio feature allows you to record a loop of any thing you want, and play it in sync with the arranger. You get up to eight per Performance, and can turn them on and off either off the top few notes of the keyboard, or using the FC7 input.

For me, I think that's a lot faster a way to get breakbeats, percussion, drones, sfx etc to work with a style than writing Style Drum Parts for all the Divisions and going through all the rigmarole of sending, rechanellizing and returning them to the arranger. Plus you aren't chewing up a whole Style Parts for an effect or whatever. Remember, every Part you turn into a non-transposed Part is one less Style Part for regular stuff!

Nowadays I'm primarily gigging with audio backing (the guitars are real guitars!) and only about 20% SMF's, very few styles. My playing style doesn't really like restricting my LH to rote chord playing to drive the style engine, and the Chord Sequencer has to be loaded up manually, so too slow for a live gig...

My current project is converting all my backing to audio files, and then playing them from a tablet. This way I get synchronized lyrics and the Mark/Jump feature on audio tracks (BK9 only can do that on SMF's, not audio) so I can extend or shorten songs depending on circumstances.

One of the original strengths of style play for professionals was the ability to repeat solos, add sections, end early etc, but Markers in audio achieves that and adds completely realistic guitar parts and things like backing vocals, real drums, percussion etc.. Technology has done a good job of making a lot of the original reasons we chose arrangers somewhat moot! Possibly why the segment is in such decline...