©2011 Roland Corporation U.S.  www.RolandUS.com  TBS278
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GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer
2
Selecting Patches
A patch is a collection of tones and effects along with their settings, stored together in 
a single location. Patches are stored in groups of three, each of which is called a “bank.” 
There are 270 Preset (factory) patches and 297 User patches in the GR-55. Sound Styles 
are collective groups in which the different banks and patches are stored.  
To select a patch you can 
•  Turn the dial.
•  Press the S1 or S2 switches on the GK-3 (or other 13-pin pickup system).
Note: By default in the GR-55, the S1 and S2 switches are set up for changing patches. If this 
has been changed, the S1/S2 switches may not function as expected.  
•  Press the numbered (1-3) pedals 
You can change banks using the numbered pedals. Here’s how.
1  Press Pedals 1 and 2 simultaneously—the bank number and pedal indicators flash.
2  Press the 1 or 2 pedal to select a desired bank.
3  Press Pedal 3, and then press Pedals 1, 2, or 3 to select the patch.
Auditioning PCM Tones
The GR-55 contains a whopping 910 PCM tones! Here’s how to select and audition them.
Note: You can access tones in any patch. In this example we’ll use Patch 04-1 Drive Blues 
Harp.
1  Press the  LEAD  button, and then turn the dial to choose Patch 04-01  Drive Blues 
Harp.
2  Press EDIT.
3  Press PAGE 3 to select the TONE tab.
4  Use the cursor buttons to highlight “PCM1 :119 Harmonica 2.” 
5  Now turn the dial to select the desired PCM Tone—as we mentioned, there are 910 
of them.
6  Press EXIT when you’re finished.
Using the Phrase Loop Feature 
The  GR-55  contains  a  Phrase  Looper  that  allows  you  to  record  and  play  back  a 
performance, and then have it loop continuously. Here’s how to use the Phrase Loop.
1  Select the desired patch.
2  Press  the  Number  3  and  CTL  pedals  simultaneously—the  indicator  on  the  CTL 
pedal begins flashing to let you know you’re in Standby mode.
3  Press CTL—the LED flashes rapidly and recording begins. Play for up to 20 seconds.
4  When you’re  finished,  press  CTL once  to  stop the  recording process. Playback  of 
your new recording begins immediately.
5  If you’d like to overdub on top of the recording, repeat Steps 3 and 4.
6  Press the CTL pedal twice in quick succession to stop playback.
Note: When playback stops, the recording is deleted.
7  To exit Phrase Loop mode, press the Number 3 and CTL pedals simultaneously.