Roland GS-500

The Roland GS-500 is a guitar uniquely made to interface with and control the Roland GR-500 analog guitar synthesizer, introduced in 1977. It was manufactured as a collaboration between Roland and Fujijen in Japan - to add to the guitar's uniqueness, the output jack is not of the 1/4" standard size, so it could only be connected to a GR-500.

The guitar has a described "honey burst" finish, with a Les Paul-style cutaway on the body. There are also control knobs present (besides the usual volume & tone ones) for adjusting the levels of the different synth sections of the GR-500, and switches to turn on each section. In addition to that, it is capable of sustaining notes, driven by magnets built within the guitar.

Both Mike Rutherford & Steve Hackett have used the GS-500 with the GR-500.

Further information

 * Joness website - vintage Roland Guitar Synthesizer Resource