Roland GR-700

The Roland GR-700 is a polyphonic analog guitar synthesizer from 1984, which came with the Roland G-707. It had MIDI interface and is more keyboard-like in sounds produced compared to previous Roland GR models. The voice architecture largely modelled on the JX-3P synth. It made use of the pitch-to-voltage converters for CV/gate control via each of the guitar strings, like the GR-500. Also, it is the first guitar synth to have patch memory (of 64 programmable patch memories, allocated to 8 banks). For onboard effects, it has a variation of the classic Roland analog Chorus effect and the hexaphonic fuzz.

Mike Rutherford adopted the GR-700 during the mid-1980s, around the same time Genesis did work on Invisible Touch. He'd use the GR-700 on the album's tour during 1986-87 interfaced with a modified Steinberger guitar (with detachable wooden body). On songs such as "Home By The Sea", for example, during Tony's synth solo section Mike would play the underlying chords on the guitar synth. But for subsequent Genesis work he didn't feel need to use the guitar synth as much with Genesis, as Tony Banks was doing the keyboard & synth work.

After that, he used the GR-700 /w the G-707 to write material for his Mike + The Mechanics band during the late 1980s, in particular the commercially successful The Living Years album.