What an interesting afternoon we have ahead! Why? Because when two giants of the musical instrument market join forces to launch a new product, things get exciting. What can we say about Fender that isn't already known? It's one of the all-time greats. And Roland? Exactly the same. Each is aimed at a specific audience, but they complement each other perfectly, and together they've developed a new, modern and hyper-versatile guitar.
What Kind of Guitar Is It?
Let's start giving shape to today's protagonist. On one side, we have Fender, whose Strats, Telecasters and the rest have been shaping the modern guitar world. On the other, we find Roland, which has developed many innovations, but stands out above all in the MIDI world. So Fender supplies the body of a Stratocaster and Roland supplies all of its MIDI know-how, hardware and software, which in this case they call COSM Technology. That's how the Fender VG-5 was born.
What Are the Building Materials?
We have several options for our Strat, one of which is a Strat with a maple neck, another a Strat with a rosewood neck. You could say these are the two most clearly distinguishable options, beyond the sunburst, black and other finishes.
In terms of construction, it's a Classic Standard Strat, where ease of use and adaptability are clearer than ever thanks to years of use. It has 22 jumbo frets, which makes for a really comfortable neck. It's genuinely a pleasure to hold. It comes with a six-screw tremolo in the most vintage style, which can take whatever mischief you want to get up to with the whammy bar, along with standard Fender tuning machines. The body is alder, as a proper Strat should be, and the neck is one-piece maple, or maple and rosewood, depending on the model. The pickguard is three-ply, with an opening for a new pot.
What's New?
The main innovation comes from Roland through its COSM technology, which it introduced some time ago but which now arrives in full form to offer new specs applied directly to the guitar. It's worth mentioning that there is a close cousin of the VG-5 called the GC-1. It has a MIDI pickup that lets you control any module, such as the GR-55. In this case, though, the VG-5 has all the sounds you could need inside the guitar itself, with no module required. The VG-5 has two operating modes:
a) You use the guitar without engaging COSM technology. The guitar behaves like a high-end Stratocaster, with three single-coil pickups, and you can play it like any Fender Strat, except that it has just one volume and one tone control, because the second tone control of a conventional Strat has been replaced by two new controls for using COSM technology. Either way, you can use the guitar as just another Fender Strat and take advantage of its solid build.
b) You use the two controls located below, which open the door to Roland's whole arsenal, and the guitar becomes completely new and innovative. These two controls hold all the power to make the guitar sound a thousand different ways. The first control lets you choose:
1. Drop D: Without touching the tuning machines, the guitar lowers the sixth string from E to D. Extremely useful when your repertoire alternates between standard and Drop D tuning. In many cases we have to alternate between songs in standard and Drop D, and the guitar suffers, because the sixth string keeps going back and forth, which makes tuning a nuisance. With this control, the string simply drops to D when you turn the pot.
2. Open G: The guitar is fully retuned to open G tuning. From the thinnest string (the first) to the thickest (the sixth), that's D, B, G, D, G, D. It's very popular in Delta blues, and even in some pop and grunge. The main problem is that if your repertoire includes a song in that tuning, you end up having to carry two guitars, because with just one you have to spend a lot of time retuning, and the neck suffers from the change. With the VG-5, we get perfectly in tune at the turn of a pot, in under a second and without stressing the neck.
3. D Modal: This is the typical D, A, D, G, A, D tuning. Widely used in different situations.
4. B Baritone: If you need a baritone guitar, you simply turn the pot to the second-to-last position, where the sixth string becomes a B and the rest of the strings follow accordingly: B, E, A, D, F#, B. Perfect for heavier sounds, or even for a flirtation with country.
5. 12-string: In the last position, we can double every string and turn the guitar into a six-course 12-string, and depending on where we set the second pot, we get different possibilities: a 12-string Strat, a Telecaster, an acoustic, and so on. In other words, we can have very typical 12-string cases or some not so common ones.
The second control shapes the guitar's sound. This is how we get the sound we want out of our Strat:
1. Stratocaster: This gives us a different Stratocaster sound from the one the guitar delivers without COSM technology. The guitar's sound without COSM is perhaps more ’70s, while with this option it's more Stevie Ray, with more twang and that familiar “quack.” The 5 positions of the pickup selector match those of a conventional 3-single-coil Strat.
2. Telecaster: In this option the guitar turns into a Telecaster, with an unmistakably vintage, twangy sound. But the question is: how does it interact with the Strat's 5-position pickup selector? In this case it keeps the 3 typical positions of a Telecaster, which has only 2 pickups. The other two positions give a “fatter” sound from both of the Tele's pickups.
3. Humbucker: In this position we get a Stratocaster with 2 double-coil pickups, or humbuckers, geared to deliver much more output than in the previous cases. Once again, having only two pickups means the Strat's pickup selector offers just 3 combinations. That leaves two new options, which give two humbucker sounds with extra sparkle.
4. Finally, we reach the acoustic section. Here, depending on where we set the selector, we get different instruments. In the bottom position we get an acoustic; in the next, another acoustic sound, a Spanish guitar; then a sitar; and finally a jazz archtop sound.
So it should be clear by now that the two pots are the key to getting the most out of the new VG-5. However, keep in mind that there are many combinations between the two pots. In other words, there will be typical cases you can easily find in guitars, such as a 12-string acoustic or perhaps a 12-string Strat, though it would be rarer to find a 12-string Telecaster, a 12-string sitar or a baritone Spanish guitar.
Also worth noting is that powering the whole guitar takes four conventional AA batteries, which are only needed when COSM technology is in use. It also has a blue LED that indicates how much battery is left, dimming and eventually blinking to let us know the charge is running low.
And What Does It Sound Like?
Little by little we've been seeing what this great advance in modern guitar technology sounds like. Now let's pin down even further where it fits perfectly and where we can use it to get the most out of it.
Generally, when we run into innovations in the guitar world, we always have doubts: How does it sound? Is it believable enough? Will I actually use it, or will I stick with my usual sounds? I have to say that the modeled sounds come so close to the originals that they're simply perfect, so you can live comfortably with the VG-5 without hauling 1,000 guitars to a gig, and without having to pay the price of “It sounds good, but wouldn't it be the same if I had my Telecaster?”
The Strat sounds, as I mentioned above, are closer to a Strat with Texas Specials: completely twangy, and the kind of tone where Stevie Ray would most likely have made himself at home. The Telecaster sound is great, as it offers a vintage character, very twangy, especially on the bridge pickup. I was surprised by the warmth of the neck pickup, which gives you a color that's very easy to use as rhythm for a pop/rock song. On the other hand, when you switch to the humbucker position, you get the perfect sound of a Strat with two humbuckers: much more compressed and with more output, which makes any amp roar and pushes it to the extreme of saturation. Finally, the acoustic section is more than convincing, because when you plug an acoustic in direct, the size of the body, the wood and so on take a back seat. The Spanish guitar is very well done, but what surprised me most pleasantly was the sitar, as I found a thousand and one possibilities with it.
Conclusion
Strats and Telecasters are part of our Western musical culture. Now we hold in our hands a guitar that has the most important Fender sounds of the last 60 years. They've achieved a level of quality that means you won't miss your beloved Strat or Telecaster. And all this for what? Ultimately, to make our lives easier, because even if we could own a Strat, a Telecaster, several acoustics, a sitar, a Spanish guitar and so on, it would be more complicated: even if you had every possible combination at your band's gig, you couldn't switch between them with a simple turn of a pot... especially at the price of a more-than-affordable Fender Strat. If you get the chance to try it, don't let it pass you by... You'll be very pleasantly surprised, and it will make you rethink a lot of things.
09/11/2012
