Roland Intros GC-1 GK-Ready Stratocaster V-Guitar

At the 2012 NAMM Show, Roland and Fender announced the GC-1 GK-Ready Stratocaster guitar as one of the V-Guitar series, am electric guitar that can be directly connected to the GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer and VG-99 V-Guitar System.

Combining an authentic Stratocaster guitar and a special Roland divided pickup with a 13-pin output; the GK-Ready Stratocaster GC-1 can be used with both standard guitar equipment and Roland V-Guitar category products like the GR-55 and VG-99.

To harness this power, Roland developed the GK Divided Pickup, a special pickup that allows each of a guitar’s strings to be processed independently. Connecting a GK-Ready guitar to the GR Guitar Synthesizer or V-Guitar System opens up a world of options, including instant alternate tunings, transforming the guitar sound into another instrument entirely, and more.

To help identify and define these advanced products, Roland has created a new category called “V-Guitar” that will include all the 13-pin compatible products including VG-/VB-99, GR-55 and divided pickups, as well as the VG Stratocaster and GK-Ready Stratocaster.

The GK-Ready Stratocaster GC-1 takes Fender’s iconic and cherished guitar and builds in a Roland GK Divided Pickup and a 13-pin output for connecting to the Guitar Synthesizer and V-Guitar System. The instrument’s intuitive control panel also includes a knob and switches that allow the player to control various functions of 13-pin compatible devices directly from the guitar, as well as blend the guitar’s normal pickups with the GK-driven sound.

As a guitar, the GK-Ready Stratocaster GC-1 is a 100% authentic Fender Strat guitar. It features a solid contoured body, maple neck (with rosewood or maple fingerboard), three single-coil pickups with 5-way switching, a synchronised tremolo bridge, a 3-ply pickguard, and chrome hardware.

The GK-Ready Stratocaster GC-1 is available in a classic sunburst finish with a rosewood fingerboard, or a black finish with a maple fingerboard.

Distributed exclusively by Roland, the GK-Ready Stratocaster GC-1 will be available in March 2012.