Until very recently - i.e. yesterday - I was unaware of the existence of the VG Stratocaster and G-5 VG Stratocaster. One day after this revelation the only things I know about these instruments is what I've read on wiki and what I've seen on a couple of You Tube reviews so I'm hoping someone with first hand experience will be able to answer some questions.

On the surface at least it would appear that the VG Strat offers many more tonal possibilities than the American Standard and even the American Deluxe with the S1 switch. Furthermore no special equipment or setup is required and the VG plugs directly into an amp and plays just like a regular Strat. If this is true then why was the model discontinued after only two years of production? Is the G-5 VG Strat the next generation VG?

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This is the Blues. Are you listening?

I was hoping it would be a Roland Ready VG Strat. Alas, it seems not.

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/namm-2012-roland-and-fender-unleash-vg-stratocaster-g-5-524687

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No no and no

I think on the original ones the battery life was short.

I found it funny that the guitar is sold under the Roland name, not Fender. So I dug around a bit.
It seems to me from looking around that you'll be paying well into a grand for a Mexican guitar.



It's on the product page, kind of. When you click the "Find out more" link, it takes you to Roland

http://www.fender.com/features/vguitar

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No no and no

All these model numbers / types are somewhat confusing. The link nikininja provided displays a GC-1 which presumably is GK-Ready and a G-5 under which appears VG Stratocaster. I didn't see any mention of prices.

From what I'm gathering, the Rolland/Fender fusion results in a guitar which looks and feels(?) like a Strat but sounds like a Strat plugged into a digital effects processor. Am I in the general ball park?

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This is the Blues. Are you listening?

That is essentially it - like the original USA VG Strat this new G-5 VG Strat is a Fender with the Roland VG circuitry inside it. The VG circuitry (like the Variax and other modelers of this type) can make the output mimic the other types of guitars (including pickups, tunings, etc.). However, with the USA VG you could bypass this circuitry and get a "straight" Strat output. I would assume this new Roland/Fender G-5 VG Strat works the same way.

The G-1 is just a new version of the "Roland-ready" Strat that has the Roland hex pickup and controls built into the guitar. There have previously been an American Standard version in early 90s and more recently a version built into the MIM Standard Strat. These let you drive the Roland guitar synth systems through the hex pickup but you can also get the straight guitar sound out of the Strat - so you can have the synth sound, the guitar sound, or both mixed together.

Also from a business perspective it makes sense for these to become Roland products - the "Roland-ready" was already a niche product for Fender, and the VG proved to be innovative but flawed (battery life) and eventually not hugely accepted by the marketplace. However, the VG system and the various guitar synth systems have been consistent enough sellers for Roland to keep them around, so let them handle the sales and distribution of the co-branded product instead of Fender.

Thanks to John C the fog has lifted and the crystal is clear as a bell. Not so much a guitar with onboard digital effects but a digital effects processor with a Fender Stratocaster interface.

I must admit that the tonal possibilities are inticing but I don't see myself giving up my stomp boxes for an all-in-one guitar/effects combo. (Maybe I'm just too old fashioned.) Then again I haven't even seen these instruments let alone played them so perhaps it would be wise of me to keep an open mind until I can do a test drive or at least hear from someone who has played these beasts.

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This is the Blues. Are you listening?

I own a MIA VG. Have been focusing on bass, so haven't played it much. I'm not a pro musician (and don't plan to be), so for me, the VG gives me LOTS of different tone possibilities in ONE guitar.

One thing that I couldn't figure out about the VG is why there's an emulation of a Strat. A recent issue of some gear mag mentiond the Roland guitar and said that the emulation mode eliminates the hum that you might get from the "regular" Strat.

I had heard that an extremely short battery life was one of the things that did in the VG.

Some people are "purists", and don't want all of that on their guitar -- they'd prefer separate, purpose-specific tools (stomp boxes, etc) for whatever they want to do.

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Shirley Has The Blues

Blacktop P Bass
mim Deluxe P Bass Special
mim P Bass
Ibanez BTB405

I have a MIA VG strat. I play gigs a lot. I use the 12 string sounds for stuff like Pink Floyds "wish you were here" (Electric and acoustic 12 string sounds) and when I first got the guitar, my fingers kept feeling for the extra 12 string strings which of course are not there. The strat mode is so you can use the alternate tunings like a strat sound. I use the G tuning for boogies and slide stuff, Drop D for a couple country numbers. Baritone mode anytime I want a beefier tone. Band in D, I will be in G, baritone mode. Tele, Humbuckers, Acoustic (5 of em) on the 5 way switch. If ya use nickle metal hydride batteries there is no real issue. Keep a spare set of alkalines in the case. They will last a few hours if the rechargeable's go flat through laziness not charging before shows. Yes when batteries are dead, regular strat is right there on N N settings with the extra knobs. Rechargeable's lasting several hours it seems. Beware!! Rechargeables shelf life is poor. They go flat sitting there in weeks. Alkalines do not. So if you charge your batteries and then don't play for a month or 2 they wont last the night.... Beware!! The new VGs have a few improvements and American tuners.

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[i][size=85]2013 American Standard Precision bass
1959 Jazzmaster
Hartke KB12
Old tube amps

Hi Blue I'll throw in my personal experience with the original MIA VG Strat as I have one hanging on the wall. As mentioned in previous posts the battery life with alkaline batteries is 2 or 3 hours if you're lucky. Rechargeable batteries can last twice or three times as long if you remember to unplug between sets. (plugging in your guitar chord engages the batteries)

The alternate tunings and guitar models come in handy if you're playing a wide variety of music and the 12 string modeling is my favorite. It can really fatten up your sound. The acoustic modeling falls short in my opinion but some of that is because the sound is coming out of an electric guitar amp. I plugged into an acoustic amp and used the acoustic modeling and was pleasantly surprised. The humbucker setting doesn't have the punch that real HBs would have but tonally it is close.

The new G5 Strat offered by Roland has some differences with the original. Roland changed the humbucker and single coil modeling and I recall from watching the NAMM video Jeff Baxter did for Roland they included a Sitar effect. The guitar body does seem to be MIM from it's appearance, but who's to say there's something wrong with that. The price is much more affordable than the original if you didn't get yours at the end when the originals were marked down quite a bit.

If there could be improvements to the guitar my suggestion would be to make it programmable. I would find some different alternate tunings more useful than the ones they included. Hope this was helpful and don't worry your pedalboard will still be useful if you decide to aquire one.

Many thanks guys for your feedback and helpful reviews. I'm still discovering my new ADStrat (also my first Strat) and althought I see myself getting another Strat in the future, I think it will be a more "traditional" model.

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This is the Blues. Are you listening?

I'm new here, and to this range of guitars -
I have had this quote from Roland UK about the G-5....
"...the Fender part of the G-5 is assembled in Mexico, and the neck of the guitar is American specification"
Take from this what you will.
Here, we have a company (Andertons) who have posted a YouTube video about the instruments, which may be accessed from a search for the G-5 on their website. Just Google "Andertons" if all else fails.
The video shows both versions, one is described as a Mexican, the other an American.
Again, take your own view. I hope that this was a helpful post.

.http://www.andertons.co.uk/solid-body-e ... tboard.asp

..and while I'm on here....perhaps we might invite Fender (here) to contribute a view of the place of these instruments within the product range, and the collaboration with Roland?
...I have been really impressed (not that that is necessarily any recommendation ) with the demonstrations I've seen, but there has been a very limited amount of "stuff" on the internet outside the Roland promotional video...