Roland G-808 Guitar Synthesizer Controller

Version History - A Tale of Two Bridges, Electronics, and Pickups:

Early Version High-Mass Brass Bridge

Curiously, the G-808 seems to have shipped with two different styles of bridges. By far and away, the majority of G-808 guitars that I have seen have what looks like a standard Tune-O-Matic type bridge and stop bar tailpiece.

However, early G-808 guitars have a larger, high-mass brass bridge that seems to be more typical of the Ibanez Musician guitars coming from the Fujigen factory. Also, almost all G-808 guitars have a unique stop bar tail piece with a nice piece of decorative wood glued to the top.

Check out the photos below. I have an enlargement from the 1982 Roland Guitar Synthesizer brochure that clearly shows the larger, unique bridge and tailpiece. Also, the guitars in the Roland brochure have the same speed knobs as those found on the Roland G-505 guitar. The majority of G-303 and G-808 guitars have knobs similar to a Les Paul, and this is the same style knob found on the Roland G-202.

I saw one eBay auction, from March of 2007, that has a G-808 with this unique hardware, both bridge and knobs. The center photo below is from that auction.

G-808 bridge close up from 1982 Roland brochure. Note the bridge hardware and knobs.	March 2007 auction with a G-808 guitar sporting the same hardware as the 1982 brochure.	Typical Roland G-808 guitar with Tune-O-Matic style bridge and wood decorated tail piece.
Click on any image for larger view.

Comparing the Roland G-303 and G-808:

Click on image for larger view. G-303 (top) and G-808 (bottom)

While the G-303 and G-808 are very similar guitars, there are some distinct differences between these two highly sought after vintage guitars.

Body: The G-303 has a maple top and mahogany body, the G-808 has an ash and walnut body.

Fret board: The G-303 has a rosewood fret board, while the G-808 has an ebony fret board. Ebony is highly regarded as a fret board material for guitar synth controllers. Both the Ibanez IMG2010 and the Godin LGX-SA use ebony for the fret board.

Neck Design: The G-303 has a set neck, while the G-808 has thru-neck construction. The G-303 has a "chunky" profile, while the G-808 has a "slim" neck profile. See the photo at right for more details.

Hardware: the G-303 has Silver/Nickel hardware, and the G-808 has Gold/Brass hardware.

Early G-808 Bridge Design: as previously noted, the early G-808 guitars had a high-mass bridge also in use in Greco guitars made by Fujigen at this time. At some point in the production run, the high-mass brass bridge was replaced with a more conventional tune-o-matic style bridge. The G-303 has also sports a tune-o-matic bridge.

Photos - Natural Finish:

Click on any image for larger view.

Photos - Rare White Finish:

Click on image for larger view

Videos:

Origins of Roland Guitars - Fujigen:

Roland guitars were not built by Ibanez, or Hoshino, as is often erronously posted on various websites! Ibanez does not make every Japanese Electric Guitar!

In 1977, through a joint capital investment between Roland Corporation and Fujigen, FUJI ROLAND CORP is established, based in Matsumoto. Together they developed the world's first guitar synthesizer (GR-500).

Some have noted the the Roland basses have the logo "F Roland" on the headstock, for Fuji Roland. And the Roland guitars have "GR" on the headstock, perhaps for "Greco Roland." The 1981 Greco Catalogue shows every Roland guitar synth product in production at that time. The Roland G-808 is a modified version of the Greco GO1000.

Fujigen Gakki built a lot of guitars, for a lot of people, including Greco Guitars. Greco Guitars were sold almost exclusively in Japan. Fujigen Gakki also built guitars for Ibanez, Fender, Fender/Squire, Yamaha, and of course Roland.

Modifications:

Original Anderton GR-300 Modifications, by Craig Anderton, Guitar Player, January 1984:

Improving hex fuzz high-frequency response

The hex fuzz section of a Roland G-series guitar (which is built into the guitar) mixes the fuzzed signal from each string into a single output. Note, though, that this hex fuzz mixer starts rolling off high frequencies around 2k Hz. To eliminate this roll-off, remove the metal plate on the back of the G-series guitar'ts body (the one on the other side from the controls and switches). Next, orient the guitar'ts circuit board so that the lettering is right side up, and look for the capacitor labeled C72 (470 pF). On my guitar, this cap is located a little to the right of center of the board, in the upper middle section. Once you've found the cap, snip one of its leads with a diagonal cutter - you will be rewarded by a brighter fuzz sound with more presence.

Interior G-303 guitar. The clip is attached to C72, located just below the ribbon connector.	Interior G-303 guitar. The yellow arrow points to C72. C72 is a flat, ceramic capacitor.	Interior G-505 guitar. The yellow arrow points to C72. The layout is similar to a G-303.	Interior G-505 guitar. Note C72 in the lower left corner. The op amp IC8 is part of the hex fuzz.

Schematics - Repairs - Service Bulletins:

There are no known service bulletins from Roland addressing any G-303 problems

Vintage Roland Guitar Hex Pickup Repair

Roland G-202 G-303 G-505 G-808 Opamp Failure Repair

Dating Early Vintage Roland Guitars:

The top G-303 was made in
November, 1982,
"K82", the bottom in
January, 1980 "A80"

The top G-808 was made
in December, 1980,
"L80", the bottom in
July, 1980 "G80"

Have you wondered what year your Roland controller was built? I located some excellent information on dating guitars produced by Fuji Gengakki. This information is from an ebay page called Ibanez Does Not Make Every Japanese Electric Guitar

"Guitars made at FujiGen from about 1976 through 1985 use a signature serial numbering system. All Ibanez-branded guitars from 1976-1985 use it, as do Grecos and the other Hoshino-associated brands I discuss below. This serial number system makes it very easy to date the guitar. The serial number is made up of a letter followed by six numerals, for example, B781234. The letter corresponds to the month of the year (A = January, B = February, etc.) and the first two numbers correspond to the year (in the example I give, 78 stands for 1978).

Later Roland controllers uses a metal plate attached to the headstock with serial numbers only, and no letters.