Music Industry Giants Create the "Roland Ready" Strat
Roland has been producing guitar synths for decades and they were actually the first company to get it right. Now Strat lovers can access all the incredible features of the Roland guitar synth and modeling modules by choosing the surprisingly affordable Roland-Ready Strat. It has all the features of the Standard Stratocaster, like a fast action maple neck, comfort-contoured body, three single-coil pickups and synchronized tremolo, but it also adds the convenience of a built-in Roland GK-2A pickup system, which allows you to drive peripherals directly from the guitar's on-board controls.
Related Videos: Standard Roland-Ready Stratocaster - Arctic White
Roland Ready Stratocaster at a Glance:- Solid alder body in Arctic White polyester finish with three-ply white pickguard.
- Three standard single coil pickups with ceramic magnets plus integral Roland GK-2 pickup.
- One-piece maple neck and rosewood fingerboard with modern "C" shape.
Now Your Guitar Can Sound Like Virtually ANY Instrument
Imagine the possibilities: Now you have access to all of the sounds that keyboard players have been using for decades from the instrument that you know and love - your guitar. Horns, strings, pads, leads and even digital models of other guitars are right at your fingertips. Connect the Roland Ready Standard Strat to a GK-enabled device such as the Roland GR-33 with a sound engine equivalent to the popular JV-1080 sound module and you're ready to go. Choose a preset and your guitar becomes an entirely new instrument. Or you can plug into the Roland VG-88, which uses advanced COSM technology to "model" the most popular guitars and amplifiers in history and your tonal possibilities will take off.
But that's not all. Fender didn't forget that your Strat also has to produce all those classic sounds via the three onboard single coil pickups. A vintage style tremolo allows you to bend notes or entire chords up or down with remarkable tuning stability. And naturally, your new Arctic White Strat looks just like the classic instrument that guitarists everywhere dream of, with its comfort-contoured ash body and those sleek Strat lines. The white GK-2 pickup is almost invisible on the three-ply white pickguard.
The Trademark Strat Sound - Plus Synth Access!
The original Strat had three single coil pickups, so it was able to produce sounds that no other guitar could deliver, particularly once players discovered they could lodge the three-position blade switch in those "in-between" positions to access neck / middle and bridge / middle pickup combinations. These were often erroneously referred to as the "out-of-phase" settings. The Roland Ready Strat comes standard with a modern five-way blade switch, making it easy to access all the pickup combinations. Three standard single coil pickups deliver the classic Strat sounds that have made it famous, with all the "spank" and sparkle you'd expect, but then you add the GK-2 pickup with its own set of controls for incredible versatility.
A three position mini-toggle switch selects between guitar only, synth only or a combination of both. Two push buttons allow you to send commands (like preset up or down) to the synth module. The Roland Ready Strat has one guitar volume control, one no-load tone control for the neck and middle pickups, and finally a synth volume control.
Fast Playing Maple Neck with Modern "C" Shape
Leo Fender wasn't afraid to "think outside the box" when it came to guitar designs - after all, he was an engineer, not a guitar player. In the 1950s and well into the 1970s, the blond natural maple neck became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. The Roland Ready Strat continues this tradition but adds a rosewood fingerboard with a modern "C" shape, a 9.5-inch radius and 21 vintage style frets. In keeping with contemporary player preferences, the fast playing neck is finished in smooth satin polyurethane.
- Color: Arctic White.
- Body Type: Solidbody electric.
- Finish: Polyester.
- Neck Wood: Maple.
- Neck Shape: Modern "C" shape with 9.5-inch radius.
- Body Wood: Solid alder.
- Machine Heads: Fender / Ping cast / sealed tuners.
- Fingerboard: Rosewood.
- No. of Frets: 21.
- Position Markers: Dot inlays.
- Pickups: Three standard single coils with high output bridge pickup plus one specially designed Roland GK-2 synth pickup.
- Controls: Guitar volume, master tone ("no-load" control for neck and middle pickups), synth volume.
- Bridge/Tailpiece: Vintage style two-point synchronized tremolo.
- Pickup Switching: Five-position blade switch.
- Hardware: Chrome.
- Scale Length: 25.5 inches.
Fender Guitars
You could easily make the case that Fender electric guitars were responsible - at least in great part - for the birth of modern rock 'n' roll. Originally designed to be easier to build, and thus more affordable, Leo Fender's masterpieces, which include classics like the Stratocaster (is there a more distinctive guitar shape in the world?), the Telecaster and the original Precision Bass, were at the core of a musical revolution that spawned everything from surf to country to punk!
In the 1960s, when Fender guitars first hit bandstands and stages all around the country, it was astonishing to see that trademark Fender maple neck and fingerboard. Though the company eventually offered rosewood fingerboards as standard or optional on its entire line of instruments, those first"blond" necks really shook things up. Others have picked up on the maple neck theme, but it's clearly yet another of Leo Fender's "firsts."
Today, no other manufacturer can match Fender for the sheer number of options available throughout its entire line. While vintage Fenders can command astronomic prices, the company now has the widest range of quality instruments in the world, along with the highest profile players like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, all of whom are legendary.
