The GW-8 is the next generation of Roland's unique GW-series workstations with intelligent backing-track functionality. With its fresh, contemporary sound-set and expressive musical styles from pop to rock, plus authentic ethnic styles and a multi-format USB Memory Player feature, the GW-8 will bring a world of music to your fingertips. It's especially well suited for "one-man-band" performance.

Extended information

- Flagship Sound Engine with Easy User Interface
With Roland's world-leading sound technology at its core, the GW-8 rivals any workstation on the planet with its rich, expressive sound. The GW-8 comes loaded with hundreds of the freshest and most essential sounds culled from Roland's top sound modules. In addition to its authentic sound set, the GW-8 is equipped with many user-friendly control devices, such as the expressive D BEAM and the Analog Modify knob, which instantly adjusts sounds to suit your taste. The GW-8 is perfect for live entertainers who play multiple roles in their performances.

- Intelligent Backing Styles
The GW-8 is packed with a huge collection of styles, representing a broad range of music genres, from contemporary rock, pop, dance, jazz and beyond. In addition to the excellent library of contemporary sounds and styles, the GW-8 is equipped with ethnic instrument sounds and authentic regional musical styles.* Each backing style has four intros, four main patterns, and four ending progressions for you to craft your own arrangements live.
*Style selection may vary from country to country. For details, please inquire your local Roland distributor.

- USB Memory Player Feature
One of Roland's most popular new features is built into the GW-8: the Multi-format Song Player that allows song data to be played directly from USB Flash memory (accepts MP3, WAV, AIFF, and SMF format). In addition, the GW-8's Center Cancel function can minimize main vocals from pre-recorded songs, great for karaoke-style performances or music practice.

- Style Converter & Playlist Editor
Bundled with each GW-8 is Roland's Style Converter software for PC, which lets you convert your own MIDI data into GW-8 backing styles via commercially available USB Flash memory devices.
Also included is the Playlist Editor for customizing the order of songs. Users can easily create a dedicated Playlist for each gig.

Technical specifications

- Contemporary music workstation with high-quality 128-voice sound engine derived from Roland's renowned sound-module lineup

- Wide variety of contemporary sounds and intelligent backing styles, plus additional banks of ethnic sounds and styles from around the world

- USB Memory Player feature allows direct playback of MP3, WAV, AIFF, and SMF files from USB key; Center Cancel feature for audio files enables karaoke-style sing-along

- Newly designed graphical display, plus Style Select button, Analog Modify knob, and D BEAM

- Style Converter and Playlist Editor software included

- Onboard 16-track sequencer for saving your interactive performances