I went over to midi-controlled rack gear when the covers band I played in in the 80s demanded instant switches between sounds.
Programmable combos, Variaxes and the like have come along since. I’ve stuck with my Marshall JMP-1, Boss GX-700, Peavey 50/50 and Behringer FCB1010.
Keyboard players came and went. However, the need/desire for keyboard sounds on certain numbers remained. So, the prospect of a guitar synth reared its ugly head. The obvious choice to complement the gear I already had was the Roland GR-50. The GR-50 being one of the few (only?) rack mounted guitar synths that Roland have ever made…
(P. S. These posts describe the morphing over time of the author’s guitar-synth setup – keep reading through to the current evolution)