Some third-party developers created "Virtualizer" interfaces or wrappers that allowed the GR-33 to be controlled via standard MIDI messages in a way that feels native to modern software production. It turns the GR-33 into a module that feels as immediate as a software synth, banishing the latency and menu-diving usually associated with older MIDI gear.

In a way, the Virtualizer foreshadowed modern DAW instrument racks—a single environment where you program, organize, and test a hardware synth.