What I would like my accordion to sould like (FRx-1B)

[Simon Max]

Hi,
This might just be a rambling and useless post. I hope it will be helpful to me and to others.

I made a video on YouTube to show how to create a set for the FR1 based on the factory sets of the the FR-7.
Still, I went and bought the Nolan set for the FR1 and I'm quite happy with them.
My only gripe is that he doesn't utilize the expansion sounds. Another drawback is that it uses two user set slots, but the accordion sounds on both sets are identical. In my opinion, he should have based the 8 user programs on one set, and the second set should have additional accordion variations.
His user programs are pretty good, but I plan to replace two or more and tweak another two or three.

Getting back to the subject of "What do I want my accordion to sound like", well I want it to sound like an accordion. I also like the Cordovox / Douvox sound for the base. For most people, having a backing / drumming system does not make them feel that you have a fake accordion.
So as long as I play solo I want most of the one button settings, called User Programs on FR1X, to have a dominant accordion sounds on the right side.

If I do want to mimick a violin or clarinet, I would want the left side to be louder and sound very accordion.

There are other playing situations where these sounds are less desirable. Playing with an Organ, two guitarists and a clarinet player, the left side should have less volume and the right side should be an octave lower. When the clarinetist picks up his saxophone, the accordion should be shriller , an octave higher.

 

[Tom]

I’m sure you can figure it out Simon. That’s the beauty of the digital. Good luck!

 

[JerryPH]

Hi,
This might just be a rambling and useless post. I hope it will be helpful to me and to others.

His user programs are pretty good, but I plan to replace two or more and tweak another two or three.

Richard Noel himself is very honest and has said that not all sounds are for all people. The sets are exactly for the reasons you say, that they are good, but require changes to suit your tastes. I also have the Richard Noel sets and very few (perhaps 2-3 registers), are unchanged. Time is precious to me so I do the absolute minimum to make them acceptable to me and nothing more... but thats the thing, unlike some companies, his settings are not locked and inaccessible, they are meant to be open for others to look at, learn from and change to their needs.

Getting back to the subject of "What do I want my accordion to sound like", well I want it to sound like an accordion.

Well, I've said that in the past that if what you want is an accordion, why are you playing a digital? No digital accordion will ever sound, feel or act 100% like an acoustic, and if thats what you want, the answer is simple... play an acoustic.

I also like the Cordovox / Douvox sound for the base.

I also enjoy the versatility of the many available sounds. I am not afraid or put off by having my accordion sound like a percussive or orchestral instrument, thats all part of the fun!

For most people, having a backing / drumming system does not make them feel that you have a fake accordion.

I personally have nothing too bad to say about arrangers (other than don't use them so much that your music depends on them and are lost without it!). They are flexible, bend to your needs and if you have an arranger that is 20 years old or newer, have some very nice sounds.

Pre-recorded backing tracks are less desirable to me as a musician because one is constrained to play the song the SAME way at the SAME speed with zero room for personal interpretation in between takes and has zero flexibility. To me, that feels a bit like tying myself up... I can and did do it in the past, but it was not very comfortable.

You are on the right track for YOUR needs Simon... keep it up!

 

[debra]

If you want your instrument to sound like an accordion, buy an (acoustic) accordion.
Although I must admit that the new Korg Fisa Suprema comes very very close. It carries a very different price tag than a Roland FR1xb though...

 

[John M]

If you want your instrument to sound like an accordion, buy an (acoustic) accordion.
Although I must admit that the new Korg Fisa Suprema comes very very close. It carries a very different price tag than a Roland FR1xb though...

Amen to all of that. With the Fisa coming very close to an acoustic, that's good enough for me, and anyone I would play for. AND, the extreme versatility of all the other great Organ & Orchestral sounds, the Fisa would really be the one for me.
--- S-o-m-e-d-a-y.

 

[debra]

Amen to all of that. With the Fisa coming very close to an acoustic, that's good enough for me, and anyone I would play for. AND, the extreme versatility of all the other great Organ & Orchestral sounds, the Fisa would really be the one for me.
--- S-o-m-e-d-a-y.

For me it's also "someday" because I'm definitely not getting the much to large Fisa that's out now. It will be the compact version or nothing. The large one is just ridiculously large in CBA version. The compact version will still be the size of a full-size bayan.