Buying the Roland FR-1X in 2022 - is Rolland discontinuing it?

[Chris Laarman]

Hmmmm......$1320 "Available in several months".... Be interesting to know what price they have "actually" sold one for in the past. Anyone know?

I myself bought an FR-1xb (the button edition) on May, 2. Then for €1829, is €1849 now. (Note that in the EU prices aimed at consumers include taxes, here in the Netherlands 21% VAT ("sales tax"). - Elaborating on that: Thomann (in Germany, with 19% VAT) keeps their consumer prices equal for (at least) DE and NL, whereas Amazon.de will add those 2% if I order there.

 

[JeffJetton]

I think someone should make a 'simple' digital accordion that focuses on these 3 qualities...

1. Serves those that wish to practice accordion quietly
2. Feels as close as the real thing as possible
3. Is not as fancy as the others (doesn't have many features), and thus, is not as expensive

Number 2 is the biggest problem. But what if we gave that up?

As I've probably mentioned on this forum before (so sorry for being a broken record), there needs to be an accordion version of the "practice chanter". Practice chanters are sort of like a bagpipe without the bag--useful for beginners who want to start learning without shelling out a bunch of money for the full deal, but also for experienced players who just want something small, light, and relatively quiet to practice on. It's not the same as the real instrument, obviously, but that's not the point of it.

So basically an electronic accordion without the bellows. Sacrilege? Perhaps.

But think of the advantages... Dealing with the bellows, pressure sensor, and all that stuff is the major barrier for a manufacturer. With all that gone, any company that makes those electronic keyboards you find on Amazon for $100 or so could potentially make one of these just as cheaply. The sounds wouldn't have to be super-realistic. You'd have keys on the right side, buttons on the left, and the various switches and electronic guts in the middle. Plus a small speaker and a headphone jack. Wear it on your chest like an acoustic accordion or flip it onto a table and play the treble side like a synth.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Number 2 is the biggest problem. But what if we gave that up?

As I've probably mentioned on this forum before (so sorry for being a broken record), there needs to be an accordion version of the "practice chanter". Practice chanters are sort of like a bagpipe without the bag--useful for beginners who want to start learning without shelling out a bunch of money for the full deal, but also for experienced players who just want something small, light, and relatively quiet to practice on. It's not the same as the real instrument, obviously, but that's not the point of it.

So basically an electronic accordion without the bellows. Sacrilege? Perhaps.

But think of the advantages... Dealing with the bellows, pressure sensor, and all that stuff is the major barrier for a manufacturer. With all that gone, any company that makes those electronic keyboards you find on Amazon for $100 or so could potentially make one of these just as cheaply. The sounds wouldn't have to be super-realistic. You'd have keys on the right side, buttons on the left, and the various switches and electronic guts in the middle. Plus a small speaker and a headphone jack. Wear it on your chest like an acoustic accordion or flip it onto a table and play the treble side like a synth.

When I was recovering from a knee replacement and had to avoid putting weight on my left thigh, I invested in an AxE-Cord. It’s a device that’s held like a guitar. It has 41 treble keys near the bottom and 96 bass buttons and a midi control panel on two sides of the neck. It connects to a tone generator/power supply box via a cable, and there are left, right and headphone outputs from that box, so amplifier(s) and/or heasdphones can be connected. There are also midi outputs — one specifically for an arranger module. Inputs include volume, sustain and glide pedals. The exclusive US distributor is Music Magic USA. In Europe, it’s sold under a different name. The manufacturer is Master Production of Castelfidardo. It’s not inexpensive, however.

 

[neilson]

Number 2 is the biggest problem. But what if we gave that up?

As I've probably mentioned on this forum before (so sorry for being a broken record), there needs to be an accordion version of the "practice chanter". Practice chanters are sort of like a bagpipe without the bag--useful for beginners who want to start learning without shelling out a bunch of money for the full deal, but also for experienced players who just want something small, light, and relatively quiet to practice on. It's not the same as the real instrument, obviously, but that's not the point of it.

So basically an electronic accordion without the bellows. Sacrilege? Perhaps.

But think of the advantages... Dealing with the bellows, pressure sensor, and all that stuff is the major barrier for a manufacturer. With all that gone, any company that makes those electronic keyboards you find on Amazon for $100 or so could potentially make one of these just as cheaply. The sounds wouldn't have to be super-realistic. You'd have keys on the right side, buttons on the left, and the various switches and electronic guts in the middle. Plus a small speaker and a headphone jack. Wear it on your chest like an acoustic accordion or flip it onto a table and play the treble side like a synth.

That's a great point. So many things you could practice with such device (if it existed), even if the overall quality was in the standards of a cheap Casio keyboard.
Just getting used to the bass buttons, playing rhythms with them, synchronizing hands, etc...
And, I guess, with lower prices, more people would be interested in playing the accordion.

 

[Valski]

I think someone should make a 'simple' digital accordion that focuses on these 3 qualities...

1. Serves those that wish to practice accordion quietly
2. Feels as close as the real thing as possible
3. Is not as fancy as the others (doesn't have many features), and thus, is not as expensive

I have the headset and have used it exactly twice.

The bellows function differently on digital vs acoustic. The only way to do that would be to add on the midi functionality to an existing accordion.

Not as fancy is impossible to define however the manufacturer needs to make a profit by selling as many units as they can. Fancy might include built-in speakers and more registers so you won't please a lot of potential customers by removing these functions.

 

[saundersbp]

As I've said before, sound proofing insulation inside the accordion and playing quietly. I really don't see electronics being the answer. People living in tower blocks manage to learn all sorts of acoustic musical instruments, nothing unique to the accordion.

 

[Tom]

I'm with Ventura, I never use headphones. Because it's so easy to just turn the volume down low enough for quiet practice on the Roland. Yes, you can do it on the acoustic but it's not much fun. Your results will vary.

 

[neilson]

As I've said before, sound proofing insulation inside the accordion and playing quietly. I really don't see electronics being the answer. People living in tower blocks manage to learn all sorts of acoustic musical instruments, nothing unique to the accordion.

I like the sound proofing insulation idea and will certainly try it in my acoustic accordion. It's probably not that simple to do it though, and I'm already afraid of the amount of work that could be . I gotta do some googling about it.
And you are right, you don't see people with trombones, tubas, trumpets and these crazy wind instruments in the wild. They do play at home somehow.

 

[JeffJetton]

That's a great point. So many things you could practice with such device (if it existed), even if the overall quality was in the standards of a cheap Casio keyboard.
Just getting used to the bass buttons, playing rhythms with them, synchronizing hands, etc...
And, I guess, with lower prices, more people would be interested in playing the accordion.

Yup! Think of how many people right now would like to give the accordion a shot but have been put off by the cost of buying one and/or the difficulty of finding on used that's playable (especially when you don't yet know enough about the instrument to evaluate one).

If there was a "practice accordion" (Praccordion? Practiccord?) they could pick up cheaply at Target or from Amazon, etc., they could get started playing right away. Get their hand independence developed. Get a few bass patterns under their fingers. Play songs right out of Palmer-Hughes. The skills would transfer right over to a real accordion when/if they ever decide to get one.

Heck, put a USB port and/or bluetooth on the thing and you could use it with interactive tutorial software or as a controller for an "accordion hero" type of video game.

 

[saundersbp]

I like the sound proofing insulation idea and will certainly try it in my acoustic accordion. It's probably not that simple to do it though, and I'm already afraid of the amount of work that could be . I gotta do some googling about it.

eBay , don't take the backing off, just fix with sellotape so you can change your mind!

The accordion equivalent of a trumpet mute.

 

[petch]

I like the sound proofing insulation idea and will certainly try it in my acoustic accordion. It's probably not that simple to do it though, and I'm already afraid of the amount of work that could be .

Not much work at all, you just need to limit airflow. Soundproofing material may mellow out the treble side but lower frequency noises will pass through like it's not even there, which is why it's so hard to effectively soundproof individual rooms, apartments, office spaces etc. But the accordion can be made significantly quieter by restricting airflow either by playing quietly or having something physically blocking as much air from getting to the reeds

One youtuber used a towel for getting a better balance between the two halves of his accordion


If I were doing this myself I'd try a little harder to ensure it will never interfere with the bass mechanism because god help you if that gets jammed up!

 

[JeffJetton]

One youtuber used a towel for getting a better balance between the two halves of his accordion

Further proving that a towel is just about the most massively useful thing one can have.

 

[saundersbp]

Further proving that a towel is just about the most massively useful thing one can have.

42

 

[olivigus]

(especially when you don't yet know enough about the instrument to evaluate one)

Indeed. This was totally me when I first got the notion that I simply had to learn to play the accordion and found my first one on craigslist. The seller asked if I wanted to try it out and I had to admit I had absolutely no idea how to play one. I think he thought I was a bit crazy--buying an instrument I'd never even held before. Somehow--either due to fate or just pure blind luck--I found a winner, because not only was it "pretty" but he had just completely restored it as part of his apprenticeship at an accordion repair shop. It played beautifully and was a perfect accordion for me size-wise, and then through the repair shop connection I found my teacher! But I can imagine that making a mistake in a first purchase could really discourage someone from pursuing their accordion interest, and that would be a shame. An inexpensive trial accordion is a great idea!

 

[neilson]

just a short feedback here... I received the FR-1x already and, in two days, I've played more than all the time I played with the acoustic since January. For me, the whole thing about digital vs acoustic boils down to play vs not to play at all! I plug the over-ear headphones and that's it! I even play along some songs wearing a smaller headset under the bigger headset plugged in the iphone (yeah, I probably look like a freak tied around wires).

I've also got the insulation sheets to try them in the acoustic accordion (thanks for the link saundersbp).

A few other points that might be helpful for anyone who is planning to get a FR-1X:

• The key size seems to be regular (not reduced). The accordion itself is not as small is it seems in the videos.
• It's not that light compared to my acoustic accordion (72bass / 34keys)
• Wires are indeed annoying. I've ordered rechargeable batteries to get rid of the AC wire.
• Getting rid of the headset wire is not so easy, as bluetooth in general comes with latency (considering one would get a bluetooth transmitter)

And, before I forget, you guys are amazing! This community just works! I will certainly hang around here and hopefully I will be able to contribute as well soon.
cheers!

 

[Pipemajor]

Getting rid of the headset wire is not so easy, as bluetooth in general comes with latency (considering one would get a bluetooth transmitter)

I tried bluetooth on my fr3x but latency made it impossible to play. Eventually I got a short 3.5mm lead just long enough for the female socket to poke out from the top of the bellows cover. I then cut the cable on my headphones so I just had a suitable amount of length then put a male plug on. This allows me to leave the cable behind the bellows there all the time and just plug in the headphones when I want to play.

 

[Keymn]

I purchased the Fr1x as a backup to my FR4x. It has similar programmability as on the fr3x but on a smaller scale. No real time editing with the software like with FR4x. You have to program, save on disk and load changes. Unfortunately, prices have gone sky high since I purchased a couple years ago. Maybe more As a controller to use with arranger, ideal. But I find the smaller/lighter less comfortable then with the FR4x.

 

[neilson]

Sharing my impressions after owning the FR-1X for around 4 months:

• Nowadays, I play the accordion with headphones every day from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM. This would have been impossible with an acoustic accordion, considering that I live in a small apartment in Munich. Playing every day has dramatically improved my technique.
• The bellows are indeed stiff, and the regulator works as a 'resizable hole' on them, which can be a bit annoying. To alleviate this, I tighten them to the maximum and leave them there.
• Although the FR-1X has many other accordion voices, such as acoustic bass, drums, and strings, I prefer to stick with the default master accordion sound.
• The user interface is not the most user-friendly. Occasionally, I accidentally change voices and have some difficulty getting back to the master accordion. In these cases, I turn the FR-1X off and on again.
• The limited number of keys does not bother me, but the limited number of basses does.

I do not regret buying the FR-1X, but if my budget were higher, I would have gone for the FR-4X. I plan to purchase it in the near future.

Thank you all again for your help!

 

[tcabot]

I really don't see electronics being the answer.

Believe it or not, I got in trouble with the Mrs for being too loud while picking my electric guitar in the evening when the kids were asleep.
It was unplugged...

I sure hope those Roland buttons don't make a clicking sound when you press them.

 

[jozz]

the kids will doze off on the gentle clickety-clack of your guitarist's fingernails on the keyboard

it's like summer rain