Next-generation of FR-8x? (Production of FR-8xb RD has been terminated)

[Alan Sharkis]

I just watched the Proxima Video. Unless I missed it, I didn't see an Organ section, There was the Accordion Section and two Orchestra Sections. That's interesting, since the first electronic addition to the accordion was the Organ on the Cordovox. I guess times are changing. I would miss that "Hammond Sound" with the ability to add the Leslie Tremolo (internally or externally).

John M.

Shucks! You made me watch that video again. In the tone list there are six distinct organ sounds, but whether they are in a section à la Roland with a button on the grille to select that section is not clear in the video. Also, not mentioned in the video, is anything like drawbar settings. But there is an email address to contact Marco directly and the company phone number and website url.

 

[John M]

Roland has a couple in it's tone list (Church Organ & Chapel Organ). If you like those or the six specific tones of the Proxima that's good. However, it's not like having nine drawbars with a different footage (16 ft. down to 1 ft.) for each drawbar. Also 8 volume intensities for each drawbar.

John M.

 

[Ventura]

John points out > " it's not like having nine drawbars with a different footage "

which brings me back to the MIDI part of the accordion stuff

there is nothing like having physical drawbars a mere moments
reach away and instantly available whenever the musical whim takes you...

now i bet most of you guys and girls never gig with your Digital accordions anyway
so why be satisfied with some glorified presets (becuse that is all they really are)
even if you get to call up teeny tiny drawbars on a screen and set them yourself
(mostly done when no actual music is being harmed)

MY first set of Drawbars for accordion ? i added a MIDI kit from thunder bay Canada
to a KORG cx3, ripped it's guts out of the organ and stuffed them in a big old aluminum box
then mounted the drawbars physically on top.. used it for years until ORLA and Viscount
got nice compact drawbar modules out to market (which i switched to eventually)
until today when i now have the Roland VK-8m

PS: the old Korg drawbars still work

in other words, since retiring the CG-5 and it's LOWRY ORGAN TONE generators
and on off footage switches plus percussion pistons, i have never been without
actual by God drawbars (and it's been really handy and fun)

though my Leslie hasn't been rolled out of the studio in a long time, as i use
leslie simulators when portable (i originally made my own sim from a Guitar
chorus pedal and a circuit i built that ramped a power transistor back and
forth to control 2 photocells that "turned" the speed and intensity knobs
back and forth for me when i hit the footswitch)

so OK.. most accordionists are not as fanatic as i am/was, but the point is why settle
for preset virtual drawbars when it is so easy to have real ones ?

MIDI is a powerful tool

 

[losthobos]

@Ventura .... Ferrofish B4000+ take your fancy .....

 

[Ventura]

@Ventura .... Ferrofish B4000+ take your fancy .....

seems complete.. modern tech is quite mature at this point for
modeling and the standard set by the competition is pretty high so
any module like this is probably pretty good

interesting to note at the end they give a copyright nod to
Hammond/Suzuki
which i wondered if they had managed to hold on to it all these years

meanwhile, on a budget and for project people, the resurrected
CRUMAR
has some interesting producta, including an Auduino based drawbar kit

Crumar.it

www.crumar.it

back in the day i would have jumped at the chance to roll my own with this,
but my eyes and fingers are not gonna do any major electronics work ANYmore

it doesn't look like the Viscount module is available in the USA, though
they still may have it available in Italy
(Viscount is part of the Galanti family, who did make accordions way back when,
and they still own their original factory though they have grown way past that
hole in the wall)

the Hammond module is still in the line, but currently unavailable

Roland has discontinued their module

NORD used to have one too

 

[JerryPH]

Roland has a couple in it's tone list (Church Organ & Chapel Organ). If you like those or the six specific tones of the Proxima that's good. However, it's not like having nine drawbars with a different footage (16 ft. down to 1 ft.) for each drawbar. Also 8 volume intensities for each drawbar.

Maybe not exactly what you meant in all respects, but those drawbars indeed are there for the 8X.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

I wish it was this easy for the FR-4x. It uses the same technology as the 8x, but accessing that technology is a cumbersome process. In the case of organ sounds, you need to start with page 11 in the Owner's Manual, which then refers you to the Reference Manual. Which page? Oh, you stumble upon or us the TOC to get to page 22, with links to pages 56, 57, and 60 and then to the Tone List, which is a separate pdf file. Oh, and I haven't seen what the 4x editor can do for organ sounds.So, I'm looking ...

Aaah! Now we're cooking on all four burners! Pages 11-12 in the manual for the FR-4x EDITOR seems to be the way to do all of this easily, including using the virtual drawbars. Again, in the case of the FR-4x, the editor comes to the rescue!

 

[John M]

Alan--I'm glad you found the virtual drawbars. I am not at all familiar with the 4X, but I thought it would have the same Hammond tonewheel drawbar set up that the 8X has since I believe it came out after the 8X.

For anyone that likes the "Hammond Sound" of a B3 with a 122 Leslie, the Neo Micro Vent 122 is an outstanding Leslie add-on simulator in a 2" X 4" box. However, you do need an external speaker. A few features I like is: you can control the rate at which the upper & lower rotors s ramp up and down when you switch from slow/stop to fast and vice versa. Also, there is a "distance" setting where you can change your "hearing position" position relative to the Leslie. If you set the potentiometer for "close" you get a lot of amplitude modulation and as you set the pot for farther away, there is more frequency modulation. I like it farther away. They have even simulated the "thump" "thump" and whirling sound of the rotors at the closest setting--that's too much for me.

The best feature I like about this whole set up is, it is portable. I can take it with me for other people to enjoy. There is no way I would move my 400 lb. B3 and 150 lb. Leslie out of the basement.

John M.