Roland FR-1X - Faulty Bellows or User Error? RESOLVED

[VSantos]

Hi Everyone!

I have just purchased a second-hand Roland FR-1X and am having issues with the bellows...

The sound is loud and steady when I push the bellow together but when I pull the bellows apart the sound is weak and drops out. If I pull with a great deal of force I can get better sound - but the amount of force required is excessive and much greater than the force required when pushing the bellows together. 

After a Factory Reset, I adjusted the different Bellows Curve settings along with the Bellows Wheel - but this has not resolved the issue. Tightening the bellows wheel to the highest resistance possible helps somewhat, but the volume is still uneven and and the instrument becomes uncomfortable to play.

Im an accordian newbie and so am not sure if Im missing something.... But it seems to me that there is genuine fault with the bellows calibration. Are there any further settings adjustments that I can make to correct the issue or do you think I will need a technician to assist? 

Thanks in advance.

 

[dunlustin]

There is a way to recalibrate the bellows - see the Manual.
From memory (with bellows fully shut) you hold down two buttons, switch on and wait for the 'done' message.*
Switch off then on again.
Also from memory - if that doesn't help it's back to the Roland tech.
* not sure which buttons so best you look it up.

 

[Simon Max]

Hi,
Im having a strange problem with my FR1 ( not FR1-X). The volume of the bass side is too loud and it is not set to the default setting. 
This is one of the settings that cannot be saved and always returns to the default setting. The problem is that something got messed up in the ROM. It is probably my doing, as when I tried to fix the uneven bellows problem  using a trick that I found in another post here I must have pressed some buttons that change this value.
I wrote Roland, but have not gotten any useful reply from them yet.
Does anyone have a copy of the service manual for this model?
Thanks,
Simon

P.S. I assumed that there is no simple way to reset the instrument to default value, as I didnt find it on this page:
[url=https://www.rolandus.com/assets/press_media_resources/Factory_Reset.pdf?_ga=2.132278540.342188058.1587391822-403547290.1587391822]https://www.rolandus.com/assets/press_media_resources/Factory_Reset.pdf?_ga=2.132278540.342188058.1587391822-403547290.1587391822[/url]

but the FR-2 and FR1-x  isnt mentioned there, so I guess the document is not all encompassing.

 

[VSantos]

There is a way to recalibrate the bellows - see the Manual.
From memory (with bellows fully shut) you hold down two buttons, switch on and wait for the 'done' message.*
Switch off then on again.
Also from memory - if that doesn't help it's back to the Roland tech.
* not sure which buttons so best you look it up.

Thanks for your reply @dunlustin - unfortunately I haven't been able to find instructions on how to do this in the manual.  :dodgy:

I thought a factory reset might do the trick, but no luck. I've heard that there is a way the user can do it themselves (I'm in self isolation at the moment, so can't take it to a tech...). Fingers crossed I can track down the instructions.

 

[oldbayan]

The FR-1 bellows often comes up in boards! I recently acquired a new FR-1xb and the bellows is a bit stiff. Getting a good sound on the pull is a challenge when the instrument is new. I was told by other owners that the bellows will soften with time and usage. I also have a FR-18 which is a few years old and the bellows is much softer.

 

[VSantos]

Hi,
Im having a strange problem with my FR1 ( not FR1-X). The volume of the bass side is too loud and it is not set to the default setting. 
This is one of the settings that cannot be saved and always returns to the default setting. The problem is that something got messed up in the ROM. It is probably my doing, as when I tried to fix the uneven bellows problem  using a trick that I found in another post here I must have pressed some buttons that change this value.
I wrote Roland, but have not gotten any useful reply from them yet.
Does anyone have a copy of the service manual for this model?
Thanks,
Simon

P.S. I assumed that there is no simple way to reset the instrument to default value, as I didnt find it on this page:
https://www.rolandus.com/assets/pre...382.342188058.1587391822-403547290.1587391822https://www.rolandus.com/assets/pre...540.342188058.1587391822-403547290.1587391822

but the FR-2 and FR1-x  isnt mentioned there, so I guess the document is not all encompassing.

@Simon Max I believe you can find a copy of it here: https://play.strumentimusicali.net/manuali/ROLAND_FR1_ENG.pdf

---

The FR-1 bellows often comes up in boards! I recently acquired a new FR-1xb and the bellows is a bit stiff. Getting a good sound on the pull is a challenge when the instrument is new. I was told by other owners that the bellows will soften with time and usage. I also have a FR-18 which is a few years old and the bellows is much softer.

@oldbayan Interesting! My accordion is pretty much as new, so this issue may be contributing the problem. Im getting almost no sound on the pull though - unless I use quite a bit of force. I will mention this issue when I speak with the dealer. Thanks so much for your reply.

 

[oldbayan]

There is a way to recalibrate the bellows - see the Manual.
From memory (with bellows fully shut) you hold down two buttons, switch on and wait for the 'done' message.*
Switch off then on again.
Also from memory - if that doesn't help it's back to the Roland tech.
* not sure which buttons so best you look it up.

In the FR-1x manual it is on page 67, in the Troubleshooting section. at the end.

Press and hold the ORCHESTRAL [BASS] and [CHORD/FREE BASS] buttons while switching the power on. After a few seconds the display shows the "don" message (Done) and then returns to the main page.

 

[VSantos]

There is a way to recalibrate the bellows - see the Manual.
From memory (with bellows fully shut) you hold down two buttons, switch on and wait for the 'done' message.*
Switch off then on again.
Also from memory - if that doesn't help it's back to the Roland tech.
* not sure which buttons so best you look it up.

In the FR-1x manual it is on page 67, in the Troubleshooting section. at the end.

Press and hold the ORCHESTRAL [BASS] and [CHORD/FREE BASS] buttons while switching the power on. After a few seconds the display shows the "don" message (Done) and then returns to the main page.

@oldbayan you're a star!!!!! I hadn't spotted that in the manual as I was specifically looking for the world 'calibration'. I tried it and it fixed the problem. 

Thank-you so much!

 

[oldbayan]

@oldbayan you're a star!!!!! I hadn't spotted that in the manual as I was specifically looking for the world 'calibration'. I tried it and it fixed the problem. 

Thank-you so much!

Excellent. The FR-1x is a mini-brute, it seems to have the same sound board as the bigger models, it is compact and with 16 accordion sounds, 14 registers plus the orchestral sounds, possibilities are endless. I have the FR-1xb with 37 treble notes (G3 to G6) which is very close to the range you get with a full-size PA, in in about half the physical size.

Even new I had trouble with the bellows until I did a reset. Bonus: you can play without the bellows if you feel tired and just want to work on the fingerings.

 

[oldbayan]

One more thing I noticed with the reset, or perhaps it's just my imagination?

Before doing the reset, I changed the curve to the maximum value and saved it.
Then, power off, power on with the two buttons to do the reset, then change the curve to 4 and save it.

Feels softer with a good control on the expression!

The "x" models are supposed to have the latest bellows control feature, the 8x has a proportional pressure control, the more buttons you press, the more air enters or escapes, just like an acoustic accordion.

 

[simonmax]

Santos, thanks for the link. Indeed, there are instructions for resetting the a accordion to the factory settings.
The problem is that there seems to be three or more levels of memory.
1) The user programs, parameter changes (and maybe the sound sets in the FR1-x).
2) The keyboard layout on the button accordion.
3) The default settings that are set in the factory.

It seems to me that there are other configurable memory areas, as bellows calibration.

Resetting my accordion causes some parameters to change to values that are not the stated values in the manual. Most can be easily changed and saved, but the Treble/ Bass volume ratio is a setting which is not saved, by design.

I might have messed it up myself during the bellows calibration, which is not documented and probably works differently on the FR-1, as it does not have a screen.

Pressing the ORCH and CHORD buttons while turning the unit on, leads to a long sequence of button pressing. This process is guided by blinking lights, but without the technicians documentation it will be very difficult for me to figure out hot to change these parameters back to the default value.

Once started, you have to go through this sequence at least twice. Turning on the instrument after the first time is quite scarry. You get a weird keyboard setup (I have the button model, but i assume the same goes for the PA).

I might give it another try or two, to see f I can figure it out.


Simon from the Holy Land

 

[oldbayan]

Pressing the ORCH and CHORD buttons while turning the unit on, leads to a long sequence of button pressing. This process is guided by blinking lights, but without the technicians documentation it will be very difficult for me to figure out hot to change these parameters back to the default value.

Not happening on my FR-1xb! The sequence only shows "don" and the instrument goes to the usual display.

In the FR-4x manual they suggest to fully close the bellows before doing the calibration. Not sure if this applies to the FR-1x, I know that the FR-4x has a more sophisticated bellows curve circuit.