Roland FR8X. External amplification info

[Mockie]

Before connection to an external amplification device, what most suitable settings should be made on the FR8X or does it the depend on the musicians 'taste'

1) Should the speakers in the accordion be switched off

2)What are the desired Audio/Power settings on the accordion

 

[Thomas N]

Personally I turn the speakers on the FR-8X off when I use external amplification. I found it distracting to have audio coming from two sources.

I just use the default Audio settings. I know you can use Power Boost or Audio Boost, I can't recall what it's called, but I think it's mainly used for boosting the internal FR-8X speakers. You can also lower or raise the default dB settings. It's been a very long time since I've tinkered with those settings and others here will definitely know more.

 

[JerryPH]

Like pretty much EVERY answer given to any question on this board, the most perfect answer is (again)... it depends.

For me, my personal preference is that while I am ON STAGE, the speakers are turned off. The moment I am off the stage strolling and still connected wirelessly to the PA, I have the speakers on the accordion turned ON... I find the latency (which gets really pronounced from about 30 feet and further), distracting and I have an easier time focusing on the sounds coming from me close-by over the sounds coming from the PA (which even from 30 feet away can be pretty even or louder in terms of volume!).

I'll say one thing... I ***always*** zero out the volume before connecting or disconnecting to any PA... just a good habit.

Desired power output settings... again... IT DEPENDS. Use what works for you. During setup, do some experimentation and see what you like. Better yet, do a test setup the day before and spend a few hours testing things out!

I like having the accordion's audio boost ON and volume at about 3/4 power, so that way if I want to stroll at distances that exceed my wireless transmitters, I am all set and this is the same volume levels I play at while strolling, so I am set on stage or off... and just turn on or off the internal speakers based on my preferences outlined above.

 

[JerryPH]

A quick point about mixer settings... I've mentioned before the goals of gain staging for recording, but the settings and goals for public performance is completely different.

While the ultimate goal for recording is headroom and recording quality, the goals of playing in public is MAXIMUM CLEAN VOLUME... lol You want each channel to be peaking at maximum right on the "0" or "UNITY" of each channel and lower the main output under unity so that the system peaks at somewhere between 0db and +8db on the mixer console (again this is on Mackie mixer and different from the "do not ever go over 0db on the main output of the digital mixer rule on my QSC Touchmix mixer, so... know YOUR equipment!). This gives me maximum volume with zero distortion. Of course, playing with the EQ/compression and other effects can make drastic difference in gain volumes and has to be compensated for in the final settings.

 

[John M]

When using an external speaker I always have my 8X speakers OFF. I also have the audio boost off since I believe boost mode uses more power and shortens battery life, even though the amplifier is not driving the internal speakers.

 

[JerryPH]

When using an external speaker I always have my 8X speakers OFF. I also have the audio boost off since I believe boost mode uses more power and shortens battery life, even though the amplifier is not driving the internal speakers.

I thought so too... but in the 2 tests I tried, it makes no noticeable difference, at least on my 8X, cannot speak of anyone else's.