The story of a used Roland FR-1x

[John M]

In a video I saw by Dale Mathis of Crown Accordion, he had a problem with some USB sticks. I don't remember what the brands were. I have used a SanDisk 16 GB with no problem. It is way more memory than you need but a 2 Gb stick was harder for me to find. The SanDisk worked right out of the package (no formatting needed). The only thing a did was to make a "clean" disk and erased all the files that came on the disk. I think they were "security" type files. Here is a link to the disk:

Amazon.com: SanDisk 16GB Cruzer Glide USB 2.0 Flash Drive - SDCZ60-016G-B35 : Everything Else

Buy SanDisk 16GB Cruzer Glide USB 2.0 Flash Drive - SDCZ60-016G-B35: Everything Else - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

John M.

 

[Andy]

Thanks guys for the help and advise re my second hand FR-1x Piano Accordian.
I have reset the bellows as suggested and it appears to have cured the unbalance problem.
I have ordered a 16Gig pen drive so fingers crossed it will work ok.
As soon as the the pendrive comes, I will have a go at loading the optional sounds.

Really enjoying the forum, lots of info, links, and advise.

Andy

 

[Valski]

New forum user looking for information on a recently purchased FR-1x. Sorry if I'm using the wrong forum.

I used to play standard accordians many yrs ago but sold them after moving home as I didn't want to upset the new neighbours!
I have a couple of questions.

1. The sound level seems louder when closing the bellows than when opening them. Are there two sensors for pressure? Could there be a faulty one? Anyone have similar experiences?

2. I am going to buy a USB pendrive to upload/download files but can't find any info on the maximum storage limit for the instrument.

3 Can the Roland sound extension files (Alpine, Dallape & Orchestra ) be played direct from the USB drive or do they have to be loaded into the instrument to function?

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies

Welcome Andy,

Congratulations on your purchase, the bit about using the Roland USB drive is a bit of a marketing scheme. These devices cost $79 CAD from Roland when the equivalent size drive would cost about $4 if you could find one. Apparently there is no difference between the Roland branded USB and other brands in their ability to handle data, the only thing that you need to be aware of is that peculiarly shaped devices may not fit into the little cavity for the stick. I use a 16MB USB drive as this appears to be the maximum that the accordion will be able to read. Buy a good quality product and I like to use the type which has a flashing light built in which works when it's reading and writing.

 

[Keymn]

My Fr1x will be here Monday…Can’t wait. I too bought it for the fun of playing a smaller accordion…

 

[jozz]

I know you will like it

in preparing music it's fast becoming the only thing I touch before actual performance - finishing touches I do on the Bugari only because of the keywidth difference

 

[oldbayan]

My Fr1x will be here Monday…Can’t wait. I too bought it for the fun of playing a smaller accordion…

Nice little box packed with features!

 

[OldSqueezer]

My Fr1x will be here Monday…Can’t wait. I too bought it for the fun of playing a smaller accordion…

Too early yet for that comparison of 1x and 4x that I was encouraging you to give us?
Doug

 

[JerryPH]

In a video I saw by Dale Mathis of Crown Accordion, he had a problem with some USB sticks. I don't remember what the brands were. I have used a SanDisk 16 GB with no problem. It is way more memory than you need but a 2 Gb stick was harder for me to find. The SanDisk worked right out of the package (no formatting needed). The only thing a did was to make a "clean" disk and erased all the files that came on the disk. I think they were "security" type files. Here is a link to the disk:

Amazon.com: SanDisk 16GB Cruzer Glide USB 2.0 Flash Drive - SDCZ60-016G-B35 : Everything Else

Buy SanDisk 16GB Cruzer Glide USB 2.0 Flash Drive - SDCZ60-016G-B35: Everything Else - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

John M.

Abut 2 years ago I wrote THIS article that explains things about why some work and why some do not. 99% of all fails are due to not being formatted properly and staying under a certain size. The other 1% are drives with physical damage or at the end of their lifespans.

 

[Keymn]

Abut 2 years ago I wrote THIS article that explains things about why some work and why some do not. 99% of all fails are due to not being formatted properly and staying under a certain size. The other 1% are drives with physical damage or at the end of their lifespans.

As far as usb sticks, these are recommended by Roland…I purchased a couple 32gb…they look same as the Roland brands which I think they just the name on it. They fit snug as far and seem more durable then San Disk…

32GB Silicon Power Blaze B02 USB3.1 Flash Drive Black

Buy 32GB Silicon Power Blaze B02 USB3.1 Flash Drive Black online from MemoryC at low prices. Worldwide shipping, money back guarantee, in-stock guarantee!

www.memoryc.com

 

[Keymn]

Enjoying the Fr1x…the user memory is quite a bit less…but expected for this unit of size…

 

[jozz]

UPDATE​

Has been a while since I had so much to do with the acoustic after the restrictions got lifted.

Now that we have more restrictions, I am once again bound to my desk where my Roland proudly sits.

Luckily this gives me some time to try out new things, and one of them being able to play layered parts live, while triggering patterns with MIDI. Much like a proper backing module does. Since I don't have one, and I want to be able to use any MIDI instrument, I want to do this on the computer and now I can!

I tried a couple of virtual instruments, to see if I could easily setup my own control scheme with the Roland and it actually was a lot simpler than I thought. After looking up which channels Roland actually sends out, you can map the MIDI notes to whatever you need.

I setup 3 channels in the daw to be able to mix the MIDI out with the L/R audio signals:

1. Accordion treble
2. Accordion bass
3. MIDI -> MIDIcontroller -> virtual instrument

Then I am able to trigger patterns on the instrument with the basses, and monitor or record myself live with any instrument I want to load up. Because the basses send out a full chord, it depends on the instrument what exactly happens then. But in the case of most Native Instruments plugins, it is handled rather nicely.

You end up with audio + MIDI tracks straight into the daw, so everything is tweakable after that.

And all this via one standard USB-cable from the Roland, and a simple 2-channel audio interface.

(i might be more excited about this than you are)

Simple improv example:​

 

[oldbayan]

Jozz,
Fhwhooaah!!!?
This, to me, is the almost inevitable problem with anything made of plastic: it eventually becomes brittle and breaks, all by itself: household items, motor car parts and....accordions!?
I have a 30 year old Bugari Champion Casotto .
This has a plastic part (slide?) in the coupler mechanism. So far, it has broken twice. The last time, it cost me A$500-00 and a five month wait for parts from Italy!
My oldest accordion (70 years+ Busilacchio) has shown no problems with the coupler mechanism ever: no plastic!
( Same with my other accordions)

Even if you strengthen the anchor point, by reinforcing with metal, unfortunately your anchor points may well be brittle themselves: check around. Overall, epoxy plus metal ( or wood?) could well be the best option ??

Obviously, current makers do not build instruments that will last 40, 50 or 75 years! An all-plastic V-Accordion may not even play anymore in 20 years ?

 

[Dingo40]

Oldbayan,
To foresee the likely future of today's electronic instruments, just see what's happened to the electravox and like instruments ( not to mention past iterations of the laptop and iPhone)?

 

[jozz]

I'm more concerned about the chips failing at some point than the plastic used, aside from the obvious design error with the bracket anchor.

Although chips also can be designed with longevity in mind. I wonder what Roland put in there.