Why I won't be buying a Roland after all

[maugein96]

Having considered all of the posts about these instruments on the forum I have finally decided not to bother for the following reasons:-

I would have to trade in one of my acoustic boxes to offset the purchase cost, and there are no dealers near me who would take a trade in. There is no way I'd send a box by courier to a dealer for valuation. I wouldn't trust most courier firms to deliver a sponge in case they damaged it.

If they stop making them, as has been suggested, then there won't be any dealers at all.

I have also never had the opportunity to play a Roland, and I might not like them.

A Roland will not make me a better player. They sound fantastic in the hands of good players, but so do acoustic accordions.

I'm not sure an FR-1xb would have the necessary treble range for the music I play without use of the octave selectors, which I reckon could be tricky to use. My hand would want to instinctively move up or down the keyboard regardless. Also I mainly play 96 bass and the loss of 4 bass rows would make some of my music quite difficult to adapt. I actually feel more comfortable playing full 120 bass, but simply could not afford an FR-3xb.

Basically, I don't think I can play well enough to get the best out of one, so I've therefore decided to leave them to the professionals, and those others who can get something out of them, at least for the time being. Maybe if my playing improves then I'll reconsider, but I'm 61 years of age and haven't noticed much improvement in my playing in the last 20 years or so.

I'm not condemning them in any way, but merely putting forward some cases in point that may hopefully assist other potential buyers.

 

[JIM D.]

Your comment of I might not like them reminds me of an old commercial --

 

[jarvo]

Having considered all of the posts about these instruments on the forum I have finally decided not to bother for the following reasons:-

I would have to trade in one of my acoustic boxes to offset the purchase cost, and there are no dealers near me who would take a trade in. There is no way I'd send a box by courier to a dealer for valuation. I wouldn't trust most courier firms to deliver a sponge in case they damaged it.

If they stop making them, as has been suggested, then there won't be any dealers at all.

I have also never had the opportunity to play a Roland, and I might not like them.

A Roland will not make me a better player. They sound fantastic in the hands of good players, but so do acoustic accordions.

I'm not sure an FR-1xb would have the necessary treble range for the music I play without use of the octave selectors, which I reckon could be tricky to use. My hand would want to instinctively move up or down the keyboard regardless. Also I mainly play 96 bass and the loss of 4 bass rows would make some of my music quite difficult to adapt. I actually feel more comfortable playing full 120 bass, but simply could not afford an FR-3xb.

Basically, I don't think I can play well enough to get the best out of one, so I've therefore decided to leave them to the professionals, and those others who can get something out of them, at least for the time being. Maybe if my playing improves then I'll reconsider, but I'm 61 years of age and haven't noticed much improvement in my playing in the last 20 years or so.

I'm not condemning them in any way, but merely putting forward some cases in point that may hopefully assist other potential buyers.

....ahhh excuses ,excuses.......


Nah just kidding ....I love mine ...little FRX1 26-72 ....but that's the beauty of musical instruments....what suits us suits us ....keep on squeezing what you enjoy squeezing ...I like me Scandalli 80 box as well ....should play it a bit more ....

Jarvo

 

[lasvegascolonel]

Well, maugein, I don't have one either, but I wouldn't want to close the door on them entirely (even though I too am over 60.) Like many, I am wondering several things: one, if they are going to continue to be made (Roland says they will); two, where they will be made. The ones made in Italy have a very good quality reputation. Many people on this forum are not happy with Chinese-made accordions, even ones made by a non-Chinese company, so that could be a factor; three, what company may make them if Roland doesn't. In my mind, a company must be able to sell a sufficient number of them, at a profit, to sustain manufacturing. Though we all know accordions are not as popular as many other instruments, the V-accordion has been popular among accordion players and virtually everyone I have talked to who has one really enjoys it. As long as there are some skilled people like Jim D. who understands as well as services accordions (acoustic and digital), owning one long-term should not be a problem. Now, if you absolutely don't like the sound or the concept, then perhaps you don't want to get one. I would just say don't let the unknown future of the Roland line, by itself, make you write off the V-accordion altogether. I guess a "wait-and-see" attitude might be the best road to take at this point.

 

[dak]

Shrug. I'm not sure what the point of the original message was supposed to be. Basically it boils down to "the Roland-1xb is the cheapest new instrument but may be too small for what I want to play, I never tried it and mail order for buying and selling is a hassle, so I'll vote for sour grapes and be done."

That's not really saying a lot about Roland but more about your mental and physical mobility. I don't think it makes any sense to form and particularly promote decisions on that basis. Try visiting some convention or large music shop some time where you have the ability to handle a number of instruments (not just electronic ones: the range on acoustics alone is staggering) and get shown the ropes on them. Just be nosy and open-minded without feeling pressured to make any decision either way.

I mean, there is nothing to lose by keeping an open eye and mind, is there? You might find the thought more appealing after looking around, or not. Either way, you might derive inspiration for working with what you end up having.

I've gotten an older Roland model (the FR-1b) some time ago and spent quite a bit of time with it (and sort of an oversized old Leslie speaker clone) that was not wasted with regard to getting better for my big acoustic one and appreciating and further developing certain techniques on it where it outclasses the Roland. The Roland offers a much larger diversity of sounds, of course, so in some respects it takes a longer time to get bored with it for both player and audience. In contrast, my large soloist acoustic accordion has probably about 4 compellingly good treble registers. Which sounds pitiful until you realize that most music instruments get along with 1 register just fine. And it sings on the bellows. That's not just some sort of gradated volume control when you really let the reeds ride on its breath. But then it would be sort of audacious to expect a much cheaper electronic instrument of an early generation to beat a master instrument on its much narrower home turf.

 

[Deleted member 48]

"I mean, there is nothing to lose by keeping an open eye and mind, is there? "

yes Dak, but do you keep an open eye on all brands?
Your comments on the Bugari Evo and Uwe Steger were not so polite.

The Roland digital accordions are available in our shops, but we are free not to buy them. if that is ok with you?

Please keep in mind every type and brand is allowed to present itself to the public on the internet.

 

[landro]

I mean, there is nothing to lose by keeping an open eye and mind, is there?

yes Dak, but do you keep an open eye on all brands?
Your comments on the Bugari Evo and Uwe Steger were not so polite.

The Roland digital accordions are available in our shops, but we are free not to buy them. if that is ok with you?

Please keep in mind every type and brand is allowed to present itself to the public on the internet.

We all have our preferences and everyone is certainly entitled to his opinion but why would you create a new thread with such weak excuses as to why you would not purchase a Roland accordion seems a bit unusual to me.

 

[dak]

I mean, there is nothing to lose by keeping an open eye and mind, is there?

yes Dak, but do you keep an open eye on all brands?

No. But why would anybody else need to track what Im not looking at?

 

[Matt Butcher]

I don't think there was any hidden agenda behind the original post (August 2014 so not recent). I don't think Maugein's around now because he got more into playing bouzouki. He was a huge musette enthusiast who posted a lot for a time. I don't wish to speak for him but I think basically he was just chatting about accordions and this post was in the context of a lot of other posts about which way to go musically. I don't think there was any more to it than that.

 

[dak]

I dont think there was any hidden agenda behind the original post (August 2014 so not recent). I dont think Maugeins around now because he got more into playing bouzouki. He was a huge musette enthusiast who posted a lot for a time. I dont wish to speak for him but I think basically he was just chatting about accordions and this post was in the context of a lot of other posts about which way to go musically. I dont think there was any more to it than that.

Well, shame on me: I did not notice that Stephen and Maugein were actually different posters here. At any rate, without having the context for that posting, it reads as if there had been significant peer pressure to buy a Roland, and Maugein divested himself of it in this manner.

Dedicated musette accordions are actually very direct in their sound quality, response and action. So if Maugein had been specifically a musette fan with the instruments for it, it may well be that a Roland would have felt like a let-down in comparison. That would have made it so much more interesting if he had reported his impressions after trying one out rather than before...

 

[Matt Butcher]

No shame on you at all - your comments seem valid to me, I just don't think we'll be having a debate with the original poster.

 

[JackieC]

I am on my third Roland accordion. The first was an FR-3s. Then I traded it for an FR-3x. Both were nice instruments. Then I traded the FR-3x for an FR-1x and have enjoyed it a lot. It has a lot to offer sound wise, but, sometimes I do miss having a few more treble keys with the larger models. One of the great things about the FR-1x is that it weighs only 14 pounds, and was a necessary acquisition since I had shoulder surgery last year. It has some great acoustic and orchestral sounds, plus some fun drum tracks. For my purpose, I prefer an acoustic accordion, especially for playing Irish music, but the Roland can fill in all of the other sounds. {}

 

[maugein96]

Never realised this post had attracted so much debate. I was off the forum for a long time but recently got a PM from a new member which prompted me to have another look in.

I don't have much experience of forums, and never realised it would offend someone if I started a new thread about non purchase of a Roland without trying it out first.

I made no criticism of the instrument or its technology whatsoever, and merely made reference to my decision not to purchase one for the personal reasons I gave. Perhaps I should have left out the last comment I made about potential purchasers considering my observations, but you live and learn.

 

[JerryPH]

A little debate never hurt anyone, but I think the general consensus was that the post was a bit strange for even being posted. It was as if you yourself were looking for excuses to not make the decision to even find out *if* you liked it for fear that if you did, you would be presented with all kinds of challenges to overcome.

Think about it for a second... if someone posted something like "I don't want to drive this car in case I didn't like it..." or "I don't want to try this song in case I didn't like it... ". How can anyone know if they do or do NOT even take the try to try the car, try that song, or in this case... take 15 minutes and TRY the accordion before making a decision.

Obviously, the thought of purchasing one did cross your mind else you would not be looking for excuses why NOT to buy one, so why not make an intelligent decision based on first hand personal experience! If you come back and say that you hate it, there is no harm in sharing your opinion here and at least now you know if you do or do not like the accordion. Also no one would then say that the post was a a bit weird if you shared that opinion. :mrgreen:

However, if you loved it... you now might have all those new challenges that you were fighting so hard not to face .

 

[george garside]

Drifting a bit but does anyone know if it is possible to set up/adjust or whatever the outside 3 rows on a Roland continental to BCC# ''diatonic'' format or don't Roland continentals have a device to sense and respond to bellows direction as is used in the FR18.

george

 

[JerryPH]

I know that the FR-8X has like 5 different modes for the left hand (Stradella, free-bass, bayan, etc...)... and can look into it by checking out the PDF online manual for you, unless you do that yourself or if someone else knows off-hand or reads faster than I do.

 

[maugein96]

Hi JerryPH,

Can I just point out that the original post was put on over 18 months ago, and I took several rebukes silently on the chin from one or two long standing forum members, who appear to have been of a similar mind to yourself. I was brand new to forums at that time and probably a bit naive despite my advancing years. I've already been crucified for this post, and I can't work out how to roll away this big stone that somebody has recently put across my front door again!

There are no Roland dealers within 100 miles of my home town, so country hicks like us need to make decisions regarding try before you buy. If you read my posts regarding the purchase of a Hohner Fun accordion from the US, you might get where I am coming from. I decided to buy that instrument after reneging on the Roland, and probably made yet another wrong decision.

Maybe it's time I finally left the forum for good, as things have obviously changed of late.

 

[Jim the box]

Maybe it's time I finally left the forum for good, as things have obviously changed of late.

I don't believe thing have changed in the time I have been a member, the forum is still a rich eclectic mix of people who have differing opinions.
Remember that these are just people’s opinions and we are all entitled to our own. {} It's just difficult reading any emotion into what is written down (hence Smilies )

I have tried the Roland range trying to find a replacement for my Excelsior Midi and been greatly disappointed. :hb

Anyway it's normally me who's causing an upset, so this makes a change. :ch

 

[JerryPH]

My friend, I don't necessarily think you made any wrong decisions in what you purchased, in the end we need to follow our hearts and minds, right? Anyways, in the end, no one can tell you what to do with your money.

I visit a lot of forums on different topics that run in my life... BJJ, photographey, computers, and so on, and the one constant that remains across them all is that you will NEVER see me asking what to buy... EVER. How can anyone anywhere tell me what to do with my money? The answer is simple, they cannot. Rather, you should not ask others to spend your hard earned money for you. The result is a 90% chance of it being the wrong decision for you because someone on the other side of the world does not know you!

Of course, one can ask opinions, get specs, ask for someone's experience with what you are looking at and more, but in the end, if you are the one spending your money, YOU need to make the decisions because no one else has to live with that choice except you. To make the right decisions... well, that takes a bit of work and should not deter you!

Anyways long as you are happy in your choices, thats all that matters.

BTW, travelling distance is quite a small thing to overcome if you are serious. Heck, my parents travelled from Montreal Canada to Trossingen Germany for their choice and I travelled over 1000km (there and back), to attend a BJJ seminar to see if a specific style of Jiu-Jitsu was for me or not before commiting, so, if you want something, one always finds a way around any and all excuses to find the answer to the eternal question of "is this right for me?". It all comes down to how bad do you really want it.

Now, about leaving, again, that is your choice. Personally, if I was in your shoes, I would laugh it off, add it as a learning experience and move on. If you feel the need to leave, take a break for a short period of time then come back. Or even better, try to remember some of the good things you learned here, maybe even look at the groupings of new friends you made all over the world. Take the good, leave the bad. Thats not something that happens just here, but right outside your door in the real world too.

 

[maugein96]

Firstly, I do not consider you to be a friend.

I laughed this one off over 18 months ago when one or two long standing forum members gave me a hard time about it. I accepted their comments and moved on. Or so I thought.

To an old cop of 30 years experience "take the good and leave the bad" sounds like something from an old Robin Hood movie, or a contemporary buzz phrase which I'd never previously heard. If I was really keen I'd go to Italy or China, or wherever Rolands are made these days and tell them to make one I liked. The various disciplines of Oriental martial arts reinvented in Germany do not concern me at all, although you seem determined that they must be a major part of your life.

I'm fast approaching senility and can't really be bothered with the hassle of travelling thousands of miles or kilometres in pursuance of my interests. I therefore took another option, which as far as I know I was entitled to.