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Roland FA-06 and FA-08


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Not for me. No aftertouch, so sale.

 

..Joe

 

I know this has been discussed before, but I'm curious - what kind of music do you and others who are so adamant about this, play? And what are the uses that you like to have it for?

 

Because I've always felt that while it's "nice to have", it's certainly not an omission that's holding me back from buying a board. Or holding me back from playing, being creative on or enjoying one in the first place.

 

Actually, I even prefer using a wheel or a joystick for modulation needs on a keyboard that has AT, so maybe it's a habit, a preference.

 

I can work without aftertouch, but prefer to have it. There are Live Sets on my JP50 in which I miss having that form of expression - some of the lead synth patches, and especially electric violin. For that patch I catch myself leaning into the keys trying to induce string vibrato; it just feels natural. The JP80 is too much instrument for what I need of the JP architecture; more weight, real estate, and $$$$ than is practical for my rig.

 

So I was hoping that there would be a new SN / Behavior Modeling, 76 key performance keyboard from Roland; i.e. - a JP60/70, with aftertouch, and a set of practical, front panel controllers (especially drawsliders). Maybe next year.... Hopefully when and if that happens, it will be patch compatible with the JP50/JP80. The JP line was a great start, but I'd like to see it developed further.

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I actually have an FA-06 here at the moment. I'm reviewing it for Keyboard mag. :thu:

 

Just got it yesterday, so I haven't really dug into it yet....but from what I hear, I really like the way it sounds.

 

Still not sure how I feel about the super light weight thing in general yet. I've had several keyboards here for review that fall into that category (Kross, MOXF, VR-09), and my XK-1c is also way light weight. I guess as long as they stand up to the rigors of the road, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

dB

 

Hey Dave,

i was wondering, have you used the sequencer much on the FA yet? Im wondering does it have the easy ability to copy and paste bars (as the Fantom g did), and does it have full quantise options, strenth percentage etc?

 

thanks! Seems like a great board to me

We are all slave's to our brain chemistry!

 

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Not for me. No aftertouch, so sale.

 

..Joe

 

I know this has been discussed before, but I'm curious - what kind of music do you and others who are so adamant about this, play? And what are the uses that you like to have it for?

 

Because I've always felt that while it's "nice to have", it's certainly not an omission that's holding me back from buying a board. Or holding me back from playing, being creative on or enjoying one in the first place.

 

Actually, I even prefer using a wheel or a joystick for modulation needs on a keyboard that has AT, so maybe it's a habit, a preference.

 

I can work without aftertouch, but prefer to have it. There are Live Sets on my JP50 in which I miss having that form of expression - some of the lead synth patches, and especially electric violin. For that patch I catch myself leaning into the keys trying to induce string vibrato; it just feels natural. The JP80 is too much instrument for what I need of the JP architecture; more weight, real estate, and $$$$ than is practical for my rig.

 

So I was hoping that there would be a new SN / Behavior Modeling, 76 key performance keyboard from Roland; i.e. - a JP60/70, with aftertouch, and a set of practical, front panel controllers (especially drawsliders). Maybe next year.... Hopefully when and if that happens, it will be patch compatible with the JP50/JP80. The JP line was a great start, but I'd like to see it developed further.

 

 

From my perspective I've typically had keyboards (I can't believe next year will mark 30 years since I got into keyboards!) that have had aftertouch so its ingrained in me. One aspect of keyboard playing that has been somewhat talked about a lot is one of means of expression...

 

Many players are happy to go to a keyboard and approach it like a piano/organ because they are using similar sounds anyway but for others having as many ways to affect sound in realtime is really important.

 

I still have happy memories of even playing a flugelhorn solo on a first generation Motif which made everyone smile because I had programed in some realistic modulations via aftertouch... as well as somethings on pedals all while comping 4/5 note chords left hand on my Rhodes. I found that I prefer it to using a mod wheel and I have the bonus of just using one hand to do it.

 

Similarly, I was a big fan of the VL7 synth for its expression via breath controller but I always found it a bit unhygenic. I even have an Arp Pro Soloist (mine is from 1975) and that still is an amazing keyboard to play.

 

To be honest one thing I have never been that bothered about for synth sounds is velocity dynamics! I actually go through synth patches and remove all those settings... certainly makes things sound more vintage for obvious reasons. Note. I am not for one minute suggesting this gets removed from keyboards in favour of aftertouch.. just a preference I have had for a long time.

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I know this has been discussed before, but I'm curious - what kind of music do you and others who are so adamant about this, play? And what are the uses that you like to have it for?

 

Anything that requires a solo wind or string sound is a quick easy example. How do you get the vibrato in there when, amd at the depth you want? Use delayed modulation? that might be okay for someone that just bangs on keys, but for a musician trying to work with color and feel that same boring old static mod is pretty dull. Listen to a violinist, or pro flautist: their vibrato changes depth and speed to enhance the mood and feel of the music, as well as when they start it- sometimes it's right at the beginning of the note, sometimes they delay the start to create a different feel; sometimes it starts of shallow and gets deeper, or slower and faster. Same for an oboist, and even many keyboard players do this withing their music.

 

The modulation wheel? Possible, but a musician is generally playing with with both hands and hasn't one available for that.

 

SSM:

 

Sorry, can't leave this alone.

 

Gibson SG. Gibson ES series. The top seller, Gibson Les Paul. Not a " wiggle stick " in sight! smile

 

Absolutely correct. But then aren't you writing about instruments that were designed in the '40s and '50s of the last century? I'm not: I'm talking about the newest, bestest design touted as a brand-new "performance" instrument.

 

Apples and oranges, man.

 

..Joe

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
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For me the aftertouch lets me keep my left hand free to do other things, like play other parts. I typically program it for what the mod wheel would do, then program the mod wheel for something like filter cut off or delay amount, things I like to have at hand but don't always use. It's a lot easier to grab the wheel for that stuff than the knobs on my S70XS as they are typically underneath my top keyboard and are harder to see/reach.

Live: Korg Kronos 2 88, Nord Electro 5d Nord Lead A1

Toys: Roland FA08, Novation Ultranova, Moog LP, Roland SP-404SX, Roland JX10,Emu MK6

www.bksband.com

www.echoesrocks.com

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Absolutely correct. But then aren't you writing about instruments that were designed in the '40s and '50s of the last century? I'm not: I'm talking about the newest, bestest design touted as a brand-new "performance" instrument.

 

In addition to my keyboards, I play one of these: PRS Private Stock 22 it was a gift from an awesome wife!

 

It doesn't have a tremolo bar. While I have a Fender strat that has it, it was designed 50 or 60 years ago. And I don't play it much and when I do I remove the bar. I tried the Floyd Rose system, it just wasn't for me. I have a couple of controllers with after touch while its cool for synth, I play mostly piano so I wouldn't care about it.

 

That's the point here while you may find it absolutely absurd they didn't include it, others not so much.

Its the same thing with a whammy bar, but since the ones that want it are about on par with those that don't the manufacturers sell both. And since the market for guitars is thousands of times bigger (just guessing here), profitably too!

 

BTW, there are drawbacks to having a whammy. It tends to go out of tune, it kills sustain, and the springs vibrate after a string is muted and pickup noise which can be transferred to the strings.

Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12

Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell

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Dave nice demo and solid chops brother, bringing it!! A question, how does the key bed weighted action fare from the RD800 to the FA08? They both look gig worthy but for AP/EP I'd lean towards the RD800 even thought the FA08 has the integra sounds... man now you got me wanting one (or both). Every time after NAMM it's time to start sweet-talking my wife.
You don't know you're in the dark until you're in the light.
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I have no idea if anyone knows the answer to this yet or not. But I'll try. :)

 

With the Jupiter-50 and Jupiter-80, we have "Live Sets", which are each made up of four Tones, while each tone is made up of three Partials. This makes for very rich and deep-sounding patches/presets on the instrument.

 

Roland says that the FA has the SuperNatural synth engine, but is the FA architecture the same, or similar to the Jupiters' Live Sets?

 

When Roland says that the FA can do 16 parts simultaneously, are they talking about 16 Live Sets? Or Tones? Or some kind of architecture completely different from the Jupiters?

 

For that matter, does the Integra-7 do 16 Live Sets at the same time, or is it set up differently?

 

I guess that, as a Jupiter-50 owner, I'm trying to figure out what makes up a "part" in the FA (and/or Integra) and how it compares to a Jupiter Live Set.

 

I have really been enjoying my Jupiter-50, and the idea of being able to play 16 different Live Sets on 16 different MIDI channels sounds like it would be wicked fun.

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

Michael

Montage 8, Logic Pro X, Omnisphere, Diva, Zebra 2, etc.

 

 

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Dave nice demo and solid chops brother, bringing it!

Thanks!

 

A question, how does the key bed weighted action fare from the RD800 to the FA08?

I wasn't paying close enough attention to A/Bing them, honestly.

 

I met both of those keyboards for the first time about an hour before we started shooting those videos, and there was no script....so I was more paying attention to making sure I remembered all the specs 'n things the Roland folks told me when they walked me through each of them, and trying to make sure the riffs I was making up on the spot for programs I had really never played before (and was choosing on the fly) didn't suck too badly...so you can probably understand when I say that the nuances of the feel of the keybeds escaped me. :idk:

 

From what I remember, the RD did feel better than the FA-08 for piano sounds...but that's to be expected, and probably not very helpful - sorry...

 

I'll know more after I get a chance to play them again next week at NAMM. :thu:

 

dB

 

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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SSM:

 

Sorry, can't leave this alone.

 

Gibson SG. Gibson ES series. The top seller, Gibson Les Paul. Not a " wiggle stick " in sight! smile

 

Absolutely correct. But then aren't you writing about instruments that were designed in the '40s and '50s of the last century? I'm not: I'm talking about the newest, bestest design touted as a brand-new "performance" instrument.

 

Apples and oranges, man.

 

..Joe

 

 

I totally agree Joe, the A/m guitars WERE designed donkeys years ago, but, what you may not realise is that most guitarists are deeply conservative, and anything that's "new" is viewed with deep suspicion.

 

FACT: 90% of guitars designed after 1980 are based either on the Les Paul, or the Stratocaster. I know it's hard to believe.

 

(There are a few deluded souls that go after pointy-looking things like Ibanez, or Dean, but they are in a tiny minority). And even a lot of Ibanez models are Strat-alikes.

 

There are huge prices paid (and a thriving fake market) for 1950's Fenders & Gibsons. A lot of kb players seem to want the latest and greatest. Most guitarists are stuck in the past, and crave vintage gear.

 

It's a different mind set (and market)

 

 

SSM

Occasionally, do something nice for a total stranger. They'll wonder what the hell is going on!
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There are huge prices paid (and a thriving fake market) for 1950's Fenders & Gibsons. A lot of kb players seem to want the latest and greatest. Most guitarists are stuck in the past, and crave vintage gear.

 

It's a different mind set (and market)

 

SSM

 

A lot of keyboard players want, and pay a high price for, vintage gear in pretty much identical fashion to guitarists.

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I've had a little bit of hands on time with the FA-06 the past few days and here are some thoughts:

- The first standout to me are the converters. These are the best sounding converters I've yet to hear on a Roland board. Far superior to the ones on my Jupiter, and definitely on the level of the Octacapture. Quite stunning, really.

- The OLED display needs to be seen in person to appreciate. Viewing it on a website is quite literally like looking at a Retina display on your 22" 1920x1080 LCD monitor. The colors are vibrant, the viewing angles are great. I wouldn't call this a a high res display. Text is definitely still pixelated. Still, the best display to-date.

-In person, the design of the board is easily the most disappointing thing. The build quality is acceptable, but I can't help but feel this board could have used a few more lines in its design. The glossy front panels are a bit of a turn off to me.

-It's stupid light. Like seriously, stupid light. There are plenty of 61 key MIDI controllers that weigh more than the FA-06.

-I could talk non-stop about the stock super-natural sounds, but to sum it up, I was all smiles playing it. Again, the converters play a major factor here, and I feel the potential of super natural technology is starting to be fully realized. The updated organ engine that is in the VR-09 is also here and it sounds fantastical.

Jupiter 80, Nord Stage 2, rMBP13", Microsoft Surface Pro, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Omnisphere, Sonar X3, PT10/11, Cubase 7.5
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The updated organ engine that is in the VR-09 is also here

Interesting. It's not that much more expensive than the VR-09. If you don't absolutely need real time drawbar control, this seems to give you a lot more of, well, everything else.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I'm giving this board some serious consideration to replace my S70XS, SP404SX sampler, and a netbook I use for sequences. The only minor sticking point might be if there is/isn't a vocoder effect that can be used with the external mic input, there are a couple songs I use that on with my dance band, but I could probably work around it.

 

Patch changes are the other thing that concerned me at first, but with the sampler pads being able to send numeric data, that point is resolved. It looks like multi part setups are easy to create and I'm guessing the control knobs on the left can be assigned to part volume.

Live: Korg Kronos 2 88, Nord Electro 5d Nord Lead A1

Toys: Roland FA08, Novation Ultranova, Moog LP, Roland SP-404SX, Roland JX10,Emu MK6

www.bksband.com

www.echoesrocks.com

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The updated organ engine that is in the VR-09 is also here

Interesting. It's not that much more expensive than the VR-09. If you don't absolutely need real time drawbar control, this seems to give you a lot more of, well, everything else.

 

Here's to hoping that they slash the price the price of the VR-09. I'd throw fistfuls of money at my computer screen right now if it was $699.

Jupiter 80, Nord Stage 2, rMBP13", Microsoft Surface Pro, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Omnisphere, Sonar X3, PT10/11, Cubase 7.5
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Patch changes are the other thing that concerned me at first, but with the sampler pads being able to send numeric data, that point is resolved.

Yes, the numeric keypad function is a welcome feature, addressing my complaint about having to use the scroll wheel too much on the VR-09. The FA seems to have more patch select buttons as well.

 

It looks like the FA probably addresses most of the other VR limitations that have been well discussed... separate effects for each of the split or layered sounds; ability to send sounds to their own outputs, either via panning (which, as a 16 sound workstation, I assume it must have), or in this case, also possibly an assignable out; assignable MIDI CC controls; probably more flexible pedal assignment (it at least supports an additional pedal). You also get the visual SN synth editing without needing an iPad. The VR still has a Nord-like kind of directness that has its own appeal, but the FA looks like a lot more board.

 

WIthout the physical drawbars, I wonder how accessible/easy drawbar editing is. It would also be nice if it accepted MIDI CC commands for drawbar operation, but being based on the Integra-7, that's doubtful.

 

I'm curious to know what flexibility it may have in terms of calling up MIDI Program Changes (i.e. for a particular zone), i.e. if you can create split/layered setups that can easily incorporate external sounds.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I've had a little bit of hands on time with the FA-06 the past few days...

 

What is the keybed like? I really like the synth action on my Jupiter-50... How does it compare to that?

 

The action on the MOX6 is quite mediocre, as is that on the Krome 61, IMHO. Can you compare the FA-06 to either of these?

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

Michael

Montage 8, Logic Pro X, Omnisphere, Diva, Zebra 2, etc.

 

 

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I've had a little bit of hands on time with the FA-06 the past few days...

 

What is the keybed like? I really like the synth action on my Jupiter-50... How does it compare to that?

 

The action on the MOX6 is quite mediocre, as is that on the Krome 61, IMHO. Can you compare the FA-06 to either of these?

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

The keybed is a bit disappointing and not on the level of the JP50. The key travel is a bit shorter. If you can live with the MOX6 and Krome keybed you'll be able to live with this - no worse. Identical keybed to the VR-09 I would say.

Jupiter 80, Nord Stage 2, rMBP13", Microsoft Surface Pro, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Omnisphere, Sonar X3, PT10/11, Cubase 7.5
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The keybed is a bit disappointing and not on the level of the JP50. The key travel is a bit shorter. If you can live with the MOX6 and Krome keybed you'll be able to live with this - no worse. Identical keybed to the VR-09 I would say.

 

How did you get your hands on a FA already?

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
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The keybed is a bit disappointing and not on the level of the JP50. The key travel is a bit shorter. If you can live with the MOX6 and Krome keybed you'll be able to live with this - no worse. Identical keybed to the VR-09 I would say.

 

How did you get your hands on a FA already?

 

I work for Sweetwater.

Jupiter 80, Nord Stage 2, rMBP13", Microsoft Surface Pro, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Omnisphere, Sonar X3, PT10/11, Cubase 7.5
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I work for Sweetwater.

 

Any idea when Sweetwater expects to have the FA-06 in stock?

 

I don't, sorry.

Jupiter 80, Nord Stage 2, rMBP13", Microsoft Surface Pro, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Omnisphere, Sonar X3, PT10/11, Cubase 7.5
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The keybed is a bit disappointing and not on the level of the JP50. The key travel is a bit shorter. If you can live with the MOX6 and Krome keybed you'll be able to live with this - no worse.

 

Well, that's a bit unfortunate. I could live with the MOX6 keybed if I had to, but I just have it MIDI'd up to my J-50.

 

That's the thing about all of these inexpensive workstations - they're just not a joy to play, in terms of the keyboards themselves. I guess its all just part of getting the product down to that $999 - $1199 price point.

 

I'd guess that Yamaha has sold a TON of MOXes, and that Korg has sold quite a few Kromes.

Michael

Montage 8, Logic Pro X, Omnisphere, Diva, Zebra 2, etc.

 

 

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I was hoping to step out of the Roland camp into fresher pastures this year, but I keep looking up the new videos on YouTube and I can't help but feel I should just trade what I have in and upgrade to these new models when they're released. Heck, the Roland interface and I are now best friends, it makes sense to stay...

 

However, we'll obviously wait to see what else NAMM will bring.

 

[video:youtube]uPMiMot_Jko

 

Hammond SKX

Mainstage 3

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Has anyone at NAMM been able to find out from Roland if these machines support the same type of seamless switching or patch remain as it's implemented on the Fantom G? Dave Bryce showed it but it seems that was working per part in a studio set, I want to know if you can switch a whole studio set without dropouts, as the Fantom G's Live Mode does.
Roland Fantom G6, D-70, JP-8000, Juno-106, JV-1080, Moog Minitaur, Korg Volca Keys, Yamaha DX-7. TG33, Logic Pro, NI plugs, Arturia plugs etc etc
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The patch remain was shown on a couple of the demo vids.

Live: Korg Kronos 2 88, Nord Electro 5d Nord Lead A1

Toys: Roland FA08, Novation Ultranova, Moog LP, Roland SP-404SX, Roland JX10,Emu MK6

www.bksband.com

www.echoesrocks.com

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Was there one that showed a studio set being changed with no dropout? The ones I saw I couldn't see how they were changing, and it seemed like they were changing the sound in one part with patch remain. The fantom G can do it that way or entire 8 way splits with FX with no dropouts.
Roland Fantom G6, D-70, JP-8000, Juno-106, JV-1080, Moog Minitaur, Korg Volca Keys, Yamaha DX-7. TG33, Logic Pro, NI plugs, Arturia plugs etc etc
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For inquiring minds....here is a link to the Roland FA06/08 website with some nice screen shots (18) of the FA series display/interface including FX routing, Sequencer, Sample Edit, TW Organ Edit, SN Piano Edit. Some screens are placed in the background and are partially obstructed but you can get the idea...

 

http://www.roland.com/synth/fa/

 

Scroll down to see the Fa display screen shots...

 

- The OLED display needs to be seen in person to appreciate. Viewing it on a website is quite literally like looking at a Retina display on your 22" 1920x1080 LCD monitor. The colors are vibrant, the viewing angles are great. I wouldn't call this a a high res display. Text is definitely still pixelated. Still, the best display to-date.

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