Roland FA-06 and FA-08

[ADino]

Do the sample pads of the fa come with (useful)samples already on them out of the box?

From what I can tell, there's only one pre-loaded set of samples mapped to the pads. Though you can easily create your own.

 

I got to try the fa08, really liked the action, but the shop could not tell me if it has the SuperNATURAL piano sounds in it. Judging by what I heard, these were not the SN piano's. Does anyone know what Roland boards including the Integra, do carry the SN piano set?

I cant seem to get a clear answer from anyone on this, thx.

 

There are several pianos (and other instruments) labeled as Supernatural. To me, they sound the same as the Supernatural Pianos in the JP80/50.

 

So far Ive read that the 08 includes SN synths. Not sure if that equates to the SN piano set. Ive read these are called subsets.

 

Actually, if Roland took all of the synth stuff, pads n such out, put in just the SN pianos/rhodes, they could call it the RD 400 n Id go for it. N Id be able to carry it.

[Ken Beaumont]

Actually since the manual is readily available. On page 4 of the sound list are 100 Supernatural Acoustic Tones. The first nine are pianos. That is followed by 1115 Supernatural Synth tones, 4 Supernatural Drum Kits, 897 PCM tones,56 PCM drum kits and 256 GM tones.

[ADino]

Actually since the manual is readily available. On page 4 of the sound list are 100 Supernatural Acoustic Tones. The first nine are pianos. That is followed by 1115 Supernatural Synth tones, 4 Supernatural Drum Kits, 897 PCM tones,56 PCM drum kits and 256 GM tones.

 

Thx for the headsup.

[lekanout]

I played the fa 08 and 06(not as a owner,but as integra7 owner and ex jupiter80 owner i'm familiar with the structure)

 

Keybed:

-In this price range,i prefer the fa08 heavy keybed than the krome 88 and MOXF8

-and i prefer the fa06 keybed than the moxf6 and krome 61.

roland is way better for the price than the yam and korg,wich i absolutly dońt like.

 

-sounds:

i like the moxf6,but there's something more raw,fat with the roland..(idon't like the korg honestly)

Roland sound is less perfect in some points than yam,but i think these new fa are the most funny cheap workstations now.

We are lucky today to have theses performance for the price,the axial "srx reloaded"in the 2 slots for free is really one of the strongest point.

 

The display is pleasant..construction is acceptable..

Nothing bad to say for me,fun to play and a good choice:-)

 

for the piano:

I don't think the supernatural pianos are the same than the rd series,but i think there are the same or really near the supernatural pianos from the jupiter 50/80 and integra 7 series.

[ADino]

Doesnt the Integra carry the same SN piano's as the RD? I think it does, but If I would consider the 8, or any Roland, Id have to have the SN piano's. Ive liked the RD series, Im simply at a point where I cant carry them anymore.

[CEB]

They could be exactly the same yet not sound a like. A big piece of it will be the action and velocity curves.

[lekanout]

I'm not sure the 3 supernatural pianos from my RD700 nx are in the integra 7,jupiter or fa series.

Maybe one or two,but i have a different feeling

I have to play more my integra 7 because i have it only since a few days,but there was a litlle different with my jupiter 80.

i don't know if it's because of the great RD heavy action...i will try soon to feel more..

[nadroj]

I'm certain that exact SN pianos that I used in my 700NX are the same ones in my FA06. Heck, the ones in the FA06 may even be slightly better. They just play differently because of the vastly different actions.

[nadroj]

Any ideas if it's possible to change time signatures mid-song when creating a new song? eg. if the song is in 7/8 but I want 2 bars of 5/4 10 bars in, could I do that? If not, it's cool, everything can just be thrown straight into Logic anyways.

 

Have hooked the FA06 up to the RD700 and they play together like best friends. Organs are starting to grow on me too...

[Son313]

Hey there, I just got the Roland FA-06 yesterday. The sampler was working fine with the 4 preset banks and now it isn't even lighting up when I power up. Does anyone have tips on troubleshooting this?

Thanks!

[George88]

Do they function?

[miden]

Sure, but be aware this is probably not the final version, I need to gig it some first. I want something that cuts in the mix but also has a good solo character. It's definitely bright sounding. A lot will depend on the overall keyboard velocity setting you prefer too. I have mine set to light with an offset of 9 to push it towards the medium setting. It takes away from some of the softer sounds but it doesn't require you to bang on it real hard to get a good bright sound.

 

main wave is concert grand 001

string res and key off 64

hammer noise +1

stereo width 63

nuance type 3

tone character -2

 

mfx reverb send is 34

studio set reverb is a hall 3, send set to 80

 

everything else I believe is stock.

 

DanL, I am just wondering if you have adjusted this at all since the post?

 

 

[CEB]

Leaving for rehearsal in about 30 minutes...... anyone know were there are some hand claps on this thing. I searched some of the drum kits and couldn't find any. I thought GM generally mapped them to Eb. I want to internally sample them to a sampler pad.

 

Thanks

[DanL]

Sure, but be aware this is probably not the final version, I need to gig it some first. I want something that cuts in the mix but also has a good solo character. It's definitely bright sounding. A lot will depend on the overall keyboard velocity setting you prefer too. I have mine set to light with an offset of 9 to push it towards the medium setting. It takes away from some of the softer sounds but it doesn't require you to bang on it real hard to get a good bright sound.

 

main wave is concert grand 001

string res and key off 64

hammer noise +1

stereo width 63

nuance type 3

tone character -2

 

mfx reverb send is 34

studio set reverb is a hall 3, send set to 80

 

everything else I believe is stock.

 

DanL, I am just wondering if you have adjusted this at all since the post?

 

Yes, minor tweaks. I need to set it up tomorrow to review some songs so I'll notate the parameters again.

[miden]

Thanks - I tried that setting btw, not bad at all

[DanL]

It ended up being a little too high endy when I played it in mono thru my K10, but it sounds great with my in ears in stereo. I think the changes I made were EQ based.

[nadroj]

Another month, another EXP pack. This month's is a collection of Concert Piano samples, which I'm pretty disappointed with. I know there's still another 8 to come, but damn, we need some brass and string expansions! Anyways, link here if anyone's interested.

 

http://axial.roland.com/articles/exp-04-concert-piano-collection/

 

EDIT: Also, D-50 pack released for Integra, which can be used with the FA. http://axial.roland.com/articles/d-50-collection/

[DanL]

Agree Nadroj, with the SN pianos, whats the point of sampled concert pianos? Strings and brass! Please!

[ABECK]

Agreed. I am really liking the SN Pianos. These don't seem to be an improvement. The D50 sounds are nice (but there are only a small handful).

[CEB]

I like the SH-101 downloads. But I'm using the FA in a general purpose VA synth role mostly.

[ABECK]

Yes CEB! The SH-101 (especially the unprocessed ones) are killer.

[Joe P]

I setup a studio set of 16 lead synths. I like Rippin Mini alot. I like a lot of the lead synths.

 

CEB,

 

I assume you select the lead synth you want via the pad keyboard switch? I was thinking of doing something like that for my rock and blues cover band. I probably only use 7 or 8 sounds all night. One studio set could be a bank of 16 favorites, really.

 

Regards,

Joe

 

 

[CEB]

That is all I do in the 10-piece band. In the the 10-piece band I use no MIDI. I now have a studio set of a 14 lead patches and a couple of polysaw patches and I scroll to the patch I want with the scroll buttons on the FA-06. We a couple a new tunes where I like to use the poly saw patches on the Roland. But the FA-06 still acts as a lead synth primarily. In this band I play mostly Hammond Organ and APs, EPs and clavs on the S90XS.

 

In the Pop band I have 2 different studio sets I use. I play a 2 board rig the S90XS and FA-06. I assign each FA-06 patch in the studio sets to a different MIDI channel except in one case where I have two patches assigned to channel 5 because I layer them. Then the S90XS plays the appropiate voice because the I programmed what zones hit what MIDI channels. The FA in the pop band is mostly a sample player and tone module with keys.

 

 

[Joe P]

Thanks, CEB. It would be cool if I can keep the "Part View" screen active, and just turn on the voices I need via the pads.

 

There are so many ways to organize this thing (I bought the 08), I'm trying to figure out what's best for me.

[wd8dky]

That is exactly how I manage my Studio Set that contains single patches (no splits/layers). You set the pad mode to part select, and you change parts by tapping the associated pad. Works perfectly.

[Cybersoniq]

That is all I do in the 10-piece band. In the the 10-piece band I use no MIDI. I now have a studio set of a 14 lead patches and a couple of polysaw patches and I scroll to the patch I want with the scroll buttons on the FA-06. We a couple a new tunes where I like to use the poly saw patches on the Roland. But the FA-06 still acts as a lead synth primarily. In this band I play mostly Hammond Organ and APs, EPs and clavs on the S90XS.

Have you played the FA's SN APs/EPs/Clavs via the S90XS keys at all (via MIDI)? I'm sure it would be a world of difference and better experience than just playing these SN instruments using the FA-06's lower quality/non-weighted keyboard action.

[Joe P]

Thanks, guys.

 

Has anybody customized the power cord set up? I'm not comfortable plugging and un-plugging the DC connector every time I move the keyboard. I was thinking of anchoring it via the cord hook, spooling up the excess DC wire, Velcro-ing the line lump to the back of the unit, keeping the figure 8 plug connected to the line lump and using a short extension in my power snake to bring the AC side to the floor.

 

[Tonysounds]

I've done it. I'll have pictures tonite.

[Tonysounds]

Has anybody customized the power cord set up? I'm not comfortable plugging and un-plugging the DC connector every time I move the keyboard.

 

Valid concern, and it's one I share deeply enough that I always procure a spare power supply for everything and carry it. But my current rig (FA08, SK1-73, Mini Vent, Shure P4m mixer) uses ALL line lumps. Cumbersome. And they're all different. (And I can't find a spare for my Shure P4m.) And, I'm ashamed to say, that my last gig, I discovered that I had somehow bent the center pin my power supply for one of the keyboards, so I needed to reduce this down to "any idiot can wire this up".

 

So, I'll start with the keyboards. I covered the back of the keyboard with gaffers tape (no residue left behind upon removal), and then put fuzzy 'cro on the tape. I covered the line lump with more gaffers tape, and then a block of grippy 'cro.

 

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad216/tonysounds/SK1LineLump.jpg

[Tonysounds]

Here's the FA08. As you can see, there's an inverted shelf in the lower chassis which was convenient, because there's a resistor or capacitor or something (another mini line lump) in the power cable. I plug the power supply into the keyboard, and then after tie-wrapping the cable firmly, but not too tight, I tape the plug into place. I had gaffer-taped/velcro'd the inverted shelf, so then I just used Velcro to secure the rest of the line lump's cabling into that shelf. Thankfully, the appearance in reality is not nearly as garish as it is in these photos, and in fact, it's relatively stealthy.

 

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad216/tonysounds/FA08LineLump.jpg