anyone wanna make some cash? I need studio sets for Roland FA-06

[mmartinez]

Sorry if this is not the right place to post this.

Anyone with a Roland FA-06 wanna make some cash? I'm trying out for a 80s cover band and I need studio sets / user tones for the keyboard parts for the following songs. I don't have time to spend finding the right sounds, so you can put them together and give them to me in sys-ex format (.syx).

Flock of Seagulls - I Ran
Modern English - I Melt With You
INXS - Need You Tonight
Devo - Whip It
David Bowie - Let's Dance
Kenny Loggis - Footloose
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive
Billy Idol - White Wedding

The FA-06 uses the Roland integra sound engine, so if you have a similar synth that might work.

I only need the keyboard sounds similar to what's played on the original recordings for the synth parts on those recordings. (I'm not playing the guitar parts or anything like that so I don't need to simulate the other instruments). It doesn't have to match "identically", just a decent approximation.

We'd be playing these in medium sized venus (bars, casinos).

Paypal is easiest. Reply here or DM me.

[MathOfInsects]

This seems like a reasonable offer, since you are acknowledging that this would be a paid service, but if it's OK to ask: wouldn't nailing the sounds basically be the crux of the audition? Wouldn't this really be someone else getting the job? And if you're not up for making them, what will happen if you do get the gig? I assume there will be lots of additional sounds to cover. Would you be too busy to make those as well? If so, you'd then have to pay for a whole bunch of additional sounds. Is it really worth auditioning for this band, if you have to pay to be in it? (Honest questions--curiosity about this request.)

[funkyhammond]

These types of sounds shouldn't be hard to get reasonably close on any modern poly synth so perhaps OP is not super familiar with synthesis and it would take a lot of time. Multi-purpose boards are not designed for easily experimenting with editing/creating synth sounds. It really helps when you already have experience working with dedicated synths and know what parameters you're looking to adjust. Anyway, I don't own a Roland. BTW, I clicked on the link in the signature out of curiosity but it doesn't go to anything music related.

[mmartinez]

wow ... people coming up with reasons *not* to get paid? Ok. i would have thought anyone with a FA-0x would be jumping at the chance.

 

Nobody cares where you get the sounds from, they just care that you can play and your personality blends with the group. yeah it could be argued that you need to know synths and know your instrument, and on the first point yeah I do and on the second point the FA is a new purchase for me I've learned a decent amount about the sound sets but someone else who's intimate with it will know exactly how to create these sounds and spend much less time than I would.

 

I really wasn't expecting the first two replies to be, like, condescending and doubtful. I was expecting someone with an FA-xx to jump in and say, yeah dude I already have half these and I can put together the other half for you let's agree on a price.

 

 

 

[MathOfInsects]

16 minutes ago, mmartinez said:

wow ... people coming up with reasons *not* to get paid? Ok. i would have thought anyone with a FA-0x would be jumping at the chance.

 

Nobody cares where you get the sounds from, they just care that you can play and your personality blends with the group. yeah it could be argued that you need to know synths and know your instrument, and on the first point yeah I do and on the second point the FA is a new purchase for me I've learned a decent amount about the sound sets but someone else who's intimate with it will know exactly how to create these sounds and spend much less time than I would.

 

I really wasn't expecting the first two replies to be, like, condescending and doubtful. I was expecting someone with an FA-xx to jump in and say, yeah dude I already have half these and I can put together the other half for you let's agree on a price.

 

 

 

Making friends fast around here I see.

Good luck with the audition. 

[TommyRude]

Do you need the tabs too?

 

 

Seriously, I imagine there are dedicated FA sites with all the patches you need.

[Mighty Motif Max]

Geez people. Not every band dynamic is the same; there's a reason that third-party patch developers/libraries exist. A lot of groups I've been in tend to care much more about how well you play and your actual personality/how you work with the band than the patches (to a degree - they should be recognizable but they don't have to be 100% accurate - that's more for my listening enjoyment than anything else IMO). Unless you're doing stadium tours in a tribute band or something like that, of course. It doesn't matter if you show up with every patch nailed and custom samples to the ceiling if you can't play the parts super well too. If it comes down to choosing between time dedicated to patch editing vs time spent practicing parts, I think you're better off focusing on the practice time. A board like the FA has plenty of presets, and you can probably do okay with some of those and some light editing if you can nail the actual parts themselves.

 

And I mean, it's not like he came in here demanding someone give patches for free! Now that would be a fun thread.

 

My thought is, if someone can afford it, why not maximize your own time and hire someone? I mean, if money's not a concern, and you're super busy, that does free up time. Not the way I do things, but there's something to be said for that luxury if you can afford it. Maybe you could take a step back and say it's stimulating the economy?

 

51 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

Making friends fast around here I see.

Good luck with the audition. 

He's been at MPN longer than you or I, so...

 

That said,

 

1 hour ago, mmartinez said:

...i would have thought anyone with a FA-0x would be jumping at the chance.

I don't know that I'd expect anyone to "jump" at the chance, especially if they don't already have all/most of those programmed. People are pretty busy these days. It's certainly worth asking though. I know the FA's a new board for you - if you aren't a Roland guy it's not that fun (not as hard as Kurzweil but I don't like Roland's patch editing much either). But I'd say your best bet might be to just identify what the basic sound type is for each of those synth patches (i.e. is this a PWM-based pad), then just scroll through those specific patch sub-categories and pick something close. I can't help much with Studio Sets, not having owned an FA. Otherwise, maybe you haven't allowed yourself enough time before the audition...worst case scenario it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out.

 

Also, the FA is pretty poor in terms of patch organization. My Fantom-7 is better but still not great. Why have all the Saw leads titled "Saw Lead 1" through "Saw Lead 30"? Ugh.

[EscapeRocks]

Rolandclan forum

FA section 

 

also check the Roland Axial site 

[jDoo]

Rolandclan forum.  FA section.  Worth mentioning again.  Some of us have put up dozens of 80's covers.   If you know what you're doing, and have a little time to lean in - you can use these to generate the songs you posted. 

- update 4/27 -

What i posted there… and there are probably 3x this many others shared by other folks now (I haven’t posted in a few years)
A.D. 1928
Don’t Stop Believing
Bette Davis Eyes
Orinoco Flow
Love Walks In
Take Me On
Pokerface - BennySeven version
Pokerface - JDoo version
Separate Ways ( World’s Apart )
Clocks - BennySeven version
Clocks - JDoo Version
Final Countdown
Thriller
Mony Mony
Axel F
Africa
Not In Love
Babe
She’s Out Of My Life
Sweet Dreams
Chariots Of Fire
Don’t Stop Believing
Bette Davis Eyes
Orinoco Flow
Time Will Tell
Head Over Heels

 

I think I also posted an embarrassingly bad one-take shot of 20 of these on YouTube at some point.. But you dont need that 🙂

 

hth

 

Joe

[mmartinez]

10 hours ago, TommyRude said:

Do you need the tabs too?

 

 

Seriously, I imagine there are dedicated FA sites with all the patches you need.

the only dedicated site I've found is on roland clan, and there's a software called FA Editor, which the guy who created it includes  patches for a whole bunch of songs, many of them 80s, and they sound good. But these particular songs aren't included. And the guy who sold me the keyboard included a few of his presets (Thriller and so on). Again, good stuff but not these.

 

No I don't need the tabs, I just need the patches.

[mmartinez]

yeah, I've already visited Roland clan. (thanks for the people who mentioned it.)

Found the excellent FA Editor there a couple months ago with all it's great patches.

Doesn't include these songs though.

 

MightyMotifMax:

Thanks for coming to my defense, dude. Yeah, part of the reason I made the cash offer is because I do have that ability and I'd like to give back to the community when I can. But the main reason is I don't want to spend the time programming the patches. The way I learn these songs is I listen to them and I figure out the keyboard parts with a piano or EP patch first. At the same time I'm mentally noting the sound they're using with the idea to come back later and put that in. But yeah like you said learning the part first that's how I prefer to do it. Then if push comes to shove I can use a basic string or a basic piano and it might not match but at least it's something.

 

Ideally though I'd like to get a good match because this is a 80s cover band after all.

 

Yeah "jumping at the chance" wasn't the right phrasing but you know what I mean. It's a no brainer for someone with an FA who already happens to have these songs loaded up (that's what I was hoping for). Basically Free Money - give me what you got and I give you cash, takes all of two seconds!

 

[MathOfInsects]

Obviously, it's common for us to go looking and see if someone has patches made for a particular song or the like. I was (and am) just curious about the business model of paying for the patches that will get you into a band that will require more patches to be bought. Is the money going to be so good that it's a non-factor? Or was the pay going to be very low?

I'm just curious about why someone would audition for a band that it will cost them money to be in. Condescending or not, I'm still honestly curious about it.  

[Reezekeys]

 

36 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

I'm just curious about why someone would audition for a band that it will cost them money to be in.

 

Time is money. mmartinez wants to save time - and is willing to pay for that. I see zero problems with that concept. Synth patch-making is a form of sound design. There are folks who enjoy doing this, even some that have turned it into careers (Eric Persing?).

 

Not to mention that having the right sounds won't help if you can't play the parts.

 

I know my way around oscillators and filters, but for an 80s cover band I would probably do the exact same thing as mmartinez. Luckily, I'm in a 70s "heritage" band that doesn't need synth sounds! 🙂 

[TommyRude]

OK... how much?  $1,000/patch?  Put out a number and you might have a few folks jumping at the chance 🙂

[marczellm]

I don't have a FA because I'm quite happy with one of its predecessors, the JUNO-G. A shame there is no converter for the patches because all of the basic waves are certainly in there. Kurzweils are much better regarding patch compatibility. I used to do some of these online patch requests for free because I wanted to practice. If I had an FA I would probably love to help.

[drawback]

31 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

Time is money. mmartinez wants to save time - and is willing to pay for that. I see zero problems with that concept. 

I don't have a problem with it either, but there's a point where time spent in logistics (such as posting, replying, re-posting, explaining myself, etc) while I could be just finding or programming some fast reasonable facimiles of necessary patches simply for an audition is not productive at all.

[Reezekeys]

 

45 minutes ago, drawback said:

I don't have a problem with it either, but there's a point where time spent in logistics (such as posting, replying, re-posting, explaining myself, etc) while I could be just finding or programming some fast reasonable facimiles of necessary patches simply for an audition is not productive at all.

 

Why do you think he's having to reply, re-post and explain himself? I don't think mmartinez anticipated the blowback. I wouldn't have either.

 

This reminds me of my very first post on this forum, which is why it hit a nerve. I heard a cool synth brass sound on a recording and asked if anyone could identify the synth used - and got lectured about how I could "learn" something by programming the sound myself. (I went looking for the post but it's gone - google found the thread but it wasn't cached).

[MathOfInsects]

1 hour ago, Reezekeys said:

 

 

Time is money. mmartinez wants to save time - and is willing to pay for that. I see zero problems with that concept. Synth patch-making is a form of sound design. There are folks who enjoy doing this, even some that have turned it into careers (Eric Persing?).

 

Not to mention that having the right sounds won't help if you can't play the parts.

 

I know my way around oscillators and filters, but for an 80s cover band I would probably do the exact same thing as mmartinez. Luckily, I'm in a 70s "heritage" band that doesn't need synth sounds! 🙂 

To be clear, I don't have a "problem" with it, and said as much in my reply. It's a service someone wants to pay for. Fair enough. And I've gotten lots of patches to use either off the rack or as a starting point, from elsewhere.

But never a whole "act's" worth. For me, not being to put sounds together for a project would be me not auditioning for that project. That's why I'm curious about it.

 

From a practical standpoint, these are not complicated sounds. In the time it took to post here AND at Rolandclan, someone could just watch Ed do a Studio Set tutorial on youtube and make themselves a quick and workable set of sounds or Studio Sets that matched their own playing or instincts and would suit the audition. The fact is, if you don't know how you use Studio Sets, you won't be able to use someone else's Studio Sets for this anyway. They are not all just layered sounds; they would require split points, maybe patch switches. You'd still have to take time and learn how each Studio Set was set up, including changing/editing if something doesn't work for you (split points in particular)--and now you haven't saved time and have still spent money. By the time you do the work to avoid doing this yourself, it would be faster (and therefore cheaper) just to have done it. Or feels that way to me.

 

But as you say, if you have the money and want to do that, more power to you. The part I'm curious about is why someone would want to join a band you cannot be in without spending money.

Having said all that, if the pay is actually $1000/song, I will do this task TODAY, and every day from now on.

 

[MathOfInsects]

1 minute ago, Reezekeys said:

 

 

Why do you think he's having to reply, re-post and explain himself? I don't think mmartinez anticipated the blowback. I wouldn't have either.

 

This reminds me of my very first post on this forum, which is why it hit a nerve. I heard a cool synth brass sound on a recording and asked if anyone could identify the synth used - and got lectured about how I could "learn" something by programming the sound myself. (I went looking for the post but it's gone - google found the thread but it wasn't cached).

I am not in that camp. I believe this is a valuable resource for all levels, and have even called out a "hero" or two of mine here for rejecting the reality that all people learn differently, and sometimes need a way "in" to get there, that might be different from yours or mine.

I can't wrap my (personal) head around paying to be in a band, or auditioning for a project that I can't put the sounds together to be in. I'm perfectly fine if the explanation is, "I don't care about making money, I just want to be in the group." I was just curious to get that perspective, if that's what it is.

[Mighty Motif Max]

This is ridiculous. Say you're a Yamaha user but want a better B3 because you're getting into a band with more exposed organ parts. Would you spend the time to try to program a better rotary sim and organ simulation, or would you buy Organimation, which is most likely going to be better than anything you could come up with?

 

I mean, if we really get down to it, you had to spend money to get a good-quality board that could handle these sounds in the first place. So you're always going to be spending money to be able to play music; it just depends on timing.

[Mighty Motif Max]

The issue here seems to be scrolling through the endless obscurely-named Roland patches and trying every single one to find the closest match. That's time consuming...especially in the synth section. I'm not sure of the patch cross-referencing between the Fantom and the FA series, or I'd be willing to take a stab at at least ID'ing the patches. No Studio Sets of course, since nothing transfers directly from the Zen-Core system to the FA, but at least the common patches would be known.

[o0Ampy0o]

To each his own. Getting the gig is top priority. You could spend your life in school racking up certificates and degrees. Some people want do something other than learn and pass tests. Some want to be more than a student and getting on the train is part of getting somewhere. Some people don't need to be an expert first. Some pedants are frustrated experts knowing it all but having no experience doing much besides finding fault in others. Given an opportunity to be in the game they mellow and start enjoying life.

[Mighty Motif Max]

18 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

For me, not being to put sounds together for a project would be me not auditioning for that project. That's why I'm curious about it.

...

I think this is the key here; that's an interesting perspective. In my mind, even in an originals band context where your band is songwriting, I don't see why everything would have to be your own custom programming. It's not like you're going on stage and bragging, "I programmed every single program from scratch, y'all!". Unless that's a stated requirement for the job, I don't think there's any shame in using 3rd-party patches. Me personally, I tend to do my own, but that's because I'm too cheap to buy lots of patch libraries, even if they might sound a bit better. And a lot of the time, it's just lightly tweaked presets and/or layered/split presets with some different FX routing in the combis. Either way, I can't say I've ever thought of the actual process of sound creation being part of the audition process. Getting close sounds? Yes, for sure, but it never really mattered exactly how you got to those sounds in the first place.

 

This kind of reminds me of the other thread we have going about the endless number of patches in modern keyboards creating their own problem of too many choices, no?

[MathOfInsects]

1 minute ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

This is ridiculous. Say you're a Yamaha user but want a better B3 because you're getting into a band with more exposed organ parts. Would you spend the time to try to program a better rotary sim and organ simulation, or would you buy Organimation, which is most likely going to be better than anything you could come up with?

 

I mean, if we really get down to it, you had to spend money to get a good-quality board that could handle these sounds in the first place. So you're always going to be spending money to be able to play music; it just depends on timing.

I see the logic of that argument but I guess I don't find it applicable. He's not being asked to join a band that might require updating a rig. He's auditioning to join it, at a cost. Once he gets the job, there will be more and more songs to pay for Studio Sets for. So why try to get it? (That's the part I'm curious about. It's honest curiosity.)

I guess it's just a personality thing. I personally can't imagine trying out for a group I couldn't make my own patches or workflow for. I can see asking for some of those patches, but once I'm paying for them, I personally don't see the return in joining the group. However, I can tell this line of inquiry is ruffling feathers so I'll back out.

 

[MathOfInsects]

4 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

I think this is the key here; that's an interesting perspective. In my mind, even in an originals band context where your band is songwriting, I don't see why everything would have to be your own custom programming. It's not like you're going on stage and bragging, "I programmed every single program from scratch, y'all!". Unless that's a stated requirement for the job, I don't think there's any shame in using 3rd-party patches. Me personally, I tend to do my own, but that's because I'm too cheap to buy lots of patch libraries, even if they might sound a bit better. And a lot of the time, it's just lightly tweaked presets and/or layered/split presets with some different FX routing in the combis. Either way, I can't say I've ever thought of the actual process of sound creation being part of the audition process. Getting close sounds? Yes, for sure, but it never really mattered exactly how you got to those sounds in the first place.

 

This kind of reminds me of the other thread we have going about the endless number of patches in modern keyboards creating their own problem of too many choices, no?

I'm not saying any of that, though. I've gotten lots of patches from elsewhere. But if I needed EVERY patch, now and forever, and each time I had to pay for them? Hard pass for me. 

[MathOfInsects]

Nevermind, I got it. 

An 80's band would solely be a commercial decision for me. If i had to spend to be in it, it wouldn't be worth being in. I can't think of it any other way.

Flip side, for me, an originals project has almost no attention to budget or time, or expectation of return on investment. I could barely tell you what I might spend, or make.

This "80's band" is his "originals project."

I just needed to shift mindset and remember that some people would do an 80's band for love, not money. 

Carry on. 

[Reezekeys]

14 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

I just needed to shift mindset and remember that some people would do an 80's band for love, not money. 

 

Unless I'm misreading you, my take would be 180 degrees from yours.

 

If I love the music, whatever the style, I'll probably spend the time programming. An 80s band is not something I'd want to spend the time programming patches for (no direspect to mmartinez, just my personal feeling). I'd spend the money for the patches. IMO I'm getting a worthwhile ROI - my time.

 

And now I shall bow out of this thread as well. Carry on indeed!

[funkyhammond]

16 hours ago, mmartinez said:

I really wasn't expecting the first two replies to be, like, condescending and doubtful. I was expecting someone with an FA-xx to jump in and say, yeah dude I already have half these and I can put together the other half for you let's agree on a price.

 

 

I was the second reply. I wasn't at all trying to be condescending. I was actually trying to defend why you might be making this request after the first reply. And like I said, I don't have a Roland, otherwise I might have reached out to you to see what you were offering. Sorry if it came off bad.

[mmartinez]

posted on this and a couple other sites. No takers, so I started putting them together myself. Not real satisfied with the results but hopefully it will be good enough for the group.

 

Ideally should get as close as possible to the original sounds, so offer's still open

 

 

[mmartinez]

there's this: https://audora.ca/product/billy-idol-rebel-yell/

$9. Great price.

Of course, you gotta buy a Kronos to play it. Lol

 

But there is something, though, listening to the demos they've got everything is nice and clear, this will make it a little easier.

Still, I'd rather pay someone to do it for me