5 Reasons for Using the FR-7x V-Accordion at Your Next Gig

What Alicia Baker Loves About Her FR-7x

Alicia’s Top Five Reason’s for Gigging with the FR-7x V-Accordion

The FR-7x V-Accordion is a true band-in-a-box. Its ability to produce both accordion and orchestra sounds allows players to create endless instrumental combinations all by themselves. In addition to its many sounds, the FR-7x has features that allow you to program your sets, record music, jam with others, transport sounds, and more. Professional accordionist Alicia Baker explains her top five reasons for gigging with the FR-7x V-Accordion.

FR-7x Promotion: Summertime Savings

Reason Five: Realistic Touch

• With Roland’s touch and velocity-sensitivity, you can play different  instruments accurately and musically.
• Wind instruments respond to the bellows. Just like an acoustic accordion, pulling harder on the bellows will create a crescendo and result in a louder dynamic. This applies to all of the other wind instruments, including the orchestral sounds like saxophone and clarinet.
• Percussion instruments respond to the touch of the keys. Hitting the keys with a stronger force (or a “faster velocity”) will result in a louder sound. Examples: Acoustic piano, drums, acoustic bass and vibes.

Reason Four: Electronic Benefit

Unlike an acoustic accordion, the V-Accordions have no acoustic reeds that can become destroyed or damaged by extreme temperature conditions. No need to worry about your reeds melting and getting warped in the heat, nor your bellows freezing up in the cold.

Related: Enter the 2013 Roland V-Accordion Festival

Reason Three: FR-7x Handy USB Port

FR-7x USB Port

The USB port is conveniently located behind the chest pad, which provides major benefits. Here are my favorite:

• Sound programming — After assigning your sounds to a register, save them with the “write” button function. Once you’ve saved your sets, export them onto a USB stick. You can then import the sets into any FR-7x accordion. This comes in handy in case you can’t take your FR-7x with you.
• Recording — Plug a USB stick into the port, press record from the USB menu, and create a high-quality recording of your own playing instantly.
• Practice to your songs — Jam along to your favorite music by plugging in your USB stick with MP3 files. This is a simple way of storing and playing backing tracks for gigs or to practice.

Reason Two: Drums

The FR-7x comes equipped with a fully programmed drum set as well as the option to customize drum sounds and attach them to the left hand. This function is not a backing track nor is it a drum machine. YOU, the player, control the drums by hitting either a bass button or a bass chord button.

• The FR-7x contains 128 drum sounds!
• Set 36 out-of-the-box comes pre-programmed with various styles of music and a matching drum sound to accompany.
• Within the bass edit menu, you can easily assign individual drum sounds to both the bass buttons and the bass chord buttons. This allows for complete customization.

Reason One: The FR-7x Sounds

I saved the best and most obvious reason for gigging with the FR-7x for last – the sounds! There are 80 accordion sets, all offering different types of acoustic accordion sounds, and there are 49 orchestral sounds that allow you to sound like numerous other instruments. Together, they add up to hundreds of sounds. You can blend accordion with orchestral sounds easily, creating fun combinations. This instrument truly is a band-in-a-box, or should I say squeeze box.

There you have it – my top five reasons for gigging with the FR-7x V-Accordion. Enjoy creating your own band-in-a-box combination!

Did I miss anything? Please share your thoughts with me below. I leave you with this short video explaining how to combine two instruments on the FR-7x.

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