July 2013 - Roland U.S. Blog

Monthly Archives: July 2013

Give Your Singing Tone Control with the VE-5

Tips & Tricks , , 0 Comments

Your Sound Independent of the Mix Engineer

For singers, the question is: how do I get my sound the way I want it and under my own control? In almost every vocal situation, someone other than the singer is controlling the effects, the reverbs, and the levels. Everyone else in the band gets to create their own tone: guitar and bass with amps and pedals, keyboards have pretty much everything built in and even drummers use their own gear: cymbals they selected, drums tuned the way they want, etc. But the singer? No-until now. BOSS has made a very trick device called a VE-5 Vocal Performer that finally gives singers total control over their own sound. More

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

Tips & Tricks , , , , 2 Comments

What Alicia Baker Loves About Her FR-7x

Alicia Baker with the FR-7X V-Accordion

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. More

How to Enter 2013 Roland U.S. V-Accordion Festival

Contests , , 0 Comments

Calling All Accordionists!

The Roland U.S. V-Accordion Festival is now accepting entries! All accordion players are encouraged to enter the festival for a chance at winning an incredible prize package. The V-Accordion Festival is easier than ever to enter and provides a great opportunity to compete at a high level. The winner of the Roland U.S. V-Accordion Festival will receive an awesome prize package containing: a brand new Roland FR-8X accordion, and a paid trip to Italy where they will compete, representing the U.S. in the Roland International V-Accordion Festival 2013. More

Roland V-Drums Artist Keith Harris

Artists , , , , 0 Comments

Music Director: Black Eyed Peas and Fergie

Black Eyed Pease Drummer Keith Harris marquee image

Keith Harris is a producer and musician and the driving force behind many top-10 singles and Grammy Award-winning hits. Although highly acclaimed for drumming chops that define the sound of multi-platinum selling recording artists The Black Eyed Peas and Fergie, Keith Harris is also an accomplished composer and powerhouse musical director. More

Javier Colon Records Album with SONAR X2

Artists , , , , , 0 Comments

Two Years After Winning NBC’s The Voice

Javier Colon with SONAR X2

Javier Colon

Author: Jimmy Landry for Cakewalk (see original article)

It’s been quite a ride in the last two years for Javier Colon after being crowned the winner of NBC’s hit TV show The Voice.  Some highlights include releasing the record Come Through for You on the Universal/Republic label, gaining millions of new fans, and touring around the world sharing the stage with artists like Maroon 5, Colbie Caillat, and Gavin DeGraw, to name a few.  It’s rare for an artist like Javier to experience so many facets of the music industry.  He has been signed to two major labels, successfully published his own music independently, and claimed the top spot on one of the biggest television shows of our time.  But what sets him apart from other artists (besides the obvious) in today’s never -ending plethora of supposable talent?  I recently got a chance to catch up with Javier in his new SONAR X2 home studio in Connecticut to find out what he’s been up to and where he’s going. More

Product Support for Your Roland Gear

Tips & Tricks , , , , , , , 21 Comments

Four Ways to Get Answers from Our Gear Pros

Product Support

“We have the gear to answer your questions.” -Product Support

It happens to all of us…it’s past 10:00 p.m. on a Saturday, and you are stumped as to how to work a particular feature on your Roland product. Normally, you’d have to wait to call product support until Monday. Obviously, this is not very helpful if the band is waiting for you to get things together for the night’s gig! More

Record Pools for Samplers and Loopers

Industry , , , , , 4 Comments

Build a Sample Library with the Latest Tunes

Record Pool for Samples & LoopsRecord Pools for Samplers & Loopers

Chop, loop and mangle your samples with the RC-505 and SP-404SX

If you depend on samples for live performance and remixing, you would probably agree that searching for music is time consuming. In addition to the search itself, you then have to take into consideration the sound quality and the portion of the song that you wish to sample. Do you only need the a cappella without the beat? Perhaps it’s the other way around, and you need the beat without the singing. Or, maybe your set calls for a loop from the original composition. Whatever the scenario, you should consider using a digital record pool to build your sample library. More

Extreme Drums with Ministry’s Aaron Rossi

Artists , , , 1 Comment

Rising to the Top of the Drumming Game

Ministry's Drummer Aaron Rossi

Ministry Drummer Aaron Rossi

Aaron Rossi, originally from Rhode Island, moved to Southern California when he was seven, started playing saxophone at 10, picked up the drums at 15, and started playing drums professionally at 20, touring Europe and the U.S. extensively. Ten years later, Aaron is still living the rock-and-roll dream, still touring and playing, and is currently performing with one of the world’s heaviest industrial metal bands, Ministry. More