Roland FR-2B, FR-2 User Manual [de]

V-Accordion

Addendum

r®

Kindly take note of the following

The following functions have been added or changed as a result of a system software update for both FR-2 models (FR-2 and FR-2b).

ENGLISH ENGLISH

Bass-to-Treble mode

The FR-2 also provides a mode in which it can be used like a bassoon accordion. In this mode, the bass part is played with the right hand. The bass and chord buttons are inactive (a real bassoon accordion doesn’t have bass/chord buttons and can only be played with one hand).

(1) Press

(2) Use the Treble registers F to select the desired bass-to-

[SET] E

+ register

mode.

treble sound.

These sounds are not the same as the ones you can usually select with the bass registers. (The bass registers cannot be used in this mode.)

There are five accordion sounds and six orchestral sounds. The numbers in the table below refer to the Treble registers you need to press.

Accordion sounds 1Classic 6a Acoustic 2 Jazz 6b Fretless 3I-Folk 7a Fingered 4 D-Folk 7b Picked 5 Bandoneon 8a Tuba Mix

[5]

to activate Bass-to-Treble

Bass-to-Treble sounds

Orchestral sounds

8b Bowed

•The accordion volume (registers “Treble/Bass & Chord Balance” parameter; the orchestral bass volume (registers Bass Level” parameter.

•The FR-2 transmits and receives on MIDI channel “2” (Bass & Free Bass channel).

•The following functions are

Set selection Playing drum sounds with the bass and chord buttons Orchestral Bass part Orchestral Chord part Bass registers (the bass & chord parts are not available) Octave UP & DOWN

[6]~[8]

[1]~[5]

) can be set with the

) is set with the “Orchestra

not

available:

Free Bass mode & sounds

The FR-2 also provides a Free Bass mode. A free-bass system on an accordion allows performers to play melodies and their own chords with their left hand. In this “free” mode, each left-hand button therefore only triggers one note. The available range covers three octaves or even more.

Using the Free Bass section

(1) Press (2) Use the bass registers to select the desired Free Bass

[SET] E

sound.

Free Bass registers

+ register

[4]

to activate Free Bass mode.

ENGLISH ENGLISH

Each register sounds. Press it once to select the “a” sound, and again to select the “b” sound. Pressing it a third time will select the “a” sound again.

(3) Start playing the bass part with your right hand.

New FUNCTION parameters

As a result of the FR-2’s expanded functionality, two additional buttons (28, 29, 30 32, 33, FR-2b) or keys (Bb1, C#3, Eb3, F#3, Eb4, FR-2) can now be used to select functions:

FR-2b FR-2

Note:

See page 6 for an overview of functions you can set on the

FR-2.

The basic procedure is still the same:

(1) Press and hold the

[SET] E

ing.

(2) Press the indicated key or Treble button.

(Key names with a “#” or “b” symbol refer to black keys.) The

[SET]

board can once again be used to play notes.

(3) Use registers

[1]~[8] F

to select one of the suggested

values.

Alternatively, use the

[DEC]

desired value. Sometimes, there are more options than can be selected with the 8 registers.

(4) Press the

[SET]

TION mode.

Here are the new functions:

Function FR-2b/FR-2 Memorized Treble Valve Noise [C#3]/[28]

Off, –40~0~+40

You will probably agree that electronic sounds must not only reproduce the basic timbre of an existing sound, but also the original instrument’s behavior and typical “noises” in order to be perceived as authentic. In the case of a guitar that would be the sliding noise of the fingers. An accor-

G#1

Bb1

C#2

Eb2

F#2

G#2

Bb2

C#3

Eb3

F#3

G#3

Bb3

C#4

Eb4

[INC]

button to select the

Default setting: 0

V-Accordion

Addendum

dion, on the other hand, produces mechanical valve noises that cannot be suppressed on an acoustic instrument. Use this parameter to specify how prominent the noise produced by the simulated Treble valves should be. The settings you can select with the registers are:

1 –40 5 +13 2 –27 6 +27 3 –13 7 +40 4• 0

Function FR-2b/FR-2 Memorized Bass Button Noise [Eb3]/[29]

Off, –40~0~+40

Default setting: 0

The bass section of almost all accordion instruments can be played via buttons. Such buttons produce a typical noise when pressed. Use this parameter to specify how prominent that button noise should be. The settings you can select with the registers are:

1 –40 5 +13 2 –27 6 +27 3 –13 7 +40 4• 0

Function FR-2b/FR-2 Memorized MIDI TX Channels [Eb4]/[30]

Roland, Other

Default setting: Roland

This parameter allows you to specify which channels the FR-2’s sections should use to transmit MIDI messages. By default, all Roland V-Accordion instruments use MIDI channel “1” for the Treble section, MIDI channel “2” for the bass buttons and MIDI channel “3” for the chord buttons. Certain accordions with MIDI functionality use MIDI channel “3” for the bass part (and channel “2” for the Chord buttons). Selecting “Other” may therefore be more convenient to use your existing sound module without changing its receive channel settings. There are only two options here that can be selected with the following registers:

1• Roland Treble= 1, Bass= 2, Chord= 3 2 Other Treble= 1, Bass= 3, Chord= 2

Function FR-2b/FR-2 Memorized Orchestra Free Bass Level [Bb1]/[32]

–40~Std~40

Default setting: Std

This parameter allows you to set the level of the ORCHESTRA FREE BASS sound for a better balance with the other available sections.

The settings you can select with the registers are:

1 –40 5 +13 2 –27 6 +27 3 –13 7 +40 4• 0

Function FR-2b/FR-2 Memorized Free Bass Mode [F#3]/[33]

[1] Minor 3rd, [2] Bajan, [3] Fifth, [4] N. Europe, [5] Finnish

Default setting: [1]

This parameter allows you to choose the note system used in Free Bass mode. In the owner’s manual, we already mentioned that there are a vast number of accordion varieties. The same is true of Free Bass systems. Your FR-2 contains the most popular ones.

1• Minor 3rd 4 N. Europe 2 Bajan 5 Finnish 3Fifth

Be aware that the system you select here is only used when you activate the FR-2’s Free Bass mode. It is of no consequence for the “regular” Bass mode. See the illustration on page 5 for the note assignments.

Note:

This parameter is not reset when you load the factory defaults

(see the owner’s manual).

Note:

The FR-2 is supplied with several reference caps designed to help you locate the bass buttons without looking at them. See also the owner’s manual.

(The following function has changed.)

Function FR-2b/FR-2 Memorized Bellows Expression TX [B3]/[23]

Off, On, Arranger

Default setting: Arranger

The strength/speed with which the bellows is pressed or pulled influences the sound – which corresponds to an acoustic accordion’s response. This effect can be translated into a MIDI message most external instruments understand.

1Off 2On 3• Arranger

If you want to use the bellows for expressive purposes, switch this parameter on (register

[2]

). If you don’t (because the external instrument is too sensitive and therefore changes its volume too often), switch it off (register

The default setting (register

[3]

) has almost the same effect

[1]

as “on”, except that bellows expression messages are only transmitted on MIDI channels 1 and 4. This is the recommended setting when you use the FR-2 to control an arranger module.

ENGLISH ENGLISH

FR-2/FR-2b V-Accordion

Addendum

Archiving your settings via MIDI (Dump TX)

MIDI can also be used for transmitting parameter settings from the FR-2/FR-2b to an external MIDI device and back.

■Archiving your settings with a sequencer

The “Dump TX” parameter allows you to transmit the contents of the global area (which contains the FUNCTION settings), and the User Programs to a second FR-2b or FR-2, an external sequencer, computer or data filer. Sending these data to other instruments (a digital piano, synthesizer, etc.) does nothing at all. That’s because the setting data are special MIDI messages only one model (or model family) understands. They are called “system exclusive messages” – or “SysEx” for short. By transmitting them to a second FR-2, however, you can “copy” the settings of your V-Accordion to that of a friend, colleague or student.

A sequencer or data filer does not know what the messages mean and so does not use them in any way. It merely records them. Afterwards, you only need to start playback on your sequencer or data filer to transmit the settings back to the FR-2.

(1) Connect the FR-2’s MIDI OUT/IN socket to the

sequencer’s/computer’s MIDI IN socket.

Note: Your computer needs to be equipped with (or connected to) an appropriate MIDI interface.

(2) Set the “MIDI Out/In” parameter (page 27 in the owner’s

manual) to “Out”.

(3) If you are working with a computer, launch the

sequencer program. (4) Create or select an empty song. (5) Create (or select) an empty track.

The track’s MIDI channel is of no importance here. You

need to ensure, however, that the sequencer/program

accepts SysEx data. If necessary, switch off the MIDI filter

in question (see the manual of your sequencer or soft-

ware).

(6) Activate the record-ready mode of the track you

selected/created.

Note: Do not change the tempo on your sequencer/in the software.

By default, most sequencers/programs use the tempo value q= 120.

Leave it that way (or else do whatever is necessary to ensure that the

new tempo value is stored along with the data).

(7) Press and hold the [SET] E register until it starts flash-

ing. (8) Press the Bb3 key or button “31”.

See p. 2 for the location.

The [SET] E register now flashes

rapidly, and register [1] also flashes.

(9) Start recording on your sequencer/

computer.

Wait until the count-in (one or two

measures) is finished, then…

(10) Press register [1] on the FR-2 to

start the transmission of the bulk

data.

Note: Press the [SET] register if you do not want to transmit your set-

tings after all.

(11) Wait until register [1] stops flashing and the [SET] regis-

ter’s flashing pattern returns to normal speed, then stop recording on your sequencer.

(12) Name the “song” (it may only contain data so far) and

save it to hard or floppy disk.

See below for how to transmit the settings back to the FR-2 at a later stage.

(13) Press the [SET] register twice to leave the FR-2’s FUNC-

TION mode.

■Sending Bulk data (back) to the FR-2

The FR-2 not only sends SysEx data to external devices (see above), it also receives them.

(1) Connect the FR-2’s MIDI socket to the sequencer’s/com-

puter’s MIDI OUT socket.

Note: Your computer needs to be equipped with (or connected to) an appropriate MIDI interface.

(2) Set the “MIDI Out/In” parameter (page 27 in the owner’s

manual) to “In”.

(3) If you are working with a computer, launch the

sequencer program.

(4) Load the song that contains the data you want to trans-

mit.

(5) On your sequencer, perform all necessary actions to

ensure that it transmits SysEx data.

See its manual for details.

Note: Be aware that by proceeding, you replace all internal settings.

(6) Start playback of the data file or song on your

sequencer, etc.

(7) Wait until the FR-2 returns to normal functioning.

Note: Wait until the sequencer’s or computer’s data transmission is completed before stopping playback on your sequencer. Failure to do so will render your FR-2 inoperable. If that happens, you need to initialize it (see the owner’s manual).

(8) Stop playback of your sequencer.

Note: At the end of bulk data reception the “MIDI Out/In” parameter is automatically set to “Out” so that you can normally play the FR-2.

About the internal songs

To our regret, the FR-2’s owner’s manual states that there are 16 internal songs. There are, in fact, 8 internal songs. Please correct this item accordingly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Free Bass Mode

Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2

F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2

Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2

F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2

V-Accordion

Addendum

ENGLISH ENGLISH

N. Europe

Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2

F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2

Finnish

Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2

F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2 Bb2 F2 C3 G2 D3 A2 E2 B2 F#2 C#3 Ab2 Eb2

Ab6 F6 D6 B5 Ab5 F5 D5 B4 Ab4 F4 D4 B3 Ab3 F3 D3 B2

G6 E6 C#6 Bb5 G5 E5 C#5 Bb4 G4 E4 C#4 Bb3 G3 E3 C#3 Bb2

F#6 Eb6 C6 A5 F#5 Eb5 C5 A4 F#4 Eb4 C4 A3 F#3 Eb3 C3 A2

F6 D6 B5 Ab5 F5 D5 B4 Ab4 F4 D4 B3 Ab3 F3 D3 B2 Ab2

(C3= note number 48)

Note: The note names on the bass buttons correspond to the MIDI note numbers. The note range of the Bass part is 1 octave. Note: The actual sound range depends on the type of reed and footage.

ENGLISH ENGLISH

FR-2/FR-2b V-Accordion

Addendum

Parameter overview

Function Button (FR-2b) Key (FR-2) Setting range Default Memorized

G#1

Bb1

C#2

Eb2

F#2

G#2

Bb2

C#3

Eb3

F#3

G#3

Bb3

C#4

Eb4

Note: The default settings of the following parameters have changed: “Bellows Expression TX” (Off), “Program Change TX” (Off), “Chord Octave TX” (1), “Bass Octave TX” (–1), “Orchestra Chord Octave TX” (1).

Master Tune 1 G1 415~440~460Hz 440 OK Musette Detune 2 G#1

Dry, Classic, F-Folk, American L,

American H, Nord Eur,

Depends on the

selected Set.

German L, D-Folk L, Italian L,

German H, Alpine, Italian H,

D-Folk H, French, Scottish

Transpose 3 A1 –6~0~5 0 POWER Orchestra Free Bass Level 32 Bb1 –40~0~40 0 OK Treble/Bass & Chord Balance 4 B1 b1~b63, 0, t1~t63 0 POWER Orchestra Level 5 C2 –40~0~40 0 OK PAD Sound Level 6 C#2 –40~0~40 0 OK Orchestra Bass Level 7 D2 –40~0~40 0 OK Orchestra Chord Level 8 Eb2 –40~0~40 0 OK Metronome Tempo 9 E2 20~250 96 OK Metronome Time Signature 10 F2

1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4,

4/4 OK

6/8, 9/8

Metronome Level 11 F#2 Off, Low, Medium, High Medium OK Reverb Level 12 G2 0~127 48 OK Reverb Type 13 G#2

Room 1, Room 2, Room 3, Hall

Plate OK

1, Hall 2, Plate, Delay,

Panning Dly

Chorus Level 14 A2 0~127 16 OK Chorus Type 15 Bb2

Chorus 1, Chorus 2, Chorus 3,

Short Delay OK

Chorus 4, FBackChr, Flanger,

Short Delay, Short Dly FB

Bellows Curve 16 B2

Fixed Low, Fixed Med, Fixed

Standard OK

High, X-Light, Light, Standard,

Heavy, X-Heavy

Treble Octave Tx 17 C3 –3~0~3 0 OK Treble Valve Noise 28 C#3Off, –40~0~40 0 OK Orchestra Octave TX 18 D3 –3~0~3 0 OK Bass Button Noise 29 Eb3Off, –40~0~40 0 OK Bass Octave TX 19 E3 –3~0~3 –1 OK Chord Octave TX 20 F3 –3~0~3 1 OK Free Bass Mode 33 F#3

Minor 3rd, Bajan,Fifth,

Minor 3rd

N.Europe, Finnish

Orchestra Bass Octave TX 21 G3 –3~0~3 0 OK Orchestra Chord Octave TX 22 A3 –3~0~3 1 OK Dump TX 31 Bb3

— Bellows Expression TX 23 B3 Off, On, Arranger Arranger OK MIDI Out/In 24 C4 Out, In Out POWER Button brightness 25 C#4 Day, Night Day POWER Program Change TX 26 D4 Off, On Off OK MIDI TX channel 30 Eb4 Roland, Other Roland OK Arranger Control 27 E4 Off, On On OK “POWER”: Reset when you switch off the FR-2.

“OK”: Can be saved in the Global area (common to all Sets).

+ 12 hidden pages

Roland FR-2B, FR-2 User Manual [de]

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Kindly take note of the following

Bass-to-Treble mode

Free Bass mode & sounds

New FUNCTION parameters

About the internal songs