Roland FR-5b User Manual
Page 83
Working with a sequencer and other tone generators
V-Accordion
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The FR-7b/FR-5b’s sections use the following MIDI
channels:
As you see, there are separate channels for the chord
and bass buttons, even though they both belong to the
Bass section. That separation may look distracting at
first, but it actually makes sense. It allows you to use
the bass buttons for controlling an external bass sound,
while the chord buttons could control a piano sound,
for example. If they used the same MIDI channel, the
bass line would have to be played by a piano, or the
chords would be played by a bass sound (unless you
own a MIDI instrument that allows you to program
note ranges for incoming MIDI messages).
Working with a sequencer and other tone
generators
The FR-7b/FR-5b can be used as “input device” for
recording your music. In the case of a keyboard instru-
ment, such a device is usually called a “master key-
board”. For other kinds of MIDI input sources, the term
“controller” is used. There are actually two kinds of
master keyboards: those that only transmit MIDI data
and contain no tone generator, and those that can also
be used for playing back music (synthesizers, digital
pianos, organs, etc.).
Sequencers do not record the audio of the notes you
play. They only register “events” whose position and
distance specify when the notes are to be played. The
sequencer as such usually cannot sound what you
record – you need an instrument with a tone generator
for that. A sequencer must therefore be connected to
an electronic sound source, like your FR-7b/FR-5b, for
example.
The FR-7b/FR-5b can be used for two things: to “input”
new parts (i.e. MIDI events) and to play them back.
When you play on the FR-7b/FR-5b’s keyboards, it
sends MIDI data to the FBC-7’s MIDI OUT socket. That
socket must be connected to the sequencer’s MIDI IN
port. MIDI data always go from OUT to IN:
If the FR-7b/FR-5b is used as tone generator for an
external sequencer, you must connect the sequencer’s
MIDI OUT socket to the FBC-7’s MIDI IN port (because
MIDI data always go from OUT to IN).
Though you can also play the FR-7b/FR-5b from
another MIDI instrument, we do not really recommend
doing so, because your V-Accordion has far more versa-
tile performance functions than any other MIDI con-
troller available today: the FR-7b/FR-5b translates all
known accordion techniques and physical effects into
MIDI messages to precisely reproduce the natural
behavior of an acoustic accordion. Conversely, it might
be interesting to try out the FR-7b/FR-5b with a Roland
Fantom-XR module (or a DisCover 5M), because the
FR-7b/FR-5b’s countless expressive “gizmos” are bound
to further enhance the stunning realism of the mod-
ule’s sounds.
If you use the FR-7b/FR-5b as a MIDI controller while
recording a sequence, all actions you perform on the
FR-7b/FR-5b (including the bellows pressure strength)
are included in the recorded part. They can therefore be
sent back to the FR-7b/FR-5b (by the sequencer) – and
then, all expression details are preserved. Be aware,
however, that you also need a versatile sound source
(like the FR-7b/FR-5b’s) to use the recorded MIDI events
to their full potential.
A “sequencer” can also be a software program running
on a computer. Most computers do not have MIDI sock-
ets to which you can connect the FBC-7’s MIDI IN and
OUT sockets. You therefore also need one of the follow-
ing:
• A sound card with a joystick port to which you can
connect MIDI cables;
• A card called a “MIDI interface” that is installed in
your computer;
• An external device to which you connect the MIDI
cables coming from the FBC-7 at one end and whose
other end is connected to the computer’s USB port
(companies like Edirol, www.edirol.com, offer several
models with a varying number of inputs and out-
puts).
Part
Channel
Treble
1
Bass/Free Bass
2
Chord
3
Orchestra (Treble)
4
Orchestra Bass
5
Orchestra Chord
6
Orchestra Free Bass
7
Basic channel (for selecting Sets and
sending program changes)
13
MIDI OUT
MIDI IN
MIDI OUT
External sequencer
FR-7b/FR-5b’s tone
generator
(FBC-7)