Roland FR-7/FR-5 User Manual

Page 67

Working with a sequencer and other tone generators

V-Accordion

The FR-7/FR-5’s sections use the following MIDI chan-
nels:

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-7/FR-5 can be used as “input device” for record-
ing your music. In the case of a keyboard instrument,
such a device is usually called a “master keyboard”. For
other kinds of MIDI input sources, the term “controller”
is used. There are actually two kinds of master key-
boards: 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-7/FR-5, for
example.

The FR-7/FR-5 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-7/FR-5’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-7/FR-5 is used as tone generator for an exter-
nal 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-7/FR-5 from another
MIDI instrument, we do not really recommend doing so,
because your V-Accordion has far more versatile per-
formance functions than any other MIDI controller
available today: the FR-7/FR-5 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 interest-
ing to try out the FR-7/FR-5 with a Roland Fantom-XR
module (or a DisCover 5M), because the FR-7/FR-5’s
countless expressive “gizmos” are bound to further
enhance the stunning realism of the module’s sounds.

If you use the FR-7/FR-5 as a MIDI controller while
recording a sequence, all actions you perform on the
FR-7/FR-5 (including the bellows pressure strength) are
included in the recorded part. They can therefore be
sent back to the FR-7/FR-5 (by the sequencer) – and
then, all expression details are preserved. Be aware,
however, that you also need a versatile sound source
(like the FR-7/FR-5’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).

You also need a software program that allows you to
record and play back your music. Such programs are
available from companies like Cakewalk. Please ask your

Part

Channel

Treble

Bass/Free Bass

Chord

Orchestra (Treble)

Orchestra Bass

Basic channel (for selecting Sets)

MIDI OUT

MIDI IN

MIDI OUT

External sequencer

FR-7/FR-5’s tone

generator

(FBC-7)