More of Roland's Latest 2013 Releases

 If you have been considering buying a Roland product, think no more!  Roland is extremely dedicated to their customers and this is a classic example.  With the amplitude of new 2013 products they released for NAMM, they haven't stopped and are continnuing to launch exciting new products:

FP-80 Digital Piano (Available in Black and White, Option With Stand)

Stylish and portable, the FP-80 Digital Piano brings a rich and rewarding musical experience to every piano lover. The acclaimed SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine and Ivory Feel-S Keyboard deliver authentic tone and touch, while an onboard multi-channel speaker system equipped with Roland’s Acoustic Projection technology envelops you with beautiful, immersive sound. The advanced rhythm feature further expands the joy of playing the piano, providing dynamic, sophisticated accompaniments that automatically follow your performances in real time. Available in attractive black or white finishes, the versatile FP-80 is perfect for a wide range of applications, including stage performing, the classroom, daily practice, and entertainment at home.

• Roland’s SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine onboard
• Ivory Feel-S Keyboard with Escapement
• Integrated four-speaker sound system with Acoustic Projection technology
• Intelligent rhythm feature with full-keyboard chord recognition
• Chord Pattern function provides self-playing chord sequences for practice and improvisation
• 90 rhythm types, with two variations for each style
• Mic input and harmony effect
• Available in black (FP-80-BK) and white (FP-80-WH) finishes
• Compatible with DP-10 Damper Pedal (included) or RPU-3 Triple Pedal (optional)
• Optional matching stands: KSC-76 (for home use) and KS-12 (for stage use)

Roland’s Premier Technologies for an Authentic Piano Experience at Home

The stylish and sophisticated FP-80 is the ideal choice for piano enjoyment in modern living spaces, offering tone, touch, and expressiveness to satisfy even the most demanding players. Roland’s acclaimed SuperNATURAL Piano technology powers the onboard grand piano sounds, delivering world-class performance with seamless velocity response, natural tone decay, and authentic key-range behavior. The Ivory Feel-S Keyboard with Escapement provides true grand piano feel and expressiveness, with keys that replicate the unique appearance, texture, and moisture-absorbing properties of real ivory. Incorporating four discrete speakers, the innovative Acoustic Projection sound system recreates the natural, organic sound field of an acoustic grand, filling your home with rich, beautiful tones. You’ll also love the intuitive Piano Designer feature, which makes it easy to personalize the FP-80’s tone and response to suit your taste.

Pro-Level Sounds and Rhythm Features Bring Versatility for Live Playing

If you play on stage as a solo performer or with a band, the mobile FP-80 is a ready companion, providing authentic piano expression everywhere you go. In addition to acoustic pianos, it’s filled with a large selection of premium sounds for the stage, including SuperNATURAL-based classic EPs, essential organ tones, strings, modern synths, and more. The Acoustic Projection sound system is useful for personal monitoring on large stages, and is suitable for primary amplification in intimate venues. When you play solo, the rhythm function makes your piano performances shine with beautiful and sophisticated backing. Intelligent full-keyboard chord recognition gives you complete control of your personal band, with automatic accompaniment that dutifully follows whatever you play. The convenient rear-panel jack lets you connect an external mic and sing along with your performance, and you can even add real-time harmony effects to your voice based on the chords you play.

Unique Digital Advantages Enhance Music Practice and Composition

The FP-80’s digital technology offers many great benefits that enhance your piano practice sessions. You can turn off the built-in speakers and play privately using headphones, allowing you to practice day or night without disturbing family members or neighbors. The Rhythm accompaniments help you develop your sense of timing and groove as you play along with various music styles, and the Chord Pattern function lets you play along with automatic chord sequences for practicing improvisation in different keys. Via optional USB memory, you can play along with WAV audio files using various playback options such as key transposition, tempo adjustment, and Center Cancel, and record your performances as audio data for composing or self-evaluation. SMF songs can be played from USB memory as well.

Harmony Effect and Air Recorder for More Musical Fun

The FP-80 offers a variety of ways to extend and enhance your piano enjoyment. While entertaining at home, connect a mic and encourage friends and family to sing along, and add in the harmony effect for automatic vocal harmonies that are sure to impress. Plug in a USB memory stick to record the piano and vocal performances as audio data, and then transfer the audio to a computer to share memories of the occasion with everyone involved. Using the optional Roland WNA1100-RL Wireless USB Adapter, the FP-80 can also communicate with Apple’s popular iOS devices via Roland Wireless Connect. With the free Air Recorder app, you can play along with your favorite songs stored in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and record your performance into the app at the same time.

Roland BK-9 Backing Keyboard

 

The BK-9 Backing Keyboard is the new flagship instrument in the acclaimed BK series, bringing together sensational sounds, top-class rhythms, and an incredible selection of premium features. You have a world of music under fingertip control, with a massive sound selection—including Roland’s renowned SuperNATURAL sounds—and a huge range of completely remastered rhythm accompaniments in nearly every musical genre, from classic to modern. An innovative dual LCD system and intuitive panel layout make it easy to direct your virtual band, while powerful effects and assignable real-time controls let you select and shape sounds with ease. With numerous additional highlights such as USB song playback/recording, an onboard 16-track sequencer, Rhythm Composer, and much more, the BK-9 is a powerhouse music machine for professional performing, song composition, and casual enjoyment at home.

• Flagship 76-note instrument with top-level sounds, industry-leading auto-accompaniment features, and a lightweight, mobile design
• Over 1,700 sounds and 70 drum kits, including 22 SuperNATURAL sounds and 500 all-new tones
• Legendary Virtual Tone Wheel organs, with dedicated harmonic bars for authentic vintage organ performance
• 540 rhythms (including 25 new rhythms), remastered for exceptional audio quality; over 1000 Music Assistants onboard
• Five independent multi-effects engines (MFX), plus dedicated mastering effects
• All-new user interface with intuitive panel layout, powerful dual LCD system, and Mixer function
• Professional 16-track sequencer and built-in Rhythm Composer; Chord Loop and Audio Key functions
• Song playback/recording, unlimited Performance List storage, and more from convenient USB memory
• XLR mic input with dedicated reverb effect; composite video output for displaying lyrics and photos
• Compatible with Apple iOS devices via Roland Wireless Connect; supports USB connection to iPad with Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit
• Free iOS apps include BK Partner, Lyrics Viewer, Air Recorder, and more

Highly Mobile Pro Instrument, Built for Live Performance

Equipped with a pro-quality 76-note keyboard and weighing less than 21 pounds (9.4 kg), the BK-9 is surprisingly light, making it easy to carry anywhere you want to play. Its user interface has been designed for maximum efficiency and ease of use while performing, with an innovative dual LCD system, logical panel layout, and many dedicated and user-assignable controls. 10 Favorite tones can be stored for each real-time part, an extremely convenient feature for live playing. 1000 onboard Music Assistants provide instant setups for every musical genre, and you can save an unlimited number of custom setups as Performance Lists to USB memory.

Massive Sound Selection

A flagship instrument deserves a flagship sound set, and the BK-9 delivers with over 1,700 fantastic sounds and 70 drum kits. 22 sounds feature Roland’s renowned SuperNATURAL technology, providing ultra-realistic acoustic instrument tones with an incredible range of natural expression. Also included are 500 all-new tones, specially selected for the BK-9 from the expansive Roland libraries. The Virtual Tone Wheel sound engine puts legendary organ tones at your fingers, with front-panel harmonic bars and a rotary effect for authentic organ performance. The BK-9 is also equipped for future expansion, with a User Tone area dedicated for upcoming BK-series sound collections.

Remastered Rhythms

Filled with full-ensemble accompaniments in almost every musical genre imaginable, the BK-9 lets you lead the world’s most versatile backing band as you play. 540 built-in rhythms include 25 new selections, and all the rhythms have been remastered with the BK-9’s superior sounds and powerful new effects processing for impressive audio quality straight from the recording studio. Via USB memory, unlimited additional rhythms can be added, and MP3, WAV, and SMF files can be played as well.

Multi-Effects and Onboard Mixing

Five independent multi-effects engines (MFX) offer an enormous range of sound processing possibilities, with three MFX dedicated to rhythms and two MFX dedicated to real-time parts. Global reverb and chorus effects are available as well, along with two mastering processors that allow you to optimize the sound of the rhythm and real-time sections separately to suit performance venues and add final polish for recordings. A great new feature for live playing is the Mixer function, which gives you instant adjustment of rhythm and real-time part levels, MFX parameters, and more using the harmonic bars on the front panel.

Powerful Tools for Creativity

A built-in 16-track sequencer provides a professional platform for composing and editing SMF data, while the Rhythm Composer lets you create and customize your own rhythms with ease. The convenient Chord Loop feature allows you to record and save chord sequences to drive the rhythms, great for generating on-the-fly backing patterns for two-handed solo/melody playing or preparing complete song arrangements for live performance, practice, or composition in the sequencer. With the Audio Key function, audio files stored on USB memory can be assigned to the top seven keyboard keys for quick-access playback while performing. Additionally, BK-9 performances can be easily recorded directly to USB memory as CD-ready WAV audio.

Extras for Entertaining

If you sing or work with a vocalist, you’ll appreciate the BK-9’s convenient XLR microphone input, which features phantom power, a dedicated reverb effect, and easily accessible front-panel controls. A composite Video Out jack is also provided, allowing you to display embedded MP3/SMF lyrics and chord symbols on an external video monitor for performance assistance or sing-along entertaining. Photo slideshows can be displayed as well, letting your audience enjoy custom images while listening to your music.

Roland Wireless Connect and Free iOS Apps

The BK-9 is compatible with Roland Wireless Connect, which provides cable-free communication with Apple’s iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch via Roland’s optional WNA1100-RL Wireless USB Adapter. An iPad can also be connected directly to the BK-9 with a USB cable using Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit. Many free iOS apps are available to enhance your BK-9 experience, including Air Recorder for jamming and capturing performances (iPhone/iPad), BK Partner for selecting tones and rhythms (iPad), Lyrics Viewer for displaying SMF lyrics (iPad), and a number of others.

 BOSS RC-505 Loop Station

Beatboxers, singers, and club performers, your Loop Station has arrived—introducing the RC-505, a unique and powerful live performance tool that’s perfect for next-generation loop artists. In a compact tabletop device, you have easy fingertip control of five stereo phrase tracks and various loop playback behaviors, plus INPUT FX and TRACK FX that deliver a wide range of real-time processing options for dynamic, expressive sound creation. Just plug in a mic, instrument, or other audio source, and then ride the intuitive panel controls to build and mix some amazing loops! The RC-505 also supports computer integration via USB and operation with external pedals and MIDI, opening a world of advanced looping possibilities for all types of musicians.

• Tabletop Loop Station that can be operated with the hands, perfect for beatboxers, vocalists, and club performers
• Five simultaneous stereo phrase tracks, with dedicated controls and independent volume faders
• Wide range of Input FX and Track FX for processing loops, including DJ and sampler-style effects
• Independent play mode and tempo sync settings enable a flexible combination of track behaviors and advanced performance options
• 99 phrase memories, each containing five phrase tracks, custom effects/playback settings, and more
• 85 onboard rhythm patterns, including odd-measure beats
• External control via MIDI and optional footswitches or expression pedal
• USB for phrase import/export with computers; USB audio/MIDI functionality for integration with DAW software
• XLR mic input with phantom power, mono/stereo instrument inputs, and stereo AUX input

Five Stereo Tracks with Dedicated Controls

The RC-505 features five stereo phrase tracks that can play simultaneously, the most yet in a BOSS Loop Station. Independent record/overdub/play and stop buttons for each track let you capture and control loop performances with your fingertips, and dedicated volume faders allow you to mix loop levels on the fly. Each track can have its own playback mode (multi, single, one-shot, reverse, etc.) and tempo sync settings, providing an unlimited range of creative looping behaviors.

Powerful FX Onboard

With the large selection of built-in effects, it’s easy to enhance your sounds as you perform. INPUT FX such as ROBOT and VOCODER create unique, dramatic sound textures for recording loops, while TRACK FX like VINYL FLICK and BEAT REPEAT provide dynamic DJ and sampler effects for real-time processing of phrase playback. Six dedicated buttons—three each for INPUT FX and TRACK FX—can be loaded with your favorite effects, giving you one-touch on/off access while looping. In addition, effects parameters (filter cutoff, effect depth, etc.) can be tweaked in real time with the INPUT FX and TRACK FX knobs. Global compressor and reverb effects are also available for processing the overall sound output.

Phrase Memories and Rhythms

99 phrase memories provide onboard storage for phrase track data, various playback and effects settings, and more. A combination of frequently used settings can be saved as a User Set, which you can easily load to quickly reconfigure any phrase memory, even in the heat of performing. 85 different onboard rhythms offer backing for loop recording, with a large selection of odd-measure beats for advanced looping. The rhythm part can be routed to the rear-panel PHONES jack only, giving you a dedicated click track for monitoring purposes.

Audio Inputs and USB

The RC-505 is outfitted with a number of simultaneous inputs, allowing you to capture and mix a variety of different audio sources as you build loops. There’s an XLR microphone jack with phantom power, mono/stereo ¼-inch inputs for guitars, synths, or other instruments, and an AUX mini-jack for connecting a music player, smart phone, or other stereo device. Via USB, you can plug into your computer and import/export WAV audio phrases, great for loop archiving or loading up RC-505 phrases with backing tracks or sounds for sampler-style triggering. The RC-505 also functions as a USB audio/MIDI interface, making it simple to integrate with your favorite DAW software for audio recording, MIDI sync, and more.

Customized Looping Control

With the RC-505, you have the ability to set up customized real-time controls for the way you like to loop. You can specify up to eight different functions and operate them in a variety of ways—with front-panel controls, an external expression pedal or foot switches, and/or various MIDI Control Change messages—extending your command of looping and many other operations. The eight control assignments are stored with phrase memories, allowing you to create and recall custom setups for different songs and performing situations.

TDM-3 Drum Mat

 

Secure-Performance Mat for V-Drums Portable and V-Drums Lite

This drum mat is specially designed for the V-Drums Portable and V-Drums Lite. It helps reduce vibration and protect against floor damage.

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Roland 's Latest Releases: FR-8X V-Accordions!

With the incredible new FR-8x, Roland has perfected the synergy between traditional accordion playability and modern digital power. Developed with input from the world’s top players, the latest flagship V-Accordion is jam-packed with features and enhancements—including a completely redesigned button-type keyboard—bringing a previously unattained level of expression and versatility to every accordionist. Innovative Dynamic Bellows Behavior technology delivers the true bellows response of an acoustic accordion, while the expanded sound set, four powerful multi-effects, an onboard looper, and much more offer a treasure chest of tools for dynamic musical exploration. Seamlessly fusing top-level technology with familiar acoustic tradition, the FR-8x V-Accordion ushers in a new era of creative freedom for players everywhere.  It is available as a Piano Type and Button Type (both available in Black and Red colours).

• Flagship V-Accordion, filled with many enhancements requested by pro accordionists
• Newly developed Dynamic Bellows Behavior technology emulates the true bellows response of an acoustic accordion in every register
• Simple and convenient onboard battery charging with an AC adapter
• A large selection of accordion sounds from around the world, plus 180 orchestra and percussion sounds and world-class Virtual Tone Wheel organs
• Four powerful multi-effects engines (MFX), with dedicated MFX for Accordion, Orchestra 1, Orchestra 2, and Orchestra Chord sections
• All-new user interface, featuring a large, easy-to-read color display, intuitive panel layout, and three programmable chin switches for hands-free control of a variety of functions
• 1,400 user program memories allow players to save custom setups for every performing situation
• Onboard looper for creating instant backing accompaniment
• Recording and audio playback via convenient USB memory; USB host port for connecting to computers
• Available in red and black finishes

True Acoustic Response with Dynamic Bellows Behavior

Newly developed for the FR-8x, Dynamics Bellows Behavior technology represents a real breakthrough for digital accordionists. In an acoustic accordion, sounds are produced by reeds that vibrate with airflow generated by the movement of the bellows; the resistance of the bellows constantly varies, depending on how many reeds are selected and how many notes are played at once. In the FR-8x, Dynamic Bellows Behavior automatically adjusts the air transfer in the bellows in real time based on the selected register and the number of notes played, accurately replicating the familiar and comfortable bellows feel of an acoustic accordion. Dynamic Bellows Behavior can be easily disabled for players that prefer the bellows feel of previous V-Accordions.

Redesigned Interface with Color Display and Intuitive Panel Layout

The FR-8x features a completely redesigned user interface that’s more powerful and easier to use than ever before. A large, recessed color display makes it simple to see and edit various parameters, while the revamped panel layout provides fast, intuitive operation via many dedicated buttons and knobs. Three all-new programmable chin switches let you control a variety of functions such as changing registers, selecting user programs, and more, all without lifting your hands off the keyboards. Additionally, 1400 user program memories provide ample storage for custom settings, with quick fingertip recall in every performing situation.

All-in-One Operation and Onboard Battery Charging

The FR-8x is a totally self-contained instrument, complete with a rechargeable onboard battery and built-in stereo amplification system. Battery charging is accomplished simply by connecting the included AC adapter directly to the FR-8x Piano Type, and you can play without interruption during the charging process. In addition, all device connections are now located right on the instrument, including MIDI, USB, and audio jacks for connecting to an external amplification or recording system.

Expanded Collection of World-Class Sounds

In addition to a full selection of authentic accordion sounds from around the world, the FR-8x is equipped with over 180 orchestra and percussion sounds, giving you the power to expand your music into unexplored territory. Included are traditional instruments such as strings and brass, plus electric and acoustic guitars, choir, church organ, harp, ethnic sounds, synthesizers, and a wide range of drum kits. With the Virtual Tone Wheel sound engine, you can play amazing organ sounds using Treble (upper), Chord (lower) and Bass (pedal) sections, with harmonic bar controls to personalize your organ sounds for any musical style. Four internal memory areas (8 MB each) are provided for loading new sounds from the Roland sound library.

Zones, Layers, and Drums

With the FR-8x, more layering and zone setup options are possible in the right-hand keyboard modes than ever before. Whole, Zone, High, and Low modes are provided, giving you the ability to play up to four different tones at once. Left-hand keyboard modes now include layering options as well. The programmable Drum function takes accordion performance to a fun new dimension, letting you play percussion sounds manually with the Bass & Chord buttons.

Powerful Multi-Effects and Onboard Looper

Explore all-new sonic textures with the FR-8x’s four independent multi-effects engines (MFX), which provide dedicated processing for the Accordion, Orchestra 1, Orchestra 2, and Orchestra Chord sections. Each engine has 84 different effects types, offering a wide range of enhancement from subtle to dramatic. With the onboard looper, you can instantly record and overdub accordion performances using the FR-8x's enormous selection of sounds, creating impressive, on-the-spot backing accompaniment for improvisation.

USB Song Playback, Recording, and More

The handy MP3/WAV song player lets you play along with pre-recorded musical tracks for practice and live backing via optional USB memory. Just plug your USB stick into the convenient front-panel plug, then select and play songs with dedicated, easy-to-reach controls. And with the touch of a button, your accordion performances can be recorded directly to USB memory as well, perfect for archiving, evaluation, and education. Via the USB host port on the side panel, you can connect the FR-8x to your computer for data storage, customization of V-Accordion sound sets, and easy-to-install software updates.

New Button-Type Keyboard

The FR-8x Button Type is equipped with a completely redesigned button-type keyboard, which incorporates a piston-style mechanism for a playing touch just like an acoustic button-type accordion. Additionally, the buttons are made with a synthetic pearl material for a professional look and feel.

Video Overview

Guided Tour

 

 Button Type

Piano Type

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SPOTLIGHT: V-Accordions By Roland

Roland's musical instruments can be seen stirring up excitement no matter what music is played - whether it be jazz, rock, dance, whatever. Their reliable performance and leading-edge sounds are appreciated by pros and aspiring new talent alike.

History

In 2004, after several years of research, a dream of Roland founder Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi came true: the V-Accordion was born. This instrument was the world’s first fully digital accordion, powered by the groundbreaking new Physical Behavior Modeling technology.

Bringing together the playability of a fine acoustic accordion with all the conveniences of a modern digital instrument, the V-Accordion was immediately embraced by players around the world. Today, the V-Accordion lineup has grown to include a wide range of models, from student instruments to full-featured professional accordions.

V-Accordions are manufactured in Italy by Roland Europe, in Acquaviva Picena in the Marche region. This factory is part of the Roland Corporation group, whose headquarters are located in Japan. The production of V-Accordions is a long, accurate, and precisely arranged working process resulting from a strong passion to create appealing, high-quality products.

Technology

Physical Behavior Modeling

At the heart of the V-Accordion is Roland’s proprietary Physical Behavior Modeling (PBM) digital sound engine. PBM uses complex algorithms to accurately recreate an acoustic accordion’s sound characteristics. The result is a faithful emulation of the actual physical behavior and expressive nuances of a fine acoustic instrument.

Bellows Movement Modeling

PVA (Pressure Variant Amplifier)

This function controls the dynamics of each simulated reed sound as you play, based on input from the high-resolution bellows pressure sensor. Starting and stopping, hysteresis threshold, inertia, expression curve, and volume are all individually programmed to reproduce a true free-reed sound.

PVF (Pressure Variant Filter)

The tone color of each reed sound is also shaped in real time by a dedicated digital signal processor (DSP), which accurately responds to each expressive playing nuance applied by the bellows.

PVP (Pressure Variant Pitch)

The pitch of each simulated reed is varied individually. As the bellows is pushed or pulled more forcefully, the sound becomes fatter and richer. This accurately replicates the response of individual reeds in an acoustic accordion, which exhibit a natural tendency to go out of tune when more bellows pressure is applied.

Musette Tuning

Based on extensive research of the different tuning types used throughout the world, the V-Accordion’s note-by-note micro-tuning feature allows a V-Accordion to authentically reproduce many different accordion types for various genres of music.

Piano-Type

The Roland V-Accordion series of piano-type instruments comprises three models and three color variations: the FR-7x (black, red, or white); FR-3x (black or white); and FR-1x (black or red). The white versions of the FR-7x and FR-3x also feature decorated handmade bellows and attractive accessories made from real leather and Alcantara®.

Alcantara® is a registered trademark of Alcantara SpA, Italy.

The flagship FR-7x provides 41 velocity-sensitive piano-type keys with aftertouch, 120 bass buttons, 80 accordion sets, and a Master bar. The lightweight and portable FR-3x is fitted with 37 velocity-sensitive keys and 120 bass buttons.

Compact and flexible, the FR-1x is ideal for young students and stage performers. Equipped with the latest V-Accordion technology, the FR-1x sets a new standard in learning and live performance with its excellent sound quality, small size, and attractive price.

The V-Accordion offers selectable Bass & Chord modes (seven modes: two Bass Rows, three Bass Rows A7th, three Bass Rows A5dim, three Bass Rows B7th, three Bass Rows B5dim, three Bs Rows Bx 7th, three Bass Rows Belgium) and Free Bass modes (five modes: Minor 3rd, Bajan, Fifth, N.Europe, Finnish).

Button-Type

The Roland V-Accordion series of button-type instruments comprises three models and three color variations: the FR-7xb (black, red, or white); FR-3xb (black or white); and FR-1xb (black or red). The white versions of the FR-7xb and FR-3xb also feature decorated handmade bellows and attractive accessories made from real leather and Alcantara®.

Alcantara® is a registered trademark of Alcantara SpA, Italy.

The flagship FR-7xb has a 92-button velocity-sensitive keyboard, 120 bass buttons, 80 accordion sets, and a Master bar. The lightweight and portable FR-3xb comes equipped with a 92-button velocity-sensitive keyboard, 120 bass buttons, and 21 accordion sets.

Compact and flexible, the FR-1xb is ideal for young students and stage performers. Equipped with the latest V-Accordion technology, the FR-1xb sets a new standard in learning and live performance with its excellent sound quality, small size, and attractive price.

The treble-button modes (C-Griff Europe, C-Griff 2, B-Griff Bajan, B-Griff Fin, D-Griff1, D-Griff 2) allow players to use the system they’ve grown accustomed to; the button keyboard layouts of acoustic accordions are as diverse as the sounds themselves. The V-Accordion offers selectable Bass & Chord modes (seven modes: two Bass Rows, three Bass Rows A7th, three Bass Rows A5dim, three Bass Rows B7th, three Bass Rows B5dim, three Bass Rows Belgium) and Free Bass modes (five modes: Minor 3rd, Bajan, Fifth, N.Europe, Finnish).

Diatonic

Roland is pleased to introduce another milestone in digital musical instrument history—the FR-18 diatonic V-Accordion. Equipped with the renowned V-Accordion sound engine and dedicated new samples, the FR-18 diatonic is a dream come true for folk accordionists seeking a world-class diatonic instrument that can do it all.

Traditional diatonic acoustic accordions have only one tonal key, but the FR-18 diatonic has no such limitation—with its all-digital sound engine, you can change the instrument’s key instantly, with the simple press of a button. The FR-18 diatonic also features a brand new sound set that lets you choose from a lineup of 12 virtual diatonic accordions, as well as a variety of orchestral instruments, Virtual Tone Wheel organs, percussion, and more.

Available in black and red, the FR-18 diatonic fits into a variety of playing environments, preserving elegance and respecting tradition. Since it has no internal speakers, the instrument is extraordinarily light and comfortable to play. With its long battery life, the FR-18 diatonic can be used in all types of situations both indoors and out, and you can pair it with a portable, battery-powered amplifier for the ultimate mobility.
Quality earphones are included with the FR-18 diatonic, so you can enjoy the instrument immediately after opening the box. As a silent accordion, the FR-18 diatonic is perfect for practicing any time, even late in the evening and in small apartments.

Sound Expansion

Roland & Dallapé — Tradition Inside Innovation

VA-SE02 (FR-7x & FR-3x)

In September 2010, Roland and Dallapé joined forces to give birth to a project that is bound to become another landmark in music history. Dallapé’s historical models such as the 1871, Liturgica, and many others displayed at the Accordion Museum in Stradella can now be played again by all accordionists and lovers of such epoch-making instruments.
How is this possible? Roland has released a USB memory package containing the sounds of these historical acoustic accordions, which were obtained by means of a sophisticated and refined sampling process.
The Dallapé Sound Library is now available as a sound expansion package, which can be easily used in the Roland FR-7x and FR-3x V-Accordion models.

Alpine Sound Expansion

VA-SE01 (FR-7x, FR-3x & FR-18d)

The Alpine expansion for the FR-7x, FR-3x, and FR-18 diatonic V-Accordions contains the sounds of German folk acoustic accordions and typical Oberkrainer orchestral instruments.
These sounds are dedicated to Oberkrainer music, the traditional music genre of Slovenia, Austria, and Germany.
This sound expansion contains special samples of characteristic instruments for this kind of music, like baritone horn, clarinet, guitar, trumpet, and bass tuba. Dedicated sets are also included so users can play Oberkrainer music without any pre-programming work.

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