Products / V-Accordion / Accordion with keys / FR-7RED

Roland is pleased to introduce a revolutionary new family of instruments — the V-Accordions. The FR-7/-5 are the first instruments of their type to successfully integrate powerful Physical Behavior Modeling (PBM) technology into a traditional accordion design, combining the familiar sounds and nuances of a traditional accordion with the versatility of a modern digital musical instrument. You can instantly select and switch between a wide range of sounds and/or types of accordions, or customize your own unique timbres. Because it doesn’t depend on moving parts for sound generation, the V-Accordion is always in tune, and both keyboards can be transposed to play across a wide range of octaves. For sound output, the V-Accordions can plug directly into a sound system, recording device, or plug in a pair of headphones for silent practice. These amazing new instruments must be squeezed to be believed.

• Physical Behavior Modeling provides amazing simulation of traditional accordions
• 30 virtual accordion models inside, plus 29 orchestral sounds
• Portable, lightweight, and expandable via MIDI
• FR-7: a complete, all-in-one model with powered speakers
• FR-5: lighter weight, without speakers & power amp, and more affordable

Physical Behavior Modeling (PBM)
At the heart of the FR-7/-5 is Roland’s new, proprietary PBM (Physical Behavior Modeling) sound engine and sound modeling technology. Physical Behavior Modeling uses complex algorithms (as opposed to sampled sounds) to accurately model an acoustic accordion’s sound characteristics. The result is an engine that faithfully recreates the actual physical behavior and expressive nuances of an acoustic instrument.

Unique, All-in-One Portable Instrument
Lightweight and portable, the FR-7 uses an onboard digital amplifier with rechargeable Ni-Mh battery pack (optional on the FR-5) to power a pair of neodymium woofers and tweeters for a consistent, full range low-end to high-end output. The right- and left-hand velocity sensitive keyboards integrate with the high-resolution bellows pressure sensor to deliver an amazing level of expressiveness, realism, and playability.

Super Realistic Accordion Simulations
The FR-7/-5 can simulate up to 30 different accordion sound sets, each including 14 treble registers, seven bass and chord registers, and seven free bass registers. To create these high-quality sounds, Roland engineers analyzed dozens of popular traditional acoustic accordions, resulting in a single instrument that can faithfully reproduce a variety of traditional accordions, including their different tuning characteristics. As a result, the V-Accordion can switch instantly between an Italian Jazz, German Folk, French Musette, or historic Bandoneon, and more.

Variety of Orchestral Sounds
Combined with Traditional Accordion Sounds Along with stellar onboard accordion sounds, the FR-7/-5 incorporates Roland’s acclaimed orchestral sounds. Traditional and orchestral sound combinations can be easily created and played back, complete with full bellows articulation and unique keyboard modes such as Solo, Dual, and High/Low. Seven high-quality bass sounds can be played separately by the left hand, including: Acoustic Bass, Bowed Bass, Fingered Bass, Picked Bass, Fretless Bass, Baritone Tuba, and Baritone Tuba + E.Bass.

Exploring the Possibilities
The V-Accordion combines velocity sensitive keyboards, and a high-resolution bellows pressure sensor to create a whole new world of expressive possibilities. Using the High/Low Mode feature, you can control up to four parts simultaneously in real time from just one V-Accordion. Onboard MIDI functionality allows you to expand the range of performance options to sound modules, arranger keyboards, or an external sequencer. The more you experiment with the V-Accordion’s capabilities, the more possibilities you’ll find!