B system on FR-4XB

[gidrasavic]

Dear all,

I'm preparing to take the plunge and invest in an FR-4XB. I play the acoustic accordion and haven't had any experience with VAs. My question is how difficult is it to change from the C system (as it arrives normally) to the B system (Stradella on the bass side)? I saw on the YouTube channel that the number of white/black buttons is not the same and that I will need more white ones.

Any experiences with that and any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Chris Laarman]

I have an FR-1XB, but don't consider me much more than an owner.

Switching systems would be a mere change of a setting. (You can download the manual. However, Roland is well known for its "this is the steering wheel, this is the accelerator, happy driving!" manuals.

 

[gidrasavic]

I have an FR-1XB, but don't consider me much more than an owner.

Switching systems would be a mere change of a setting. (You can download the manual. However, Roland is well known for its "this is the steering wheel, this is the accelerator, happy driving!" manuals.

Thanks. I guess I'm asking how difficult is to change all the button positions as the black and white buttons are positioned differently on the treble. I assume switching the sounds is as simple as a command to the built-in software. However, will have to investigate that further.

 

[Airy]

As far as I remember my FR-1XB had some spare buttons in the package. But I don't remember whether they were for the bass/stradella only or also some for the treble keyboard. Unfortunately they are rather expensive if you order them separately.

BTW, there is a Dutch (I think) accordion shop which sell these buttons including their own made felt dampeners. Supposedly the dampeners reduce the click-clack noise which the original Roland buttons produce with the original (stiff) rubber dampeners.

 

[dunlustin]

Download the FR4X Reference Manual from Roland.
Go to page 74 to find TrblMod - gives access to B griff
page 102 for all systems diagrams
page 14 for how to switch RH buttons - they unscrew - from memory I had spares that came with my FR1XB and FR4XB
PS: They say you can lever off the tops of the LH buttons but I have not had the courage to try.

 

[gidrasavic]

Download the FR4X Reference Manual from Roland.
Go to page 74 to find TrblMod - gives access to B griff
page 102 for all systems diagrams
page 14 for how to switch RH buttons - they unscrew - from memory I had spares that came with my FR1XB and FR4XB
PS: They say you can lever off the tops of the LH buttons but I have not had the courage to try.

Thank you. I followed your instructions and all is explained in the manual. I just need to order one soon.

 

[gidrasavic]

As far as I remember my FR-1XB had some spare buttons in the package. But I don't remember whether they were for the bass/stradella only or also some for the treble keyboard. Unfortunately they are rather expensive if you order them separately.

BTW, there is a Dutch (I think) accordion shop which sell these buttons including their own made felt dampeners. Supposedly the dampeners reduce the click-clack noise which the original Roland buttons produce with the original (stiff) rubber dampeners.

Will try to find out from the supplier whether FR4x comes with spare buttons. Thanks.

 

[JerryPH]

I'm preparing to take the plunge and invest in an FR-4XB. I play the acoustic accordion and haven't had any experience with VAs. My question is how difficult is it to change from the C system (as it arrives normally) to the B system (Stradella on the bass side)? I saw on the YouTube channel that the number of white/black buttons is not the same and that I will need more white ones.

1. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes the first time to change bass-side systems to any of the several possibilities it has.
2. It really should not make ANY difference what colors the buttons are. When we play them, we cannot see the buttons or their colors on the left hand.

If you are talking RIGHT hand, those too are changeable. In fact if you purchase a new 4X it comes with extra black and white buttons for both the right and left hands.

Refer to page 74 of the FR-4xb Reference PDF manual available for free from the Land website.

 

[gidrasavic]

1. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes the first time to change bass-side systems to any of the several possibilities it has.
2. It really should not make ANY difference what colors the buttons are. When we play them, we cannot see the buttons or their colors on the left hand.

If you are talking RIGHT hand, those too are changeable. In fact if you purchase a new 4X it comes with extra black and white buttons for both the right and left hands.

Refer to page 74 of the FR-4xb Reference PDF manual available for free from the Land website.

Thank you. That confirms what others have also said. I was mostly interested in the right-hand side (treble) as it is quite a job to move them all into the correct position. For me, that is from C-griff to B-griff.

Just checked the manual and yes, it provides information on how to do it.

 

[JerryPH]

Thank you. That confirms what others have also said. I was mostly interested in the right-hand side (treble) as it is quite a job to move them all into the correct position. For me, that is from C-griff to B-griff.

Just checked the manual and yes, it provides information on how to do it.

To move them all on the right hand? It is just unscrewing them and screwing them on... the complete keyboard in perhaps 30 minutes on a "bad day". One just has to know what color goes where (note: don't ask a piano accordion player... lol).

 

[gidrasavic]

To move them all on the right hand? It is just unscrewing them and screwing them on... the complete keyboard in perhaps 30 minutes on a "bad day". One just has to know what color goes where (note: don't ask a piano accordion player... lol).

 

[Tom]

My Fr4 came with 13 patterned head buttons snd 13 plain, each with 10 white and 3 black. I haven't touchd them. It's a piano version, maybe the button comes with more, I don't know.

 

[gidrasavic]

My Fr4 came with 13 patterned head buttons snd 13 plain, each with 10 white and 3 black. I haven't touchd them. It's a piano version, maybe the button comes with more, I don't know.

Thank you. I will have to check it myself when the instrument arrives, but it's reassuring that there are spares.

 

[tcabot]

My (very) old FR3B came with a fistful of spare buttons and changing them is very easy.

I actually just wanted to mark C and D instead of doing the usual black & white waterfall colour scheme, but there were not enough whites to do that.

 

[fogman25]

I converted a Roland FR1xb to the B system after it had been used many years as a C system. The button tops tend to seize in place after a while and I was worried about breaking the stems on some of the buttons. I was able to complete the job using hashed buttons for the C and F which I find convenient and no damage! I also recently changed some of the bass buttons which is even more of a challenge. I wanted to have a hashed button for the E bass instead of dimpled one and also wanted to have hashed buttons for the C and F buttons ( when in free bass mode ) The problem is these tops are really stuck in place and the worry is the top will actually break off. I found that you need a special tool to pop these off. I used end cutting pliers which worked fine as it provided equal pressure to both sides. The last issue is one that have not fully resolved. When you put the new button tops on; they will not push in deep enough. I will be trying again soon by filing the stem of each replacement stem so they will settle down properly. BEst of Luck ;; Don

 

[gidrasavic]

I converted a Roland FR1xb to the B system after it had been used many years as a C system. The button tops tend to seize in place after a while and I was worried about breaking the stems on some of the buttons. I was able to complete the job using hashed buttons for the C and F which I find convenient and no damage! I also recently changed some of the bass buttons which is even more of a challenge. I wanted to have a hashed button for the E bass instead of dimpled one and also wanted to have hashed buttons for the C and F buttons ( when in free bass mode ) The problem is these tops are really stuck in place and the worry is the top will actually break off. I found that you need a special tool to pop these off. I used end cutting pliers which worked fine as it provided equal pressure to both sides. The last issue is one that have not fully resolved. When you put the new button tops on; they will not push in deep enough. I will be trying again soon by filing the stem of each replacement stem so they will settle down properly. BEst of Luck ;; Don

Thank you. My new Roland fr4xb hasn't arrived yet, but I understand that I should be careful while converting it to the B system.

 

[dunlustin]

Nice to see mention of the potential difficulties when changing the tops of bass buttons.
Re-seating the cap to a level position has been a known problem for a good while.
I'll be interested to hear how the filing goes. I've been trying to pluck up courage for the best part of a decade: filing could be my solution.
ymmd: I did ask for advice here but had no replies.

PS: Best solution - ask your retailer to do the changes before taking delivery. If he's not happy to do it, maybe it's not the best place to buy from?

 

[tcabot]

Filing is easy.
If you file off too much, you can always glue an extra piece of plastic onto it.
If you don't file off enough, however, what do you do then?