Extended test drive - Korg Fisa Suprema

[Thomas N]

I guess there are two camps - those that love the digital accordion and those that don't.

I've always thought that my personal ideal setup would be an incredible acoustic and an incredible digital and that would be it. One of each.

I find myself gravitating to the digital. I have three accordions and for the past couple months it's almost 100% digital. I play with headphones a lot, and I use my BK-7M a lot. It really helps for improvisation and I've become a far more skilled player from using it.

Now I see a backup on the digital would be almost a necessity. So that's three accordions again LOL!

There are people like Cory, Richard Noel, Linda Herman, Dale Mathis, etc. They are 100% digital. I find myself moving in that direction but I don't think I could ever be without at least one nice acoustic just for those occasions that it would be advantageous to have one.

 

[dak]

I guess there are two camps - those that love the digital accordion and those that don't.

Know what is funny? The most frequent reason for a digital accordion cited here is that it allows for practising without annoying the neighbors.

Now here is the rub for me: the digital accordion is fun. And it is real fun with a good amp that gives the proper amount of oomph to the orchestral basses. In contrast, my acoustic accordion is fun even when playing at a low level.

So it turns out that one of the reasons I use the digital accordion comparatively sparingly is because of being considerate of my neighbors.

There are people like Cory, Richard Noel, Linda Herman, Dale Mathis, etc. They are 100% digital. I find myself moving in that direction but I don't think I could ever be without at least one nice acoustic just for those occasions that it would be advantageous to have one.

It is not a matter of "advantageous" I think. It is one of the right instrument for the right task. Even "digital God" Uwe Steger retains an acoustic bayan for those pieces where it is the right instrument to use.

 

[Thomas N]

Know what is funny? The most frequent reason for a digital accordion cited here is that it allows for practising without annoying the neighbors.

Very true. It's certainly down the list for me. Number one is improvisation with the BK-7M. I have become an exponentially better player because of it. I've played an acoustic with Midi tracks and it's ok, but nothing like being in charge of the chord changes with the arranger. Second would be using two sounds together, in my case vibes over a bassoon reed a la Art Van Damme. It's a sound I love.

You're also correct about thumping it with a loud amplifier, which I also do for about an hour a day. Headphones is somewhere after that, and usually when my wife has friends over or my son is back from college and watching a movie with his girlfriend.

I like the acoustic because the keyboard is fast. I like working the bellows. I like the small nuances you can get out of it that you could never achieve with a digital accordion. When I'm around my Italian family it's the acoustic. It's what we're all used to.

 

[dak]

Very true. It's certainly down the list for me. Number one is improvisation with the BK-7M. I have become an exponentially better player because of it.

Again in the "know what is funny department", this scenario works better with me with a MIDIfied acoustic. Because its dynamics and response and interaction work better for me in that context. It "breathes" better for improvisation on a synthetic background.

Where the Roland is best for me is when doing everything with it, and employing the non-accordion sounds extensively.

When getting an accordion MIDIfied, just the left hand is usually a (more affordable) option. Just the right hand is more an option for internal microphones: for right-hand-only play (popular in band settings), the interest in MIDI seems low.

 

[Thomas N]

Again in the "know what is funny department", this scenario works better with me with a MIDIfied acoustic. Because its dynamics and response and interaction work better for me in that context. It "breathes" better for improvisation on a synthetic background.

Where the Roland is best for me is when doing everything with it, and employing the non-accordion sounds extensively.

When getting an accordion MIDIfied, just the left hand is usually a (more affordable) option. Just the right hand is more an option for internal microphones: for right-hand-only play (popular in band settings), the interest in MIDI seems low.

Interesting. I always saw the MIDI accordion as a duck. It walks, it swims and it flies but it doesn't do any of them gracefully. There was this guy years ago, Chuck Berger I believe was his name, and he was a "MIDI Accordionist". I watched a ton of his stuff, oh 20 years ago or so. He was a Petosa Artist back in the day and featured on their website.

I just generally never liked the sound. I bought a Petosa Millennium Reedless accordion instead. The MIDI accordion seemed to have all the weight of an acoustic, with all of the trouble of MIDI and sound modules as well. I played a Cordovox for years - different animal of course - but similar in nature. I loved it.

Then again, I've never even played a MIDI accordion, so I have no idea if I would truly like it.

 

[dak]

I always saw the MIDI accordion as a duck. It walks, it swims and it flies but it doesn't do any of them gracefully.

You should clarify what you mean by "MIDI accordion".

 

[JerryPH]

Then again, I've never even played a MIDI accordion, so I have no idea if I would truly like it.

Sure you have... its called an FR-8x... lol
I know what you mean. My Elka is MIDI powered, it was the basic version of MIDI. It was a blast to make your accordion sound like other orchestral instruments!

 

[Thomas N]

You should clarify what you mean by "MIDI accordion".

You're correct. I was unclear. By MIDI Accordion I meant an acoustic with a MIDI module added. So basically a "normal" acoustic accordion retrofitted with a MIDI module to allow simultaneous use of both acoustic and MIDI sounds, or solely one or the other.

In other words, not Reedless.

 

[dak]

You're correct. I was unclear. By MIDI Accordion I meant an acoustic with a MIDI module added. So basically a "normal" acoustic accordion retrofitted with a MIDI module to allow simultaneous use of both acoustic and MIDI sounds, or solely one or the other.

In other words, not Reedless.

Then I am not really clear on why you state

I always saw the MIDI accordion as a duck. It walks, it swims and it flies but it doesn't do any of them gracefully.

Why wouldn't it play gracefully acoustically if it has been designed as an acoustic accordion in the first place and only retrofitted with MIDI?

 

[Thomas N]

Why wouldn't it play gracefully acoustically if it has been designed as an acoustic accordion in the first place and only retrofitted with MIDI?

Correct, but pedantic in my opinion. My response would be that isn't as aesthetically pleasing with the MIDI module tacked onto the grill and a MIDI cable hanging off of it. The sound would of course be the same, but I would argue that a pure acoustic would perform the same without the aesthetic slights of a MIDI module and associated cabling. Hence, a bit of a duck.