My experience with the Roland FR-1xb

[SteveBox]

After contemplating it for a long time, I purchased a Roland FR-1xb from a major music retailer (not an accordion store) that had advertised it for a reduced price. A “like-new” demo unit. I suspect they just took it out of the box so they could sell it below Roland's retail to get rid of excess stock.

I had resisted this for a long time as most YouTubes of this instrument sound crappy or uninspiring to me. I was moved to try one out after discovering several YTs that sounded rather good, and I had become motivated to have an instrument I could practice day or night without disturbing the family. There are also many statements by forum members that say they really like this instrument.

I am convinced I must have received a defective one. The first thing I noticed was the out-of-balance bellows response. It took significantly more bellows pressure on the pull than it did on the press to produce notes of the same volume level. How could it have left the factory mis-calibrated like this? Could it have been messed up by someone demo-ing? Is it even possible to knock the bellows out of calibration by the way you play it?

I then discovered the bellows calibration reset procedure as the very last entry in the troubleshooting section of the manual. There is no mention of this in the "Get ready to play" instructions. This gives one the impression that calibration is not normally necessary, as one would expect this to be correctly set at the factory and to stay correct.

So, I did the bellows reset procedure, and that did mostly balance the bellow response. It still seems to be off a little, but then maybe it seems this way because the digital bellows take some getting used to compared to an acoustic accordion, as many have commented on.

HOWEVER, when I put it away and play it again after a day or so, the bellows push and pull are often (but not always) out of balance again and this requires another calibration reset. Crazy! As for other problems, I have experienced stuck notes a few times.

There are other things I don't like about the FR-1x design, but these have been discussed by others and may be tolerated, but the bellows problem is hard to tolerate. Has anyone else experienced this?

One thought is that changes in local barometric pressure could be causing this, but it shouldn't if the instrument is using a differential pressure sensor, rather than an absolute. Possibly one of the pressure sensor ports is blocked, but more likely, the sensor is just defective.

I will probably be returning it within the 30-day satisfaction period. If one is going to buy an accordion, digital or acoustic, I can see the value of buying it from a real accordion store that has thoroughly checked it over before they ship it to ensure you are not receiving a defective instrument. Most people at general music retailers know very little about accordions. And for a beginner, if this was their first and only accordion, would they even recognize a problem like this?

 

[Tafaner]

I have a FR1XB as well - but I'm fairly new to it, and haven't really studied reports of bellows asymmetry. I recalibrated my own after buying it anyway, but it was already OK, and there was no discernable difference afterwards.

I'm interested in the pressure-operation of this accordion for rather different reasons (I want to operate WITHOUT using the bellows at all!) so I have pulled mine apart.

For the FR1X, the pressure-sensing chip is the MPXV7007DP. It's a dual port device with only 1 port used, and it's mounted on the motherboard of the treble side. From comments I have seen, the FR4X may have separate devices for PUSH/PULL (perhaps to better address the symmetry problem?). However, the FR1X definitely only has 1 of these chips, and it handles both PUSH and PULL. The chip is actually designed to go both ways: it operates from a 5v supply and outputs 2.5v when pressure is at ambient. On PUSH, it can climb as high as 4.5v, and on PULL it can drop as low as 0.5v. Parameter "BLC" in the accordion settings determines the rate at which this happens. It maxes out (or mins out) at 1 PSI (~70 millibars) either side of ambient pressure.

So in principle the device is symmetric, and in the perfect world should not need any adjustment. Why does it drift ? I really don't know! Reading the technical spec, it's not obvious to me how (or whether) it deals with changes in atmospheric pressure ? Maybe that is what the Roland calibration process does (?) but it sounds unlikely given the big variations you are experiencing ? I'm tempted to take mine up to a mountain pass to find out!

Please let us know if you discover more - and good luck with the instrument in any case !

---
Post Edit: reading the chip spec again, it's clear that the device is sensing pressure RELATIVE to the prevailing/ambient pressure, not absolute.
So what you are seeing cannot be due to local weather condition (IMO)

 

[SteveBox]

For the FR1X, the pressure-sensing chip is the MPXV7007DP. It's a dual port device with only 1 port used

Well, I would say both ports are used, as the other one is connected to the local atmosphere. If the atmospheric port was plugged up somehow, then local weather might affect it, but I suspect it is a faulty sensor. I presume the calibration procedure has the computer measure the precise sensor voltage when the bellows is at rest, as that 2.5v spec is only average. If the sensor is behaving properly (the spec says it is temperature compensated), this voltage should not drift from day to day, and whatever was set at the factory should still be good when the customer receives it.

I have not read any other reports of Roland bellows asymmetry, but then a beginner with one of these might not recognize it. The unit I have was made after manufacturing moved to China. Has there been a problem with quality control?

As for good luck, I am planning to return it and not replace it (for now). I have long been curious about the Rolands. Now that my curiosity has been partially satisfied, I feel like waiting to see is anything better in a smaller sized digital accordion comes on the market in the next year. Proxima, possibly?

One thing I really don't like about the FR-1x is the severely limited number of user sets and programs. Memory is cheap these days. I think this was a decision by Roland to handicap it so customers would want to step up to the more expensive (and larger) models. I prefer smaller sized accordions, so I am annoyed by this.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Airy]

so I have pulled mine apart.

I love your curiosity and reverse engineering!

 

[JerryPH]

As for good luck, I am planning to return it and not replace it (for now). I have long been curious about the Rolands. Now that my curiosity has been partially satisfied, I feel like waiting to see is anything better in a smaller sized digital accordion comes on the market in the next year. Proxima, possibly?

I'd not hold my breath waiting for a Proxima digital accordion. The fact that the Korg has come out pretty much placed the nail in the coffin of that one... times 10 when the Korg comes out with the smaller model some time in the future.

 

[SteveBox]

I'd not hold my breath waiting for a Proxima digital accordion.

I hope nobody is turning blue over Proxima. There is still a chance they may produce production quantities of the MIA, given the recent statements on Facebook. Petosa seems to think so. Then there is the teaser for a smaller Proxima. I prefer smaller accordions myself, so we will see if anything good actually materializes from the vapor. The Korg may be too expensive and big for some people. The compact version will be only slightly smaller. I think there is still a place for a less expensive, more compact (the MIA is 96 bass), but improved (over the Rolands) digital accordion.

 

[dak]

Well, I would say both ports are used, as the other one is connected to the local atmosphere.

Is it? It is common for pressure devices like that to work on a single port against an almost sealed chamber, with the air in the sealed chamber providing the counterforce for gauging. That makes construction quite easier because you don't have to access both inside and outside of the bellows. That being said, I remember that on my FR-1b the pressure sensor did hiss, so it definitely was located on the boundary between inside and outside.

 

[SteveBox]

It is common for pressure devices like that to work on a single port against an almost sealed chamber

What is an "almost" sealed chamber?

At rest, the air pressure inside the bellows will be the local atmospheric pressure, which varies every day. So doesn't this need to be the reference for the sensor?

 

[dak]

What is an "almost" sealed chamber?

One that will assume the outward pressure given enough time. If it takes several minutes, that should be enough for accordion playing.