D
DigitalSteve
Guest
I've had this accordion for four days now and I really like it. I thought I made a mistake when I first played it. The bellows were extremely stiff and it was such an odd feeling having the sound come from a "different" place than my acoustic accordion. I changed the bellows to X-Light and really started playing with it.
I just love the acoustic bass. It reminds me of the Cordovox I played back in the 70s. It's just a really nice string bass sound and the onboard speakers put out an amazing sound.
Here are my impressions in bullet-form and again, I've only played this for four days and am still reading the manual so take it for what it's worth please:
1) The treble isn't loud enough. Neither is the bass really. I couldn't fill a room of 100 people with just this accordion and no amp while I could with my acoustic. I've increased the volume parameter on the voices and it helps a little. I had thought the internal speakers would be louder.
2) The instrument sounds glorious through headphones. Just crystal clear and lively.
3) I absolutely HATE playing with headphones because the cord is a nightmare. It's always getting caught in the bellows or the chest pad or my chin or the bottom of the accordion. I've moved it to the left, the right, under the accordion, through my shirt, with stress relief to the left, right, under, etc. At some point during each hour-long session it will get caught and pull my head down and it's just not fun. I know this is a silly little thing to note but it really bothers me!
4) The "Jazz" voices don't sound that great to me. I haven't started to edit them yet but there might be one or two that I kind of like. The rest just sound pretty bad in my estimation. My acoustic is a 5/5 Jazz instrument with Low E bass and double tone chamber and I just love the sound of the bassoon reeds. I know these can be edited so I'm not stressing too much about this fact but I would tell others that out of the box, they're not that great.
5) The unit is complex - but not overly so. There are a lot of menus but they make sense. User Program and Set Mode make sense to me. I've put the accordions I use the most into a User Program and it just works nicely. I wouldn't be scared of this accordion if you're not a "techie".
6) I really didn't like the straps that came with it. I switched immediately to the Mega Harness by Neotech and even without the backbrace they stay put. Problem solved.
7) I'm purchasing an amp this week and will comment on how it sounds through an amp. I'm anxious to hear some real output from this unit.
8) The organs are cool. With the acoustic bass and organ/accordion combo on the right hand you've got yourself a 1978 Cordovox! I don't know if that's a selling point to any of you youngsters but it's pretty cool to this 60 year old player!
9) The instrument is heavy. Very heavy. Specs say 28 pounds and my 5/5 monster is 32 pounds but they are equivalent to me. If you have a bad back or need to stand for three hours strolling I wouldn't purchase this accordion. To me it is purely a sitting-down instrument.
10) I read reviews about the awkward keyboard thickness and odd weight-distribution of this accordion and I see none of it. The keyboard is blindingly fast. Such a difference from my acoustic. I do notice that key-repetition (think Lady of Spain beginning with multiple strikes of a single note as fast as possible) is easier on the acoustic and that it is not uniform (for me) on the FR-8X. But glissandos and chromatic runs just fly on the FR-8X. It immediately made me a 20% faster accordionist. Seriously!
I've not played the FR-7X so I can't comment on the differences. Maybe it is much lighter, has better balance, has a thinner keyboard, etc. Since I didn't own one previously and then switch I have no frame of reference. I can only compare it to my 5/5 acoustic and they are in the same ballpark.
I personally don't like all the orchestral tones. Playing Sax, Trumpet, Piano, Banjo, and on and on just aren't my thing. I do really enjoy all the different accordions and this instrument has many of them. I especially like the drums with the bass notes. Pretty much eliminates the need for me to have a BK-7M as I prefer the accordion sounds with a light drum track that *I* control.
If you want to practice at night with headphones, want 50 accordion sounds that you have custom designed, have a bad back and don't want to push and pull the bellows a lot, then this is the accordion for you. I'm glad I purchased it. It has a lot of potential that I haven't even considered. I'm playing my first gig with it on Saturday. Two hours at a wedding and I'll have the amp by then.
Oh, battery life is EXCEPTIONAL! I've only charged it the first day and am still going strong four days later! The battery and charging are non-issues.
Best of luck to all of you and thank you for all your advice on this forum. It truly helped me make my decision.
Steve
I just love the acoustic bass. It reminds me of the Cordovox I played back in the 70s. It's just a really nice string bass sound and the onboard speakers put out an amazing sound.
Here are my impressions in bullet-form and again, I've only played this for four days and am still reading the manual so take it for what it's worth please:
1) The treble isn't loud enough. Neither is the bass really. I couldn't fill a room of 100 people with just this accordion and no amp while I could with my acoustic. I've increased the volume parameter on the voices and it helps a little. I had thought the internal speakers would be louder.
2) The instrument sounds glorious through headphones. Just crystal clear and lively.
3) I absolutely HATE playing with headphones because the cord is a nightmare. It's always getting caught in the bellows or the chest pad or my chin or the bottom of the accordion. I've moved it to the left, the right, under the accordion, through my shirt, with stress relief to the left, right, under, etc. At some point during each hour-long session it will get caught and pull my head down and it's just not fun. I know this is a silly little thing to note but it really bothers me!
4) The "Jazz" voices don't sound that great to me. I haven't started to edit them yet but there might be one or two that I kind of like. The rest just sound pretty bad in my estimation. My acoustic is a 5/5 Jazz instrument with Low E bass and double tone chamber and I just love the sound of the bassoon reeds. I know these can be edited so I'm not stressing too much about this fact but I would tell others that out of the box, they're not that great.
5) The unit is complex - but not overly so. There are a lot of menus but they make sense. User Program and Set Mode make sense to me. I've put the accordions I use the most into a User Program and it just works nicely. I wouldn't be scared of this accordion if you're not a "techie".
6) I really didn't like the straps that came with it. I switched immediately to the Mega Harness by Neotech and even without the backbrace they stay put. Problem solved.
7) I'm purchasing an amp this week and will comment on how it sounds through an amp. I'm anxious to hear some real output from this unit.
8) The organs are cool. With the acoustic bass and organ/accordion combo on the right hand you've got yourself a 1978 Cordovox! I don't know if that's a selling point to any of you youngsters but it's pretty cool to this 60 year old player!
9) The instrument is heavy. Very heavy. Specs say 28 pounds and my 5/5 monster is 32 pounds but they are equivalent to me. If you have a bad back or need to stand for three hours strolling I wouldn't purchase this accordion. To me it is purely a sitting-down instrument.
10) I read reviews about the awkward keyboard thickness and odd weight-distribution of this accordion and I see none of it. The keyboard is blindingly fast. Such a difference from my acoustic. I do notice that key-repetition (think Lady of Spain beginning with multiple strikes of a single note as fast as possible) is easier on the acoustic and that it is not uniform (for me) on the FR-8X. But glissandos and chromatic runs just fly on the FR-8X. It immediately made me a 20% faster accordionist. Seriously!
I've not played the FR-7X so I can't comment on the differences. Maybe it is much lighter, has better balance, has a thinner keyboard, etc. Since I didn't own one previously and then switch I have no frame of reference. I can only compare it to my 5/5 acoustic and they are in the same ballpark.
I personally don't like all the orchestral tones. Playing Sax, Trumpet, Piano, Banjo, and on and on just aren't my thing. I do really enjoy all the different accordions and this instrument has many of them. I especially like the drums with the bass notes. Pretty much eliminates the need for me to have a BK-7M as I prefer the accordion sounds with a light drum track that *I* control.
If you want to practice at night with headphones, want 50 accordion sounds that you have custom designed, have a bad back and don't want to push and pull the bellows a lot, then this is the accordion for you. I'm glad I purchased it. It has a lot of potential that I haven't even considered. I'm playing my first gig with it on Saturday. Two hours at a wedding and I'll have the amp by then.
Oh, battery life is EXCEPTIONAL! I've only charged it the first day and am still going strong four days later! The battery and charging are non-issues.
Best of luck to all of you and thank you for all your advice on this forum. It truly helped me make my decision.
Steve
