cestjeffici
Active member
I just purchased the FR8 from Kraft Music at the 5999 price. They had it in stock ready to ship.
Roland price drop?
- Thread starter LibraryJoe
- Start date
Interesting! Good luck with your 8X, look at my Mild to Wild videos to get a little head start.
Mockie
Active member
Pre historic technology ?.... whats that all about ...utter nonsence
cestjeffici
Active member
Thank Jerry! I already watched your first video on getting started.
How much would you pay for technology that is 10 years old? Think of a laptop from 2013 or a TV from 2013?
The only reason people still pay for a V-accordion what they pay is that there is no newer alternative (although the FR4x from 2016 is a bit less ancient).
Ventura
Been here for ages!
depending on the quality and intended purpose of the device,
actually i have had i guess a lot of luck with old tech
purchased an MX73 AKAI professional keyboard MIDI controller
like 40 years ago or so.. metal body.. tons of jacks for assignable
foorswitches and volume pedals.. it still works flawlessly and is
still fully conpatabile with any MIDI sound device i care to use,
as well as my computers. it was my first velocity sensitive keyboard..
since i bought it wholesale (was working in a retail music store at the time)
i could probably still sell it for what i paid, and it would be a useful
device for the next owner for years to come
purchased the first DW8000 Synth Korg released for retail sale in the USA..
had to replace the rubber key pistons once and the coin battery for memory..
it loads my back-up saved programs from a handheld Panasonic
cassette recorder through an audio modem that also still works
and it still sounds great !
i use it occasionally on pickup gigs where i will play "lead" guitar parts
so yeah, even $1000 tablets have non-replaceable battery packs now, and
so are planned obsolete in 2 years.. BUT it doesn't have to be that way
and sure it helps that i can usually fix and maintain my own electronic stuff,
but it is also a fact that many Pro players who decide to "count on" a Roland
FR V-Accordion also decided, and for good reason, to invest in a second one
as a backup.
times are complicated even without Moore's law
actually i have had i guess a lot of luck with old tech
purchased an MX73 AKAI professional keyboard MIDI controller
like 40 years ago or so.. metal body.. tons of jacks for assignable
foorswitches and volume pedals.. it still works flawlessly and is
still fully conpatabile with any MIDI sound device i care to use,
as well as my computers. it was my first velocity sensitive keyboard..
since i bought it wholesale (was working in a retail music store at the time)
i could probably still sell it for what i paid, and it would be a useful
device for the next owner for years to come
purchased the first DW8000 Synth Korg released for retail sale in the USA..
had to replace the rubber key pistons once and the coin battery for memory..
it loads my back-up saved programs from a handheld Panasonic
cassette recorder through an audio modem that also still works
and it still sounds great !
i use it occasionally on pickup gigs where i will play "lead" guitar parts
so yeah, even $1000 tablets have non-replaceable battery packs now, and
so are planned obsolete in 2 years.. BUT it doesn't have to be that way
and sure it helps that i can usually fix and maintain my own electronic stuff,
but it is also a fact that many Pro players who decide to "count on" a Roland
FR V-Accordion also decided, and for good reason, to invest in a second one
as a backup.
times are complicated even without Moore's law
Alan Sharkis
Well-known member
Better late than never.
I’ve been assured by a Roland V-Accordion dealer that the temporary price reduction in no way indicates that Roland will stop producing V-Accordions at this point.
I’ve been assured by a Roland V-Accordion dealer that the temporary price reduction in no way indicates that Roland will stop producing V-Accordions at this point.
I think I would prefer to believe a person that worked on the manufacturing line rather than a dealer. That dealer was just protecting themselves for a potential future upsell. 
EuroFolker
Active member
FR1x incoming - "new" price of course. Who knows, maybe in not so distant future I'll be getting a FR5x or a FR9x and it will be the "old" price.
I would rather say that technology only becomes outdated when there is something better out there.
Currently, there is nothing more advanced than the 4x and 8x... so until then, even if it hits 20 years old, until someone makes something better, we really should not call it outdated, I would think.
EuroFolker
Active member
Sorry to derail the thread a little -
JerryPH, are you planning to do a comparison youtube video starring FR8x & Gola?
JerryPH, are you planning to do a comparison youtube video starring FR8x & Gola?
Paul is going to love this one.
Sorry friend, there is no comparison though it would be easier to compare an american football to a feathered shuttlecock!... Gola hands down all day and all night, but that doesn't mean I am still not perfectly happy with my 8X!!
EuroFolker
Active member
Ok, how about comparing apples to apples, Hohner Gola vs Hohner Hohnica off of Amazon?
Haha JK
Haha JK
A true apples to apples comparison would be Jerry's Gola versus the Morino. I don't doubt the Gola will be at least slightly better, but considering the current going rate between them which varies between 5x and 10x the price... I wonder whether the Gola sounds 5 to 10 times better... (which of course is unreasonable to expect).
In a year or so, I'd be game for a 9X, but I don't have any expectations of one ever appearing.
Mockie
Active member
For me, the 8x is almost perfect. If they (Roland) can take the weight down a bit, it would be perfect. Just my thoughts, I do like it a lot. I also like my 2 acoustics
There is always room for improvement. Improved editor, higher quality sampled sounds, addition of Bluetooth or wireless transmitters would be some ideas.
I totally agree Jerry.I would rather say that technology only becomes outdated when there is something better out there.
Currently, there is nothing more advanced than the 4x and 8x... so until then, even if it hits 20 years old, until someone makes something better, we really should not call it outdated, I would think.
I believe the 8X will be THE “Classic” digital accordion, even if new digital accordions are introduced. Look at the Hammond tonewheel organ. The “Classic” console series, B, BC, BCV, B2, B3 (and the corresponding church model “C” series) were in production for 40 years (1935 – 1975). In that time models such as the H100, E100, X77, X66, etc. all came out with additional “frills” added to each model. The B3 is still the most sought after Hammond. It is now 88 years later!! And, the current available going price today is way above the original price of the organ.
However, there is a huge different problem today. That Hammond “B” organ that was built in 1935 can still be completely restored. The construction of that organ is basically a “complex collection” of real “simple parts”. Every single component in that organ is available today. The resistors, capacitors, inductors, power transformers, 56 & 57 tubes used in the preamplifier and the 2A3 power tubes in the tone cabinet are all available today. This is not what we have with the Roland 8X which I love dearly. The only solution is to buy a spare for replacement parts (kinda like an old car if you need parts). I have purchased a spare 8X. I will watch what happens to the digital accordion market in the future. Who knows, I might buy another, 2nd spare, to ensure that I will always have enough parts to repair my Dallape 8X. Also, if I cannot find the problem, I need a competent tech that can find out the circuit board that needs to be replaced – or a simple “connection problem” which is also a bear if it is intermittent.
We know the Bugari EVO is basically a Roland 8X. However, all the “hooks that Roland left in to customize the 8X is great. With the EVO you basically have what comes from the factory. I don’t believe there are any expansion sets available. The 9 Expansion sets that Roland has made available will not load into the EVO. Also, I don’t believe there is a PC Editor for the EVO, and the 8X PC Editor will not work on the EVO.
Then, there is the Proxima that is not available yet. However, there is info on the design features of the Proxima that I am not happy with. What I noticed, there is no “Drawbar” Organ capability on the Proxima. They do have about a half dozen “Organ Sounds”. From what I can tell, are the “Orchestral Tones” on the 8X. The 8X also has these “Organ Sounds”. In addition however, the 8X has a whole memory section of the 8X dedicated to the Hammond tonewheel organ. The designer duplicated every minute detail of the B3 organ (3 levels of Vibrato & Chorus, Percussion with choice of 2nd/3rd harmonic, Percussion delay of fast/slow, volume normal/soft, etc.). Of course, there is also the 9 Hammond Drawbars with volume settings from 0-8. This allows very definitive detail of the tone that you can get out of the 8X to duplicate that “Hammond Sound”.
For me, elimination of a “Drawbar Organ” on a Digital Accordion is a No-No. Also, I need that famous Leslie 122 Tremolo sound.
Of course, this is my opinion and everyone will not agree – “different strokes for different folks” –“whatever floats your boat”
John
stickista
Well-known member
As someone who’s played synths since the early 80s, if someone made a simple accordion-format midi controller with no built in sounds or amplification, and only highly programmable button configuration, I’d be all over it. Tying controller to sound generation is a guaranteed dead end. A good controller with proper velocity, aftertouch and modulation controls doesn't get old, while sound generation is always advancing.
Give me a dumb controller with my choice of sound modules any day.
Alan Sharkis
Well-known member
Darn. Most MIDI systems do have a MIDI out port, but you’re still stuck with their proprietary sound as well. IIRC, MusicTech did make a controller-alone system, but rhat controller was simple and not at all programmable. Part of the problem was attitude. Most of the Italian accordion industry didn’t see the need for MIDI at all, but they’d have Italian MIDI manufacturers. Install it in accordions on request for their foreign customers. In my case, a stock accordion manufactured in Vercelli was shipped to Castelfidardo for MIDI installation, then shipped back to Vercelli to be checked before being shipped to my dealer in the USA. So, the cost of many journeys was added to the price of a not-so-special accordion and I had a long wait for it; almost as long as a custom ordered accordion without MIDI.
Your idea, while flexible, wiuld not go over with a large portion of accordion buyers. They.’d gladly buy a Roland, complain about the sounds, and make no effort to learn how to edit those sounds. Nor would they fire up a DAW on their computers and experiment with virtual sounds. They’d play their Rolands for an audience who’d be wowed by the idea of an accordion sounding like a banjo while thinking that a real banjo doesn’t sound like that. They’d be paid for the gig, and that would soothe them.Yes, I’m cynical on this topic, but I do understand what you’d like to see happen and why it hasn’t been done.
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