Roland FR-5b, FR-7b

Parameters

V-Accordion

Note: When you set the “12.2 Ext. Seq. Playback” parameter to

“On”, the FR-7b/FR-5b’s registers no longer transmit the sound

selection clusters you have programmed here. Instead, they

transmit their “Std” values. This will return to normal operation

when you set “12.2 Ext. Seq. Playback” back to “Off”.

■Volume

(Off, 0~127, Default setting: 100) This parameter

allows you to specify the volume value (CC07) the

you press it. That way, the MIDI instrument you are

controlling is automatically set to the desired level.

Remember that selecting “0” silences the receiving

MIDI instrument. Select “Off” if the register should

not transmit this message. Note that the FR-7b/

FR-5b does not execute this message if it is returned

to the FR-7b/FR-5b via the external device’s “Soft

Thru” function.

■Panpot

(Off, 0~127, Default setting: 64) This parameter

allows you to specify the Pan value (CC10) the regis-

ter should send to an external device whenever you

press it. That way, the MIDI instrument you are con-

trolling automatically selects the desired stereo posi-

tion. “0” correspond to hard left, “64” to dead center,

and “127” to hard right. Note that the FR-7b/FR-5b

does not execute this message if it is returned to the

FR-7b/FR-5b via the external device’s “Soft Thru”

function. Select “Off” if the register should not trans-

mit this message.

■Reverb

(Off, 0~127, Default setting: 40) This parameter

allows you to specify the Reverb Send Level value

(CC91) the register should send to an external device

whenever you press it. Selecting “0” will set the

receiving MIDI instrument to “dry” (no reverb), while

“127” represents the maximum Reverb Send level.

Select “Off” if the register should not transmit this

message.

Note: If there is no audible change, you may have to check the

reverb effect settings on the receiving MIDI instrument.

Note: Not all MIDI instruments have a reverb effect, and even

if they do, they may not support this control change number

(this is especially true of older instruments).

■Chorus

(Off, 0~127, Default setting: 0) This parameter allows

you to specify the Chorus Send Level value (CC93) the

you press it. “0” will set the receiving MIDI instrument

to “dry” (no chorus), while “127” represents the maxi-

mum Chorus Send level. Select “Off” if the register

should not transmit this message.

Note: If there is no audible change, you may have to check the

chorus effect settings on the receiving MIDI instrument.

Note: Not all MIDI instruments have a chorus effect, and even

if they do, they may not support this control change number

(this is especially true of older instruments).

■Velocity

(On, 1~127) Your FR-7b/FR-5b is velocity sensitive.

That is a very learned term for the fact that the vol-

ume and brightness of the notes you play on the Tre-

ble or Bass keyboard depend on how hard (or fast)

you press the buttons. The accordion sounds do not

respond to these playing dynamics, but the Orchestra

(Treble, Bass, Chord, Free Bass) sounds do and so do

most MIDI-compatible sound modules.

Even though the MIDI standard recognizes 128 dif-

ferent velocity values, only 127 can actually be used

for expression purposes. That explains why the set-

ting range is 1~127. Value “0” is usually used to sig-

nal the end of a note (i.e. when you release a key or

button).

This parameter allows you to specify whether the

velocity values corresponding to the strength with

which you press a key/button should be transmitted

(“On”) or whether your playing dynamics should not

be translated as such.

In the latter case, you need to select a value (1~127)

that will be applied to all notes that are transmitted

via MIDI. “64” is still relatively soft. Even lower values

are probably not what you want in most cases. Fixed

velocity values can be useful for playing organ

sounds on an external module.

Note that the setting you select here has no effect

when the “Note” parameter is set to “Off”, because

note numbers are always transmitted along with a

velocity value (any value different from “0” also

means “start playing this note”). Sending only a

velocity value without specifying the note to which it

applies doesn’t make sense.

■Expression

(Off, Bellows, Pedal) You probably noticed that the

strength/speed with which the bellows is pressed or

pulled influences the sound – which corresponds to

an acoustic accordion’s response.

This effect can be translated into a MIDI message

most external instruments understand. The MIDI

standard provides a message (“control change”) for

remotely controlling the volume of an external

instrument: CC11. It is chiefly used for expression

purposes (similar to the way in which a guitarist or

organ player uses a volume pedal).

If you want to use the bellows for expressive pur-

poses, set this parameter to “Bellows”.

If you don’t (because the external instrument is too

sensitive and therefore changes its volume too

often), select “Off”.

If you purchased an optional EV-5 expression pedal,

which you connected to the FBC-7’s EXPRESSION

PEDAL socket, you can also control the relative vol-

ume by foot. In that case, set this parameter to

“Pedal”.