A World of Musical Genres in One Amazing Instrument

12 Diatonic Accordions In One

Performing accordionists can cover all bases onstage with this one instrument. No matter the song, you can switch instantly between different tonalities and configurations of the keyboard/bass buttons. Diatonic musicians won't have to carry a truckload of accordions onstage anymore! In addition to its amazing collection of virtual accordions, the FR-18 diatonic has other great instruments onboard, all instantly selectable. Choose from orchestral and brass instruments, exotic world instruments, percussion, organs, and more. The User Sets let you load your custom layouts of sounds and settings for instant recall.

Tablature Sets

The FR-18 diatonic comes with a dozen instantly selectable tablatures, making it possible to cover numerous genres without ever having to change accordions. In addition, you can create your own tablatures with a PC/Mac software app (available via free download). With this software, the FR-18 diatonic is truly an open instrument with customizable layouts for the keyboard and bass buttons. Thanks to USB compatibility, it's easy to transmit and receive custom tablature sets between computer and accordion.

Performance Style & Comfort

The speaker-less, lightweight body makes the FR-18 diatonic a comfort to wear and play. The long-life battery compatibility lets you roam onstage, free of unnecessary cables and clutter. The classic black finish blends well into any environment; it looks cool and stylish onstage yet elegant in the classiest of settings. In addition, there are exchangeable inlay sheets that let you change the appearance of the instrument. You can also create your own custom-designed inlay sheets and install them easily.

Private or Public High-quality Roland earphones are included with the FR-18 diatonic package so you can play the instrument right out of the box. Practice at any hour without disturbing neighbors or surrounding environments. When it's time to blast, however, plug the FR-18 diatonic into one of Roland's award-winning amplifiers, such as the SA-300 stage amplifier.

Right hand 37 buttons, velocity sensitive, selectable tablature and key Left hand 18 bass buttons, velocity sensitive, selectable tablature and key (same as for right hand), selectable button chord behavior (full chord or omitted third).

Bellows Real pneumatic detection of bellows pressure (high resolution pressure sensor), bellows resistance regulator

Sound generator Max polyphony 128 voices Wave ROM 64 MB of waveforms (8+8 MB expansion sounds)

Tones: 12 accordion Sets, each including: 8 treble registers, 8 orchestral sounds, 4 organ sounds, 3 bass and chord registers, 3 Orchestra Bass registers, 3 Orchestra Chord registers, Treble reed footages 5, Bass reed footages 3 Chord reed footages 2.

PBM (Physical Behavior Modeling) Noises stopping-reed growl, closing valve noise, left button noise. Individual reed simulation hysteresis threshold, expression curve, pressure-variant filter, pressure-variant pitch deviation. Reed sound wave switching by bellows acceleration, by note repetition speed

Musette tuning Micro tuning presets 15 (Dry, Classic, F-Folk, American L/H, North Europe, German L/H, D-Folk L/H, Alpine, Italian L/H, French, Scottish)

Effects reverb 8 types, chorus 8 types, rotary (Slow/Fast) for organ sounds.

Panel controls Knobs VOLUME; Panel switches 4 treble registers + ORCHESTRA/ORGAN button, SET/FUNCTION register, 3 bass registers, ORCH. BASS button, ORCH. CHORD button, LEFT REGISTER button, KEY/DEMO button, USER PROGRAMbutton, DRUMS button, TABLATURE button, POWER button.

Operation modes ORCHESTRA/ORGAN modes Solo, Dual Key 12 possible keys (C, C#, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, B)

Tablatures 12 types, Bass & Chord with drum/percussion sounds On/Off Octave Down, 0, Up (for Treble and Orchestra/Organ), 4 User Program memories.

Other Power supply: AC adaptor, Batteries (AA, HR6 Rechargeable Ni-MH x 8) Current draw 500 mA. Expected battery life under continuous use (using Ni-MH 2000 mAh batteries) ±5.5 hours. *Actual battery life varies according to usage conditions, the quality of the batteries and the number of charging cycles. Be sure to use only rechargeable Ni-MH batteries.

Connectors: OUTPUT jacks (L/Mono, R/Mono): 1/4" phone type. PHONES jack: stereo 1/4" phone type USB MIDI connector (computer connection); USB MEMORY connector (storage devices); MIDI OUT/IN connector (function adjustable via parameter); DC IN jack

Accessories AC adaptor, Owner's Manual, Straps, 1/4"—1/4" phone (guitar) cable, Earphones (with 1/8"—1/4" adaptor plug), Strip for securing the adaptor, MIDI and/or audio cables, Hexagonal wrench, Replaceable "traforo" inlay sheets.

Options (sold separately): Accordion soft bag-Size and Weight ( without straps or optional batteries ); Width 365 mm 14-3/8 inches; Depth 195 mm 7-11/16 inches; Height 375 mm 14-13/16 inches; Weight 5.3 kg 11 lbs. 11 oz.

In the interest of product improvement, the specifications and/or appearance of this unit are subject to change without prior notice.

Email: johncast@Bignet.net

Designed & Maintained by: Thomas R. Brown