FR-8x OM

Owners Manual
Owners Manual (this document)

Read this first. It explains the basic things you need to know in
order to use the FR-8x.
PDF Manual (download from the Web)

Tone & Drum Kit List
This is a list of the sounds contained in the FR-8x.
To obtain the PDF manual

1. Enter the following URL in your computer.
http://www.roland.com/manuals/
2. Choose FR-8x as the product name.
For EU Countries
This product complies with the requirements of EMC Directive 2004/108/EC.
For the USA
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENT
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee
that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
This equipment requires shielded interface cables in order to meet FCC class B limit.
Any unauthorized changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the users
authority to operate the equipment.
For Canada
CAN ICES-3 (B)/NMB-3 (B)
For C.A. US (Proposition 65)
WARNING
This product contains chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm, including lead.
For Korea
For the U.K.
IMPORTANT: THE WIRES IN THIS MAINS LEAD ARE COLOURED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING CODE.
BLUE:
NEUTRAL
BROWN: LIVE
As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond with the coloured markings identifying
the terminals in your plug, proceed as follows:
The wire which is coloured BLUE must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the letter N or coloured BLACK.
The wire which is coloured BROWN must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the letter L or coloured RED.
Under no circumstances must either of the above wires be connected to the earth terminal of a three pin plug.
For the USA
DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
Compliance Information Statement
Model Name :
Type of Equipment :
Responsible Party :
Address :
Telephone :
FR-8x
Digital Accordion
Roland Corporation U.S.
5100 S. Eastern Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90040-2938
(323) 890-3700
US
Owners Manual
Thank you and congratulations on your choice of the Roland FR-8x V-Accordion.
To ensure that you obtain the maximum enjoyment and take full advantage of the FR-8xs functionality, please read this
owners manual carefully.
About This Manual
You should first read the chapter 6. Before you Start Playing (p. 18). It explains how to connect the AC adaptor and
turn on the power. This Owners Manual explains everything, from the FR-8xs basic operations to more advanced functions.
Conventions Used in This Manual
Text enclosed in square brackets [ ] indicates the name of a button or knob. Example: the [MENU] button.
Reference pages are indicated by (p. **).
The following symbols are used.
NOTE
MEMO
TIPS
This indicates an important note; be sure to read it.

This indicates a memo regarding the setting or function; read it as desired.
This indicates a useful hint for operation; read it as necessary.
* The explanations in this manual include illustrations that depict what should typically be shown by the display. Note,
however, that your unit may incorporate a newer, enhanced version of the system (e.g., include newer sounds), so what you
actually see in the display may not always match what appears in the manual.
Before using this instrument, carefully read Using the Unit Safely on p. 4 and Important Notes on p. 6
Those sections provide information concerning the proper operation of the FR-8x. Additionally, in order to feel assured that you
have gained a good grasp of every feature provided by your new unit, the manual should be read in its entirety. The manual
should be saved and kept on hand as a convenient reference
Copyright 2013 ROLAND EUROPE. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Roland Europe S.p.a.
Roland and GS are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Roland Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
1. Using the Unit Safely

About
WARNING and
CAUTION Notices
About the Symbols

The symbol alerts the user to important instructions or
warnings.The specific meaning of the symbol is
determined by the design contained within the triangle. In
the case of the symbol at left, it is used for general
cautions, warnings, or alerts to danger.
Used for instructions intended to alert the

user to the risk of death or severe injury
should the unit be used improperly.
Used for instructions intended to alert the
user to the risk of injury or material
damage should the unit be used
improperly.
The symbol alerts the user to items that must never be

carried out (are forbidden). The specific thing that must
not be done is indicated by the design contained within
the circle. In the case of the symbol at left, it means that
the unit must never be disassembled.
* Material damage refers to damage or

other adverse effects caused with
respect to the home and all its
furnishings, as well to domestic animals
or pets.
The symbol alerts the user to things that must be

carried out. The specific thing that must be done is
indicated by the design contained within the circle. In the
case of the symbol at left, it means that the power-cord
plug must be unplugged from the outlet.
ALWAYS OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING
WARNING
WARNING
WARNING
To completely turn off power to the unit, pull out the

plug from the outlet
Use only the included AC adaptor and the correct

voltage
Dont allow foreign objects or liquids to enter unit;

never place containers with liquid on unit
Even with the power switch turned off,

this unit is not completely separated from
its main source of power. When the power
needs to be completely turned off, turn
off the power switch on the unit, then
pull out the plug from the outlet. For this
reason, the outlet into which you choose
to connect the power cords plug should
be one that is within easy reach and
readily accessible.
Be sure to use only the AC adaptor

included with the unit. Also, make sure
the line voltage at the installation matches
the input voltage specified on the AC
adaptors body. Other AC adaptors may
use a different polarity, or be designed
for a different voltage, so their use could
result in damage, malfunction, or electric
shock.
Do not place containers containing

liquid (e.g., a glass of water) on this
product. Never allow foreign objects (e.g.,
flammable objects, coins, wires) or liquids
(e.g., water or juice) to enter this product.
Doing so may cause short circuits, faulty
operation, or other malfunctions.
Do not disassemble or modify by yourself
Do not place in an unstable location

Make sure you always have the unit
placed so it is level and sure to remain
stable. Never place it on stands that could
wobble, or on inclined surfaces.
Protect the unit from strong impact.

(Do not drop it!)
Do not open (or modify in any way) the

unit or its AC adaptor.
Do not repair or replace parts by yourself

Do not attempt to repair the unit, or
replace parts within it (except when this
manual provides specific instructions
directing you to do so). Refer all servicing
to your retailer, the nearest Roland
Service Center, or an authorized Roland
distributor, as listed on the Information
page.
Do not use or store in the following types of

locations
Subject to temperature extremes (e.g.,
direct sunlight in an enclosed vehicle,
near a heating duct, on top of heatgenerating equipment); or are
Damp (e.g., baths, washrooms, on wet
floors); or are
Exposed to steam or smoke; or are
Subject to salt exposure; or are
Humid; or are
Exposed to rain; or are
Dusty or sandy; or are
Subject to high levels of vibration and
shakiness.
Use only the included power cord

Use only the attached power-supply cord.
Also, the included power cord must not be
used with any other device.
Do not bend the power cord or place heavy objects

on it
Do not excessively twist or bend the
power cord, nor place heavy objects on it.
Doing so can damage the cord, producing
severed elements and short circuits.
Damaged cords are fire and shock hazards!
Avoid extended use at high volume

This unit, either alone or in combination
with an amplifier and headphones or
speakers, may be capable of producing
sound levels that could cause permanent
hearing loss. Do not operate for a long
period of time at a high volume level, or
at a level that is uncomfortable. If you
experience any hearing loss or ringing
in the ears, you should immediately stop
using the unit, and consult an audiologist.
Adults must provide supervision in places where

children are present
When using the unit in locations where
children are present, be careful so no
mishandling of the unit can take place. An
adult should always be on hand to provide
supervision and guidance.
Do not drop or subject to strong impact
Turn off the unit if an abnormality or malfunction

occurs
Immediately turn the unit off, remove the
AC adaptor from the outlet, and request
servicing by your retailer, the nearest
Roland Service Center, or an authorized
Roland distributor, as listed on the
Information page when:
The AC adaptor, the power-supply cord,
or the plug has been damaged; or
If smoke or unusual odor occurs; or
Objects have fallen into, or liquid has
been spilled onto the unit; or
The unit has been exposed to rain (or
otherwise has become wet); or
The unit does not appear to operate
normally or exhibits a marked change in
performance.
Do not share an outlet with an unreasonable

number of other devices
Do not force the units power-supply cord
to share an outlet with an unreasonable
number of other devices. Be especially
careful when using extension cordsthe
total power used by all devices you have
connected to the extension cords outlet
must never exceed the power rating
(watts/amperes) for the extension cord.
Excessive loads can cause the insulation
on the cord to heat up and eventually
melt through.

WARNING
CAUTION
CAUTION
Do not use overseas
Place in a well ventilated location
Handle battery pack carefully
Before using the unit in a foreign country,

consult with your retailer, the nearest
Roland Service Center, or an authorized
Roland distributor, as listed on the
Information page.
The unit and the AC adaptor should be

located so their location or position does
not interfere with their proper ventilation.
If used improperly, battery pack may

explode or leak and cause damage or
injury. In the interest of safety, please read
and observe the following precautions.
Handle batteries carefully

The battery pack must never be heated,
taken apart, or thrown into fire or water.
Never expose the battery pack to
excessive heat such as sunshine, fire or
the like.
Incorrect handling of battery pack,
can cause leakage, overheating, fire, or
explosion. Before use, you must read and
strictly observe all of the precautions
written in this owners manual.
Use only the FR-8x to recharge the battery
pack.
Grasp the plug when connecting or disconnecting

the AC adaptor
Always grasp only the plug on the AC
adaptor cord when plugging into, or
unplugging from, an outlet or this unit.
Periodically clean the AC adaptors plug

At regular intervals, you should unplug
the AC adaptor and clean it by using
a dry cloth to wipe all dust and other
accumulations away from its prongs.
Also, disconnect the power plug from
the power outlet whenever the unit is to
remain unused for an extended period of
time. Any accumulation of dust between
the power plug and the power outlet can
result in poor insulation and lead to fire.
Manage cables for safety

Try to prevent cords and cables from
becoming entangled. Also, all cords and
cables should be placed so they are out of
the reach of children.
Avoid climbing on top of the unit, or placing heavy

objects on it
Never climb on top of, nor place heavy
objects on the unit.
Do not connect or disconnect the AC adaptor with

wet hands
Never handle the AC adaptor or its plugs
with wet hands when plugging into, or
unplugging from, an outlet or this unit.
Disconnect everything before moving the unit

Before moving the unit, disconnect the
AC adaptor and all cords coming from
external devices.
Unplug the AC adaptor from the outlet before

cleaning
Before cleaning the unit, turn it off and
unplug the AC adaptor from the outlet (
p. 20).
Carefully follow the installation

instructions for battery pack, and make
sure you observe the correct polarity.
Remove the battery pack whenever the
unit is to remain unused for an extended
period of time.
Never keep battery packs together with
metallic objects such as ballpoint pens,
necklaces, hairpins, etc.
Used battery pack must be disposed of
in compliance with whatever regulations
for their safe disposal that may be
observed in the region in which you live.
Keep small items out of the reach of children

To prevent accidental ingestion of the
parts listed below, always keep them out
of the reach of small children.
Reference buttons for the treble
keyboard (only for FR-8X button type)
( p. 25)
Reference caps for the bass buttons (
p. 26).
Take care not to get burned

Battery pack may reach a high
temperature; please be careful to avoid
burning yourself.
Handle leaking battery pack carefully

If fluid has leaked from a battery pack,
make sure not to touch it with your bare
hands.
If any of the leaking fluid gets into your
eyes, the loss of vision may result. Do not
rub your eyes; use clean water to flush
them thoroughly. Then, promptly see a
doctor.
Burning of the skin or dermatitis may
result if fluid has gotten onto your skin or
clothing. Use clean water to flush affected
areas thoroughly; then, promptly see a
doctor.
Using a soft cloth, carefully wipe any
remaining fluid from the inside of the
battery compartment. Then, install new
battery pack.
If there is a possibility of lightning strike, disconnect

the AC adaptor from the outlet
Whenever you suspect the possibility of
lightning in your area, disconnect the AC
adaptor from the outlet.
2. Important Notes
Power Supply
Do not connect this unit to same electrical outlet
that is being used by an electrical appliance that
is controlled by an inverter or a motor (such as a
refrigerator, washing machine, microwave oven, or
air conditioner). Depending on the way in which
the electrical appliance is used, power supply noise
may cause this unit to malfunction or may produce
audible noise. If it is not practical to use a separate
electrical outlet, connect a power supply noise filter
between this unit and the electrical outlet.
The AC adaptor will begin to generate heat after
long hours of consecutive use. This is normal, and is
not a cause for concern.
To prevent malfunction and equipment failure,
always make sure to turn off the power on all your
equipment before you make any connections.
With the factory settings, the FR-8x will
automatically be switched off 10 minutes after you
stop playing or operating the unit. If you dont want
the unit to turn off automatically, change the AUTO
Off setting to Off as described on p. 106.
NOTE
The settings you were editing will be lost when the
unit is turned off. If you want to keep your settings,
you must save your settings before turning the
unit off.
Power Supply: Use of Battery pack

When installing or replacing the battery pack,
always turn this unit off and disconnect any other
devices you may have connected. This way, you can
prevent malfunction and damage.
The charge of the supplied battery pack may be
limited. Fully charge battery pack before use it for
the first time ( p. 18).
If operating this unit on batteries, please use the
proper battery pack only (BP-24-45).
Placement
Using the unit near power amplifiers (or other
equipment containing large power transformers)
may induce hum. To alleviate the problem, change
the orientation of this unit; or move it farther away
from the source of interference.
This device may interfere with radio and television
reception. Do not use this device in the vicinity of
such receivers.
Noise may be produced if wireless communications
devices, such as cell phones, are operated in the
vicinity of this unit. Such noise could occur when
receiving or initiating a call, or while conversing.
Should you experience such problems, you should
relocate such wireless devices so they are at a
greater distance from this unit, or switch them off.
Do not expose the unit to direct sunlight, place
it near devices that radiate heat, leave it inside
an enclosed vehicle, or otherwise subject it to
temperature extremes. Excessive heat can deform
or discolor the unit.
When moved from one location to another where
the temperature and/or humidity is very different,
water droplets (condensation) may form inside
the unit. Damage or malfunction may result if you
attempt to use the unit in this condition. Therefore,
before using the unit, you must allow it to stand
for several hours, until the condensation has
completely evaporated.
Do not allow objects to remain on top of the
keyboard. This can be the cause of malfunction,
such as keys ceasing to produce sound.
Depending on the material and temperature of the

surface on which you place the unit, its rubber feet
may discolor or mar the surface.
You can place a piece of felt or cloth under the
rubber feet to prevent this from happening. If you
do so, please make sure that the unit will not slip or
move accidentally.
Do not put anything that contains water on this
unit. Also, avoid the use of insecticides, perfumes,
alcohol, nail polish, spray cans, etc., near the unit.
Swiftly wipe away any liquid that spills on the unit
using a dry, soft cloth.
Maintenance
For everyday cleaning wipe the unit with a soft,
dry cloth or one that has been slightly dampened
with water. To remove stubborn dirt, use a cloth
impregnated with a mild, non-abrasive detergent.
Afterwards, be sure to wipe the unit thoroughly
with a soft, dry cloth.
Keep the battery pack out of the reach of babies

and small children, in order to avoid accidental
swallowing of batteries. In the event the batteries
are swallowed, consult a doctor immediately.
Bu sure to charge the battery pack within a
temperature range of 0 to 40 deg. C (degree
Celsius)
After removed from FR-8x, store the battery pack in
a dry place and within the recommended storage
temperature range (-20 to +30 deg. C for longer
service life)
To use the battery pack for the first time after
purchase it or having not used for a long period of
time, be sure to charge them.
After long term of storage, there is the possibility
that the battery pack could be not fully charged. In
order to fully charge it, please charge and discharge
the battery pack for a few times.
Never use benzine, thinners, alcohol or solvents of

any kind, to avoid the possibility of discoloration
and/or deformation.
Storage devices that can be connected

to the FR-8xs USB MEMORY port
Additional Precautions
The FR-8x allows you to connect commercially

available USB Flash memory. You can purchase
such devices at a computer store, a digital camera
dealer, etc.
Unfortunately, it may be impossible to restore the

contents of data that was stored on a USB memory
once it has been lost. Roland Europe assumes no
liability concerning such loss of data.
Use a reasonable amount of care when using the
units buttons, potentiometers, or other controls;
and when using its jacks and connectors. Rough
handling can lead to malfunctions.
Never strike or apply strong pressure to the display.
When disconnecting all cables, grasp the connector
itselfnever pull on the cable. This way you will
avoid causing shorts, or damage to the cables
internal elements.
To avoid disturbing others nearby, try to keep the
units volume at reasonable levels. You may prefer
to use headphones, so you do not need to be
concerned about those around you.
When you need to transport the unit, package it
in the box (including padding) that it came in, if
possible. Otherwise, you will need to use equivalent
packaging materials.
Battery pack Additional Precautions

Only charge the battery pack using the FR-8x.
Never disassemble the battery pack. Doing so may
cause an internal or external short circuit or result
in exposed material of battery reacting chemically
with the air. It may also cause heat generation,
explosion and fire. Also, this is dangerous as it may
cause splashing of alkaline fluid.
Never modify or reconstruct battery pack.
The (+) positive and (-) negative terminals of
battery pack are predetermined. Do not force the
terminals to connect them to an external charger or
an equipment.
The battery pack contain a strong colorless alkaline
solution (electrolyte), If the skin or clothing
comes in contact with fluid from a battery pack,
thoroughly wash the area immediately with clean
water from the tap or another source. Battery fluid
can irritate the skin.
Do not remove the outer tube from a battery or
damage it. Doing so will expose the battery of the
risk of a short circuit, and may cause leakage of
battery fluid, heat generation, explosion and fire.
Though external hard disks with a capacity in

excess of 2TB can be used, please bear in mind that
the FR-8x can manage a maximum of 2TB. (FAT-32
formatted storage devices can be used right away.)
Use USB memory sold by Roland (M-UF-series).
We cannot guarantee operation if any other USB
memory is used.
Before using external USB storage

devices
Carefully insert the USB memory all the way in
until it is firmly in place.
USB memories are constructed using precision
components; handle the storage devices carefully,
paying particular note to the following.
To prevent damage to the USB memory from
static electricity, be sure to discharge any static
electricity from your own body before handling
the cards.
Do not touch or allow metal to come into
contact with the contact portion of the USB
memory.
Do not bend, drop, or subject cards to strong
shock or vibration.
Do not keep cards in direct sunlight, in closed
vehicles, or other such locations.
Do not allow USB memories to become wet.
Do not disassemble or modify the USB memory.
Never touch the terminals of the USB memory. Also,
avoid getting the terminals dirty.
When connecting a USB memory, position it
horizontally with the FR-8xs USB MEMORY port
and insert it without using excessive force. The
USB MEMORY port may be damaged if you use
excessive force when inserting a USB memory.
Do not connect or disconnect a USB drive while it
is being rear from, or written to (i.e., while the USB
flash access indicator blinks).
Never connect your USB memory to the FR-8x via
a USB hub.
Liability and copyright

Recording, duplication, distribution, sale, lease,
performance, or broadcast of copyrighted material
(musical works, visual works, broadcasts, live
performances, etc.) belonging to a third party in
part or in whole without the permission of the
copyright owner is forbidden by law.

Do not use this unit for purposes that could
infringe on a copyright held by a third party. Roland
assumes no responsibility whatsoever with regard
to any infringements of third-party copyrights
arising through your use of this unit.
Roland, SuperNATURAL are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Roland Corporation in
the United States and/or other countries.
Company names and product names mentioned
in this document are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
MPEG Layer-3 audio compression technology
is licensed from Fraunhofer IIS Corporation and
THOMSON Multimedia Corporation.
Copyright 2003 by Bitstream, Inc. All rights
reserved. Bitstream Vera is a trademark of Bitstream,
Inc.
MMP (Moore Microprocessor Portfolio) refers to a
patent portfolio concerned with microprocessor
architecture, which was developed by Technology
Properties Limited (TPL). Roland has licensed this
technology from the TPL group.
3. Look at What you Can Do!

Stand-alone instrument
Enhanced Playability
Battery-powered instrument with built-in

speakers
A more sophisticated bellows response (p. 12)
Though the FR-8x is a fully electronic instrument, you do not

need to connect it to an amplifier in order to produce sounds. Its
onboard amplification system is powerful enough for small venues,
restaurants, etc.
Furthermore, the FR-8x comes with a rechargeable battery pack (NiMh) so that you do not need to connect it to a wall outlet
High Quality Sounds

Powered by four multi-effect sections (MFX)
One multi-effect section (MFX) can be used for the accordion
sounds on the right hand.
Three multi-effect sections are used for the orchestral sounds: two
on the right hand and one on the left hand.
Super realistic accordion sounds (p. 32)

The FR-8x V-Accordion is based on Rolands sound generation
technology called PBM (Physical Behavior Modeling) whose sonic
result is very close to the sound of traditional accordions.
All sounds the FR-8x produces were obtained by sampling the most
popular traditional acoustic accordions, allowing you to switch
from an Italian jazz accordion to German folk, French musette or
a historic bandoneon sound without changing your technique.
Different tuning systems are also available.
Orchestral sounds (p. 32)

The FR-8x is also equipped with orchestral sounds that can be used
in combination with traditional accordion sounds complete with
full bellows articulation and unique right hand keyboard modes
(Off, Zone, High and Low).
The orchestral sounds can be freely assigned to the desired register
for optimum flexibility. You can also assign other orchestral sounds
to the registers.
Virtual Tonewheel organ sounds (p. 32)

Thanks to its Virtual Tonewheel organ sound engine, the FR-8x
allows you to play amazing organ sounds like an organ player by
using the right hand (TW Upper) and left hand (TW Lower, TW
Pedal) sections.
Drum sounds (p. 37)

You can also use the FR-8x to play simply drum parts with your left
and right hand by assigning drums and percussion sounds to the
bass and chord buttons.
Sound expansion (p. 110)

The FR-8x provides four internal memories that allow you to add
new sounds.
The bellows in a acoustic accordion are used to create pressure and

vacuum, driving air across the internal reed mechanism.
Applying pressure increases the sound volume.
The bellows resistance decrease or increase depending on the
number of pressed keys and the selected registers.
The FR-8x has a sophisticated pressure control that adjusts the
bellows resistance as a real acoustic accordion.
As most acoustic accordion, the FR-8x has an air button on the side
of the instrument that doesnt play any notes, but instead lets air in
and out of the instrument.
Velocity sensitive keyboards (p. 12)

To give much expression to your performances, the FR-8x provides
a right-hand and a left-hand manual systems that are sensitive to
how fast or slow the keys are pressed.
Programmable chin switches (p. 98)

Let your hands be focused only on playing notes.
Three programmable chin switches will help you to change
registers, change user programs and control many other functions
by using your chin and, therefore, without moving your hands away
from the accordion bass and treble keyboards.
Convenient functions
Play different voices with the left and right
hand (p. 32,34)
The Right and Left button sections allow you to quickly to turn the
parts on/off.
This way you can simultaneously play three parts (sounds) in the
right and left hand.
Greater flexibility to play different voices on

the right hand (p. 38)
Using the keyboard mode (Zone) you can split the keyboard in
more part and use different voices for each part. You can also use
one or more part to play voices in layer.
Another possibility is to set the keyboard mode in Low or Hi. In
this way the first note that you play triggers an accordion voice
. If you hold down that key or button and play higher (Low) or
lower (Hi) notes, those notes are played by the orchestra sound or
viceversa.
Transpose the key of the keyboard (p. 40)

This function allows you to transpose FR-8xs pitch in semi-tone
steps.
Player & Rec Feature
Other important features
Audio player and recorder on a connected

optional USB memory (p. 48,54)
Intuitive user interface
The FR-8x provides an audio player function that can play back mp3
and WAV files on a connected USB memory.
You can also record your performances as WAV files.
Play List function (p. 50)

The Play List function allows you to prepare lists of mp3 and/or WAV
audio files you want to play back in succession.
Audio looping (p. 56)

You can record your temporary short phrase which you believe
might be worth being repeated. You can listen and record over it
while adding more notes.
With the color display, the use of graphics and icons to portray
parameters being set and their meanings, operation is intuitive and
easily understood.
MIDI connection for more performance

flexibility (p. 22)
The FR-8x allows you to control external MIDI compatible
instruments such as BK-7m Backing Module.
A convenient on-board battery charger (p. 18)

You can re-charge the supplied FR-8x battery on-board without
using any external charger.
Organize your performance

Create your User Program list (p. 57)
To prepare sets of User Program memories for any event like
weddings, parties, anniversaries, etc.
Wireless LAN functions

Ad-Hoc and WPS connection (p. 114)
By inserting the wireless USB Adapter (WNA1100-RL; sold
separately) into the FR-8xs USB MEMORY port, youll be able to use
wireless compatible applications (such as the Air Recorder iPhone
app).
Energy-Efficient design
The power will turn off after a specified time has elapsed
When 10 minutes have elapsed since you last played or operated the FR-8x, the power will turn off automatically.
* If you dont want the power to turn off automatically, change the AUTO OFF (p. 106).
Contents
1. Using the Unit Safely. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Important Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3. Look at What you Can Do!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4. A first look at your FR-8x. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Sections of Your FR-8x. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
About Dynamic Bellows Behaviour Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
5. Panel Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Right Hand Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Left Hand Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Display, Master Bar and Chin Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Connection panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Battery compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6. Before you Start Playing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Power Supply FR-8x by the Battery Pack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
How to Install the Battery Pack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
How to Charge the Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
When the Battery Pack has to be charged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
How to Replace the exhausted Battery Pack with a
New One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Connecting the AC Adaptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Connecting the FR-8x to an Amplification System. . . . . . 21
Connecting Headphones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Connecting a MIDI Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Connecting FR-8x to FC-300 MIDI Foot Controller. . . . . . . 23
Connecting the FR-8x to Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Straps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Attaching the Straps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Adjusting the Bass strap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Securing the AC Adapter cable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
About Button Type Keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
How to Replace a Right Hand Button of your FR-8x
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Bass & Chord Button Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
How to Remove and Insert Reference Caps . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Turning the Power On/Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Turning the Power On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Turning the Power Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Real-time Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Adjusting the Sound Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Volume Balance Between the Right Hand and Left
Hand Sections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Adjusting the effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Listening to the demo songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7. Basic Operation of the FR-8x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
About the Display and Cursor Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Main Screen Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Moving Between Windows and Setting Parameter
Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
How to type a name in FR-8x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8. Playing the FR-8x. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Selecting Tones and Playing with the Right Hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
About Organ Sounds (VTW). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Playing Multiple Tones with the Keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Playing the Bass Section with your Right Hand Like a
Bassoon (BASS TO TREBLE). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Selecting Tones and Playing with the Left Hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Bass and Chord System (BASS & CHRD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Free Bass System (F.BASS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Playing Orchestral Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
How to Play different Accordion and Orchestral
Sounds Together (Layer). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Playing Drum sounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
10
Drum sounds on the Right Hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Drum Sounds on the Left Hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Right Hand Keyboard Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Assigning a Portion of Right Hand Keyboard to Each
Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Playing Chords and a Solo Line Using Different
Sections (High and Low). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
9. Other Important Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Transposing to a Different Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Musette Detune. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Scale (Tuning). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Guitar Mode for the Orchestral Chord Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
10. Using Sets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
How to Select Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
How to Save a Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Export and Import Sets to/from the Optional USB memory. . . 44
Export Sets to the Optional USB memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Import Sets to the Optional USB memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Import FR-7x Sets from the Optional USB memory . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Import All FR-7x Sets from an Optional USB memory . . . 46
Import a Single FR-7x Set from an Optional USB
memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Factory Sets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
11. Using the FR-8x USB Audio Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Getting Ready to Use the FR-8x as a USB Audio Player. . . . . . . . 48
Selecting a Song on a USB Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Playing Back a Song from a USB Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Operations on USB Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Play List Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Programming your Play List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
How to Load Play List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Editing an Existing Play List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Editing a Play List Starting from an Existing One. . . . . . . . 52
Using Play List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
12. Recording your Performance as Audio Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Listening Your Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
13. Real-Time Audio Looper (Loop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
14. Working with User Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
About the User Program Memory Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Saving an User Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Recalling a User Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Recalling a User Program from the Main Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
About the User Program List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Preparing a New User Program List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Loading a User Program List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Recalling a User Program in the User Program List . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Editing a User Program List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Adding User Program in the List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Inserting User Program in the List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Moving up or down a User Program in a Different
Position the List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Deleting a User Program from the List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Deleting All User Programs from the List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
How to rename a User Programs List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
How to remove a User Programs List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
How to duplicate Your User Programs List (Save as). . . . . . . . . . . 64
Export and Import User Programs to/from the Optional
USB memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Export User Programs to the Optional USB memory. . . . 64
Import User Programs to the Optional USB memory. . . . 66
15. Menu Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Selecting Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Selecting Parameters Via the Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Select Parameters using Jump Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Available Parameters List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Important remark about saving your settings . . . . . . . . . . 70

1. Tuning Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
1.1 Master Tune. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
1.2 Transpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
1.3 Scale Tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
1.4 Scale Tune Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
2. Accordion Edit Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
2.1 Reed Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
2.2 Register. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
2.3 Effects Send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
2.4 MFX Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
2.5 MFX Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
2.6 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
2.7 MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
2.8 Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3. Bass Edit parameters (Accordion). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.1 Reed Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.2 Register. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.3 Noises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.4 Effect Send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.5 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.6 BASS MIDI TX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.7 CHORD MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.8 Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4. Free Bass Edit parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.1 Reed Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.2 Register. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.3 Effect Send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.4 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.5 FREE BASS MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.6 Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5. Orchestra 1 Edit parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.1 Tone Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.2 Effect Send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.3 MFX Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.4 MFX Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.5 Sound Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.6 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.7 MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6. Orchestra 2 Edit parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
7. Organ Edit parameters (Righ Hand). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
7.1 Organ Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
7.2 Organ Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.3 VTW Upper (Right Hand Organ). . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8. Orch Bass Edit parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8.1 Tone Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8.2 Tone Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8.3 Effects Send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
8.3 VTW Pedal Parameter (only for VTW Organ
Tone). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
8.4 Sound Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . . 86
8.5 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
8.6 MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8.7 VTW Pedal (only for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . . 87
9. Orch Chord Edit parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
9.1 Tone Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
9.1 Tone Selection (only for VTW Organ Tone). . 87
9.2 Tone Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
9.3 Effects Send (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . 88
9.3 VTW Lower Parameter (only for VTW Organ
Tone). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
9.4 MFX Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . . . . 89
9.5 MFX Controls (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . 89
9.6 Sound Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . . 89
9.7 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
9.8 MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
9.9 VTW Lower (only for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . 90
10. Orch Free Bass Edit parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
10.1 Tone Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
10.1 Tone Selection (only for VTW Organ Tone). 91
10.2 Tone Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
10.3 Effects Send (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . 91
10.3 VTW Lower Parameter (only for VTW
Organ Tone). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
10.4 MFX Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . . . 92
10.5 MFX Controls (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . 93

10.6 Sound Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone). . . . . 93
10.7 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
10.8 MIDI TX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
11. Drum Edit parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
11.1 Drum Set Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
11.2 Treble. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
11.3 Bass&Chord BASS Link 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
11.6 Bass&Chord CHORD Link 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
11.9 Effects Send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
11.10 Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
11.11 MIDI TX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
12. Right Hand Mode parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
12.1 Keyboard Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
12.2 Zone Accordion - Orch1/Organ. . . . . . . . . . . 96
12.3 Zone Orchestra 2 - Drum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
13. Set Common . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
13.1 Reverb macro/Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
13.2 Chorus macro/Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
13.3 Delay macro/Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
13.4 Chin function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
13.5 Master Bar Recall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13.6 Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13.7 Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
14. System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
14.1 Dynamic Bellows Behaviour. . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
14.2 Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
14.3 Audio/Power Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
14.4 Function Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
14.5 Sustain - A routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
14.6 Sustain - B routing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
14.7 MIDI Foot Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
14.8 General Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
14.9 Start-Up Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
15. Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
15.1 Copy SET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
15.2 Copy EFFECT to SET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
15.3 Treble register on current SET. . . . . . . . . . . . 108
15.4 Bass register on current SET . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
15.5 FreeBass register on current SET. . . . . . . . . 109
15.6 Restore Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
15.7 EXPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
15.8 IMPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
15.9 Expansion Sounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
15.10 FACTORY SETs RESET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
15.11 FACTORY UPGs RESET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
15.12 FACTORY ALL RESET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
16. MIDI Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
16.1 Real Time RX-TX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
16.2 External Seq. Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
16.3 Global Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
17. Wireless LAN Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
What is Wireless LAN Function?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Basic Connection Method (Connect by WPS). . 114
Wireless LAN Function Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Connecting to a Wireless LAN Access Point
That You Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Connecting in Ad-Hoc mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Checking the IP Address and MAC Address
(WIRELESS INFO). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
How to Save System Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
16. Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
17. Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
18. MIDI Implementation Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
19. Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
11
4. A first look at your FR-8x

The Sections of Your FR-8x
Lets briefly look at the various sections of your instrument, as that will help you understand how your V-Accordion works.
Right Hand Section

This section is normally used for
playing the melody.
The FR-8xs righ hand keyboard is
velocity sensitive.
Chin Switches
Master Bar
This is useful for if you want to recall a

function without having to take your
hand off the keyboard.
Pressing this switch all registers are opened (Default).

In High, Low ( p. 39) or Layer mode ( p. 37) the master
bar allows you to switch the Orchestra section on and off.
The Chin Switches are programmable.

See 13.4 Chin function (p. 98)
Right Hand Registers

This section contains the registers
for the right hand and other
selectors and knobs.
Bellows
The bellows is an important part of the
accordion.
The movement of the bellows indeed
lends expression and dynamics to the
sound. Several techniques are available,
one of which is called bellows shake
(rapid opening and closing movements).
The bellows inertia decrease or increase
depending on the number of pressed keys
or, if you want, you can fix the bellows
resistance as you prefer ( p. 100).
Left Hand Registers

This section contains
seven registers for the left
hand.
Air Button
The air button operates a valve
that allows the bellows to open
and close without the accordion
making any sound.
Left Hand Bass and chord section

This section is normally used to play the
accompaniment.
There are two general categories: one is called
Stradella, and the other Free Bass. The FR-8x
allows you to use either type.
If you select the Free Bass system, all buttons
are used to play single bass notes.
The FR-8xs bass and chord section is velocity
sensitive.
12
About Dynamic Bellows Behaviour Technology
About Dynamic Bellows Behaviour

Technology
In the acoustic accordion sounds are produced by reeds which
vibrate when stimulated by an air flow generated by
the movement of the bellows.
The lightness or hardness of the opening
of the bellows depends on how many
reeds are selected (registers) and how
many notes the musician plays.
The Dynamic Bellows Behaviour
technology allows to open and close
in real time the overall air hole (overall amount of air going into / out of the
bellows) considering the selected register
and the number of played notes.
13
5. Panel Description
Right Hand Control Panel
10
11
5
6
7
POWER button
Turns the power on/off (p. 27).
On the main page, [UP] and [DOWN] allow you to select

important functions like Transpose.
With the factory settings FR-8xs power will automatically be

switched off 10 minutes after you stop playing or operating
the FR-8x.
If FR-8xs power has been turned off automatically, you can
use the [POWER] button to turn the FR-8x back on. If you dont
want the power to turn off automatically, set the Auto Off
parameter to Off ( p. 106).
UP/DOWN buttons
When the menu is displayed, [UP] and [DOWN] are used to scroll
menu pages.
EXIT/JUMP button
The [EXIT/JUMP] button allows you to return to the main page.
After selecting a menu function, briefly pressing [EXIT/JUMP]
takes you back to a higher level.
NOTE
Press it again to return to the main page.
Be aware that any unsaved changes are lost when the FR-8x is switched
off by that function.
By holding down [EXIT/JUMP] while the main page is

displayed, you activate the JUMP function (see p. 68).
CHARGE button
To recharge FR-8x battery pack press and hold this button
until it lights red.
This button allows you to select the FR-8xs MENU

environment where you can set and view all available
functions. By holding down [MENU/WRITE], you activate the
WRITE function, which allows you to save your User Program,
Set and Settings.
For more information see How to Charge the Battery Pack

(p. 18).
VOLUME knob
This knob allows you to set the V-Accordions overall volume.
4
5
14
DATA/ENTER knob
This knob allows you to scroll through and select menu pages,
and to modify parameter values.
SET buttons
These two buttons allow you to choose among 100 Sets.
Each Set contains suitable settings for all sections (accordion,
orchestral/tonewheel organ, drums).
BALANCE knob
This knob allows you to set the balance between the right
hand and the left hand sections.
MENU/WRITE button
10
LEFT HAND section

These buttons allow to switch On/Off the parts controlled in
the left hand:
ORCH BASS, ORCH CHRD/F.BASS, FBASS, BASS & CHORD
Right Hand Control Panel
16
13
15
14
17
18
19
12
11
RIGHT HAND section

These buttons allow to switch On/Off the parts controlled in
the right hand:
14
The [LOOP] button allow you to use the PLAYER section for the loop
function. See p. 56.
The [ % ] button allows you to return to the beginning of the current
song,
ORCH1, ORCH2, ORGAN, ACCORDION,
12
The [ */, ] button allows you to start or temporary stop (pause) the
song playback.
Right hand registers

The 14 right hand registers allow you to select the desired
sound.
NOTE
In ORCH 1, ORCH 2, and ORGAN mode registers [1]~[14] provide access
to two sounds (A/B). To select a B sound, press the corresponding
register twice.
NOTE
By pressing and holding any register, you can switch the selected right
section off. The notes will continue to be transmitted only via MIDI
Press the same or another register to switch it back on.
13
MODE section
These buttons allow to switch On/Off the functions:
DRUMS ( p. 37), BASS TO TREBLE ( p. 34), USER PROGRAM
( p. 57).
PLAYER section
The [REC] button is used to start audio recording of your performance.

See p. 54
15
16
CHORUS knob, REVERB knob, DELAY knob

Use these knobs to set the level of the chorus, reverb and
delay effects.
17
18
EFFECT knob
19
USB MEMORY port
Use this knob to set the level of the MFX effects.

Connect an optional USB memory here.
NOTE
Carefully insert the USB memory all the way in-until it is firmly in place.
Use USB memory sold by Roland. We cannot guarantee operation if any
another USB memory is used.
Roland does not recommend using USB hubs, irrespective of whether
they are active or passive. Please connect only one USB memory to this
port.
15
Panel Description
Left Hand Control Panel

20
21
22
20
Left hand registers
21
Bass and chord buttons
The 7 left hand registers allow you to select the desired sound.
22
Air button
The air button operates a valve that allows the bellows to open
and close without the accordion making any sound.
By pressing it you can purge the air that still remains in the
bellows after playing.
These 120 buttons are used to play bass notes and chords
They are velocity-sensitive). They also allow you to play drum
sounds.
Display, Master Bar and Chin Switches

24
23
Display
24
Master Bar
25
23
This graphic colour display shows information related to your

operation.
When an accordion sound is selected, press this switch to
open all registers (Default). You change this setting and
choose to open only some other.
In High, Low ( p. 39) or Layer mode ( p. 37) the master bar
allows you to switch the Orchestra section on and off.
25
Chin Switches
This is useful for if you want to recall a function without having
to take your hand off the keyboard.
The Chin Switches are programmable. See 13.4 Chin function
(p. 98).
16
Connection panel
Connection panel
27
28
26
29
26
30
29
DC IN socket
Connect the supplied PSB-14U AC adapter here ( p. 20)
27
MIDI OUT & IN sockets

You can connect MIDI devices to these sockets ( p. 22).
28
These sockets can be connected to an amplifier, a mixing

console or a commercially available wireless system. For stereo
operation, be sure to connect both jacks.
NOTE
USB COMPUTER port

This port can be connected to one of your computers USB
ports (see p. 23). Please use a commercially available USB
cable.
OUTPUT L/MONO (TREBLE) & R/MONO (BASS) sockets
Using these sockets and switching off the FR-8xs speakers (see Speaker
Mode on p. 106) allows you to save battery power.
30
PHONES socket
This is where you can connect optional stereo headphones
(Roland RH-series).
NOTE
Connecting a pair of headphones mutes the internal speakers.
Battery compartment
31
Battery compartment
This is where you install the supplied battery pack (see p. 18).
31
17
6. Before you Start Playing

Power Supply FR-8x by the Battery
Pack
How to Install the Battery Pack
The FR-8x comes with a rechargeable battery pack that needs to be
installed when you first unpack the FR-8x.
1. Prepare a coin that fits into the screws of battery pack

compartment.
2. Remove the back pad located between the right hand
7. Arrange the strip on the battery pack in such a way that

it will not prevent you from installing the battery pack
compartment cover.
manual and the bellows.
8. Close the FR-8xs battery compartment and use a coin to

tighten the screws.
9.
Reinstall the back pad.

NOTE
We recommend that you keep the battery pack installed in the
unit even though youll be powering it with the AC adaptor. That
way, youll be able to continue a performance even if the cord of
the AC adaptor gets accidently disconnected from the unit.
3. Use the coin to loosen the two screws of the battery pack
compartment cover.
How to Charge the Battery Pack

The FR-8x comes with one Ni-Mh battery pack that can be
recharged when it has gone flat.
General remarks about the battery pack

Please read Precautions for the included battery on p. 5,6.
We recommend occasionally to completely discharge the battery
pack (wait until the FR-8x goes off ) followed by a full recharge.
Battery duration
A new or fully charged battery pack should last about 8 hours (The
length of time your battery will power the FR-8x depends on how
you use it).
4. Remove the cover from the FR-8x battery pack

compartment.
5. In the battery pack compartment you will find the battery
Start the charging

You can start to charge the battery pack regardless of whether the
FR-8x is turned on or turned off. While charging you can still play
your FR-8x.
strip. Take it and position it around the battery pack as

shown:
Charging Time
Chargers take from a few minutes to several hours to charge a
battery pack. It depends on the battery charge status. A discharged
battery can take up to 3.5 hours to fully recharge.
Battery Strip
NOTE
To use the battery pack for the first time after purchase it or having not used
for a long period of time, be sure to charge them.
This strip comes in handy whenever you need to remove the

battery pack.
6. Connect the battery pack to the FR-8x connector and

insert the battery pack into the FR-8x compartment.
Charge the Battery Pack Without Powering On

the FR-8x
In the following example we will charge the battery without
powering on the FR-8x.
NOTE
If you dont need to play FR-8x while charging the battery, we
18
Power Supply FR-8x by the Battery Pack

suggest to charge the battery with the instrument turned off, to
reduce the power consumption.
1. Install the battery pack.

See How to Install the Battery Pack (p. 18)
2. Connect the FR-8x to the PSB-14U AC adaptor.

SeeConnecting the AC Adaptor (p. 20)
3. Press and hold the [CHARGE] button until the button

lights red steady.
5. When the battery is fully charged the [CHARGE] button
lights green and a message is shown to indicate that the

battery has been charged.
See Battery Charging Messages (p. 19).
6. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to indicate that you have

read the message.
Battery Charging Messages

Pop-up window Message
[CHARGE]
Explanation
button indicator
lights green.
Battery Charging Complete
Steady Green
The button will remain lit green for a few minutes, then it turns off .
Temperature lower than 0

degree
Flashing Yellow
Temperature greater than 40

degree
Flashing Yellow
Temperature greater than 60

degree
Flashing Yellow
4. When the battery is fully charged the [CHARGE] button

5. At the first power on, the FR-8x shows a message to
indicate that the battery has been charged.
See Battery Charging Messages (p. 19).
6. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to indicate that you have
Timeout
Flashing Red
No battery
Flashing Red
Please install the battery

pack ( p. 18).
Flashing Red
Please check the

connection of the battery
pack cable. If the problem
persists, request servicing
by your retailer, the nearest
Roland Service Center,
or an authorized Roland
distributor, as listed on the
Information page
In the following example we will charge the battery powering on

the FR-8x.
NOTE
If you dont need to play FR-8x while charging the battery, we
suggest to charge the battery with the instrument turned off, to
reduce the power consumption.
1. Install the battery pack.
Hardware Error
See How to Install the Battery Pack (p. 18)
2. Connect the FR-8x to the PSB-14U AC adaptor.
The charging operation was

interrupted.
SeeConnecting the AC Adaptor (p. 20)
3. Switch on the FR-8x.

4. Press and hold the [CHARGE] button until the button
lights red steady.
Extremely cold and hot

conditions may stop
charging battery.
Probably the battery is

exhausted. Replace the
battery pack ( p. 20). If the
problem persists, request
servicing by your retailer,
the nearest Roland Service
Center, or an authorized
Roland distributor, as listed
on the Information page
read the message.
Charge the Battery Pack Powering On the FR-8x
The battery pack is fully

charged.
Battery charging not complete
Flashing Red
This can happen when

there is a power interruption or the power cord was
unplugged from power
outlet.
When the Battery Pack has to be charged

You need to charge the battery pack the first time that you use it
and whenever the battery pack is low.
The main page shows information about the power supply of FR-8x.
19
Before you Start Playing

Power Supply Icon
Warning!
Before removing the battery pack, be sure to power the FR-8x
off (the [POWER] button indicator must be dark). See Turning
the Power Off (p. 27)
1. Switch off the FR-8x.

2. Prepare a coin.
3. Remove the back pad located between the Right Hand
keyboard and the bellows.
4. Use the coin to loosen the two screws of the battery

compartment cover.
Power Supply Icon
Explanation
5. Remove the cover from the FR-8x battery compartment.

6. Pull the battery strip so that the battery pack protrudes a
little from the battery case.
FR-8x is powered by the PSB-14U AC adaptor.
7. Remove the connector and take the battery pack out of

the battery case
FR-8x is powered by the battery pack.

The battery icon shows how much power is left (in
our example: maximum charge).
If the charge indicator turns yellow, the remaining
battery power is low.
A warning message will appear on the screen.
The battery pack is connected to the FR-8x by means of a cable. You

need to disconnect the cable from the battery pack by pressing the
clip on the connector before fully removing the battery pack.
8. Remove the strip from the exhausted battery pack.

9. Position the strip around the new battery pack as shown:
Recharge the batteries at your earliest convenience.

If the charge indicator turns red, it means that you
need to charge the batteries right away (or use the
supplied AC adaptor).
Battery Strip
A warning message will appear on the screen.
The battery pack is being charged.
How to Replace the exhausted Battery

Pack with a New One
This strip comes in handy whenever you need to remove the

battery pack
10. Connect the new battery pack to the FR-8x connector and
insert the battery pack into the FR-8x compartment.
11. Arrange the strip on the battery pack in such a way that
it will not prevent you from installing the battery pack
compartment cover.
When to replace the battery pack

The FR-8xs battery pack can be recharged several times before it
needs to be replaced with a new one.
Note that it is normal for the battery pack to last increasingly
shorter as time goes by. At the end of its life cycle, it may only last
one hour, for example. You will arrive at the time when the battery
pack is useless and you will need to buy a new one.
Only use BTY/FR battery pack.

Never try to insert any other batteries into the FR-8x
than the one it came with FR-8x. Purchased the suitable
replacement battery pack from your Roland dealer only.
12. Close the FR-8x battery compartment and use a coin to

tighten the screws.
13. Reinstall the back pad.

14. Charge the new battery pack.
See How to Charge the Battery Pack (p. 18)
Connecting the AC Adaptor

1. Turn the [VOLUME] knob all the way to the left to
minimize the volume.
Exhausted battery pack

The battery pack should be recycled. The battery pack
should not be disposed of with household waste but taken
to battery collection points for recycling.
Please refer to regulation as defined in your region.
20
Connecting the FR-8x to an Amplification

System
The FR-8x is equipped with an internal speaker system and thus
does not need to be connected to an amplifier at all. There may
be times, however when using an external amplification system is
more convenient.

2. Connect the included power cord to the AC adapter.

The indicator will light once you plug the AC adaptor into a wall
outlet.
PSB-14U AC Adapter
Indicator
Power cord
to an AC outlet
Place the AC adapter so that the side with the indicator (see
illustration) faces upwards and the side with textual information
faces downwards.
NOTE
Depending on your region, the included power cord may differ
from the one shown above.
NOTE
Be sure to use only the AC adaptor supplied with the unit
(PSB-14U). Also, make sure the line voltage at the installation
matches the input voltage specified on the AC adapter body.
Other AC adapters may use a different polarity, or be designed
for a different voltage, so their use could result in damage,
malfunction, or electric shock.
2. Switch off all device to which you are connecting the

FR-8x.
3. Connect the FR-8xs OUTPUT jacks to the inputs of your

external device.
Please choose unbalanced (mono) cables with 1/4 jacks at

one end (for the FR-8x). The connectors at the other end need
to match the input sockets of the device to which you are
connecting the FR-8x.
NOTE
If you wont be using the FR-8x for an extended period of time,
disconnect the power cord from the electrical outlet.
R
3. Connect the AC adaptor to FR-8xs DC IN jack.
INPUT
NOTE
4. Plug the power cord into a power outlet.

The indicator will light once you plug the AC adaptor into a wall
outlet
NOTE
To prevent the inadvertent disruption of power to your unit
(should the plug be pulled out accidentally), and to avoid
applying undue stress to the AC adaptor jack, anchor the power
cord. See Securing the AC Adapter cable (p. 25).
If you use a commercially available wireless transmitter, the

FR-8xs output signals may distort. In that case, change the
FR-8xs output level (see OUTPUT LEVEL (p. 106).
NOTE
If your amplifier is monaural, you only need to connect the L/
MONO socket.
NOTE
To prevent malfunction and equipment failure, always turn
down the volume and turn off all units before making any
connections.
21

TIPS
If you are using the supplied rechargeable battery pack and
need to connect the FR-8x to a PA system or mixer, we
recommend using a commercially available wireless system to
avoid using excessively long signal cables.
Connecting Headphones
You can connect the [PHONES] jack to a set of Headphones
The internal speakers are automatically shut off when a plug
is inserted into this jack.
1. Plug the headphones into the PHONES jack located

on the FR-8xs connection panel.
NOTE
Use stereo headphones. Please use only Roland
headphones.
What is MIDI?
MIDI, short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, was
developed as a universal standard for the exchange of
performance data among electronic musical instruments and
computers.
The FR-8x is equipped with MIDI connectors to let it
exchange performance data with external devices. These
connectors can be used to connect the unit to an external
device for even greater versatility.
Connection example
If you use a MIDI cable to connect this units MIDI OUT connector to
the MIDI IN connector of your external MIDI sound module, youll
be able to produce sound on the external MIDI sound module by
playing this units keyboard. As necessary, set the external MIDI
sound modules receive channel to match this units MIDI transmit
channel.
MIDI cables
FR-8x
Headphones from other manufacturers may be unable to

provide sufficient volume.
MIDI Sound Module

or
Sequencer
2. Use the FR-8xs [VOLUME] knob to adjust the

headphone volume.
Cautions when using headphones

To prevent damage to the cords internal conductors, avoid
rough handling. When using headphones, mainly try to
handle either the plug or the headset.
Your headphones may be damaged if the volume of a device
is already turned up when you plug them in. Minimize the
volume before you plug in the headphones.
Excessive input will not only damage your hearing, but
may also strain the headphones. Please enjoy music at a
reasonable volume.
NOTE
To prevent malfunction and equipment failure, always
turn down the volume and turn off all units before
making any connections.
IN
MIDI
OUT
An important application for the FR-8xs MIDI functions is

controlling an backing module (e.g. BK-7m) that supplies the
accompaniment. Backing modules use short accompaniment
patterns that can be selected in realtime and whose key depends
on the note information they receive.
MIDI channels
MIDI provides sixteen channels, numbered 1~16. Even if two MIDI
devices are connected, you wont be able to select or play sounds
on the other device unless both devices are set to the same MIDI
channel. The FR-8x use the following MIDI channels:
By connecting an external MIDI device and exchanging

performance data, you can control one device from another.
For instance, you can output sound from other instruments,
switch sounds or receive MIDI data from an external
sequencer that cause your FR-8x to play. See p. 112 for
MIDI parameters.
Channel
Accordion section
Bass/Free Bass section
Chord section
Orchestra1/Organ section
Orchestra Bass section
Orchestra Chord section
Orchestra Free Bass section
Drum section
10
Orchestra2 section
11
Basic Channel (For selection Sets, User Program)
Connecting a MIDI Device
Section
13
NOTE
Before making connections with other devices, you must turn
down the volume of all devices and turn off the power to avoid
22

malfunctions or speaker damage.
Connecting FR-8x to FC-300 MIDI Foot

Controller
You can connect the FC-300 to expand your performance
capabilities by nine industrial-grade footswitches and two
programmable expression pedals.
1. Use a MIDI cable (commercially available) to connect the

FR-8x to the FC-300.
Switch1
Switch5
Switch 2
Switch6
Switch 3
Switch7
Switch 4
Switch 8
Switch9
Not Used
Expression
See 5.6 Controllers (p. 81), 8.5 Controllers (p. 86), 9.7
Controllers (p. 90) and 10.7 Controllers (p. 93) to enable the
expression pedal control for each Orchestra part.
NOTE
The FR-8x recognize the FC-300 EXP PEDAL 2 only.
Connecting the FR-8x to Your Computer

MIDI cable
FR-8x
If you use a USB cable (commercially available) to connect the COMPUTER

port located on the FR-8xs connection panel to the USB port of your
computer, youll be able to do the following things:
Use the FR-8x as a sound module.
By transferring MIDI data between the FR-8x and your sequencer
software, youll be able to enjoy a wide range of possibilities for music
production and editing.
NOTE
The FR-8x not supported the GM/GS standard
1. Use a standard USB cable (AgB-type connectors,
commercially available) to connect the FR-8x to your

computer as shown below.
NOTE
When making connections to FC-300, be sure that all equipment
are switched off.
2. Switch on the power of the FR-8x ( p. 27) and the FC-300

(Refer to the Owners Manual of FC-300).
Operation on FC-300
3. Press the [MODE] button repeatedly to switch the MIDI
foot controller in the SYS mode.
For details see the Owners Manual of FC-300.
Operations on FR-8x
4. Set the Type Device of MIDI Foot Controller to FC-
300 and select the desiderate functions that you want

assign to these pedals.
See 14.7 MIDI Foot Controller (p. 106).
You can assign up to 9 pedals:
If the computer doesnt see the FR-8x

Normally, you dont need to install a driver in order to connect the FR-8x to
your computer. However, if some problem occurs, or if the performance is
poor, using the Roland original driver may solve the problem.
For details on downloading and installing the Roland original driver, refer
to the Roland website:
http://www.roland.com/
Specify the USB driver you want to use, and then install the driver.
For details, refer to USB Driver (p. 107).
NOTE
To avoid the risk of malfunction and/or damage to external
speakers, always turn the volume all the way down and switch off
the power on all devices before you make any connections.
Only MIDI data can be transmitted and received via USB. Audio data
for a song recorded on the FR-8x cannot be transmitted or received.
Switch on the power to the FR-8x before you start up the MIDI
application on your computer. Never turn the FR-8xs power on/off
while your MIDI application is running.
23

6. Repeat steps (3)~(5) for the other strap.
Straps
The upper strap ends should look as follows:
Attaching the Straps

1. Unpack the straps.
The FR-8x comes with two shoulder straps, both are fitted with
Velcro strip at their ends. The Velcro strip is illustrated below:
7. Slide the lower end of one strap through the right holder
ring as shown.
2. Put the FR-8x on a stable surface as shown in the

illustration below. rning the Power On/Off
8. Attach the strap upper part to the Velcro layer below it.
9. Close the security clip to ensure that the strap cannot
come loose.
Left Holder Ring
10. Adjust the length of your shoulder straps using the buckle
(see the illustration).
3. Slide the upper end (with the Roland brand) of one strap
through the left holder ring (see the illustration).
11. Repeat steps (7)~(10) for the other lower strap end.
12. Fasten the back strap.
4. Attach the strap upper part to the Velcro layer below it.
5. Close the security clip to ensure that the strap cannot
come loose.
13. Adjust the back strap length to your own correct

ergonomic position using the buckle.
Adjusting the Bass strap

The FR-8x bass strap, which is used to move the bellows in and out,
is made out of leather. Its slack can be adjusted according to your
preference by rotating the adjuster (see the illustration).
Turn it to one side to tighten the bass strap, and to the other to
24
About Button Type Keyboard

3. Reinstall the back pad, while taking care to secure the
loosen it
adapter cable you have just installed.
Adjuster
When finished, the FR-8x should look as follows:

Bass Strap
NOTE
If you loosen the Bass strap adjuster too much, the Bass strap
will come out of the cabinet.
Securing the AC Adapter cable

Proceed as follows to ensure that the adapter cable doesnt come
loose while you are playing.
1. Unfasten the indicated part of the back pad.
4. Reverse these steps to remove and disconnect the

adapter when you want to stop playing.
About Button Type Keyboard

Right Clip
The FR-8x give you a professional feeling
with a different touch thanks to new buttons
in synthetic nacre material.
The back pad is attached with several clips. You only need to
unfasten the part shown in the illustration below
Notice the cable guide next to the right clip that is the closest one
to the connection panel.
Cable Guide
How to Replace a Right Hand Button of

your FR-8x Keyboard
Your FR-8x uses the same treble buttons as an acoustic accordion.
You can replace the FR-8x treble buttons with other buttons commercially available.
Use buttons with the following characteristics:
FR-8x Button with built-in screw
2. Connect the small plug of the AC adaptor cable to the
FR-8x DC IN socket and wind the cable around its guide:
Button diameter
15 mm
Button thickness
~ 3.5 mm
Screw-Length
~ 9 mm
Screw-Diameter
2 mm
5. Unscrew anti-clockwise the treble button that you want

to replace.
25

IMPORTANT NOTE
Do not replace the rubber washer with
another type. If you forgot it, call your nearest
Roland Service Center to order it as spare
part.
Take care do not force to tighten the treble
button (tighten with a torque 0.3 Nm max). To
do it you risk to strip the hole.
rubber washer
6. Remove from the just extract treble button the rubber

washer.
The rubber washer must be used for new treble button.
rubber washer
7. Insert the rubber washer in the screw of new treble

button.
Take in consideration that the number

of tightening for a single button is not
unlimited. Replace the buttons sparingly.
If you remove the treble button and the
rubber washer from the button keyboard,
be sure to replace it; dont leave them
lying around where it could accidently be
swallowed by small children.
Bass & Chord Button Board

The FR-8x is supplied with several reference caps (concave and
with lines) designed to help you locate the bass and chord buttons
without looking at them. At the factory, three caps are installed
on the buttons shown in black in the illustration below. Feel free
to remove them and to slide them over other buttons if that feels
more comfortable.
References Caps
rubber washer
NOTE
If you use the treble buttons supplied with the FR-8x, you dont
need to insert the rubber washer. The supplied treble buttons
are already provided with the rubber washers.
8. Place the new treble button perpendicular to the hole and

screw clockwise gently for 3-4 turns without pushing it.
How to Remove and Insert Reference

Caps
Removing the cap
1. Hold the cap with two fingers and pull it up.
hole
Pull Up
WARNING
While youre screwing the treble button, do not push the shaft
down.
The shaft can get stuck down.
NOTE
Using a commercially available tool to unscrew or screw the
treble buttons can be handy.
9. Carefully continue to screw tighten the treble button

without force it (tighten with a torque 0.3 Nm max).
26
Pull Up
Inserting the cap

1. Insert the cap into the button hole and push it.
Turning the Power On/Off

IMPORTANT NOTE
If you remove the caps from the Bass &
Chord button board , be sure to replace it;
dont leave them lying around where it could
accidently be swallowed by small children.
Turning the Power On/Off

Once everything is properly connected (See 6. Before you Start
Playing (p. 18), be sure to follow the procedure below to turn on
their power. If you turn on equipment in the wrong order, you risk
causing malfunction or equipment failure.
Turning the Power On

minimize the volume
NOTE
Before turning the FR-8x on/off, always be sure to turn the
volume down. Even with the volume turned down, you might
hear some sound when switching the FR-8x on/off.
However, this is normal and does not indicate a malfunction.
2. Press the [POWER] switch to turn on the power.
After a brief interval, the FR-8x will be ready to produce sound.
3. Use the [VOLUME] knob to adjust the volume.

NOTE
This unit is equipped with a protection circuit. A brief interval
(a few seconds) after power up is required before the unit will
operate normally.
Turning the Power Off

NOTE
Never switch off the FR-8x while playback or recording is
running or while data are being read from, or written to, an
external USB memory.
2. Press the FR-8xs [POWER] switch.
The display will go dark and the power will turn off.
If you dont want the power to turn off

automatically, turn the Auto Off setting off !
With the factory settings, the units power will automatically be switched off 10 minutes after you stop playing or
operating the unit.
Shortly before the FR-8x shuts down automatically, the display
starts counting down the seconds. If you want to keep using
the FR-8x at this stage, press any button. When the FR-8x is
turned off by the Auto Off function, the [POWER] buttons
position doesnt change, which means that you need to press
it once, wait a few seconds, then press it again to switch the
FR-8x back on.
If you dont want the power to turn off automatically, change
the Auto Off setting to Off as described on p. 106.
The power will turn on, an opening message will appear in the
FR-8xs screen, and then the main page will appear.
NOTE
If you need to turn off the power completely, first turn off the
[POWER] switch, then unplug the power cord from the power
outlet. Refer to Connecting the AC Adaptor (p. 20).
27
Real-time Adjustments
Adjusting the Sound Volume
Heres how to adjust the volume of your FR-8x playing or the
playback volume of an audio song.
If headphones are connected, use the [Volume] knob to adjust the
headphone volume.
1. Turn the [Volume] knob to adjust the overall volume.

Adjust the volume while you play the keyboard to produce sound.
Turning the knob toward the right will increase the volume, and
turning it toward the left will decrease the volume.
After about 3 seconds, the pop-up window disappears again.
Adjusting the effects

The FR-8x contains three knobs that can be used to set the level of
Chorus, Reverb, Delay .
The [EFFECT] knob sets the level of the MFX effects.
1. Turn a knob to adjust the relative effect level.

Adjust the relative effect level while you play the FR-8x.
Turning the knob toward the right will increase the level, and
turning it toward the left will decrease the level.
When the [VOLUME] Knob is moved, the VOLUME pop-up window

appears, showing the current setting:
Volume Balance Between the Right

Hand and Left Hand Sections
If the left hand section is too loud or too soft with respect to the
right hand section you are using, you can change the balance with
the [BALANCE] knob.
Listening to the demo songs

The FR-8x contains several of demo songs that illustrate its wide
variety of sounds and applications.
1. Switch on the FR-8x.

See Turning the Power On/Off (p. 27).
The display now looks more or less as follows:
When the [BALANCE] Knob is moved, the BALANCE pop-up

window appears, showing the current setting:
28
Let us agree to call this page the main page.
2. Simultaneously press and hold the SET [][] buttons.
Listening to the demo songs
Demo Songs
#
Song Title
Performed By
MerryGoRound
My Merry-Go-Round
Ludovic Beier
Squirrel
Squirrel
Ludovic Beier
Running to U
Running to you
Ludovic Beier
Balkan Felix
Balkan Felix
Ludovic Beier
Funky Night
Funky Night
Ludovic Beier
Mad Mouse
Mad Mouse
Ludovic Beier
Nostalgia
Nostalgia
Ludovic Beier
Pink Caf
Pink Caf
Ludovic Beier
My RockWorld
My Rock World
Ludovic Beier
10
Marcus Slap
Marcus Slap
Ludovic Beier
11
Starry Night
Starry Night
Ludovic Beier
12
Scat fantasy
Scat fantasy
Ludovic Beier
13
StepsInSpace
Steps into space
Ludovic Beier
14
BaroqueDance
Baroque Dance
Ludovic Beier
15
CrazyRound
Crazy Roundabout
Ludovic Beier
16
Sonata C Maj
Sonata in C Maj by D. Scarlatti
Sergio Scappini
17
Capriccio 13
Capriccio 13 by N. Paganini
Sergio Scappini
18
Islands
Islands
Ludovic Beier
19
The display jump to the following display page:
Displayed Name
Bop Swing
Bop Swing
Ludovic Beier
Playback starts automatically with the first demo song (there are 35
demo songs in all). See the table on page below.
3. Use the SET [][] buttons to select another demo song.

4. Use the [VOLUME] knob to change the volume if it is too
loud or too soft.
5. Press [EXIT/JUMP] (or again SET [] and []

simultaneously) to leave demo mode.
NOTE
All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of this material for
purposes other than private, personal enjoyment is a violation
of applicable laws.
NOTE
No data for the music that is played will be output from MIDI
OUT.
29
7. Basic Operation of the FR-8x

About the Display and Cursor Operation
This section introduces the information that appear on the main page in FR-8xs display and how to navigate the menu.
Main Screen Page

Name of the selected
audio song
Battery level/power
source indicator
Name of the current

Set or User Program
if selected
Keyboard Mode:
Zone, High, Low
Right hand tones field
Left hand tone field
Moving Between Windows and Setting

Parameter Values
2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob or press [UP] and [DOWN]
buttons to select the entry of the desired function group.
Using the following buttons you can navigate the menu, select the
setting you want to change and change it:
1. Press [MENU] button.
For this example, we will select 1. Tuning (The first Menu page).
3. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to go to the 1. Tuning

function group.
The display changes to:
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob or press [UP] and [DOWN]

30
The first page of menu allows you to select the 1. Tuning function
group.
buttons to select the parameter whose value you want to

change. For example 1.2 Transpose.
About the Display and Cursor Operation

Keyboard Button
Explanation
Press this button to switch between upper-case,
lower-case characters.
Press this button to switch to numbers and symbols.
5. Press the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the parameter.

The setting field of the selected parameter lights.
Press this button to insert a character.
MEMO
In some pages with multiple parameters, press the [DATA/ENTER]
repeatedly to select one of them.
6. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to change the value.

7. Press the [EXIT] button to deselect the field.
How to type a name in FR-8x
Press this button to delete the selected character.
12. Press the [WRITE] button to save your setting.
When using FR-8x it will happen you have to enter the name of a
User Program, Play List, etc.
In the example above we have the page of User Program writing.

The first character of the field name is already selected (see the
character with a white background).
8. If necessary, select a different character position by

rotating the [DATA/ENTER] knob.
9.
Press the [DATA/ENTER] knob to confirm your selection.

A character in the keyboard is now shown:
10. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the desired
character in the keyboard, then press the knob to confirm.

The new character is inserted in the field name and the next
position is selected (see the character with a white background).
11. Now you can repeat the step 10 to enter the remaining
characters.
- or
If you need to select a different character position in the

field name, press [EXIT] button and repeat from the step 8.
The keyboard buttons below allow you the following operations:
31
8. Playing the FR-8x

Selecting Tones and Playing with the
Right Hand
The right hand section can be played using the 41-key keyboard
(piano-type model) or 92 buttons (button-type model) on the righthand side.
With the right hand you can play accordion, orchestral and organ
sounds.
You can play drum sounds too. See Playing Drum sounds (p. 37).
On the main page, the selected sound appears in the right hand
tones field. See Main Screen Page (p. 30).
You can select more than 14 sound even though there are only 14
right registers.
The FR-8x allows you to select among 28 organ and 28 orchestral
sounds (even though there are only 14 right registers).
Piano-type
Button-type
1. Press a RIGHT HAND [ORCH 1], [ORCH 2], [ORGAN],
Pressing a register [1] or [2] repeatedly selects one of the two

available sounds (a or b).
[ACCORDION] button to select the section that you want

to play.
NOTE
The sounds recalled by right registers [1]~[14] depend on which
Set is currently selected. See 10. Using Sets (p. 42)
NOTE
By pressing and holding any right register, you can switch off
the right section. (Even in that case, the right section continues
to send MIDI commands.).
Press the same or another register to switch it back on.
4. If you think the sound is too loud or too soft, change the
setting of the [VOLUME] knob.
The pressed button lights. The button of the previously selected

section turns off. In this standard operation you can select one
section at a time only.
2. Play the keyboard.

Youll hear a sound in relation to the section you selected earlier.
MEMO
The FR-8x only produces sound if you move the bellows.
When you dont move the bellows, you hear nothing at all (as on
an acoustic accordion).
When the FR-8x is controlled via MIDI, or when the parameter
BELLOWS CURVE TYPE (p. 100) uses a Fixed setting, or when
a Piano, E. Piano or Guitar is selected, there is no need to move
the bellows.
3. Use the right registers [1]~[14] to select other sounds of

the selected section.
32
5. If you still cant hear the notes, set the [BALANCE] knob to
the center position.
About Organ Sounds (VTW)

The FR-8x contains a virtual organ that is based on Rolands Virtual
ToneWheel technology.
You can play organ sounds like an organ player by using the Right
Hand (TW Upper), Left Hand chord and Bass sections(TW Lower, TW
Pedal).
You are free to assign an organ sound and a number of typical
organ effects and noises to just one section, to two, or to all three of
them. For more details see 7. Organ Edit parameters (Righ Hand)
(p. 82), 8. Orch Bass Edit parameters (p. 84) and 9. Orch
Chord Edit parameters (p. 87).
Selecting Tones and Playing with the Right Hand
Playing Multiple Tones with the Keyboard

You can perform with up to three layered tones applied to the
entire keyboard .
To do this you can select more than one section simultaneously
by pressing the desired RIGHT HAND buttons at the same time and
by assigning one tone to each of these layers. See How to change
tones of the selected sections (p. 33).
The buttons of the selected sections light.

ACCORDION Section
ORCHESTRA 1 Section
ORCHESTRA 2 Section
ORGAN Section
NOTE
When you select a combination of sections, the last RIGHT
HAND button pressed is active for changing tone.
2. Play the keyboard.

Youll hear a sound in relation to the sections you selected earlier.
MEMO
You have the possibility to change the key range of each
section.
In this way you can play the Accordion + Orchestra 1 section in
the left part of the keyboard and the Orchestra 2 section in the
right part. See Assigning a Portion of Right Hand Keyboard to
Each Section (p. 38).
The active sections play in relation to the selected Keyboard Mode.

At default the Keyboard Mode parameter value is set to Zone and
all sections play on the whole extension of the keyboard. For more
detail about the Keyboard Mode see Right Hand Keyboard Mode
(p. 38) .
3. If you want to play an accordion solo, press the master

bar. Push again to restore the previous condition.
How to change tones of the selected sections

ACCORDION Section
ORCHESTRA 1 Section
ORCHESTRA 2 Section
The following combinations are possible:

What you want to play
You can have more than one active section but only one of them is
active for changing the tone.
4. Press and hold the button of one active section where
you want to change the tone, as long as it starts flashing.
Press and hold simultaneously
ACCORDION + ORGAN
[ACCORDION] and [ORGAN] button
ACCORDION + ORCHESTRA 1
[ACCORDION] and [ORCH 1] button
ACCORDION + ORCHESTRA 2
[ACCORDION] and [ORCH 2] button
ACCORDION + ORGAN +
ORCHESTRA 2
[ACCORDION], [ORGAN] and [ORCH

2] button
ACCORDION + ORCHESTRA 1 +
ORCHESTRA 2
[ACCORDION], [ORCH 1] and [ORCH

2] button
ORCHESTRA 1 + ORCHESTRA 2
[ORCH 1] and [ORCH 2] button
ORCHESTRA 2 + ORGAN
[ORCH 2] and [ORGAN] button
NOTE
The Organ section and the Orchestra 1 section cannot be used
at the same time.
1.
The display highlights the section selected for changing tone.
Press and hold simultaneously two or three RIGHT HAND

buttons to select the section combination that you want
to play.
The combination of the RIGHT HAND sections are shown in the
table just above.
In the above example the ACCORDION section is active for

changing tone.
5. Use the right registers [1]~[14] to select other sounds

belonging to the selected section.
33
Playing the FR-8x

NOTE
The sounds recalled by right registers [1]~[14] depend on which
Set is currently selected. See 10. Using Sets (p. 42)
Playing the Bass Section with your Right

Hand Like a Bassoon (BASS TO TREBLE)
The FR-8x provides a mode in which it can be used like a bassoon
accordion. In this mode, the bass part is played with the right hand.
The bass and chord buttons on the left hand are inactive (a real
bassoon accordion doesnt have bass/chord buttons and can only
be played with one hand).
1. Press the [BASS TO TREBLE] button.
You can play drum sounds also. See Drum Sounds on the Left
Hand (p. 38).
MEMO
The FR-8x only produces sound if you move the bellows.
When you dont move the bellows, you hear nothing at all (as on
an acoustic accordion).
When the FR-8x is controlled via MIDI, or when the parameter
BELLOWS CURVE TYPE (p. 100) uses a Fixed setting, or when
a Piano, E. Piano or Guitar is selected, there is no need to move
the bellows.
Bass and Chord System (BASS & CHRD)

The bass button board in this system allows you to play both bass
notes and chords. The real bass notes are assigned to the two
highlighted rows. The remaining buttons are used to play chords.
The button board use the Stradella bass standard layout.
The FR-8x give you to specify the layout of the Bass and Chord
board. See BASS & CHORD MODE (p. 100).
Bass
2. Use the right registers [1]~[14] to select the desiderate

bass-to-treble sound.
Chords
1. Press the LEFT HAND [BASS & CHRD] button.

The [BASS & CHRD] button lights (default condition when FR-8x is
turned on).
The first seven registers [1]~[7] recall accordion sounds and the
other seven register [8]~[14] recall orchestral sounds.
NOTE
Bass-to-Treble mode uses the BASS (accordion sounds) and
ORCH BASS (orchestral sounds).
The bass orchestral sounds assignments can be different for
each Set.
The display shows the BASS & CHORD mode is active.
3. Start playing the bass part with your right hand.

4. Press the [BASS TO TREBLE] button again to leave this
mode.
Selecting Tones and Playing with the

Left Hand
The left hand section can be played using the bass button board.
These 120 buttons are used to play bass notes and chords.
With the left hand you can play accordion, orchestral sounds and
organ sounds (You can select the organ sounds by the orchestra
tone list).
34
2. Play the bass button board.

Youll hear an accordion sound.
3. Use the left registers to select other accordion sounds.

This choice always applies to both the bass and the chord rows.
Selecting Tones and Playing with the Left Hand
The display shows the selected sound in the left hand tones field.
See Main Screen Page (p. 30).
NOTE
The sounds recalled by left registers depend on which Set is
currently selected. See 10. Using Sets (p. 42)
Free Bass System (F.BASS)

The bass button board in this system allows you to play melodies
on the left hand and to form your own chords. In this system all
base buttons play single notes in contrast to Stradella system
(BASS & CHORD) which only allows to play bass notes and preset
chords.
1. Press the LEFT HAND [F.BASS] button.

The [F.BASS] button lights.
The display shows the selected sound in the left hand tones field.
See Main Screen Page (p. 30).
NOTE
4. Press the LEFT HAND [BASS & CHRD] button to exit from
Free Bass system.
Playing Orchestral Sounds

Here is how to select an orchestral sound for the left hand.
An orchestral sound can be assigned to only the bass buttons, only
the chord buttons, or both (in which case you can select different
orchestral sounds for the bass and chord rows).
You can also play accordion and orchestral sounds at the same time.
You can obtain different combinations using the buttons in the
LEFT HAND section.
Playing Orchestral Sounds Using Bass and

Chord System
1. Press the LEFT HAND [BASS & CHRD] button.
The [BASS & CHRD] button lights
2. Press the LEFT HAND [ORCH CHRD/F.BASS] button to

select an orchestral sound in the Chord section.
The display shows the free bass mode is active.

Youll hear single accordion sounds.
3. Use the left registers to select other accordion sounds.
The [ORCH CHRD/F.BASS] button indicator lights to indicate that

the Chord section plays Orchestral Sounds.
The [BASS & CHRD] button indicator flashes to indicate that the
Chord section doesnt play Accordion Sounds.
The Orchestra Chord section is active for changing tone. The display
highlights the section selected for changing tone.
35
Playing the FR-8x

Youll hear an Orchestra sound when you press a chord button in
the button board and an Accordion sound when you play bass
buttons.
4. Use the left registers to select other Orchestral sounds.

This choice is applied to Chord Section.
5. Press the LEFT HAND [ORCH BASS] button to select an

orchestral sound in the Bass section.
The [ORCH CHRD/F.BASS] button indicator lights to indicate that

the Chord section plays Orchestral Sounds.
The [F.BASS] button indicator flashes to indicate that the Chord
section doesnt play Accordion Sounds.
The Orchestra Chord section is active for changing tone. The display

The [ORCH BASS] button indicator lights to indicate that the Bass
section plays Orchestral Sounds.
Chord and Bass section doesnt play Accordion Sounds.
The Orchestra Bass section is active for changing tone. The display
Youll hear an Orchestra sound when you press a chord button in

the button board and an Accordion sound when you play bass
buttons.

This choice is applied to Chord Section.
5. Press the LEFT HAND [ORCH BASS] button to select an

orchestral sound in the Bass section.

This choice is applied to Bass Section.
Playing Orchestral Sounds Using Free Bass

System
1. Press the LEFT HAND [F.BASS] button.
The [F.BASS] button lights.
2. Press the LEFT HAND [ORCH CHRD/F.BASS] button to

select an orchestral sound in the Chord section.
36
The [ORCH BASS] button indicator lights to indicate that the Bass
section plays Orchestral Sounds.
Chord and Bass section doesnt play Accordion Sounds.
The Orchestra Bass section is active for changing tone. The display
Playing Drum sounds
How to change tones of the selected sections

You can have more than one active section but only one of them is
active for changing the tone.
3. Press and hold the button of one active section where
you want to change the tone, as long as it starts flashing.

This choice is applied to Bass Section.
How to Play different Accordion and

Orchestral Sounds Together (Layer)
The FR-8x allows you to play different sounds in the left hand, both
of which play whenever you press a key.
If you wish to play more than one sound in layer press the desired
LEFT HAND buttons at the same time.
The display highlights the section selected for changing tone.
The following combinations are possible:

What you want to play in
Bass rows: Accordion + Orchestra
Chord rows: Accordion
Bass rows: Accordion
Chord rows: Accordion + Orchestral
Bass rows: Accordion + Orchestral
Chord rows: Accordion + Orchestral
Press and hold simultaneously

[BASS & CHRD] and [ORCH
BASS] button
[BASS & CHRD] and [ORCH
CHRD/F.BASS] button
[BASS & CHRD], [ORCH CHRD/F.
BASS] and [ORCH BASS] button
MEMO
The same combinations are possible using [F.BASS] instead of
[BASS & CHRD].
1.
Press and hold simultaneously two or three LEFT HAND

buttons to select the sound combination that you want to
play.
The combination of the LEFT HAND sections are shown in the table
just above.
In the above example the ORCH BASS section is active for

changing tone.
4. Use the left registers to select other sounds belonging to

the selected section.
NOTE
Playing Drum sounds

The FR-8x gives you the possibility to play drum sounds with the
Right and Left Hand.
You can assign the Drum section to the Left Hand, Right Hand or
both. At default the Drum section is assigned to the left Hand.
For details see DRUM ASSIGN (p. 94).
You can set many other parameters such as the type of Drum Set for
your performance and link drum instruments to the Left Hand and
much more. See 11. Drum Edit parameters (p. 94).
NOTE
The Drum section is not active in Free Bass, Orchestra Free Bass
and in Bass To Treble system.
The buttons of the selected sections light steady.

NOTE
When you select a combination of sections, the last LEFT HAND
button pressed is active for changing tone.

Youll hear a sound in relation to the sections you selected earlier.
1. Press the [DRUMS] button to activate the Drum section.

2. Play the Left Hand button board.
Youll hear Drum sounds.
For more details read Drum Sounds on the Left Hand (p. 38).
To change the drum instruments see 11.3 Bass&Chord BASS Link
1 (p. 95) or/and 11.6 Bass&Chord CHORD Link 1 (p. 95).
3. To Play Drum sound in the Right Hand keyboard you need

to set the DRUM ASSIGN to All or Treble ( p. 94).
37
Playing the FR-8x
Right Hand Keyboard Mode
Drum sounds on the Right Hand

The Drum section can be used to play full-fledged Solo or several
sounds simultaneously (which is called a layer).
Solo Mode
The FR-8x gives you the possibility to assign a portion of the Right
Hand keyboard to each sound section. Moreover you have the
possibility to set a keyboard mode (High or Low) that allows you to
play two or more different sounds depending on the way you play.
Assigning a Portion of Right Hand

Keyboard to Each Section
Drum Section
Layer Mode
1. Select the 12.1 Keyboard Mode (p. 96) and use the
knob to set the TYPE parameter value to Zone.
See Selecting Parameters (p. 68).
ACCORDION Section
At default the TYPE value is Zone.
Drum Section
In the example above the Accordion section is in layer with the

Drum section. You can activate other section to play in layer.
To choose how to play the Drum Section (Solo or Layer) you need to
set the MODE parameter ( p. 95).
In addition, you can choose whether to play the Drum section
in the whole range of the keyboard or in a portion of it.
Now you can choose for each section a range of note.
ACCORDION Section
ORCHESTRA 1 Section
2. Select the 12.2 Zone Accordion - Orch1/Organ (p. 96) to
Drum Section
In the example above the Drum Section is placed in the high range
of the keyboard and the Accordion and Orchestra 1 sections are
placed in the low range.
adjust the range of the sections of ACCORDION and/or

ORCH1/ORGAN.
You can set the range of the keyboard for each section. See
Assigning a Portion of Right Hand Keyboard to Each Section (p.
38).
In most cases, youll need to fit your desired drum instruments in
the keyboard portion of Drum section. To do this see SHIFT (p.
95).
~
~
Full range of available Drum Set instruments (0~127)
SHIFT
parameter
~
~
3. Select the 12.3 Zone Orchestra 2 - Drum (p. 97) to
adjust the range of the sections of ORCHESTRA2 and/or

DRUM.
ACCORDION Section
Drum Section
Drum Sounds on the Left Hand

You can assign up to three drum sounds to the bass buttons and up
to three drum sounds to the chord buttons.
If you assign three sounds, all three will be played simultaneously
whenever you press a bass or chord button. Note that you can
assign a drum sound when you press the button and another drum
sound when you release the button. See 11.3 Bass&Chord BASS
Link 1 (p. 95) or/and 11.6 Bass&Chord CHORD Link 1 (p. 95)
to assign drum sounds.
4. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to set the range of keyboard

for each section.
In the following example we split up the keyboard in three parts:

Accordion, Orch1 / Organ and Drum section.
38
Right Hand Keyboard Mode

MEMO
Keep in mind that the first RIGHT HAND button that you press,
is the first section that plays when you press a key in the right
keyboard.
ACCORDION
Section
ORCH 1 / ORGAN
Section
In the following explanation we selected the combination at the

step 2.
DRUM
Section
Now depending on the portion where you play notes you will hear
different sounds.
Playing Chords and a Solo Line Using

Different Sections (High and Low)
To use these types of keyboard mode you need to select more than
one section simultaneously by pressing the desired RIGHT HAND
buttons at the same time. See Playing Multiple Tones with the
Keyboard (p. 33).
1. Select the 12.1 Keyboard Mode (p. 96) and use the
3. If you select this mode and play just one note, you hear
the sound of the Accordion section for all keyboard
extension. This because at the step 1 you pressed
[ACCORDION] button before the [ORCH1] button.
If you set the Keyboard Mode toLow

a. If you keep holding a key while pressing another
(higher) key, the highest note is played by the Orchestra

1 section. Lower notes, however, are played by
Accordion section.
This is perfect for situations where you need to play chords and a
solo line using different sounds.
Played by the Orchestra section
[DATA/ENTER] knob to set the TYPE parameter value to

High or Low.
Low Note
Played by the Accordion section
High Note
Higher notes are

played by the Orchestra
section
This note is played

by the Accordion
section
If you set the Keyboard Mode toHigh

This is the opposite of Low mode:
a. If you keep holding a key while pressing another (lower)

2. While pressing the RIGHT HAND [ACCORDION] button,
key, the lowest note is played by the Orchestra 1 section.

Higher notes, however, are played by Accordion section.
press the RIGHT HAND [ORCH1] button.
Played by the Accordion section
Low Note
Played by the Orchestra section
Lowest notes are

played by the
Orchestra section
High Note
This note is played by

the Accordion section
4. If you want to play an accordion solo, press the master bar

The [ACCORDION] button indicator lights steadily to indicate that
it is the first section that plays when you press a key in the right
keyboard. The [ORCH 1] button indicator flashes.
to deselect the keyboard type High or Low. Push again

to restore the previous mode.
You can also use the following combinations:

Press and hold
(1st button pressed)
Indicator
Press
(2nd button pressed)
Indicator
ACCORDION
Lights steadily ORCH1
Flashes
ACCORDION
Lights steadily ORCH1 + ORCH2 (Layer)
Flash
ORCH1
Lights steadily ACCORDION
ORCH1 + ORCH2 (Layer) Light steadily
ACCORDION
Flashes
Flashes
NOTE
If you select any combinations other than the above ones, the
Keyboard mode High or Low has no effect.
39
9. Other Important Function

This section presents other important functions you may need
regularly.
Transposing to a Different Key

You can also change the Transpose setting using [MENU]
button1.2 Transpose ( p. 71).
is a matter of turning the [DATA/ENTER] knob.

NOTE
This function is only available for the Accordion section and if an
accordion sound that contains at least the following footages is
selected:
Footages
8
This function allows you to transpose the FR-8xs pitch in semi-tone

steps.
8 , 8-
The advantage of this system is that you can play a song in E major
(for example), while using the fingering of the C major scale (for
example). This may come in handy when you are used to playing
a given song in one key and suddenly need to play it in a different
key.
8 , 8- , 8+
1. While the main page is displayed, press the [UP] button
8 , 8+
8-
8+

twice.
once.

2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the a different

tuning for the treble reeds.
2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the desired key

(transposition).
Parameter
Value
Transpose
Value
MUSETTE
DETUNE
Off (no detune), Dry, Classic FFolk American L, American H,

North Eu, German L, DFolk L, Italian L, German H, Alpine,
Italian H, D-Folk H, French, Scottish.
-6 ~ 0 ~ +5 (semi tone units)
The setting range is 6~+5 semi tones. Select 0 to switch off the
transposition.
3. Press [EXIT/JUMP] to return to the main page.

See Saving an User Program (p. 57) to save your changes.
Musette Detune
You probably know that an accordions 8 Treble register may consist
of 2 or even 3 reeds that are usually tuned apart to provide a richer
sound (accordionists call it the musette effect). One reed is tuned
slightly above, the other slightly below the correct pitch, and the
third (if available) is tuned properly.
Tuning reeds is a specialist job and usually not performed by
accordion players themselves.
On the FR-8x, however, tuning the reeds (that do not really exist)
40
Parameter

See How to Save a Set (p. 42) to save your changes.
Scale (Tuning)
Scale (Tuning)
3. Turn the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the desired part

and push it.
Almost every music culture has its own accordion variety.
ASSIGNED PART
Arabic, Indonesian and other musical cultures do not use the equal
temperament that is favored in Europe, the Americas, etc.
Accordion
The FR-8x features a Scale parameter that allows you to select

the tuning system that best fits the music you want to play. If the
tuning system you need is not among the factory settings, you can
program it yourself, save it to a User1~3 memory and then select it
here. See 1.4 Scale Tune Edit (p. 71).
Orchestra 2

three times.
Explanation
Orchestra 1
Accordion&Orchestra
Bass&Chord
Orch Bass
The Scale Tune is assigned to the selected part.

Select All to assign your settings to all parts.
Orch Chord
Orch Free Bass
ALL
MEMO
Except for Equal, you also need to specify the root/
fundamental (C for major and A for minor) according to the
key of the song to be played.
4. Turn the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the desired root

note (C~B).

See How to Save System Parameters (p. 117) to save your
changes.
Guitar Mode for the Orchestral Chord

Section
The FR-8x Guitar mode allows you to play realistic guitar parts.
When you activate this mode, all chord buttons trigger 6-note
chords (like on a guitar) rather than the 3-note chords typical of an
accordion.
2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a different tuning
Chords usually played

by the chord buttons.
Chords played by the chord buttons

when Guitar mode is on.
system and then push it.

TYPE
Explanation
Equal (Off)
This tuning divides each octave into 12 equal steps

(intervals).
User 1~3
These settings refer to the tuning systems programmed by

yourself (or someone else). See 1.4 Scale Tune Edit (p. 71)
for details.
G maj
G maj
These two settings refer to Arabic tuning systems.

Arabic 1~2
Select 1 to lower the E and B notes by a quarter tone

(50 cents).
2 represents a scale where the E and A are tuned down
a quarter tone.
Just Major
This is a classical (western) tuning that resolved the

ambiguity of fifths and thirds. Quite beautiful sonorities are
produced with chords, but the scale is unbalanced, so it is
not well-suited for melodies.
Just Minor
This system was invented in ancient Greece. It resolves the

ambiguity of fourths and fifths. Though thirds are somewhat
imperfect, melodies sound clearer.
Mean-Tone
A temperament that adds some compromises to the just

temperament and facilitates transposition.
Werckmeister
A combination of the Mean Tone and Pythagorean temperaments, this tuning allows for playing in any key.
Kirnberger
In the LOWER NOTE parameter, rather than simply specify the

lowest notes the chords can play, you can also choose one of
thee guitar chord voicings (Gtr Table1, Gtr Table2, Gtr Table3
tablatures).
This is a just scale for pieces in minor keys.
Pythagorean
You can activate this setting in the 9.2 Tone Control (p. 88).
As a result of improvements made to the Mean Tone and

Just temperaments, this tuning system is relatively tolerant
towards transposition and can be used to play in all keys.
41
10. Using Sets

Your FR-8x is a virtual accordion. It recreates the sounds of various
accordion instruments and can even generate orchestral sounds
(like trumpet, flute, etc.), organ and drum sounds.
There are 100 Set memories and some of them already contain
useful settings right out of the box. But you can replace them
with your own settings. (And if 100 Sets are not enough, you can
archive and load new sets using an optional USB memory) see 15.7
EXPORT (p. 110) and 15.8 IMPORT (p. 110).
The FR-8x has an extra Set memory called Working Area (W.A). This
area is used to load a Set linked to a User Program. See 14. Working
with User Programs (p. 57).
MEMO
To select Sets you can use the Chin switches or the Function
switches opportunely programmed. See 13.4 Chin function (p.
98) and 14.4 Function Switch (p. 106).
Direct Selection (by number)

If you already know which Set you want to use, you can also select
it directly:
1. While the main page is displayed, press and hold the SET
[] or [] button.
The following pop-up window appears:
What is a set?
Each set is a type of accordion.
When you change a set you change your
accordion into another accordion.
The FR-8x comes with different accordions
(sets) already programmed.
Obviously your Virtual accordion is capable
of playing also orchestral, organ and drum
sounds
Design your own accordion.

Moreover you can change many parameters
designing your favorite accordion and save
them into a Set. See How to Save a Set (p.
42).
2. Use the right hand registers [1]~[10] to enter the number

of the desired Set.
See 2. Accordion Edit Parameters (p. 71) to

edit the accordion parameter.
How to Select Sets

Sequential Selection
1. Use the SET [][] buttons.
The [10] register is used to enter the number 0.
To select Set 1, for instance, you need to press register [10], then
register [1]. To select Set 37, first press register [3], then register [7].
NOTE
If you only press one register ([5], for example), the FR-8x
automatically selects that Set after 2 seconds.
How to Save a Set

The Set is recalled and the display shows:
The FR-8x has a memory that holds the data of all Sets, User
Program, Registers, Global settings, etc. You can change whatever
you need to change without worrying about saving your changes
until you are sure that you want to keep them. Be aware, however,
that all unsaved changes are lost when you switch off the FR-8x or
when it is turned off by the AUTO OFF function p. 106.
So be sure to save everything you want to keep at regular intervals.
1. Select all settings you would like to use for the new own
accordion.
You can, for instance, change a desired tone , reverb, chorus , reed
growl and so on. Please see Selecting Parameters (p. 68).
In the above example the 002 CLASSIC set was selected.
2. Again press a SET [][] button to select other sets.

42
2. Press and hold the [MENU/WRITE] button to jump to the

Write page.
The display shows the following page.
How to Save a Set

Parameter
Value
Explanation
Allows you to save the Bass registers.
Bass
No, All, 1~7
No: The Bass registers are not saved.

All: Save all registers (1-7). (Default).
1~7: Save the selected register.
Allows you to save the Free Bass registers.
Free Bass
No, All, 1~7
No: The Free Bass registers are not

saved.
3. Use the [DATA/ENTER] to select Set.

4. Press [WRITE] to proceed.

Allows you to save the Orchestra 1/Organ
registers.
Orch 1/Organ No, All, 1A~14B
No: The Orchestra 1/Organ registers

are not saved.
All: Save all registers (1A-14A,1B14B). (Default).
1A~14B: Save the selected register.
Allows you to save the Orchestra 2
registers.
Orchestra 2
No, All, 1A~14B
No: The Orchestra 2 registers are

not saved.
All: Save all registers (1A-14A,1B14B). (Default).
1A~14B: Save the selected register.
5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the Set.

Value
Allows you to save the Orch. Bass

registers.
Orch. Bass
Explanation
No, All, 1~7
Allows you to save Sets (either a specific one or all).

All, 1~100
All: Save all Set
Allows you to save the Orch. Chord

registers.
1~100: Save the selected Set

Orch. Chord
No: The Orch. Bass registers are not

saved.
No, All, 1~7
No: The Orch. Chord registers are

not saved.
The display shows:

Allows you to save the Orch. FBass
registers.
Orch. Fbass
No, All, 1~7
No: The Orch. FBass registers are

not saved.
8. Press [WRITE] to save.

In this page you can choose the parameters you want to save.
7. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to edit the desired

parameter.
Parameter
Set
Value
All, 1~100
Explanation
Allows you to save Sets (either a specific
one or all).
All: Save all Sets.
1~100: Save the selected Set.
Common
No, Yes
Select Yes to save the Common Group

parameters ( p. 97). Default: Yes .
At the end of saving the display will show Write complete!
Allows you to save the Accordion

registers.
Accordion
No, All, 1~14
No: The Accordion registers are not

saved.
All: Save all registers (1-14).
(Default).
43
Using Sets
Export and Import Sets to/from the

Optional USB memory
The FR-8x allows you to Export or Import Sets to/from a USB
memory.
These functions can be useful either to back-up your Sets or to
share your Set with other musicians.
Export Sets to the Optional USB memory

1. Insert the optional USB memory into the FR-8x USB port.
2. Press the [MENU] button and use the [DATA/ENTER] knob
to select the following page:
To open an existing folder, select it by rotating the [DATA/ENTER]

knob, then press the [DATA/ENTER] knob. Press the [EXIT/JUMP]
button to return to a higher level (i.e. leave the current folder).
b. Continue to the step 7
If you selected Single

a. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select Select SET field to
set the number of Set that you want to export.
b. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button

The display shows the root folder of the USB memory.
For more information about how to navigate see

Selecting Parameters Via the Menu (p. 68).
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the Type field

and push it.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select SET field and

push it.
5. The display changes as follows:

c. Continue to the step 7

7. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button
The display shows the following page like this:
6. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select SET File field

Now you can choose one of the following options:
Value
Explanation
ALL
Select ALL to export All Sets.
Single
Select Single to export the single Set.
If you selected ALL

a. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button.
8. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to enter the desired name.

See How to type a name in FR-8x (p. 31).
9. Press the [WRITE] button to perform the operation.

A confirmation message is shown to indicate that exported
function has finished.
If a file of the same name already exists, you are asked whether you
want to overwrite it.
44
Import FR-7x Sets from the Optional USB memory
If you selected ALL

a. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button
In that case, select YES to replace the file. (Select NO to return to

the SAVE page.)
Then, push the [DATA/ENTER] knob.
A confirmation message is shown to indicate that exported
function has finished.
Import Sets to the Optional USB memory

1. Insert the optional USB memory that should contain the
data to be imported into the FR-8x USB port.


b. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a file with FR8

extension.
c. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to proceed.

The display shows the importing is in progress. A confirmation
message is shown to indicate that the import function has finished.

a. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select Dest. SET to set
the number of Set that you want to import.
b. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button.



and push it.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select SET field and

push it.

c. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a file with ST8

extension.
d. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to proceed.

A confirmation message is shown to indicate that import function
has finished.
6. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select SET File field.

Value
Explanation
Select ALL to import All Sets.
ALL
NOTE
Selecting this function all Sets in the FR-8x internal memory
will be replaced.
Single
Select Single to import the single Set.
Import FR-7x Sets from the Optional

USB memory
The FR-8x gives you the possibility to import FR-7x SETs.
FR-7x SETs that you import are converted in User Program
memories. Each single SET of FR-7x is converted in 14 User Program
memories.
All SET of FR-7x occupy 1120 FR-8x User Programs memories.
For more information see 15.8 IMPORT (p. 110).
45
Using Sets
Import All FR-7x Sets from an Optional

USB memory
IMPORTANT NOTE
FR-7x SETs that you import are converted in User Program
memories.
Be careful when you import SETs do not overwrite User
Program memories that you need.
Always check the contents of the User Program memories
before deciding to overwrite them.
1. Insert into the FR-8x USB port an optional USB memory

that contains data to import.

7. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to proceed.

The display shows the operation is in progress. A confirmation
Import a Single FR-7x Set from an

Optional USB memory
IMPORTANT NOTE
FR-7x SET that you import is converted in User Program
memories.
Be careful when you import SET do not overwrite User
Program memories that you need.
Always check the contents of the User Program memories
before deciding to overwrite them.

that contains data to import.



and push it.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select FR-7x All SETs

and push it.
The display changes as follows:


and push it.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select FR-7x Single

SET and push it.
The display changes as follows:
5. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button.

5. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select UPG Dest. Bank to

set the number of bank that you want to import.
6. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button.


6. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a file with FRS

46
extension.
Factory Sets
Factory Sets
N
01
The display shows the opearation is in progress. A confirmation

F JAZZ
05
JAZZ
04
extension.
CLASSIC
03
7. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a file with SET
CONCERTO
02

Set Name
I SCALA
06
BAJAN
07
I FOLK
08
D FOLK
09
F FOLK
10
SP FOLK
11
BallROOM
12
BANDNEON
13
ALPINE
14
CAJUN
15
TEX MEX
16
OldPARIS
17
CiaoROME
18
DiatFOLK
19
STUDIO
20
TRDITION
21
BAROQUE
22
ROMANTIC
23
CONCERTN
24
SCOTTISH
25
IRISH
26
CELTIC
27
XLowReed
28
HalfVALV
29
FUTURE
30
MUSETTE
31
BASSOON
32
MASTER
33
V-Set
34
FIN CASS
35
RAVATTI
36
DEJA-MOR
37~100
- empty -
47
11. Using the FR-8x USB Audio Player

This section explains how to playback audio songs stored on an
optional USB memory. New song and rhythm files can be copied to
the USB memory using your computer as you purchase them.
Getting Ready to Use the FR-8x as a

USB Audio Player
Caution when Playing Back Audio Files

Playing back an mp3 file of an audio file places a significant
processing burden on the FR-8x, and in some cases may cause it to
be unable to completely process all of the performance data from
the keyboard.
If this occurs, you may be able to solve the problem by taking the
following actions.
Use WAVE format data rather than mp3 format data
1. On your computer, copy the audio songs to an optional

USB memory.
Selecting a Song on a USB Memory

1. Connect an optional USB memory to the FR-8x
2. Press the [SONG LIST] button
NOTE
Use USB memory sold by Roland (M-UF-series). We cannot
guarantee operation if any other USB memory is used.
2. Connect the USB memory to your FR-8x.
The display shows the contents of the USB memory.
NOTE
Carefully insert the optional USB memory all the way into the
port until it is firmly in place.
NOTE
Never remove a USB memory while this unit is turned on. Doing
so may corrupt the units data or the data on the USB memory.
The icons to the left of the file names indicate the file type:
NOTE
The FR-8x supports USB memories with a capacity of up to 2 TB.
Icon
Explanation
Audio mp3 file
File types the FR-8x can read and play back

Extension
Audio WAVE file

Play List file
Format
MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
.mp3
Audio files
Bit rate: 32/40/48/56/64/80/96/112/

128/160/192/224/256/320 kbps,
VBR (variable bit rate)
16-bit linear
.wav
Folder
Sampling frequency: 44.1kHz
Sampling frequency: 44.1 kHz

Stereo/mono
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the Song you

want to play back.
The selected song name is highlighted.
4. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to load the file.

If the file you need is located inside a folder, you must first select
that folder, the [DATA/ENTER] knob to see its contents and then
select the file. If you opened a folder by mistake, press the [EXIT/
JUMP] button to return to a higher level.
MEMO
Press and hold the [EXIT/JUMP] button to return to the main page.
48
Playing Back a Song from a USB Memory
Playing Back a Song from a USB

Memory
1. Select a song on the USB memory.
See Selecting a Song on a USB Memory (p. 48).
NOTE
Make sure that the LOOP function is not active ( [LOOP] button
indicator dark).
2. Press the [*/,] button to start playback.
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select DELETE and

push it.
The display asks you to confirm your intention.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select YES, then push

The [*/, ] buttons indicator lights and song playback starts.
3. Press the [*/, ] button again to pause song playback.

Its indicator goes dark.
4. To return to the beginning of the selected song press the

[ % ] button.
Operations on USB Memory

Deleting a Song (Delete)
1. Select a song you want to delete.
the knob to delete the song.
The display briefly confirms this operation.

Select NO or press the [EXIT/JUMP] button if you do not want to
delete the song after all.
Changing the Name of a Song (Rename)

1. Select a song you want to rename.
The display shows the contents of the USB memory with the
selected song highlighted.
2. Press and hold the [SONG LIST] button to jump to the

EDIT SONG LIST page.

The display shows the contents of the USB memory with the
selected song highlighted.
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select RENAME and

push it.
The display shows the following page:

49
Using the FR-8x USB Audio Player

5. Press the [WRITE] button to rename the Song.

After a confirmation message, the display shows the contents of the
USB memory.
If the USB memory already contains a Song of the name you have
entered, the display informs you to select a different name.
5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select NEW PLAYLIST

and push it.
Play List Function

The Play List function allows you to prepare lists of mp3 and/or WAV
audio files you want to play back in succession.
Programming your Play List

Heres how a new Play List can be created and prepared.
The Play List is automatically saved in an optional USB memory. You
dont need to save it.
1. Insert the optional USB memory that contains the desired
The FR-8x suggests the name New PlayList.

7. Press the [WRITE] button to proceed.

You have just created a new Play List, which is still empty and
therefore looks like this:
song files into the FR-8x USB port.

EDIT PLAY LIST page.
9. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select ADD SONG and

push it.
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select an audio file.

50
Play List Function

10. Select the song to add by rotating the [DATA/ENTER] knob

and push it to confirm.
The following temporary message appears to indicate that the song

was added to Play List.
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the Song List file

(PLS) you want to load. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to
confirm.
The Play List is loaded and the display shows the content of Play List.
The display shows again the contents of the USB memory.
11. To insert other songs repeat from the step 9.

12. Press [EXIT/JUMP] several time until the display shown the
Now you can either edit the loaded Play List or use it as is.
See Editing an Existing Play List (p. 51).
See Using Play List (p. 52).
Play List with the new songs.
This takes you back to the following page.
Editing an Existing Play List

While programming or using a Play List, if you notice that one song
is missing from the list, or if you decide not to use a given song file
after all, you can edit your Play List.
Song Loaded
Cursor
1. Load a Play List.

See How to Load Play List (p. 51).

The songs are assigned to step 1, 2 and 3.
Your Play List is now ready to be used. See Using Play List (p.
52).
How to Load Play List

1. Insert the optional USB memory that contains the desired
song files into the FR-8xs USB port.
The following edit functions are available:

Function
Explanation
SAVE AS
This function is useful to copy the current Play List into

another one with a different name. See Editing a Play List
Starting from an Existing One. (p. 52).
ADD SONG
Add new songs to the current Play List.
MOVE UP
The selected song is moved one step upwards in the Play

List..
MOVE DOWN
The selected song is moved one step downwards in the

Play List.
REMOVE
The selected song is removed from the Play List.
CLEAR ALL
Clear all songs in the Play List.
51
Using the FR-8x USB Audio Player

Function
CHAIN
REPEAT
Explanation
See Playback Options (Chain & Repeat) (p. 52).
If you want you can now add other songs, change steps position,
remove songs or clear all songs in the list.
Using Play List

Heres how Play List can be used for your performances.
1. Create or Load a Play List you want to use.

See Programming your Play List (p. 50).
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the Edit function.

4. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to change the value.
Editing a Play List Starting from an

Existing One.
This function allows you to save an existing Play List in another one.
This function is useful when you want to start from an existing Play
List without change it.
1. Load a Play List you want to use.

2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the song you
want to start from your Play List, then press the knob.

If the CHAIN function is set to PLAY, the next song file is
selected automatically at the end of the current step.

If the CHAIN function is set to STOP, playback stops at the end

of the current step, the next step is loaded, but playback needs
to be started using the [*/,] button.
See Playback Options (Chain & Repeat) (p. 52).
4. If you need, press and hold the [EXIT/JUMP] button to

return to the main page.
5. You can pause playback pressing the [*/,] button at any

time.
Playback Options (Chain & Repeat)

3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the SAVE AS
Play Lists are merely lists that allow you to prepare the desired
audio songs for your performances. By default, you need to select
the next song in the list and start playback by hand. You can,
however, automate Play List playback using the CHAIN function.
function and push it.
The FR-8x also allows you to specify whether the selected Play List
should be played once or repeatedly.
1. From the PLAY LIST page, press and hold the [SONG LIST]
button to jump to the EDIT PLAY LIST page.
The FR-8x suggests the name of current Play Lis.

5. Press the [WRITE] button to save the new Play List.

The new Play List is now ready to be edited.
2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the playback
option parameters (The playback option parameters are

positioned at the end of the functions list).
3.
52
Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to change the value.
Play List Function

Playback Option Value
Explanation
Off: At the end of the current
Play List step, the audio player
stops. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER]
knob to select another step,
then start playback. (If you start
playback again without selecting
a different step, the same song
file is played back again.).
CHAIN
Off, STOP, PLAY
PLAY : The next song file is

selected automatically at the
end of the current step and
playback of the new step starts
automatically.
STOP: The next song file is
selected automatically at the
end of the current step but
playback of the next step needs
to be started by hand.
Off: The audio player stops at
the end of the last Play List step
REPEAT
Off, On
On: At the end of the last Play

List step, playback will resume
from the beginning until you
stop it. (This option is only useful
if you set the CHAIN function
to PLAY.)
4. Press the [EXIT/JUMP] knob to return to the previous

page.
53
12. Recording your Performance as Audio Data

Your FR-8x allows you to record your performance and the
performance of your band on the optional USB memory.
The resulting audio file is stored in the My Recordings folder.
The recording format is WAVE (not mp3), which allows you to burn
your recordings onto a CD using your computer.
NOTE
Use USB memory sold by Roland (M-UF-series). We cannot
guarantee operation if any other USB memory is used.
Recording
NOTE
Make sure that the LOOP function is not active ( [LOOP] button
indicator dark).
1. Insert the optional USB memory that should contain your

audio recording into the FR-8x USB port.
2. Prepare everything you want to record:
The FR-8x suggests the file name.

6. Press the [WRITE] button to save your recording.

The display briefly shows a Function complete message to indicate
that the file is saved in the USB memory.
Select the registers you want to use.

Set the levels and effects, etc.
3. Press the [REC] button to start recording (its indicator

lights).

the SAVE page.)
In case you decide not to save the audio file

There may be times when you are unhappy about your recording
and therefore prefer not to save it. In that case, proceed as follows:
1. If you are still recording, press the [REC] button to stop

The Main page shows the recording time is running:
the recorder.
MEMO
Recording can also be started and stopped with the Chin
Switches ( p. 98).
NOTE
You cannot start recording while the player is playing back a
song. If you try it nevertheless, the display will show the Cannot
execute. Audio playback is ON. message.
4. At the end of the song, press the [REC] button once again
to stop recording.
After a while, the display shows the following page:
54
2. Press the [EXIT/JUMP] button.

Listening Your Recording

3. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select YES, then push the
knob to erase your recording.
4. Selecting NO here takes you back to the state where you

enter the name.
Listening Your Recording

The [*/, ] buttons indicator lights and song playback starts.
2. Press the [*/, ] button again to pause song playback.

Its indicator goes dark.
MEMO
To listen your recording later see 11. Using the FR-8x USB Audio
Player (p. 48).
55
13. Real-Time Audio Looper (Loop)

The Loop function is a very powerful tool that allows you to record
on the fly a short (max 1 minute) portion of your playing and
replicate it several time during your performance. Moreover you
can overdubs while listen your loop phrase more time and all in
real-time.
4.
At the end of your loop phrase press the [*/, ] button.
The recording is stopped automatically and the phrase just

recorded is played back.
1. Press [LOOP] button to enable the Loop function.
The Main page shows that the Play Loop function is enabled.
Its indicator lights.
MEMO
The audio phrase playback again and again until you press the
[*/, ] button.
2. While playing your performance, press [REC] button to

start the recording of your loop phrase.
Its indicator lights.
While the audio phrase playback you can play the FR-8x.
Overdubs your audio phrase

5. If you want, press the [REC] button to overdubs the audio
phrase in playback.
The Main page shows that the Overdub Loop function is enabled.
The Main page shows that the Rec Loop function is enabled.
6. Play the notes that you want to add your phrase.

The note that you are playing are added to your previous audio
phrase.
7. Press the [REC] button to stop the recording.

The audio phrase continue to playback again and again.
8. Press the [*/, ] button to stop the playback.

9. If you want record another audio phrase, press [% ] button
MEMO
Recording can also be started and stopped with the Chin
Switches ( p. 98).
3. Play your loop phrase.

56
to erase the current one and repeat from the step 2.

MEMO
You can use the Chin switch to manage the Loop function. See
13.4 Chin function (p. 98). In this way you keep your hand free
to play your performance.
14. Working with User Programs

The FR-8x provides User Program memories that allow you to store
almost all settings you make on the front panel and the various
display pages. In additional the User Program store the selected Set.
See 10. Using Sets (p. 42).
5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to set the BANK where

you want to save your User Program. Push the [DATA/
ENTER] knob to confirm.
6. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to set the NUMBER where
About the User Program Memory

Structure
you want to save your User Program. Push the [DATA/

ENTER] knob to confirm.
7. Press [WRITE] to save your User Program.

The following page appears:
User Programs reside in the internal memory or on a optional USB

memory.
The FR-8x contains up to 1400 User Programs in the internal
memory. They are divided in banks and numbers. The FR-8x
contains 100 banks. Each bank contains 14 memories that can be
selected by the Right Hand registers [1~14].
User Program Internal Memories
Bank 100 1
9 10 11 12 13 14
The FR-8x suggests a name.

Bank 2
Bank 1 1
9 10 11 12 13 14
9. Press the [WRITE] button to save the User Program.

After a while the display briefly confirms the operation.
Right Hand Registers
Recalling a User Program

Saving an User Program
Here is how to select a User Program.
1. Press the [USER PROGRAM] button. Its indicator lights.
1. Select all settings you would like to use.

You can, for instance, select Set, select the desired section and
assign the desired Tones for each section, select the set that you
want to use, modify all settings you need, etc.

Write page.
The display shows a page like this:
3. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Program.

Select an User Program by its list

2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to view the list of 1400
User Programs.
3. Pushing the [DATA/ENTER] knob you can recall the

selected User Program.
57
Working with User Programs
Scrolling the User Program by Banks

This method is more convenient scroll User Programs if you know
the bank number.
Select a User Program by Bank and Number

If you already know which User Program you want to use, you can
also select it directly:
1. While the User Program function is active, press and hold

the SET [] or [] button.
2. Use the SET [][] buttons to decrement or increment

the User Program memory Bank.
2. Use the right hand registers [1]~[10] to specify the

number of the desired User Program bank.
In the example above we pressed [] button.
3. Use the Right Hand register [1]~[14] buttons to recall the

number of User Program desired in the selected bank.
To select bank 1, for instance, you need to press register [10],

then register [1]. To select the bank 37, first press register [3], then
register [7].
NOTE
automatically selects the bank [5] after 2 seconds.

number of User Program.
NOTE
automatically selects the number [3] after 2 seconds.
Recalling a User Program from the

Main Page
NOTE
The Set linked to a User Program is loaded in the Set Working
Area (W.A). See 10. Using Sets (p. 42).
4. Press the [USER PROGRAM] button to exit from the User

Program function. Its indicator goes dark.
58
The FR-8x gives you the possibility to recall the User Programs from
the Main page. It can be useful to watch the parameter shown in
the Main page and access the Menu options.
1. Press the [USER PROGRAM] button. Its indicator lights.
About the User Program List

The User Program that you recalled is shown in the Main page:
5. Press and hold the [USER PROGRAM] button if you want to

come back to the page of the User Program list.
6. Press the [USER PROGRAM] button if you want to exit
from the User Program function. Its indicator goes dark.
About the User Program List

To keep this massive amount of information manageable, the FR-8x
works with User Program Set Lists.
The User Program List is a list of up to 1400 Performance memories.
2. Press and hold the [EXIT/JUMP] button until the Main

page is shown.
The User Program memories you create are saved in a User

Program List. This allows you to prepare one set of User Program
memories for weddings, another for corporate events, a third for
anniversaries, etc. The User Program Lists can be exported on a USB
memory.
Preparing a New User Program List

This function allows you to create a new User Program List. See
About the User Program List (p. 59).
1. Press the [USER PROGRAM] button.

A page like this appears:
3. Use the SET [][] buttons to decrement or increment

the User Program memory Bank.
1. Press the [UP] button to open the USER PROGRAM LIST

page.
4. Use the Right Hand register [1]~[14] buttons to recall the

number of User Program desired in the selected bank.
59
Loading a User Program List

2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select NEW LIST and

press the knob
The display shows the list of User Program to add.

page.
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to scroll the list and press

the knob to add the User Program in the new list.
Repeat the step 3 to add other User Programs in the list.
MEMO
You can use the SET [][] buttons to scroll the User Program
in step of 14.
4. Press the [WRITE] button to save the User Program List

that you have just created.
The FR-8x suggests a name.

6. Press the [WRITE] button to save the User Program List.

The display shows the list of User Program List.
3. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the list to load

and push it.
The display shows the list of User Program.
Recalling a User Program in the User

Program List
1. Load a User Program List
See Loading a User Program List (p. 60)
2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the User Program

that you want to recall and press the knob.
MEMO
in step of 14.
The list that you have just created is showed.

To load the list see Loading a User Program List below.
7. Press the [EXIT/JUMP] button to exit.

60
Editing a User Program List

If, while programming or using a User Program List, you notice that
one User Program is missing from the list or if you decide not to use
a given User Program after all, you can edit your List.
Editing a User Program List

1. Load a User Program List
Program and press the knob.
See Loading a User Program List (p. 60)
b. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to scroll the User
NOTE
A User Program List loaded from the USB memory cannot be
edited.
2. If necessary, rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the
Program and press the knob to add the User Program in

the new list.
MEMO
User Program that you need to edit.
3. Press and hold the [USER PROGRAM] button until the User
Program edit page is shown:
Repeat the step b to add other User Programs in the list.

in step of 14.
c. Press the [EXIT] button twice to return to the User

Program List page.
Your User Program has been added at the end of the list.
Inserting User Program in the List

This function insert a User Program in a specified position in the list.
In the step 2 of Editing a User Program List (p. 60) you selected
the insert position of the new User Program.
a. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select INSERT User
Now you can:
Program and press the knob.
Function
Page
Explanation
ADD User Program
p. 61
Add User Programs at the end of the list.
INSERT User Program p. 61

MOVE UP
Insert User Programs in a specified

position.
p. 62
Change the order of existing User

Programs in your list.
DELETE
p. 62
Remove a User Program from the list.
CLEAR ALL
p. 62
Remove all User Programs from the list.
MOVE DOWN
If you try to exit from the User Program function and you edited a
User Program List, the following message appears:
b. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to scroll the User
Program and press the knob to insert the User Program

in the new list.
Repeat the step b to insert other User Programs in the list.

MEMO
in step of 14.
Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select YES, then push the knob
to save the edited User Program List in the internal memory.
Select NO if you want to reject the changes.
Adding User Program in the List
c. Press the [EXIT] button twice to return to the User

Program List page.
Your User Program has been insert in the previous specified

position in the list.
This function add User Programs at the end of the list.
a. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select ADD User

61

c. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select YES, then push
the knob to remove the User Program selected.
Select NO if you do not want to remove the User Program after all.
Your User Program has been removed from the list.
Deleting All User Programs from the List

This function remove all User Program from the List.
In the example above the Paris was inserted.
Moving up or down a User Program in a

Different Position the List
a. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select CLEAR ALL.

b. Press the [DATA/ENTER] knob to remove All User
Programs from the list.
You can also change the order of existing User Programs in your list.
the User Program to move to a different position.
a. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select MOVE UP or

MOVE DOWN.
b. Press the [DATA/ENTER] knob to move the selected User
Program towards the beginning (if you pressed MOVE

UP) or towards the end of the list (if you pressed MOVE
DOWN).
c. Press the [EXIT] button to return to the User Program

List page.
c. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select YES, then push

the knob to remove all User Programs from the list.
Select NO if you do not want to remove the User Programs after

all.
All User Programs have been removed from the list.
Your User Program has been moved in the list.
In the example above the Paso Dob was moved up.
Deleting a User Program from the List

You can also remove a User Program that you no longer need.
the User Program to remove.
How to rename a User Programs List

The FR-8x gives you the possibility to rename a User Program List.

a. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select DELETE.

b. Press the [DATA/ENTER] knob to remove the selected
User Program.

page.
62
How to remove a User Programs List
How to remove a User Programs List

This function allows you to delete a User Program List.


List you want rename.
4. Press and hold the [USER PROGRAM] button until the

following page appears:

page.
5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select RENAME and

push it.

List you want delete.


7. Press the [WRITE] button to rename the List.

5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select DELETE and
push it.
The FR-8x asks you to confirm:
6. To delete the User Program List use the [DATA/ENTER]
knob to select YES. Otherwise, select NO or press the

[EXIT] button.
The display confirms this operation.
63
How to duplicate Your User Programs

List (Save as)
This function allows you to copy your User Program List with
another name.


7. Press the [WRITE] button to duplicate the List.

If the FR-8x already contains a User Program List of the name you
have entered, the display asks you whether it is OK to overwrite the
other User Program List.
Export and Import User Programs to/

from the Optional USB memory
The FR-8x allows you to Export or Import User Programs to/from a
USB memory.
These functions can be useful either to back-up your User Program
data or to share your User Program with other musicians.

page.
Export User Programs to the Optional

USB memory
1. Insert the optional USB memory into the FR-8x USB port.

List you want to duplicate.



and push it.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Program

field and push it.
5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select SAVE AS and

push it.
6. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Prog. File

field

Value
Select ALL to export All User Programs.
Bank
Select Bank to export all User Programs of the selected bank.
Single
64
Explanation
ALL
Select Single to export the single User Program.
Export and Import User Programs to/from the Optional USB memory
Value
Explanation
List
Select List to export a User Program List.
If you selected ALL

a. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button.
d. Continue to the step 7
If you selected List


The display shows the list of all User Program List:
b. Continue to the step 7
If you selected Bank

a. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Prog. Bank
field to set the number of bank that you want to export.
b. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button.

b. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the list of User

Program that you want to export and push it.


a. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Prog. Bank

7. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button
The display shows the following page like this:
to set the number of bank of User Program that you

want to export.
b. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Prog. Num

to set the number of User Program that you want to
export.
c. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button


65

9. Press the [WRITE] button to perform the operation.
Value
The display shows the exporting is in progress. A confirmation

message is shown to indicate that exported function has finished.
ALL
Explanation
Select ALL to import All User Programs.
NOTE
Selecting this function all User Programs in the FR-8x
internal memory will be replaced.
Bank
Select Bank to import all User Programs of the selected bank.
Single
Select Single to import the single User Program.
If you selected ALL

the SAVE page.)
Import User Programs to the Optional

USB memory
1. Insert the optional USB memory that should contain the
data to be imported into the FR-8x USB port.


b. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a file with UPA

extension.
c. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to proceed.

If you selected Bank

a. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select UPG Dest. Bank
to set the number of bank that you want to import.

b. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button


and push it.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Program

field and push it.

c. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a file with UPB

extension.
d. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to proceed.

6. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select User Prog. File
field.
66

Export and Import User Programs to/from the Optional USB memory

a. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select UPG Dest. Bank
to set the number of bank of User Program that you
want to import.
b. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select UPG Dest. Num

to set the number of User Program that you want to
import.
c. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button.


d. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select a file with UPG

extension.
e. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to proceed.

A confirmation message is shown to indicate that import function
has finished.
67
15. Menu Options

The FR-8xs [MENU] button provides access to the available
parameters and functions.
Selecting Parameters
In the example above we selected the group 2 Accordion Edit.
4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the group of

parameters you wish to edit.
The FR-8xs parameters can be selected by using the Menu structure

or entering their numbers.
Selecting Parameters Via the Menu

1. Press the [MENU] button.
In the example above we selected the group 2.3 Effects Send.
5. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to activate the first

parameter for editing.
The first parameter is highlighted.
6. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to change the value.

7. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to confirm your setting and
activate for editing the possible next parameter.
If a display page contains more then one adjustable parameters,

you may have to repeat the procedure from step 6.
2. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob or use the [UP]/[DOWN]

buttons to select the desired function groups.
8. Press the [EXIT/JUMP] button twice to return to the

function group.
Select Parameters using Jump Function

If you already know which parameter you want to change, you can
also select it directly:
1. While the main page is displayed, press and hold the

[EXIT/JUMP] button.
3. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to enter that group.

The display now responds with (this depends on the function group
you selected).

number of the desired group parameter.
See Available Parameters List (p. 69).
68
3 Bass Edit
3.1
Reed Type
p. 75
3.2
Register
p. 75
3.3
Noises
p. 76
3.4
Effects Send
p. 76
3.5
Controllers
p. 76
3.6
BASS MIDI TX
p. 76
3.7
CHORD MIDI TX
p. 76
3.8
Name
p. 77
4 FreeBass Edit
4.1
Reed Type
p. 77
4.2
Register
p. 77
4.3
Effects Send
p. 78
To select group 1, for instance, you need to press register [10], then
register [1]. To select the group 12, first press register [1], then
register [2].
4.4
Controllers
p. 78
4.5
FREE BASS MIDI TX
p. 78
4.6
Name
p. 79
NOTE
automatically selects the group [5] after 2 seconds.
5 Orchestra 1 Edit
automatically selects the number [3] after 2 seconds.
The parameter page is displayed.
p. 79
MFX Edit
p. 80
MFX Controls
p. 80
5.5
NOTE
p. 79
Effects Send
5.4
number of page parameter.
Tone Selection
5.2
5.3
5.1
Sound Edit
p. 80
5.6
Controllers
p. 81
5.7
MIDI TX
p. 81
6 Orchestra 2 Edit
6.1
6.2
MFX Controls
6.5
Some parameter groups cannot be selected if the related

section is not activated. For example if the Orchestra 1 section
is not activated ([ORCH1] button doesnt light), the Orchestra 1
Edit is not accessible.
MFX Edit
6.4
NOTE
Effects Send
6.3
Available Parameters List
Tone Selection
Sound Edit
6.6
Controllers
6.7
See Orchestra
1 Edit
MIDI TX
7 Organ Edit
7.1
1 Tuning
1.1
Master Tune
p. 71
1.2
Transpose
p. 71
1.3
Scale Tune
p. 71
1.4
Scale Tune Edit
p. 71
2 Accordion Edit
2.1
Reed Type
p. 71
2.2
Register
p. 71
2.3
Effects Send
p. 72
2.4
MFX Edit
p. 72
2.5
MFX Control
p. 73
2.6
Controllers
p. 73
2.7
MIDI TX
p. 73
2.8
Name
Organ Selection
p. 82
7.2
Organ Parameters
p. 83
7.3
VTW Upper
p. 84
8 Orch Bass Edit

8.1
Tone Selection
p. 84
8.2
Tone Control
p. 84
8.3
Effects Send
p. 85
8.3
VTW Pedal Parameters
p. 85
8.4
Sound Edit
p. 86
8.5
Controllers
p. 86
8.6
MIDI TX
p. 87
8.7
VTW Pedal
p. 87
p. 75
69
Menu Options
9 Orch Chord Edit
14 System
9.1
Tone Selection
p. 87
14.1
Dynamic Bellows Behaviour
p. 100
9.2
Tone Control
p. 88
14.2
Layout
p. 100
9.3
Effects Send
p. 88
14.3
Audio/Power Setting
p. 106
9.3
VTW Lower Parameters
p. 88
14.4
Function Switch
p. 106
9.4
MFX Edit
p. 89
14.5
Sustain - A routing
p. 106
9.5
MFX Controls
p. 89
14.6
Sustain - B routing
p. 106
9.6
Sound Edit
p. 89
14.7
MIDI Foot Controller
p. 106
9.7
Controllers
p. 90
14.8
General Setting
p. 107
9.8
MIDI TX
p. 90
14.9
Start-Up Name
p. 107
9.9
VTW Lower
p. 90
15 Utility
10 Orch Free Bass Edit
15.1
Copy SET
p. 107
10.1
Tone Selection
p. 91
15.2
Copy EFFECT to SET
p. 107
10.2
Tone Control
p. 91
15.3
Treble register on current SET
p. 108
10.3
Effects Send
p. 91
15.4
Bass register on current SET
p. 108
10.3
VTW Lower Parameters
p. 92
15.5
FreeBass register on current SET
p. 109
10.4
MFX Edit
p. 92
15.6
Restore Data
p. 109
10.5
MFX Controls
p. 92
15.7
EXPORT
p. 110
10.6
Sound Edit
p. 93
15.8
IMPORT
p. 110
10.7
Controllers
p. 93
15.9
Expansion Sounds
p. 110
10.8
MIDI TX
p. 93
15.10
FACTORY SETs RESET
p. 111
10.9
VTW Lower
p. 94
15.11
FACTORY UPGs RESET
p. 111
15.12
FACTORY ALL RESET
p. 111
11 Drum Edit
11.1
Drum Set Selection
p. 94
16 MIDI
11.2
Treble
p. 94
16.1
Real Time RX-TX
p. 112
11.3
Bass&Chord BASS Link 1
p. 95
16.2
External Seq. Playback
p. 112
11.4
p. 95
16.3
Global Setting
p. 112
11.5
p. 95
16.4
Expression MIDI TX
p. 113
11.6
Bass&Chord CHORD Link 1
p. 95
17 Wireless LAN
11.7
p. 95
11.8
p. 95
11.9
Effects Send
p. 95
11.10
Controllers
p. 96
11.11
MIDI TX
p. 96
12 Right Hand Mode

12.1
Keyboard Mode
p. 96
12.2
ZONE Accordion - Orch1/Organ
p. 96
ZONE Orchestra 2 - Drum
p. 97
12.3
13 Set Common
13.1
Reverb macro/Parameters
p. 97
13.2
Chorus macro/Parameters
p. 97
13.3
Delay macro/Parameters
p. 98
13.4
Chin Function
p. 98
13.5
Master Bar Recall
p. 99
13.6
Icon
Name
p. 100
p. 113
17.1
Important remark about saving your

settings
The FR-8x internal memory remembers your settings while the
FR-8x is switched on. While editing, there is no absolute need to
save your settings.
p. 99
13.7
Connection
Be aware, however, that all changes are lost when the FR-8x is
switched off. This includes situations where the FR-8x is switched
off by the AUTO OFF function ( p. 106).
Remember to save all settings as soon as you are sure that you
want to keep them.
1. Tuning Parameters
The parameters of the TUNING group apply to the entire FR-8x
and are not saved to a Set. You can save most of them to the FR-8x
System memory.
Press [UP] and [DOWN] simultaneously to select the value that is
indicated as Default setting.
changes. Also be sure to read Important remark about saving your
settings. See above.
70
1.1 Master Tune
selected Set.
This parameter allows you to change the FR-8x

overall tuning, which may be necessary when you
play with acoustic instruments that cannot be
tuned easily.
They allow you to build your own (virtual) accordion. After setting
these parameters, you probably also need to adjust the BASS EDIT
or FREE BS EDIT parameters (which are also saved to the
Set). See Selecting Parameters (p. 68) for how to select and
adjust the parameters.
Parameter
Master Tune
Value
Explanation
415.3~440.0~466.2
This parameter allows you to

change the FR-8x overall tuning
Default: 440.0
1.2 Transpose
This parameter allows you to transpose all sections
of the FR-8x. See Transposing to a Different Key
(p. 40) for details.
Parameter
Transpose
Value
Explanation
F#~C~F (-6~0~5)

transpose all sections of the
FR-8x.
Default: C
NOTE
This parameter can be saved in a User Program. See Saving an
User Program (p. 57).
1.3 Scale Tune

This page contains three parameters that allows
you to select the tuning for each part. This was
already discussed on page p. 41.
Introduction to Accordion Parameters

While familiarizing yourself with and using the following
parameters, try to think of yourself as an accordion manufacturer.
Some parameters in this group indeed rely on the power of Rolands
virtual technology (called PBM or Physical Behavior Modeling)
and are in fact a warehouse with all kinds of accordion components
from which you can build your personal accordion or to customize
an existing model.
IMPORTANT NOTE
All changes you make here apply to the last Accordion
register you selected. So be sure to press the register
([1]~[14]) whose settings you wish to change before
selecting and editing any of the Accordion Edit parameters.
You can, however, decide to save your settings to a different
register if you realize that youve been editing the wrong
one.
The FR-8x internal memory remembers your settings while
the FR-8x is switched on. While editing, there is no absolute
need to save your settings. Be aware, however, that all
changes are lost when the FR-8x is switched off.
See How to Save a Set (p. 42) to save your changes. Also
be sure to read Important remark about saving your settings
(p. 70).
2.1 Reed Type

These parameters allow you to do two things that
are impossible on an acoustic accordion: you can
transform the selected register into a different
instrument and assign different sounds to each
footage the register plays. You can also detune the
8 reeds choosing the system used to detune.
1.4 Scale Tune Edit

This page contains allows you to change the
tuning of all notes of one octave, which may come
in handy to create oriental tunings.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Chose the reed you wish to assign
another sound to.
To select a User Scale Tune see Scale (Tuning) (p.

41)
NOTE
Parameter
Value
Explanation
TYPE
User 1~User 3
TYPE
Bandoneon, I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
Cajun, Jazz, F-Folk,
D-Folk, Organetto,
F-Folk2, Classic2,
Select a type of instrument.
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische,
OldItaly, TexMex,
Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan
Select the User you want to edit.

Changes the pitch of the notes
C~B in steps of 1 cent. The value
that you specify is applied to
all notes of the same name. If
C~B
you change the tuning of the
(each note can be -64~0~+63

set individually)
C, that value is added to, or

subtracted from, all Cs (C1, C2,
C3, etc.). (50 means that the
note in question is tuned a
quarter tone down.)
Parameter
2. Accordion Edit Parameters
Whenever you select All and

set a different reed type, the
VALVE NOISE setting ( p. 72) is
automatically adapted to the reed
type you select here. You may have
to change it afterwards if you wish
to use a different noise type.
FOOT
All, 16, 8, 8, 8+,

4, 5-1/3, 2-2/3
Value
VALUE
-100~Std~+100
Explanation
Specify how prominent the
detune should be.
The parameters of the Accordion Edit group are saved to the
71
Menu Options
Parameter
Value
Explanation
MUSETTE
DETUNE
Off, Dry, Classic,

F-Folk, American_L,
American_H,
North_Eu, German_L,
D Folk_L, Italian_L,
German_H, Alpine,
Italian_H, D-Folk_H,
French, Scottish
2.3 Effects Send
This parameter allows you to choose

the system used for detuning the
8 reeds. See Musette Detune (p.
40) for details.
The FR-8x contains 1 multi-effects processors

(MFX), one reverb processor, one chorus
processor and one delay processor that can be
used to process the accordion section.
Parameter Value
Explanation
REVERB
0~127
Use these parameters to set the Reverb,

Chorus or Delay send levels (how
much effect should be applied to the
accordion section).
Off, On
Select Off if you dont need the MFX

processor.
See the table below.
The FR-8x provides 84 different

multi-effect types, some of which are
combinations of two effects for added
flexibility. This parameter allows you to
select the desired type.
CHORUS
2.2 Register
DELAY
The parameters on this page are used in

combination with the settings above. Here, you
decide which feet should be audible and how they
should be played. It is therefore on this page that
you specify whether the sounds you selected
above will indeed be used.
MFX
MFX Type
The MFX available types are:

Parameter Value
FOOT
All, 16, 8, 8, 8+, 4,

5-1/3, 2-2/3
Explanation
N.
Mfx Type
N.
1 Thru
29
OD Delay
57 VK Rotary
2 Stereo EQ
30
DST Cho
58
3D Chorus
On: Sound
3 Overdrive
31
DST Flgr
59
3D Flanger
CASS: On-Cassotto (muffled

sound)
4 Distortion
32
DST Delay
60
3D Step Flgr
5 Phaser
33
EH Chorus
61
Band Cho
34 EH Flanger
62
Band Flgr
B. Step Flgr
Chose the reed you wish to edit.

Off: No sound
STATUS
Off, On, CASS
N.
Mfx Type
Mfx Type
This parameter allows you to transpose

the selected register one octave up or
down.
-1~0~+1
35 EH Delay
63
This can be used for two purposes:

OCTAVE
7 Enhancer
8
36.
64 VS Overdr.
to quickly correct the pitch that

results from the active reeds (see
above) or
to avoid overlaps of the selected
register when using an ORCHESTRA
sound. (The ORCHESTRA
section also provides an Octave
parameter.)
This parameter can be set for each
reed/footage individually. It allows you
to create the desired mix (volume
balance) for the active reeds.
LEVEL
Off, 40~Std~+40
This is a relative parameter: its value

is added to or subtracted from the
standard value (Std). As a rule, first
decide which reed is most important
and set its Volume parameter to Std.
Then reduce or increase the volume
of the ancillary reeds to create the
desired balance.
Spectrum
Auto Wah
ChoDLY
9 Rotary
37 Flgr DLY
65
VS Distort.
10 Compress
38
CHO Flgr
66
GT AmpSim
11 Limiter
39
CHO/DLY
67
Gate
12 Hexa-Cho
40 Flgr/DLY
68 Long Delay
13 Trem Cho
41
CHO/Flgr
69 Serial Delay
14 Space-D
42
Isolator
70 M. Tap DLY
15 St. Chorus
43
Low Boost
16.
St. Flanger
44 Super Filter
72 Shuffle DLY
17
StepFlanger
45
Step Filter
73
3D Delay
18 St. Delay
46
Humanizer
74
Long Delay
19 Mod. Delay
47
Speaker Sim
75 Tape Echo
20 3 Tap Delay
48 Step Phaser
76
LoFi Noise
21
49
77
LoFi Comp
4 Tap Delay
MLT Phaser
22 Time Delay
50 INF Phaser
78 LoFi Radio
23
79 Telephone
VALVE
NOISE
LEVEL
Explanation
51
Ring Modul
24 FBK Pitch
Parameter Value
71 Reverse DLY
2 Pitch Shift
52
Step Ring
25 Reverb
53 Tremolo
80 Phonograph
81 Step Pitch
26 Gate Reverb
This parameter allows you to not

only set the level of the typical valve
noises, but also to specify what kind of
instrument should generate the noise.
Off, 40~Std~+40
Use the LEVEL parameter to specify how

prominent the noise should be.
54 Auto Pan
82 Symp Reso
27 ODChorus
Bandoneon, I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
D-Folk, Organetto,
F-Folk2, Classic2,
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische, OldItaly,
TexMex, Trikitixa,
F-Jazz, Classic3,
Bajan.
55 Step Pan
83
VIB-OD-Rot
28
56 Slicer
84
Center Can
ODFlanger
2.4 MFX Edit

The parameters in this page depend on the MFX
type that you selected.
Select and set the desiderate parameter.
For details regarding MFX edit parameters refer to
theTone & Drum Kit List supplementary manual.
72
2.5 MFX Control
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Select this page to assign a control to the MFX.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
BELLOWS DETUNE
Off, Low,
Standard, High
Select EFX Pot to control

the MFX by EFFECT
potentiometer.
Select After to control the
MFX by aftertouch.
NOTE
Control 1 Source
The treble keyboard

of the piano-type
model also generates
aftertouch messages
(on the button- type
model, aftertouch can
be generated with the
Master bar). Aftertouch
refers to the fact that
you press a key even
further down after
playing a note.
Off, EFX Pot, Aftert
Control 1 Sens
-63~0~+63
Control 1 Assign
The effects to assign depend on the MFX type that

you selected. See 2.3 Effects Send (p. 72).
Control 2 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 2 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 2 Assign
As Control 1 Sens
Control 3 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
Control 4 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 4 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 4 Assign
As stated earlier, the right hand

keyboard of the piano-type model
also generates aftertouch messages (on the button- type model,
aftertouch can be generated with
the Master bar). Aftertouch refers
to the fact that you press a key
even further down after playing
a note. This effect allows you to
bend the pitch down (temporarily
lower the note) by a quarter tone
(1/4 Down) or a semi-tone (1/2
Down). Select 1/4 Up or 1/2 Up
to bend the notes up a quarter or
a semi-tone.
As Control 1 Source
Control 3 Sens
If the Standard setting seems

too mild, try High. If it is too
strong, use Low. If you dont
want any detuning effect, select
Off. The most convincing setting
usually depends on the selected
instrument(s). See 2.1 Reed Type
(p. 71).
As Control 1 Assign
Control 3 Source
Off, 1/4 Down,

1/2 Down, 1/4
Up, 1/2 Up
AFTERTOUCH
PITCH
This parameter further adds

to the realism of the sounds
emulated by your FR-8x. Here, you
can specify how strongly the pitch
of the simulated Treble reed(s)
changes when you open or close
the bellows faster than usual.
As Control 1 Assign
Adjust the sensitivity.
Select Off to switch off the treble

sections aftertouch recognition.
NOTE
This aftertouch effect applies
to all notes that are sounding
simultaneously. If you play
a chord and then only press
down one key of the chords
constituent notes even further,
all notes are bent by the same
amount.
2.7 MIDI TX
2.6 Controllers
This page contains a series of MIDI parameters for

the selected register. You need to set them one by
one. These parameters are saved along with all
other Set parameters, which allows you to use
different MIDI settings for each Set and even
each register within a Set.
In this page you can control the release of sound,

the bellows detune and the after touch pitch.
Parameter
RELEASE
Value
Explanation
64~0~63
This parameter that allows you to

shorten the right hand accordion
sounds if you feel the virtual reeds
linger a bit long after you release
a key. To do so, select a negative
value.
The term Release is taken from
synthesizers and refers to the
speed at which the notes you play
disappear when you release the
keys.
Parameter Value
Note Tx
Octave
On, Off
Default: On
3~0~+3
Default: 0
Explanation
Set this parameter to Off if the external
instrument must not double the notes you
are playing on the right hand (Accordion
section).
the Note-on messages transmitted by the
accordion section (if Note is set to On) up
to three octaves up or down.
Each MIDI note has a unique number. This
parameter allows you to add (or subtract) 12
(1 octave), 24 (2 octaves) or 36 (3 octaves)
to (from) the note numbers generated by
your playing.
73
Menu Options
Parameter Value
CC 00
CC 32
Explanation
What you set here is transmitted to the FR-8xs

MIDI OUT socket whenever you select the
register you are currently editing. (You can
set separate addresses for each register.) This
allows you to cause an external module to
select sounds.
PC
Parameter Value
Select Off if the register should not transmit

this message.
Chorus
Off, 0~127
Default: 0
Std, Off, 1~128 Select Off if a register should not send CC00,
CC32 and/or PC messages. Select Std to
Default: Std
transmit the MIDI address of the register you
assign this setting to (Right Hand register [12],
for example, which would then send PC 12
for CC00= 00/CC32= 00). When you select
Your FR-8xx is velocity sensitive. The volume

and brightness of the notes you play on the
right hand or left hand keyboard therefore
depend on how hard (or fast) you press the
keys/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.
See the following Std table:
Default: 100
This parameter allows you to specify the

volume value (CC07) the register should send
to an external device whenever 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.
Even though the MIDI standard recognizes

128 different velocity values, only 127 can
actually be used for expression purposes. That
explains why the setting range is 1~127. Value
0 is usually used to signal the end of a note
(i.e. when you release a key or button).
NOTE
The FR-8x does not execute this message if
it is returned to the FR-8x via the external
devices Soft Thru function.
Panpot
Off, 0~127
Default: 64
Velocity
On, 1~127
Default: On
This parameter allows you to specify the value

(CC10) the register should send to an external
device when you press it. That way, the MIDI
instrument you are controlling automatically selects the desired stereo position. 0
corresponds to hard left, 64 to dead center,
and 127 to hard right.
Select Off if the register should not transmit
this message.
Note that the setting you select here has no

effect when the Note Tx 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).
The FR-8x does not execute this message if

it is returned to the FR-8x via the external
devices Soft Thru function.
Reverb Send Level value (CC91) the register
should send to an external device when 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.
Off, 0~127
Default: 40
You probably noticed that the strength/speed

with which the bellows is pressed or pulled
influences the sound which corresponds to
an acoustic accordions response.
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 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
Reverb
If there is no audible change, you may have

to check the reverb effect settings on the
receiving MIDI instrument.
Not all MIDI instruments have a chorus

effect, and even if they do, they may not
support this control changenumber.
PC), the other two parameters also adopt the

Std setting.
Off, 0~127
NOTE
NOTE
Std for one of the three parameters (CC00,

CC32, or
Volume
Explanation
Chorus Send Level value (CC93) the register
should send to an external device whenever
you press it. 0 will set the receiving MIDI
instrument to dry (no chorus), while 127
represents the maximum Chorus Send level.
Std, Off, 0~127 These three messages belong together. The

oldest message is called program change
Default: Std
or PC for short. It is used to select sounds or
memories on the receiving instrument simply
by recalling another sound (or memory) on
the transmitting instrument.
Expression
Off, Bellows,
Pedal
Default:
Belows
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
purposes, set this parameter to Bellows.
If you dont (because the external instrument
is too sensitive and therefore changes its
volume too often), select Off.
If you purchased an optional MIDI foot
controller (e.g. FC-300) that have a
pedal expression, you can also control the
relative volume by foot. In that case, set this
parameter to Pedal.
74
Parameter Value
Aftertouch
Off, On
Default: On
Explanation
The right hand keyboard of the piano-type
model also generates aftertouch messages
(on the button-type model, aftertouch
can be generated with the Master bar).
Aftertouch is usually used for temporary
changes to a sounds volume, tone or
pitch (this needs to be set on the receiving
instrument). Used right, it can be a very
powerful expressive tool.
Select Off if this message type should not
be transmitted.
Select On if you want to transmit
aftertouch messages.
Sustain
Off, On
Default: On
This parameter allows you to enable the

transmission of sustain values (CC10) to an
external device.
The sustain can be controlled by Chin
Switched ( p. 98), Function Switches (p.
106) or by an optional MIDI foot controller
(e.g. FC-300) connected to the MIDI IN socket
of FR-8x ( p. 106).
3.1 Reed Type

These parameters allow you to transform the
selected register into a different instrument, and
to assign different sounds to each reed the register
plays.
attention to.
See 2.1 Reed Type (p. 71) for a discussion of

the possibilities and the aspects you need to pay
Bear in mind, however, that the parameters on this page apply to the
selected bass register.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
another sound to.
NOTE
FOOT
All, 16, 8, 8-4, 4, 2
2.8 Name

Valve Noise setting ( p. 72) is
automatically adapted to the reed
type you select here. You may have
to change it afterwards if you wish
to use a different noise type.
This page allows you to name the currently

selected accordion register for easy reference
while performing with the FR-8x.
The FR-8x suggests the name of selected register.
TYPE

Bandoneon, I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
D-Folk, Organetto,
F-Folk2, Classic2,
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische,
Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan
2. Press [EXIT/JUMP] button to exit from the selection.
3. Bass Edit parameters (Accordion)

The parameters of the Bass Edit group apply to the Bass section
(bass and chord notes) and are saved to the selected Set. They
allow you to build your own (virtual) accordion. See Selecting
Parameters (p. 68) for how to select and adjust the parameters.

combination with the parameters above.
Here, you decide which reeds should be audible
and how they should be played. It is therefore on
this page that you specify whether the sounds you
selected above will be used.
NOTE
Introduction to Bass Parameters

All changes you make here apply to the last Bass register you
selected. So be sure to select LEFT HAND [BASS & CHORD] button
and press the register whose settings you wish to change before
selecting and editing any of the Bass Edit parameters. You can,
however, decide to save your settings to a different register if you
realize that youve been editing the wrong one.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
BASS
All, 16, 8
STATUS
Off, Bass
Off: No sound
(p. 70).
Bass: Sound
reed/footage individually. It allows
you to create the desired mix
(volume balance) for the active reeds.
IMPORTANT NOTE
FR-8x is switched on. While editing, there is no absolute need
to save your settings. Be aware, however, that all changes are
lost when the FR-8x is switched off.
Now, all reeds use the Bandoneon

setting. Now use TYPE to switch off
the reeds you do not need.
3.2 Register

These parameters cannot be selected if the Free Bass section is

activated.
TIPS
To save time while changing the
TYPE setting of one or several reeds,
you could proceed as follows: suppose
all reeds are currently set to the wrong
TYPE and you want to use 16, 8 and 4
as Bandoneon. In that case, set FOOT
to All and TYPE to Bandoneon.
LEVEL
Off, 40~Std~+40
CHORD
All, 8-4, 4, 2
STATUS
Off, Chord, Bass &

Chord

and set its Volume parameter to
Std. Then reduce or increase the
volume of the ancillary reeds to
create the desired balance.
Off: No sound
Chord: Sound
Bass & Chord: Sound
75
Menu Options
Parameter
Off, 40~Std~+40
Explanation
Parameter
Value
Explanation

reed/footage individually. It allows
you to create the desired mix
LEVEL
Value
REVERB
0~127
CHORUS
0~127
Use these parameters to set the

Reverb, Chorus or Delay send levels
(how much effect should be applied
to the bass section).
DELAY
0~127

The higher the value you set, the

more the bass section (which includes
the chord buttons) will be processed
by the effect in question.
3.5 Controllers
NOTE
Whenever you select ALL and set a different reed type, the 3.3
Noises settings are automatically adapted to the reed type you
select here.
This parameter further adds to the realism of the

sounds emulated by your FR-8x
You may have to change those settings afterwards if you wish to

use different noise type.
3.3 Noises
Parameter
On this page, you can specify the instrument

whose button noises (BUTTON NOISE) should be
used when you select this register while playing.
(Note that other bass registers can be assigned
different noises.)
The REED GROWL parameter allows you to
simulate the typical noise a bass reed makes just before it stops vibrating
altogether (a kind of musical flatulence if you will).
Value
Here, you can specify how

strongly the pitch of the
simulated Bass reed(s) changes
when you open or close the
bellows faster than usual.
Off, Low, Standard, too mild, try High. If it is too
strong, use Low. If you do
High
not want any detuning effect,
select Off.
BELLOWS DETUNE
The most convincing

setting usually depends on the
selected instrument(s). See 3.1
Reed Type (p. 75).
Each instrument of the accordion family produces its own typical growl.
The growl that matches the sound selected with 3.1 Reed Type probably
yields the most realistic effect but feel free to select another one if you
like it better.
Parameter
Value
BASS/CHORD
NOISE
Bandoneon, I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
D-Folk, Organetto,
F-Folk2, Classic2, Select the desired setting.
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische,
Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan.
LEVEL
Off, 40~Std~40,
REED GROWL
Bandoneon, I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
D-Folk, Organetto,
F-Folk2, Classic2, Select the desired setting.
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische,
Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan
LEVEL
Off, 40~Std~40
Explanation
3.6 BASS MIDI TX

3.7 CHORD MIDI TX
Use the LEVEL parameter to specify

how prominent the noise should be.
To set the volume of the Reed Growl

sound.
3.4 Effect Send
These pages contain a series of MIDI parameters for the selected

register. You need to set them one by one. One page allows you to
specify which
MIDI messages the bass notes (i.e. the two or three button rows
closest to the bellows) should transmit, the other does the same for
the chord buttons (the remaining buttons in the bass section).
These parameters are saved along with all other Set parameters,
which allows you to use different MIDI settings for each Set and
even each register within a Set.
Parameter
On this page, you can adjust the Reverb, Chorus

and Delay effect for the bass section.
Note Tx
Octave
Value
Explanation
On, Off
See 2.7 MIDI TX (p. 73) for

details.
Default: On
3~0~+3
Default: 0
CC 00
Std, Off, 0~127
CC 32
Default: Std
PC
76
Explanation
Std, Off, 1~128

Default: Std

details.
details.
details.
Parameter
Volume
Panpot
Reverb
Chorus
Velocity
Expression
Aftertouch
Sustain
Value
Explanation
Off, 0~127
4.1 Reed Type

details.
Default: 100
Off, 0~127
Default: 64
Off, 0~127
Default: 40
Off, 0~127
Default: 0
On, 1~127
Default: On
Thee parameters allow you to transform the

selected register into a different instrument, and to
assign different sounds to each reed the register
plays.

details.
details.
details.
Bear in mind, however, that the parameters on this

page apply to the selected Free Bass register.
Parameter
Value
Off, Bellows, Pedal See 2.7 MIDI TX (p. 73) for

details.
Default: Belows
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On

details.
NOTE
FOOT
All, 16, 8
TYPE
Bandoneon, I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
D-Folk, Organetto,
F-Folk2, Classic2,
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische, Trikitixa,
F-Jazz, Classic3,
Bajan

details..
3.8 Name
This parameter allows you to name the currently
selected bass register for easy reference while
performing with the FR-8x.

4. Free Bass Edit parameters
Bandoneon, I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
D-Folk, Organetto,
REED GROWL F-Folk2, Classic2,
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische, Trikitixa,
F-Jazz, Classic3,
Bajan
LEVEL
NOTE
These parameters can only be selected if the Free Bass section is
activated ([FBASS] button indicator lights).
All changes you make here apply to the last Free Bass register you
selected. So be sure to select LEFT HAND [F.BASS] button and press
the register whose settings you wish to change before selecting
and editing any of the Free Bass Edit parameters. You can, however,
decide to save your settings to a different register if you realize that
youve been editing the wrong one..
IMPORTANT NOTE

simulate the typical noise a bass reed
makes just before it stops vibrating
altogether.
Each instrument of the accordion
family produces its own typical
growl. The growl that matches the
sound selected with 4.1 Reed Type
probably yields the most realistic
effect, but feel free to select another
one if you like it better.
It allows you to create the desired

mix (volume balance) for the active
reeds.
See Selecting Parameters (p. 68) for how to select and adjust
the parameters.
Introduction to Bass Parameters

VALVE NOISE setting ( p. 72)
is automatically adapted to the
reed type you select here. You
may have to change it afterwards
if you wish to use a different noise
type.
This is the last parameter that can be

set for each reed individually.
The parameters of the Free Bass Edit group apply to the bass
section when it is used in Free Bass mode. See Free Bass System
(F.BASS) (p. 35). They can be saved to the selected Set.

Explanation
another sound to.

details.
Off, 40~Std~40

4.2 Register
combination with the parameters above. Here, you
decide which reeds should be audible and how
they should be played. It is therefore on this page
that you specify whether the sounds you selected
above will be used.

(p. 70).
77
Menu Options
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Parameter
Value
Explanation

another sound to.
REVERB
0~127
CHORUS
0~127

to the Free Bass section).
DELAY
0~127
NOTE
FOOT
All, 16, 8
Whenever you select All and set a

different reed type, the VALVE NOISE
setting (p. 72) is automatically
adapted to the reed type you select
here. You may have to change it
afterwards if you wish to use a
different noise type.
To specify whether the selected reed
should sound and which bass buttons
can be used to play it.
Off: No sound
The higher the value you set, the more

the Free Bass section (which includes
the chord buttons) will be processed
by the effect in question.
4.4 Controllers
In this page you can control the bellows detune.
Low: the lower half

High: the upper half
STATUS
Off, Low, High,

Whole
Whole: all buttons

These options allow you to program
what keyboard players would call a
split. You can create several nifty
combinations, like High for 8 and Low
for 16 (or vice versa), or Whole for 16
(all buttons) and High for 8 (only the
upper three rows).
Parameter
Value
Here, you can specify how

strongly the pitch of the
simulated Free Bass reed(s)
changes when you open or
close the bellows faster than
usual.
NOTE
Assigning the same partial STATUS
(High or Low) to both reeds means
that only half the number of available
bass buttons can be used.
BELLOWS DETUNE
It allows you to create the desired mix

LEVEL
Off, 40~Std~40
FREE BASS
NOISE
Bandoneon , I-Folk,
I-Folk2, Classic,
D-Folk, Organetto,
F-Folk2, Classic2,
Studio, Tradition,
Steierische,
Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan

and set its Volume parameter to Std.
Then reduce or increase the volume of
the ancillary reeds to create the desired
balance.
The bass section of almost all accordion
instruments can be played via buttons.
Such buttons produce a typical noise
when pressed.
You can select the instrument whose
button noises should be used when you
select this register. (Note that other Free
Bass registers can be assigned different
noises.)
Use the LEVEL parameter to specify how
NOTE
LEVEL
Off, 40~Std~40
Whenever you select ALL for 4.1 Reed

Type and set a different reed type, this
noise setting is automatically adapted
to the reed type you select. It would
therefore be a good idea to first select
the reed type and only then change the
noise type
4.5 FREE BASS MIDI TX

This parameter further adds to the realism of the
sounds emulated by your FR-8x.
Parameter
Note Tx
Octave
Explanation
details.
Default: On
3~0~+3
Default: 0
Std, Off, 0~127
CC 32
Default: Std
PC
Reverb
Chorus
Velocity
Expression
78
Value
On, Off
CC 00
Panpot

and Delay effect for the bass section.

Off, Low, Standard,
too mild, try High. If it is too
High
strong, use Low. If you do
not want any detuning effect,
select Off.
The most convincing
setting usually depends on the
selected instrument(s). See 4.1
Reed Type (p. 77).
Volume
4.3 Effect Send
Explanation
Std, Off, 1~128

Default: Std
Off, 0~127
Default: 100
Off, 0~127
Default: 64
Off, 0~127
Default: 40
Off, 0~127
Default: 0
On, 1~127
Default: On

details.
details.
details.
details.
details.
details.
details.
details.

details.
Default: Belows
4.6 Name
Parameter
This parameter allows you to name the currently

selected Free Bass register for easy reference while
performing with the FR-8x.
Value
Explanation
This parameter allows you
to transpose the Orchestra 1
section (i.e. the currently selected
orchestral 1 sound) up or down.
OCTAVE
3~0~+3
This can be interesting when you

are using the Orchestra 1 part in
layer mode ( p. 33) and want
it to sound above or below the
selected treble accordion register.

This parameter allows you to set

the Orchestra 1 sections volume.
VOLUME
This is a relative parameter, which

means that its value is added to
or subtracted from the standard
value (Std).
Off, 40~Std~40
Depending on the selected

sound, this parameter allows you
to change the Orchestra 1 parts
placement in the stereo sound
field (i.e. between the left and
right speakers) to create a livelier
sound image.
5. Orchestra 1 Edit parameters

The parameters of the Orchestra 1 Edit group apply to the right
hand orchestra section. See Playing Orchestral Sounds (p. 35)
for details about the Orchestra section. They can be saved to the
selected Set.
The Treb values mean that the

sound will appear on the same
side as the Right Hand (treble)
accordion sound. This setting
applies to both the FR-8x internal
speakers and the L/MONO socket.
See Selecting Parameters (p. 68) for how to select and adjust
the parameters.
PANPOT
63 Bass~0~63 Treble
The Bass values mean that the

side as the bass accordion sound.
This setting applies to both the
FR-8x internal speakers and the R/
MONO socket.
NOTE
These parameters can only be selected if the Orchestra 1 section
is activated ([ORCH 1] button indicator lights).
Choose 0 if the Orchestra 1

sound should be at the center of
the stereo image.
Introduction to Orchestra 1 Parameters

All changes you make here apply to the last Orchestra 1 register
you selected. So be sure to select RIGHT HAND [ORCH1] button
selecting and editing any of the Orchestra 1 Edit parameters. You
can, however, decide to save your settings to a different register if
you realize that youve been editing the wrong one.
5.2 Effect Send

used to process the Orchestra 1 section.
IMPORTANT NOTE
(p. 70).
Parameter Value
Explanation
REVERB
0~127

Orchestra 1 section).
Off, On

processor.

CHORUS
DELAY
MFX
5.1 Tone Selection

Thee parameters group allows you to assign the
desiderate orchestra sound, to transpose the
Orchestra section, to adjust the volume and the
panpot.
MFX Type

Parameter
TONE
N.
Mfx Type
N.
For details regarding

this settings refer to
theTone & Drum Kit List
supplementary manual.
assign the desired orchestral
Download it from the
sound to the selected register.
Web:
1 Thru
29
OD Delay
57 VK Rotary
2 Stereo EQ
30
DST Cho
58
3D Chorus
3 Overdrive
31
DST Flgr
59
3D Flanger
4 Distortion
32
DST Delay
60
3D Step Flgr
5 Phaser
33
EH Chorus
61
Band Cho
http:/ www.roland.com/
manuals/
34 EH Flanger
62
Band Flgr
7 Enhancer
35 EH Delay
63
B. Step Flgr
36.
64 VS Overdr.
Value
Explanation
N.
Mfx Type
Spectrum
Auto Wah
9 Rotary
ChoDLY
37 Flgr DLY
65
Mfx Type
VS Distort.
79
Menu Options
N.
Mfx Type
N.
Mfx Type
N.
Mfx Type
Parameter
Value
10 Compress
38
CHO Flgr
66
GT AmpSim
Control 3 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
11 Limiter
39
CHO/DLY
67
Gate
Control 4 Source
As Control 1 Source
12 Hexa-Cho
40 Flgr/DLY
68 Long Delay
Control 4 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
13 Trem Cho
41
CHO/Flgr
69 Serial Delay
Control 4 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
14 Space-D
42
Isolator
70 M. Tap DLY
15 St. Chorus
43
Low Boost
16.
St. Flanger
44 Super Filter
72 Shuffle DLY
17
StepFlanger
71 Reverse DLY
45
Step Filter
73
3D Delay
18 St. Delay
46
Humanizer
74
Long Delay
19 Mod. Delay
47
Speaker Sim
20 3 Tap Delay
48 Step Phaser
21
49
4 Tap Delay
MLT Phaser
5.5 Sound Edit
75 Tape Echo
76
77
The following parameters allow you to set the

sounds envelope and filters.
LoFi Noise
LoFi Comp
22 Time Delay
50 INF Phaser
23
The envelope parameters affect both the volume

(TVA) and the filter (TVF). The cutoff frequency
will rise as the envelope rises and will fall as the
envelope falls.
78 LoFi Radio
79 Telephone
2 Pitch Shift
Explanation
51
Ring Modul
24 FBK Pitch
52
Step Ring
25 Reverb
53 Tremolo
81 Step Pitch
26 Gate Reverb
54 Auto Pan
82 Symp Reso
27 ODChorus
55 Step Pan
83
VIB-OD-Rot
28
56 Slicer
84
Center Can
80 Phonograph
Explanation
ATTACK
-64~0~+63
This parameter adjusts the onset of the sound.

Negative values speed up the attack, so that
the sound becomes more aggressive.
DECAY
ODFlanger
Parameter Value
-64~0~+63
This parameter adjusts the time over which

the sounds volume and cutoff frequency fall
from the highest point of the attack down to
the sustain level.
RELEASE
-64~0~+63
This parameter adjusts the time over which

the sound will decay after the note is released
until it is no longer heard. The cutoff frequency
will also fall according to this setting.
5.3 MFX Edit

This filter parameter allows you to make the

selected sound darker or brighter.

Positive settings mean that more overtones

will be allowed to pass, so that the sound
becomes brighter. The further this value is set
in the negative direction, the fewer overtones
will be allowed to pass and the sound will
become softer (darker).
Download it from the Web http:/ www.roland.com/manuals/.
5.4 MFX Control
Characteristics of a low-pass filter

Characteristics of a low-pass filter
Setting
CUTOFF
Parameter
Value
64~0~+63
Frequency
Explanation
the MFX by EFFECT
potentiometer.
Cutoff frequency
NOTE

MFX by aftertouch.
For some sounds, positive (+) Cutoff

settings will cause no noticeable change
because the pre-programmed Cutoff
parameter is already set to its maximum
value
NOTE
Control 1 Source
The treble keyboard

of the piano-type
aftertouch messages
further down after
playing a note.
Control 1 Sens
Control 1 Assign

Control 2 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 2 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 2 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
Control 3 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 3 Sens
80
-63~0~+63
As Control 1 Sens
DELAY
64~0~+63
This parameter adjusts the time required for

the vibrato effect to begin. Positive (+) settings
increase the time before vibrato will begin and
negative settings shorten the time
DEPTH
64~0~+63
This parameter adjusts the intensity of the

pitch modulation. Positive (+) settings mean
that the wobble becomes more prominent,
while negative () settings make it shallower.
RATE
64~0~+63
This parameter adjusts the speed of the pitch

modulation. Positive (+) settings make the
preset pitch modulation faster and negative
() settings make it slower.
Parameter Value
Explanation
Parameter
Value
When the Resonance value is increased, the

overtones in the area of the cutoff frequency
will be emphasized, creating a sound with a
strong character.
RESO
64~0~+63

specify the velocity sensitivity
of the Right Hand section keys
when they are used to play
Orchestral 1 sounds.
NOTE
There are three Fixed curves

that always use the same
value, no matter how hard or
lightly you press the keys (no
dynamic control). Low means
that a low value is used, Med
represents a medium value and
High a high value.
For some sounds, negative () Resonance

settings may produce no noticeable
change because the Resonance is already
set to the minimum value.
5.6 Controllers
Low: means that even

relatively light key presses
already allow you to play loud
notes.
These parameters further add to the realism of the

Parameter
AFTERTOUCH
Value
Off, 1/4 Down,

1/2 Down, 1/4 Up,
1/2 Up
Explanation
The right hand keyboard of the
piano-type model generates
aftertouch messages (on the
button-type model, aftertouch
can be generated with the Master
bar). Aftertouch refers to the fact
that you press a key even further
down after playing a note. This
effect allows you to bend the pitch
down (temporarily lower the note)
by a quarter (1/4 Down) or a
semi-tone (1/2 Down). Select 1/4
Up or 1/2 Up to bend the notes
up a quarter or a semi-tone. Select
Off to switch off the Orchestra
sections aftertouch recognition.
Medium: is in the middle of

Low and High.
Fixed Low, Fixed

Med., Fixed High,
Low, Medium, High,
Fixed Low+Bellows,
ORCH 1 TOUCH Fixed Med.+Bellows,
Fixed High+Bellows,
Bellows
For details regarding these

sounds refer to theTone &
Drum Kit List supplementary
manual.
Download it from the Web:

specify how strongly the orchestral
sounds pitch should be influenced
by opening and closing the
bellows faster than usual.
If it is too strong, use Low.
manuals/
5.7 MIDI TX
If you do not want any detuning

effect, select Off. The most
convincing setting usually depends
on the selected sound.
Select Off If you want to use
the bellows for expressive
purposes.
EXP PEDAL
Off, On
Select On if you want

control the expression by foot
purchasing an optional MIDI
foot controller (e.g. FC-300).
Fixed Low+Bellows, Fixed

Med.+Bellows, Fixed
High+Bellows: mean that
the selected orchestral sound
uses fixed velocity values but
can also be controlled by the
bellows movements.
The ORCH 1 TOUCH parameter

does not act if the orchestral
sound selected can be
controlled by bellows only.
This aftertouch effect applies

to all Orchestra 1 notes that are
sounding simultaneously.
If the Standard setting seems too

mild, try High.
Heavy: provides a greater

variety of nuances.
NOTE
NOTE
Off, Low, Standard,

High
High: represents the most

responsive velocity curve that
requires a considerable amount
of strength for fortissimo notes,
but it also provides more
expressive options.
Bellows: means that the

selected orchestral sound
is controlled by the bellows
movements - not the velocity
values generated by the keys.
The treble section also contains

this parameter. You are thus free
to decide whether the Orchestral
1 sound should be affected by
aftertouch messages or only one
of them.
BELLOWS
DETUNE
Explanation

the Orchestra 1 section you need to set one by
one.
within a Set.
Parameter
Note Tx
Octave
These parameters are saved along with all other

Set parameters, which allows you to use different
MIDI settings for each Set and even each register
Value
Explanation
On, Off

details.
Default: On
3~0~+3
Default: 0
CC 00
Std, Off, 0~127
CC 32
Default: Std

details.
details.
81
Menu Options
Parameter
PC
Value
Explanation
Std, Off, 1~128

details.
Default: Std
Volume
Panpot
Reverb
Chorus
Velocity
Expression
Aftertouch
Sustain
Off, 0~127
Default: 100
Off, 0~127
Default: 64
Off, 0~127
Default: 40
Off, 0~127
Default: 0
On, 1~127
Default: On
7.1 Organ Selection

Your FR-8x contains a three-part Virtual ToneWheel
organ. You can set the (virtual) harmonic bars
and a number of typical organ effects and
noisesto your liking (like on a real organ).

details.
details
details.
details.
There are three organ parts: TW Upper (Right

Hand keyboard), TW Lower (chord rows of the bass
buttons) and TW Pedal (bass rows of the bass buttons).
In this page you can assign to the selected register of the Right Hand
a VTW Presets, edit a User VTW and/or transpose the Organ section in
octave.

details.
Parameter
Value
Select the Organ preset that you

wish to assign to the selected
register.

details.
Default: Belows
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On
VTW PRESET

details.
EDIT
The parameters of the Orchestra 2 Edit group apply to the right

hand orchestra section. See Playing Orchestral Sounds (p. 35)
for details about the Orchestra section. They can be saved to the
selected Set.
For details about the parameters of the Orchestra 2 Edit refer to 5.
Orchestra 1 Edit parameters (p. 79).
7. Organ Edit parameters (Righ Hand)

The parameters of the Organ group apply to the right hand Organ
section. See Playing Multiple Tones with the Keyboard (p. 33)
for details about the Organ selection. The parameters can be saved
to the selected Set.
Usr, P1~P32
Usr User preset (Only If you

edited a VTW preset)
P1~P32 32 Organ preset (Not
editable)

details.
6. Orchestra 2 Edit parameters
Explanation
Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select this field and

rotate knob to select On.
The VTW RIGHT HAND edit page is shown. See below.
Editing the selected organ sound

You can edit the selected preset by proceeding as follows:
1. See Selecting Tones and Playing with the Right Hand (p.
32) for assigning an organ sounds to the Right Hand.
2. Select the Right Hand register that you want to edit.

3. Select the 7.1 Organ Selection page.
4. Select the Organ preset (VTW PRESET) you wish to edit.
5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the EDIT field
and push the knob to edit the VTW Preset that you
selected earlier.

NOTE
These parameters can only be selected if the Organ section is
activated ([ORGAN] button indicator lights).
Introduction to Organ Parameters

All changes you make here apply to the last Organ register you
selected. So be sure to select RIGHT HAND [ORGAN] button and
press the register whose settings you wish to change before
selecting and editing any of the Organ Edit parameters. You can,
however, decide to save your settings to a different register if you
realize that youve been editing the wrong one.
6. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob repeatedly to select the

harmonic bar you want to edit:
IMPORTANT NOTE
16, 51/3, 8, 4, 22/3, 2, 13/5,11/3, 1.
7. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to set the level of the

selected harmonic bar.
NOTE
(p. 70).
If the Perc. Switch parameter is on, the sound of the 1

harmonic bar will not be heard. This is not a malfunction.
8.
NOTE
The Organ section and the Orchestra 1 section cannot be used
at the same time.
Repeat the step 6 and 7 to set the level the of the

remaining harmonic bars to your liking.
9. Press [EXIT/JUMP] button to leave this page.

The new harmonic bars preset is assigned to the selected register.
See 7.3 VTW Upper (Right Hand Organ) (p. 84) to give a name
82
at your preset.
Parameter
Off, On
Allows you to switch the overdrive effect

on or off.
Overdrive Drive
0~127
Specifies how strongly the sound is

distorted. A value toward 127 raise the
gain, adding distortion to the sound.
Overdrive Level
This page allows you to make additional detailed

settings for the Organ section.
Explanation
Overdrive Switch
7.2 Organ Parameters
Value
0~127
Specifies the level of the effect with

respect to the unprocessed organ signal.
Rotary
Percussion
The Percussion parameter allows you to add a thumping sound
to the notes you play, making the organ more aggressive. You
can also specify the pitch, the level and the speed (onset) of the
percussion sound.
The effect in this section simulates the typical sound modulation

generated by a cabinet with rotating loudspeakers.
Most functions (start/stop, rotation speed selection, etc.), need to
be selected with an optional MIDI foot controller (e.g. FC-300) ( p.
106), Chin Switches ( p. 98) or Function Switches ( p. 106).
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Perc. Swtich
Off, On
You can enable the Percussion sound.
Leakage Level
0~127

Perc. Foot
2-2/3, 4
Rotary Snd Level
0~127
You can adjust the level of rotary effect.
0~127
Allows yo to specify the level of the

rotary signal that is transmitted to the
reverb effect.
2-2/3: The Percussion use the

2-2/3 harmonic bar.
4: The Percussion use the 4
harmonic bar.
Sets the percussion sounds level.
Perc. Type
Hard, Soft
Rotary Snd
Reverb
Choose 0 if the sound should not be

processed by the organ reverb processor.
Hard: normal level

Soft: softer level.
Perc. Attack
Fast, Slow
Specifies the desired attack (aggressiveness) of the percussion sound.

Fast: fast and more abrupt
Rotary Snd
Chorus
0~127
Slow: slow and longer.
Vibrato/Chorus
Rotary Snd Delay
0~127
The vibrato effect cyclically modulates the pitch of organ sounds

(which is different from the Rotary effect).
The chorus effect mixes the normal sound of the organ with a
sound to which vibrato has been applied, adding richness and
spaciousness to the sound. Only one of these two effects can be
used at a time (either vibrato or chorus).
NOTE
The Vibrato/Chorus organ effects described below apply to
all Organ parts. There is one processor each for each effect.
Therefore, the left hand Organ Chord and Organ Bass parts will
use the same settings as the right hand organ part. If the right
hand organ part is not used (i.e. if the treble keyboard plays an
accordion or orchestral sound), the effects settings of the left
hand organ chord part are used and also applied to the left
hand organ bass part. (And if only the left hand organ bass part
is active, it will use its own effects settings.)
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Vib/Cho Switch
Off, On
You can apply vibrato or chorus to the

organ sound.
Vib/Cho Type
The effect will intensify as the vibrato

type (V-1, V-2, V-3) or chorus type (C-1,
C-1, C-2, C-3 C-2, C-3) moves to a higher number
V-1, V-2, V-3
Vib/Cho Vintage
50, 60, 70
Tonewheel used in tonewheel organs of

1950, 1960, 1970.
Vib/Cho Level
0~127
Use this parameter to set the Vibrato or

chorus level.
Overdrive
This effect distorts the sound, giving it an edge and making it
suitable for hard rock and similar musical genres. See also the
NOTE under Vibrato/Chorus.

organ chorus effect.
Choose 0 if the sound should not
be processed by the organ chorus
processor.
organ delay effect. Choose 0 if the
sound should not be processed by the
organ delay processor.
Bellows Crescendo
Here is an effect that allows you to use the bellows to move
the virtual harmonic bars. Suppose you set only one bar to the
maximum value but want to be able to increase the level of the
other bars to add special emphasis to certain notes or chords. In
that case, set the Crescendo parameter to a higher value than 0
and move the bellows more forcefully.
This function temporarily increases the level of the harmonic bars.
It has no effect if all harmonic bars are already set to the maximum
level.
Parameter
Bellows
Crescendo
Value
Explanation
Off, 1~100
Sets the organ sounds sensitivity

to changes in the force with which
the bellows is moved. The higher
the value, the more the bellows will
influence the organ sound.

specify the pressure you need
(this value cannot to apply to the bellows to start
triggering the Crescendo effect.
Bellows Thres Min be higher than
the Bellows
Set a relatively high value if you
Thresh Max
want to change the footage levels
value)
only for accented notes.
0~110

specify the maximum pressure
that will set the levels of all virtual
(this value cannot harmonic bars to maximum level.
be lower than
Choosing a value below 120
the Thresh Min means that the Crescendo effect is
value)
no longer applied when you press
the bellows very forcefully.
20~120
Bellows Thres
Max
The following illustration may make things clearer:
83
Menu Options
All harmonic bars use
maximum level.
Thresh Min
The harmonic bars use the

settings made on page
p. 82.
Harmonic bars whose level

can still be increased become
louder.
NOTE
As stated above, the Crescendo effect will not be audible if all
harmonic bars already use the maximum level.
Value
TONE
Volume
Thresh Max
Parameter

theTone & Drum Kit List assign the desired orchestral and
VTW Organ sound to the selected
register.
Web:
The VTW Organ Sound is the first
in the Orchestra Tone List.
manuals/
Explanation
8.1 Tone Selection (only for VTW Organ

Tone)
If you selected a VTW Organ Tone (Its the first in the list):
7.3 VTW Upper (Right Hand Organ)

After editing the organ sound, you can decide to
name it for easy identification. Your sound resides
in the User memory.
name it for easy identification.
Two parameters are added in the Tone Selection page:

Parameter
Value
Explanation
register.

VTW PRESET

editable)

8. Orch Bass Edit parameters

The parameters of the Orch Bass Edit group allow you to edit the
Orchestra and VTW Organ of the Left Hand Bass section. See Bass
and Chord System (BASS & CHRD) (p. 34) for details about the
selection of the Orchestra section.
Usr, P1~P16
The VTW PEDAL edit page is shown:
EDIT
The parameters can be saved to the selected Set.

To detailed information to edit the selected preset see

Editing the selected organ sound (p. 82).
Introduction to Orchestral Bass Parameters

All changes you make here apply to the last Orchestra Bass register
you selected. So be sure to select LEFT HAND [ORCH BASS] button
selecting and editing any of the Orchestra Bass Edit parameters. You
can, however, decide to save your settings to a different register if
you realize that youve been editing the wrong one.
8.2 Tone Control

These parameters group allow you to adjust the
some useful parameters.
IMPORTANT NOTE
(p. 70).
8.1 Tone Selection

This parameter group allows you to assign the
desired orchestral or organ sound (VTW) to the
selected register.
84
Parameter Value
LOWEST
NOTE
E, F, F#, G, Ab,
A, Bb, B, C
Explanation
lowest note the selected sound can sound.
Default: E
About LOWEST NOTE

The ORCHESTRA BASS sounds (like the orchestral sounds of
the treble section) are PCM waveforms (samples) of acoustic
instruments. Each acoustic instrument has a set range: it cannot
sound notes below or above that range.
A normally tuned 4-string bass guitar allows you to play a low E, but
not the D below it, for instance:
Parameter Value
Explanation
REVERB

Orchestra Bass section).
CHORUS
Samples (PCM waveforms), on the other hand, can lower the pitch
of a recorded sound almost indefinitely. But that doesnt sound
very natural. The Lowest Note parameter allows you to specify the
lowest pitch the sample can use. If you nevertheless play a lower
note on the bass keyboard, it will be sounded one octave above the
corresponding pitch and sound natural. Here is an example:
If this is what you play on the bass keyboard
0~127
DELAY
8.3 VTW Pedal Parameter (only for VTW Organ

Tone)
settings for the Organ sound.
after choosing... Lowest Note = E

NOTE
The organ effects described below apply to all sections that use
VTW Organ sound.
these notes are transposed 1 octave up
Vibrato/Chorus
The Orchestra Bass sound thus changes octaves. For some songs,
the default setting (E) may yield odd results, especially if you need
to play walking bass lines, etc. In that case, you can change the
Lowest Note setting to achieve a satisfactory result.
Parameter Value
OCTAVE
VOLUME
Value
Explanation
Vib/Cho Switch
Off, On

organ sound.
Vib/Cho Type
Explanation
3~0~+3
This parameter allows you to transpose the

Orchestra Bass section (i.e. the selected orchestral
or organ sound) up or down.
Use it if the part you want to play with the bass
buttons is too low or too high for what you have
in mind.
Off,
This parameter allows you to set the level of the
40~Std~40 Orchestra Bass part
Depending on the selected sound, this parameter

allows you to change the Orchestra Bass parts
placement in the stereo sound field (i.e. between
the left and right speakers) to create a livelier
sound image.
PANPOT
Parameter
The Treb values mean that the sound will appear

on the same side as the Right Hand (treble)
accordion sound. This setting applies to both the
63 Bass~0~63 FR-8xs internal speakers and the L/MONO socket.
Treble
The Bass values mean that the sound will appear
on the same side as the bass accordion sound
(which is not available while an Orchestra Bass
sound is being used). This setting applies to both
the FR-8xs internal speakers and the R/MONO
socket.
Choose 0 if the Orchestra Bass sound should be
at the center of the stereo image.
8.3 Effects Send

This page allows you to set various effects.

V-1, V-2, V-3
Vib/Cho Vintage
50, 60, 70

1950, 1960, 1970.
Vib/Cho Level
0~127

chorus level.
Overdrive
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Overdrive Switch
Off, On

on or off.
Overdrive Drive
0~127

Overdrive Level
0~127

Rotary
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Leakage Level
0~127

Rotary Snd Level
0~127
0~127

reverb effect.
Rotary Snd
Reverb

85
Menu Options
Parameter
Value
Rotary Snd
Chorus
0~127
Rotary Snd Delay
0~127
Explanation
Parameter
Value
Explanation
This parameter allows you to specify
the velocity sensitivity of the Right
Hand section keys when they are
used to play Orchestral 1 sounds.

processor.

that always use the same value,
no matter how hard or lightly you
press the keys (no dynamic control).
Low means that a low value is
used, Med represents a medium
value and High a high value.

Low: means that even relatively

light key presses already allow you
to play loud notes.
8.4 Sound Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone)
Medium: is in the middle of Low

and High.
requires a considerable amount of
strength for fortissimo notes, but
it also provides more expressive
options.

envelope falls.
Heavy: provides a greater variety

of nuances.
Fixed Low, Fixed
Med., Fixed High,
Low, Medium, High,
ORCH BASS
Fixed Low+Bellows,
TOUCH
Fixed Med.+Bellows,
Fixed High+Bellows,
Bellows

Med.+Bellows, Fixed
High+Bellows: mean that the
selected orchestral sound uses
fixed velocity values but can also
be controlled by the bellows
movements.
Parameter Value
Explanation
ATTACK
64~0~+63
See 5.5 Sound Edit (p. 80) for detailed

information.
DECAY
64~0~+63

information.
RELEASE
64~0~+63

information.
CUTOFF
64~0~+63

information.
DELAY
64~0~+63

DEPTH
64~0~+63

information.
RATE
64~0~+63

information.

the velocity sensitivity of the bass
and chord buttons when they are
used to play one of the orchestral
sounds. It has no effect on the VTW
Organ sounds.
RESO
64~0~+63

information.
NOTE
Bellows: means that the selected

orchestral sound is controlled by
the bellows movements not the
velocity values generated by the
keys.
NOTE
The ORCH BASS TOUCH parameter

does not act if the orchestral sound
selected can be controlled by
bellows only.
8.5 Controllers
For details regarding these sounds

refer to theTone & Drum Kit List
http:/ www.roland.com/manuals/
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Select Off If you want to use the
bellows for expressive purposes.
EXP PEDAL Off, On
86
Select On if you want control the

expression by foot purchasing an
optional MIDI foot controller (e.g.
FC-300).
8.6 MIDI TX
Introduction to Orchestral Chord Parameters

the Orchestra Bass section you need to set one by
one.
within a Set.
Parameter
Note Tx
Octave

IMPORTANT NOTE
Value
Explanation
On, Off

details.
Default: On
3~0~+3
Default: 0
CC 00
Std, Off, 0~127
CC 32
Default: Std
PC
Volume
Panpot
Reverb
Chorus
Velocity
Expression
All changes you make here apply to the last Orchestra Chord
register you selected. So be sure to select LEFT HAND [ORCH
CHORD/F.BASS] button and press the register whose settings you
wish to change before selecting and editing any of the Orchestra
Chord Edit parameters. You can, however, decide to save your
settings to a different register if you realize that youve been editing
the wrong one.
Std, Off, 1~128

Default: Std
Off, 0~127
Default: 100
Off, 0~127
Default: 64
Off, 0~127
Default: 40
Off, 0~127
Default: 0
On, 1~127
Default: On

details.
details.
details.
details.

(p. 70).
9.1 Tone Selection

This parameter allows you to assign the desired
orchestral or organ sound (VTW) to the selected
register.

details.
details.
details.
Parameter
Value
TONE

register.
Web:
manuals/

details.

details.
Default: Bellows
8.7 VTW Pedal (only for VTW Organ Tone)

in the User memory.
Explanation
9.1 Tone Selection (only for VTW Organ Tone)



9. Orch Chord Edit parameters

The parameters of the Orch Edit group allow you to edit the
Orchestra and VTW Organ of the Left Hand Chord section. See Bass
and Chord System (BASS & CHRD) (p. 34) for details about the
selection of the Orchestra section.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
register.
VTW PRESET
Usr, P1~P32

editable)

NOTE
If the Free Bass section is activated ([FBASS] button indicator
lights) the Orch Chord Edit parameters cannot be selected.
87
Menu Options
Parameter
Value
Explanation

9.3 Effects Send (Not for VTW Organ Tone)

used to process the Orchestra Chord section.
The VTW LEFT HAND edit page is shown
EDIT
Parameter Value
Explanation
REVERB
0~127

Off, On

processor.

CHORUS
DELAY
MFX
9.2 Tone Control

These parameters group allow you to adjust some
useful parameters.
MFX Type

N.
C, C#, D, Eb, E, F, F#,

G, Ab, A, Bb, B,
LOWEST
NOTE
Gtr Table1,
Gtr Table2,
Gtr Table3
N.
Mfx Type
N.
Explanation
1 Thru
29
OD Delay
57 VK Rotary
The note you select will be the lowest

note the chords you play. See also the
explanation for About LOWEST NOTE
(p. 84).
2 Stereo EQ
30
DST Cho
58
3D Chorus
3 Overdrive
31
DST Flgr
59
3D Flanger
4 Distortion
32
DST Delay
60
3D Step Flgr
Select one of these options to take

advantage of the FR-8x Guitar mode.
Parameter Value
5 Phaser
33
EH Chorus
61
Band Cho
34 EH Flanger
62
Band Flgr
7 Enhancer
35 EH Delay
63
B. Step Flgr
36.
The numbers (1~3) represent different

chord voicings (tablatures).
For more details see Guitar Mode for
the Orchestral Chord Section (p. 41).
NOTE
Guitar mode can also be interesting
for other sounds than guitar. Feel free
to experiment
Mfx Type
Spectrum
Auto Wah
ChoDLY
Mfx Type
64 VS Overdr.
9 Rotary
37 Flgr DLY
65
VS Distort.
10 Compress
38
CHO Flgr
66
GT AmpSim
11 Limiter
39
CHO/DLY
67
Gate
12 Hexa-Cho
40 Flgr/DLY
68 Long Delay
3~0~+3
41
CHO/Flgr
69 Serial Delay
14 Space-D
42
Isolator
70 M. Tap DLY
15 St. Chorus
43
Low Boost
16.
St. Flanger
44 Super Filter
72 Shuffle DLY
Use it if the part you want to play with

the bass buttons is too low or too high
for what you have in mind.
OCTAVE
13 Trem Cho

the Orchestra Chord section (i.e. the
selected orchestral or organ sound) up
or down.
17
StepFlanger
71 Reverse DLY
Off, 40~Std~40
This parameter allows you to set the

level of the Orchestra Bass part
Step Filter
73
3D Delay
46
Humanizer
74
Long Delay
19 Mod. Delay
VOLUME
45
18 St. Delay
47
Speaker Sim
75 Tape Echo
20 3 Tap Delay
48 Step Phaser
76
LoFi Noise
21
49
77
LoFi Comp
4 Tap Delay
MLT Phaser
22 Time Delay
PANPOT
63 Bass~0~63
Treble
Depending on the selected sound, this

parameter allows you to change the
Orchestra Chord parts placement in the
stereo sound field (i.e. between the left
and right speakers) to create a livelier
sound image. The Treb values mean
that the sound will appear on the same
side as the Right Hand (treble) accordion
sound. This setting applies to both the
FR-8xs internal speakers and the L/
MONO socket.
The Bass values mean that the sound
will appear on the same side as the bass
accordion sound (which is not available
while an Orchestra Chord sound is being
used). This setting applies to both the
FR-8xs internal speakers and the R/
MONO socket.
Choose 0 if the Orchestra Chord sound
should be at the center of the stereo
image.
88
50 INF Phaser
78 LoFi Radio
23
79 Telephone
51
Ring Modul
24 FBK Pitch
2 Pitch Shift
52
Step Ring
25 Reverb
53 Tremolo
80 Phonograph
81 Step Pitch
26 Gate Reverb
54 Auto Pan
82 Symp Reso
27 ODChorus
55 Step Pan
83
VIB-OD-Rot
28
56 Slicer
84
Center Can
ODFlanger
9.3 VTW Lower Parameter (only for VTW Organ

Tone)
NOTE
VTW Organ sound.
Vibrato/Chorus
9.5 MFX Controls (Not for VTW Organ Tone)


Parameter
Value
Explanation
Vib/Cho Switch
Off, On

organ sound.
Vib/Cho Type
Parameter
Value
Explanation
the MFX by EFFECT
potentiometer.

V-1, V-2, V-3
Vib/Cho Vintage
50, 60, 70
Vib/Cho Level
0~127

MFX by aftertouch.

1950, 1960, 1970.
chorus level.
NOTE
The treble keyboard
of the piano-type
aftertouch messages
further down after
playing a note.
Control 1 Source
Control 1 Sens
-63~0~+63
Control 1 Assign

Control 2 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 2 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 2 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
Control 3 Source
Overdrive
As Control 1 Source
Control 3 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 3 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
Control 4 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 4 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 4 Assign
As Control 1 Assign

Parameter
Value
Explanation
Overdrive Switch
Off, On

on or off.
Overdrive Drive
0~127

Overdrive Level
0~127

Rotary
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Leakage Level
0~127

Rotary Snd Level
0~127
0~127

reverb effect.
Rotary Snd
Reverb
Rotary Snd
Chorus

envelope falls.

0~127

processor.
9.4 MFX Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone)

Parameter Value
Explanation
ATTACK
64~0~+63

information.
DECAY
64~0~+63

information.
RELEASE
64~0~+63

information.
CUTOFF
Rotary Snd Delay
0~127
64~0~+63

information.
DELAY
64~0~+63

DEPTH
64~0~+63

information.
RATE
64~0~+63

information.
89
Menu Options
Parameter Value
RESO
Explanation
64~0~+63
Default: 0

information.
9.8 MIDI TX
the Orchestra Chord section you need to set one
by one.
9.7 Controllers
within a Set.
Parameter
Note Tx
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Select Off If you want to use the
bellows for expressive purposes.
EXP PEDAL
Off, On
Select On if you want control the

expression by foot purchasing an
optional MIDI foot controller (e.g.
FC-300).
specify the velocity sensitivity of
the Right Hand section keys when
they are used to play Orchestral
1 sounds.
no matter how hard or softly
you press the keys (no dynamic
control). Low means that a low
value is used, Med represents a
medium value and High a high
value.
Low: means that even relatively
light key presses already allow
you to play loud notes.
Octave

Value
Explanation
On, Off

details.
Default: On
3~0~+3
Default: 0
CC 00
Std, Off, 0~127
CC 32
Default: Std
PC
Volume
Panpot
Reverb
Chorus
Velocity
Expression
Std, Off, 1~128

Default: Std
Off, 0~127
Default: 100
Off, 0~127
Default: 64
Off, 0~127
Default: 40
Off, 0~127
Default: 0
On, 1~127
Default: On

details.
details.
details.
details.
details.
details.
details.
details.

details.
Default: Belows
Medium: is in the middle of Low

and High.
ORCH CHORD
TOUCH
Fixed Low, Fixed

Med., Fixed High,
Low, Medium,
High, Fixed
Low+Bellows,
Fixed
Med.+Bellows,
Fixed
High+Bellows,
Bellows,

expressive options.

in the User memory.

variety of nuances.
Med.+Bellows, Fixed
High+Bellows: mean that the
selected orchestral sound uses
fixed velocity values but can also
be controlled by the bellows
movements.
movements not the velocity
NOTE
the bass and chord buttons when
they are used to play one of the
orchestral sounds. It has no effect
on the VTW Organ sounds.
NOTE
The ORCH CHORD TOUCH
parameter does not act if the
orchestral sound selected can be
controlled by bellows only.
For details regarding these sounds
http:/ www.roland.com/manuals/
90
9.9 VTW Lower (only for VTW Organ Tone)


10. Orch Free Bass Edit parameters

The parameters of the Orch Free Bass Edit group allow you to edit
the Orchestra and VTW Organ of the Left Hand Free Bass section.
See Free Bass System (F.BASS) (p. 35) for details about the
selection of the Free Bass section.
NOTE
If the Free Bass section is not activated ([FBASS] button indicator
unlit) the Orch Free Bass Edit parameters cannot be selected.
Introduction to Orch. Free Bass Chord Parameters
All changes you make here apply to the last Orchestra Free Bass
register you selected. So be sure to select LEFT HAND [ORCH
CHORD/F.BASS] button and press the register whose settings you
wish to change before selecting and editing any of the Orchestra
Chord Edit parameters. You can, however, decide to save your
settings to a different register if you realize that youve been editing
the wrong one.
Parameter
Value
Explanation

The VTW LEFT HAND edit page is shown
EDIT
IMPORTANT NOTE
(p. 70).

10.2 Tone Control

This parameter group allows you to adjust the
some useful parameters.
10.1 Tone Selection

This parameter allows you to assign the desired
orchestral or organ sound (VTW) to the selected
register.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
TONE

register.
Web:
manuals/
Parameter Value
Explanation
OCTAVE

the Orchestra Free Bass section (i.e. the
selected orchestral or organ sound) up
or down.
Use it if the part you want to play with
the bass buttons is too low or too high
for what you have in mind.
VOLUME
10.1 Tone Selection (only for VTW Organ Tone)

PANPOT

Parameter
Value
Explanation
register.
VTW PRESET
Usr, P1~P32

editable)
3~0~+3
Off, 40~Std~40
This parameter allows you to set the

level of the Orchestra Bass part
Depending on the selected sound, this

parameter allows you to change the
Orchestra Free Bass parts placement
in the stereo sound field (i.e. between
the left and right speakers) to create a
livelier sound image. The Treb values
mean that the sound will appear on the
same side as the Right Hand (treble)
accordion sound. This setting applies to
both the FR-8xs internal speakers and
63 Bass~0~63 Treble the L/MONO socket.
The Bass values mean that the sound
will appear on the same side as the bass
accordion sound (which is not available
while an Orchestra Free Bass sound is
being used). This setting applies to both
the FR-8x internal speakers and the R/
MONO socket.
Choose 0 if the Orchestra Free Bass
sound should be at the center of the
stereo image.
10.3 Effects Send (Not for VTW Organ Tone)

used to process the Orchestra Free Bass section.
91
Menu Options
Parameter Value
Explanation
REVERB

CHORUS
0~127
DELAY
Parameter
Off, On
MFX
MFX Type

processor.

Mfx Type
Explanation
Vib/Cho Switch
Off, On

organ sound.
Vib/Cho Type

V-1, V-2, V-3
Vib/Cho Vintage
50, 60, 70

1950, 1960, 1970.
Vib/Cho Level
0~127

chorus level.
Overdrive

N.
Value
N.
Mfx Type
N.
1 Thru
29
OD Delay
57 VK Rotary
2 Stereo EQ
30
DST Cho
58
3D Chorus
3 Overdrive
31
DST Flgr
59
3D Flanger
4 Distortion
32
DST Delay
60
3D Step Flgr
5 Phaser
33
EH Chorus
61
34 EH Flanger
62
Band Flgr
7 Enhancer
35 EH Delay
63
B. Step Flgr
36.
64 VS Overdr.

Band Cho
Spectrum
Auto Wah
ChoDLY
Mfx Type
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Overdrive Switch
Off, On

on or off.
Overdrive Drive
0~127

Overdrive Level
0~127

9 Rotary
37 Flgr DLY
65
VS Distort.
10 Compress
38
CHO Flgr
66
GT AmpSim
11 Limiter
39
CHO/DLY
67
Gate
12 Hexa-Cho
40 Flgr/DLY
68 Long Delay
13 Trem Cho
41
CHO/Flgr
69 Serial Delay
14 Space-D
42
Isolator
70 M. Tap DLY
15 St. Chorus
43
Low Boost
16.
St. Flanger
44 Super Filter
72 Shuffle DLY
17
StepFlanger
45
Step Filter
73
3D Delay
Parameter
Value
Explanation
18 St. Delay
46
Humanizer
74
Long Delay
Leakage Level
0~127
19 Mod. Delay
47
Speaker Sim

20 3 Tap Delay
48 Step Phaser
76
LoFi Noise
Rotary Snd Level
0~127
21
49
77
LoFi Comp
0~127

reverb effect.
4 Tap Delay
MLT Phaser
71 Reverse DLY
75 Tape Echo
22 Time Delay
50 INF Phaser
78 LoFi Radio
23
51
Ring Modul
79 Telephone
24 FBK Pitch
52
Step Ring
25 Reverb
53 Tremolo
2 Pitch Shift
Rotary
Rotary Snd
Reverb

80 Phonograph
81 Step Pitch
26 Gate Reverb
54 Auto Pan
82 Symp Reso
27 ODChorus
55 Step Pan
83
VIB-OD-Rot
28
56 Slicer
84
Rotary Snd
Chorus
Center Can
ODFlanger
10.3 VTW Lower Parameter (only for VTW

Organ Tone)
Rotary Snd Delay
0~127
0~127

processor.
10.4 MFX Edit (Not for VTW Organ Tone)

NOTE
VTW Organ sound.
Vibrato/Chorus
92

10.5 MFX Controls (Not for VTW Organ Tone)
10.7 Controllers
Parameter
Value

Explanation
the MFX by EFFECT
potentiometer.
MFX by aftertouch.
Parameter
Value
Select Off If you want to use

the bellows for expressive
purposes.
EXP PEDAL
Off, On
NOTE
Control 1 Source
The treble keyboard

of the piano-type
aftertouch messages
further down after
playing a note.
Control 1 Sens
-63~0~+63
Control 1 Assign
As Control 1 Sens
Control 2 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
Control 3 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 3 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 3 Assign
As Control 1 Assign
Control 4 Source
As Control 1 Source
Control 4 Sens
As Control 1 Sens
Control 4 Assign
As Control 1 Assign

no matter how hard or lightly
you press the keys (no dynamic
control). Low means that a low
value is used, Med represents
a medium value and High a
high value.
As Control 1 Source
Control 2 Sens
Select On if you want

control the expression by foot
purchasing an optional MIDI
foot controller (e.g. FC-300).
of the Right Hand section keys
when they are used to play
Orchestral 1 sounds.

Control 2 Source
Explanation
Low: means that even

relatively light key presses
already allow you to play loud
notes.
Fixed Low, Fixed

Med., Fixed High,
Low, Medium, High,
Fixed Low+Bellows,
ORCH CHORD Fixed Med.+Bellows,
TOUCH
Fixed High+Bellows,
Bellows,
Medium: is in the middle of

Low and High.
expressive options.
variety of nuances.
Med.+Bellows, Fixed
High+Bellows: mean that
the selected orchestral sound
uses fixed velocity values but
can also be controlled by the
bellows movements.

envelope falls.

movements not the velocity
Parameter Value
Explanation
NOTE
ATTACK
64~0~+63

information.
DECAY
64~0~+63

information.
RELEASE
64~0~+63

information.

the bass and chord buttons when
they are used to play one of the
orchestral sounds. It has no effect
on the VTW Organ sounds.
CUTOFF
64~0~+63

information.
DELAY
64~0~+63

DEPTH
64~0~+63

information.
RATE
64~0~+63

information.
RESO
64~0~+63

information.
10.8 MIDI TX
the Orchestra Chord section you need to set one
by one.
within a Set.

93
Menu Options
Parameter
Note Tx
Octave
Value
Explanation
On, Off

details.
Default: On
3~0~+3
Default: 0
CC 00
Std, Off, 0~127
CC 32
Default: Std
Std, Off, 1~128
PC
Default: Std
Volume
Panpot
Reverb
Chorus
Velocity
Expression
Off, 0~127
Default: 100
Off, 0~127
Default: 64
Off, 0~127
Default: 40
Off, 0~127
Default: 0
On, 1~127
Default: On
11.1 Drum Set Selection

The parameters in this page allow you to chose the
Drum Set and other parameters that can be
assigned to the Left Hand section, Right Hand
section or both.

details.
details.
details.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Select the Drum Set to use in the
Right and Left hand drum section.
DRUM SET
Standard 2, New Pop,

New Folk, New Brush
Pop, V-Rock1, Dance,
House, Electronic,
TR-909, SuperOrch,
Orchestra, V-VoxDrum,
Ethnic, Oriental 3,
Percussion 1, Percussion
2, SFX, Old FR-7x

details.
details.
details.
details.
details.
LEVEL
Off, 40~Std~40

details.
Default: Belows
DRUM
ASSIGN
All, Bass & Chord, Treble
11. Drum Edit parameters

PANPOT
The Drum section is not active in Free Bass and Orchestra Free
Bass system.
Choose 0 if the Drum sound

should be at the center of the
stereo image.
IMPORTANT NOTE
(p. 70).
94
63 Bass~0~63 Treble
This parameter allows you

to change the Drum parts
placement in the stereo sound
field (i.e. between the left and right
speakers) to create a livelier sound
image. The Treb values mean that
the sound will appear on the same
side as the Right Hand (treble)
sound. This setting applies to both
the FR-8xs internal speakers and
the L/MONO socket.
The Bass values mean that the
side as the bass accordion sound.
This setting applies to both the
FR-8x internal speakers and the R/
MONO socket.
NOTE
All changes you make here apply to the Left or Right Hand.
All: The Drum section is

assigned to the Left Hand and
Right Hand.
Treble: The Drum section is

assigned to the Right Hand.
Introduction to Drum Parameters
This is a relative parameter: its

value is added to or subtracted
from the standard value (Std).
Bass & Chord: The Drum

section is assigned to the Left
Hand.

http:/ www.roland.com/manuals
volume balance for the Drum
section.
You can active the Drum section

pressing the MODE [DRUMS]
button. See p. 38.
The parameters of the Drum Edit group allow you to edit the
Drum of the Left and Right hand. See Drum sounds on the Right
Hand (p. 38) and Drum Sounds on the Left Hand (p. 38) for
details about the selection of the Drum section.
This parameter assign the Drum

section to the Left Hand, Right
Hand or both.
10.9 VTW Lower (only for VTW Organ Tone)

in the User memory.
For details regarding the single

instrument of each Drum Set
11.2 Treble
The parameters in this page are related to Right
Hand Drum section.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
These parameters allow you

to transpose the drum note
(instruments) in the Right
Hand keyboard.
SHIFT
-36~0~36
This can be useful to fit your

desired instruments in the
FR-8x keyboard portion.
See 12. Right Hand Mode
parameters (p. 96).
Solo: The notes you play
with your right hand sound the
Drum section only.
MODE
Solo, Layer
Layer: The notes you play

with your right hand sound the
Drum section and the other
active sections.
Parameter
VOLUME
Value
Explanation
100~Std~100

volume balance for the drum instrument selected.
standard value (Std).
11.6 Bass&Chord CHORD Link 1

11.3 Bass&Chord BASS Link 1
These parameters allow you to assign up to three

drum sounds to the Left Hand chord buttons and
to set their levels.
If you assign three sounds, all three will be played

simultaneously whenever you press a chord
button.
Note that you can assign different sounds to the bass buttons (see above),
so maybe try to make complementary selections, like selecting a bass
drum for the bass buttons, the snare drum for the chord buttons, etc.
These parameters allow you to assign up to three

drum sounds to the Left Hand bass buttons and to
set their levels..
Parameter
Explanation
Select the drum instrument you want to trigger
when you press a chord button.
If you assign three sounds, all three will be played

simultaneously whenever you press a bass button.
Note that you can assign different sounds to the chord buttons (see
below), so maybe try to make complementary selections, like selecting a
bass drum for the bass buttons, the snare drum for the chord buttons, etc.
Value
You can play a few notes to audition the sound.

NOTE ON
Off, 1: (instrument
name)~128:
(instrument
name)
Choose Off if the selected LINK memory

should not trigger any drum percussion sound.
For details regarding the single instrument of
each Drum Set refer to theTone & Drum Kit List
Value
Explanation
Select the drum instrument you want to

trigger when you press a bass button.
Parameter
You can play a few notes to audition the

sound.
NOTE ON
Off, 1: (instrument
name)~128:
(instrument
name)
Choose Off if the selected LINK

memory should not trigger any drum
percussion sound.
For details regarding the single instrument of each Drum Set refer to theTone
& Drum Kit List supplementary manual.
VOLUME
100~Std~100
Parameter
Value
Explanation
You can play a few notes to audition the

sound.
VOLUME
Parameter
100~Std~100
Value
NOTE OFF
Off, 1: (instrument
name)~128:
(instrument name)

standard value (Std).
NOTE OFF
Choose Off if the selected LINK

memory should not trigger any drum
percussion sound.
For details regarding the single
instrument of each Drum Set refer to
For details regarding the single instrument of

each Drum Set refer to theTone & Drum Kit
List supplementary manual.
It allows you to create the desired volume
balance for the drum instrument selected.
VOLUME
100~Std~100
You can play a few notes to audition

the sound.
Off, 1: (instrument
name)~128:
(instrument name)
Choose Off if the selected LINK memory

should not trigger any drum percussion sound.
Explanation
Select the drum instrument you want
to trigger when you release a bass
button.
This is a relative parameter: its value is added to

or subtracted from the standard value (Std).
Select the drum instrument you want to

trigger when you release a chord button.

volume balance for the drum instrument
selected.
It allows you to create the desired volume

balance for the drum instrument selected.
This is a relative parameter: its value is added

to or subtracted from the standard value
(Std).
11.9 Effects Send

and Delay effect for the Drum section.

95
Menu Options
Parameter
Value
REVERB
0~127
CHORUS
Introduction to Right Hand Mode Parameters

All changes you make here apply to the Right Hand.

to the Drum section).
0~127
DELAY
Explanation
IMPORTANT NOTE
0~127

See How to Save a Set (p. 42) to save your changes.
11.10 Controllers
This parameter further add to the realism of the
12.1 Keyboard Mode

On this page, you can set the type of keyboard
mode and set the keyboard range for each section.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
of the Drum section for Left and
Right hand.
BASS CHORD
DRUM TOUCH
Dynamic, Fixed
Low, Fixed Med.,
Fixed High
TREBLE DRUM
TOUCH
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Zone: If you select this mode
you can choose for each section
a range of note. At default all
section play in the whole range
of the keyboard. To set the range
for each section see Assigning a
Portion of Right Hand Keyboard to
Each Section (p. 38).

that always use the same
value, no matter how hard or
softly you press the button (no
dynamic control). Low means
that a low value is used, Med
represents a medium value and
High a high value.
Dynamic: means that the
drum sound is controlled by
how hard or softly you press
the button.
High: Use this mode if you need

to play chords and a solo line
using different sounds. For details
see Playing Chords and a Solo
Line Using Different Sections (High
and Low) (p. 39).
TYPE
Zone, High, Low
NOTE
If you selected High mode the
range of all sections has not effect.
11.11 MIDI TX
Low: This is the opposite of

High mode:. This can be used in
situations where the melody (or
counter-melody) lies above the
notes you wish to hold. For details
see Playing Chords and a Solo
Line Using Different Sections (High
and Low) (p. 39).
This parameter further add to the realism of the

NOTE
Parameter
BASS
CHORD
TREBLE
Value
Off, On
Default: Off
Off, On
Default: Off
Off, On
Default: Off
Set this parameter to On if you want

that the note played in the BASS button
board are transmitted by FR-8x USB
MIDI socket.
that the note played in the CHORD
button board are transmitted by FR-8x
USB MIDI socket.
12.2 Zone Accordion - Orch1/Organ

On this page, you can set the keyboard range of
Accordion and Orch1/Organ sections.

that the note played in the Righ Hand
keyboard are transmitted by FR-8x USB
MIDI socket.
12. Right Hand Mode parameters

The parameters of the RIGHT HAND MODE group allow you to set
the Keyboard mode for the Right Keyboard.
These parameters can be saved in the User Program. See Saving an
User Program (p. 57).
96
If you selected Low mode the

range of all sections has not effect.
Explanation
Parameter
ORCH1/ORGAN
Explanation
B2~A7
HI KEY
ACCORDION
Value
LW KEY
B2~A7
Set the keyboard range of

ACCORDION section.
LW KEY
B2~A7
HI KEY
B2~A7

ORCH1/ORGAN section.
For details see Assigning a Portion of Right Hand Keyboard to Each

Section (p. 38).
12.3 Zone Orchestra 2 - Drum
Parameter Value
On this page, you can set the keyboard range of

Orchestra 2 and Drum sections.
Explanation
Set the Level parameter of Reverb processors
output volume.
Level
0~127
The overall reverb volume depends on three

things: the Send level of the various sections,
the output level of the Reverb processor and the
setting of the
[REVERB] knob.
Parameter
DRUM
LW KEY
B2~A7
HI KEY
B2~A7
B2~A7
HI KEY
B2~A7
This parameter specifies the reverb type you

need. It does not load preset values for the
Pre-LPF~RevPreDlyTm parameters.
Pre-LPF
0~7
A low-pass filter can be applied to the highfrequency range before the signals coming from
the various sections are processed by the reverb.
Higher values make the Send signals darker,
which results in a mellower reverberation. This
parameter only applies to the signals that are
sent to the Reverb processor. It does not alter the
sound of the active sections.
0~127
This parameter sets the duration of the reverb

effect. Higher values result in longer reverberation.
DlyFback
0~127
This parameter is only available when you set

Character to 6 or 7. It specifies the number of
echoes: higher values result in more repetitions.
0~127
This parameter sets the time interval between

the original (dry) signal and the onset of the
selected reverb effect. Higher values result in
a longer pre-delay time, simulating a larger
reverberant space.

ORCHESTRA 2 section.
LW KEY
ORCHESTRA 2
Explanation
Character 0~7
Time
Value

DRUM section.
For details see Assigning a Portion of Right Hand Keyboard to Each

Section (p. 38).
13. Set Common

The SET COMMON group contains parameters that apply to all
sections, but only within the framework of the currently selected
Set, most notably the parameters that specify the sound/character
of the Reverb, Chorus and Delay effects.
Pre-DlyT

Introduction to Set Common Parameters

The settings you perform here apply to all sections that use the
general reverb, chorus or delay effect. They do not apply to the VTW
Organ reverb, chorus or delay processors, i.e. the effects available for
organ sounds. The VTW Organ effects cannot be edited.
13.2 Chorus macro/Parameters

Chorus broadens the spatial image of the sound,
adding richness.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Parameter
Value
Chorus 1 Chorus 2
,
,
Chorus 3 Chorus 4: These are
,
conventional chorus effects
that add spaciousness and
depth to the sound..
(p. 70).
13.1 Reverb macro/Parameters
Explanation
Macro
Chorus 1, Chorus 2,
Chorus 3, Chorus 4,
FBack Chr, Flanger,
Short Delay, ShortDly FB
This page contains several parameters that need

to be selected to change the reverberation .
FBack Chr: This is a chorus

with a Flanger-like effect and a
soft sound.
Flanger: This is an effect that
sounds somewhat like a jet
airplane taking off or landing.
Short Delay: This is a delay
with a short delay time.
ShortDly FB: This is a short
delay with many repeats.
Set the Level parameter of Chorus
processors output volume.
Parameter Value
Explanation
Room 1 Room 2 Room 3: These types
,
,
simulate the reverberation of a room. They
provide a well-defined spacious reverberation.
Macro
Room 1,
Room 2,
Room 3,
Hall 1, Hall
2, Plate,
Delay,
Panning
Dly
Level
0~127
[CHORUS] knob.
Hall 1, Hall 2: These types simulate the

reverberation of a concert hall with a deeper
reverberation than the Room reverbs.
Plate: This effect type simulates a plate
reverb (a studio device using a metal plate to
simulate natural reverb).
Delay: This is a conventional delay that
produces echo effects.
Panning Dly: This is a special delay in which
the delayed sounds move left and right. It is
effective when you are listening in stereo.
The overall reverb volume

depends on three things: the
Send level of the various sections,
the output level of the Chorus
processor and the setting of the
Pre-LPF
0~7
A low-pass filter can be applied to

the high-frequency range before
the signals coming from the
various sections are processed by
the chorus. Higher values make
the Send signals darker, resulting
in a mellower chorus sound. This
parameter only applies to the
signals that are sent to the Chorus
processor. It does not alter the
sound of the active sections.
97
Menu Options
Parameter
Feedback
Value
Explanation
0~127
This parameter sets the level at

which the Chorus sound is re-input
(fed back) into the Chorus. By
using Feedback, a denser chorus
sound can be created. Higher
values result in a greater feedback
level.
0~127
This parameter sets the delay of

the chorus effect. Higher values
will cause greater deviation in
pitch of the chorus sound.
0~127
This parameter sets the speed

(frequency) at which the chorus
sound is modulated. Higher values
result in faster modulation.
0~127
Parameter Value
Explanation
Set the Level parameter of Delay processors output volume.
Level
The overall delay volume depends on three

things: the Send level of the various sections,
the output level of the Delay processor and
the setting of the [DELAY] knob.
0~127
Rate
Depth
Chr->Rev
Chr->Dly
0~127
0~127
Pre-LPF
0~7
This parameter sets the depth

at which the chorus sound is
modulated. Higher values result in
a more pronounced modulation
Time C
0.1~1000 (ms)
The delay effect of the FR-8x allows you to

set three delay times: center (C), left (L) and
right (R). Time C sets the delay time of the
Delay located at the center.
This parameter sets the amount

of chorus sound that is sent to the
Reverb processor.
Delay
A low-pass filter can be applied to the highfrequency range before the signals coming
from the various sections are processed by
the Delay processor. Higher values make the
Send signals darker, resulting in a mellower
delay sound. Note that this parameter only
applies to the signals that are sent to the
Delay processor. It does not alter the sound
of the active sections.
Time L
4~500 (%)
These parameters sets the delay time of

the left- or right-channel delay line as a
percentage of the central Delay. The value
100% means that the left or right delay
repeats at the same speed as the center
delay (see above).
0~127
These parameters set the volume of the

central, left and right delays individually,
allowing you to create the desired mix.
64~0~+63
This parameter specifies the number of

times the delay will repeat. If you select
0, the delay will not repeat. Higher values
result in more repetitions. With negative ()
values, the center delay will be fed back with
inverted phase. This is especially effective for
small Time C values.
0~127
This parameter sets the amount of delay

sound that is sent to the Reverb. Higher
values mean that the echoes will be more
prominent in the reverb signal. Be careful not
to overdo this effect because it tends to blur
the sound image.
The value 127 effectively allows

you to connect the chorus and
reverb effects in series (chorus
before reverb). If you do not want
the chorus signal to be processed
by the reverb effect, set this value
to 0.
This parameter sets the amount
of chorus sound that is sent to the
Delay processor. Higher values
result in more sound being sent.
The value 127 effectively allows
you to connect the Chorus and
Delay effects in series (Chorus
before Delay). If you do not want
the chorus signal to be processed
by the delay effect, set this value
to 0.
Time R
Level C
Level L
Level R
Feedback
Dly->Rev
13.3 Delay macro/Parameters

A delay effect creates echoes.
It can also broaden a sound by adding a slightly
delayed copy to the original sound (a technique
often used for rock-n-Roll songs and in karaoke
bars).
Parameter Value
Delay 4: This is an effect with a rather

short delay time (a kind of slap back
effect).
Macro
Pan Delay 1, Pan Delay 2, Pan Delay

3: The repetitions move between left
and right. This is effective when listening
in stereo. 1, 2 and 3 have progressively longer delay times.
Parameter
Chin 1
Chin 2
Chin 3
Value
Explanation
See the functions in the Assign the desired function for

table below.
each Chin switch.
You can assign to the Chin switches one of the following function:
Function
Explanation
Pan Delay 4: This is a rather short delay

with the echoes moving between left
and right. It is effective when listening in
stereo (a kind of stereo slap back effect).
Off
The Chin switch is not assigned.
Set Up, Set Down,
The Chin switch allows you to select the next

(Down) or previous (Up) Set memory.
Dly > Rev: Reverb is added to the delay

sound which moves between left and
right. It is effective when listening in
stereo.
UPG Up, UPG Down,

(Down) or previous (Up) User Program memory.
Regist Up, Regist Down,

(Down) or previous (Up) treble register.
Pan Repeat: The delay signal moves

between the left and right channels, yet
the stereo position is different from the
effects listed above. It is effective when
listening in stereo.
98
In this page you can assign a function for each

chin switch.
Explanation
Delay 1 Delay 2 Delay 3: These are
,
,
conventional Delays. 1, 2 and 3 have
progressively longer delay times.
Delay 1, Delay 2,
Delay 3, Delay
4, Pan Delay 1,
Pan Delay 2, Pan
Delay 3, Pan
Delay 4, Dly >
Rev, Pan Repeat
13.4 Chin function
Function
Explanation
Sust. A, Sust. B,
The Chin switch can be used to hold the note

messages the selected section transmits via MIDI.
You can then release the keys or buttons the
notes go on sounding until you release the Chin.
See 14.5 Sustain - A routing (p. 106) and 14.6
Sustain - B routing (p. 106).
Start/Stop,
Pressing the Chin switch once will cause the

external MIDI device to start playback. Press the
Chin again to stop playback.
Intro 1, Intro 2, Intro 3,

Intro 4,
The Chin switch can be used to select the Intro

patterns of an external MIDI arranger device (i.e
BK-7m).
NOTE
Arranger instruments of other manufacturers
may not understand this message.
Main 1, Main 2, Main 3,

Main 4,
The Chin switch can be used to select the Main

BK-7m).
Explanation
The Chin switch allows you to switch the
VTW organ parts brake effect on and off.
Brake OnOff,
This simulates the effect you get when you switch

a tonewheel organ off (On) or on (Off) while
playing.
Brake On,
When you press the Chin switch, the pitch will

gradually fall.
Brake Off,
When you press the Chin switch, the pitch will

gradually rise from a lower to the regular level.
Modulation.,
The Chin switch allows you to add vibrato to the

notes you are currently playing.
Play/Pause,
The Chin switch can be used to start and

temporarily stop playback of the selected audio
file (see p. 98).
Skip BWD,
When the Playback is stopped, the Chin switch

allows you to return to the beginning of the currently selected audio file. Press it twice to jump to
the beginning of the previous file in alphabetical
order. It can also be used to select the previous
step of the selected playlist (see p. 50).
Skip FWD,
When the Playback is stopped, the Chin switch

allows you to jump to the next audio file in
alphabetical order (FWD). It can also be used to
select the next step of the selected playlist.
Rec On/Off,
The Chin switch allows you to start and stop the

FR-8x audio recorder (see p. 54).
Play/Pause Loop,
The Chin switch allows you to Play/Pause a

phrase in the Loop function. Same behavior as
[*/, ] button. See 13. Real-Time Audio Looper
(Loop) (p. 56).
Rec On/Off Loop,
The Chin switch allows you to start and stop

audio phrase recorder in the Loop function. Same
behavior as [REC] button. See 13. Real-Time
Audio Looper (Loop) (p. 56).
Rec Erase Loop,
When the audio phrase playback is stopped,

the Chin switch allows you to erase and start to
record another phrase in the loop function. See
13. Real-Time Audio Looper (Loop) (p. 56).
Drum On/Off,
The Chin switch allows you to switch the DRUM

section on and off.
Register 1~14
The Chin switch can be used to recall the selected

Right Hand register. That is why you must specify
a number here.
NOTE
The Chin switch can be used to select the Fill

Fill Down 1, Fill Down 2, BK-7m).
Fill Down 3, Fill Up 1, Fill
NOTE
Up 2, Fill Up 3,
Ending 1, Ending 2,
Ending 3, Ending 4,
Function
The Chin switch can be used to select the

Ending patterns of an external MIDI arranger
device (i.e BK-7m).
Intro
The Chin switch can be used to select the Intro

pattern of an external MIDI arranger device.
Fill to Original, Fill

Down,
The Chin switch can be used to select a fill-in

pattern of an external MIDI arranger device. If
the instrument being controlled provides several
fill-in patterns, you can select them one after the
other in ascending order.
The Chin switch can be used to select the
Ending,
PitchUp 1/2, PitchUp 1,
Ending pattern of an external MIDI arranger

device.
The selected Chin switch allows you to bend the
notes you are playing a semitone (1/2) or two
semi-tones (1) up.
When you release the Chin switch, the pitch
returns to its regular level.
PitchDown 1/2, Pitch

Down 1,
Retry Sw,
The selected Chin switch allows you to bend the

notes you are playing a semitone (1/2) or two
semi-tones (1) down.
The Chin switch allows you to switch the Rotary

effect on and off.
This is only possible while the Accordion section

is play in solo (no other Right Hand section are
selected) or while the ORCHESTRA part is set to
CANCEL.
In all other cases (High, Low keyboard modes), the Master bar is used to
mute the ORCHESTRA section.
NOTE
The function is only meaningful if the Rotary
effect is currently on.
The Chin switch allows you to select the slow
rotation speed.
Retry Slow,
This parameter allows you to choose the Right

Hand register (1~14) that can be activated by
pressing the Master bar.
When you release the Chin switch, the pitch

returns to its regular level.
The Chin switch allows you to alternate between

the slow and fast rotation speeds.
Retry SlowFast,
13.5 Master Bar Recall
NOTE
Parameter
TREBLE
Value
Explanation
Register 1~14
Select the register you want to

recall.
Default: 8
13.6 Icon
The Chin switch allows you to select the fast

rotation speed.
Retry Fast,
NOTE
its internal memory).
This parameter allows you to assign an icon to

your Set, which is displayed above its name on the
main page. In most cases, you will probably
choose a picture that somehow illustrates the
contents of your settings, but that is entirely up to
you. The FR-8x contains 57 preset icons (stored in
99
Menu Options
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Index
Register 1~57
Assign a icon to your Set.
Parameter
Value
13.7 Name
This page allows you to name the currently
selected Set for easy reference while performing
with the FR-8x.
The FR-8x suggests the name of selected Set.
BELLOWS
CURVE TYPE
Fixed Low,
Fixed Med,
Fixed High, XLight, Light,
Standard,
Heavy,
X-Heavy
Default:
Standard

Explanation
Fixed Low, Fixed Med, Fixed High:
There are three Fixed curves that
always use the same value, no matter
how hard or lightly you push/pull the
bellows (no dynamic control). Low
means that a low value is used, Med
represents a medium value and High
a high value. When you select one of
these three options, you do not need to
move the bellows in order to hear the
notes you play.
X-Light: requires even less strength
(the X stands for extra).
Light: means that you do not need to
push/pull hard to achieve a meaningful
effect.
Standard: refers to a normal response.
Heavy: provides a greater variety of

nuances.
X-Heavy: is even more detailed.
14. System
The SYSTEM group contains parameters that are related to all Sets
and all sections: they apply to the FR-8x as a whole.
14.2 Layout
The parameters can be saved to the System area.
This parameters allows you to specify the layout of

the Bass and Chord board and the Right Hand
(Treble Mode) layout.

Introduction to System Parameters

The settings you perform here apply to all Set and all sections.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Parameter
Value

Explanation
the number of button rows available for
playing bass notes. The default is 2 bass
rows and 4 chord rows.
By selecting 3 Bs Rows, you thus gain
20 bass buttons (an entire row) and lose
the dim chord buttons but that may
just be more convenient for you.

changes. Also be sure to read Important remark about saving
your settings (p. 70).
See BASS & CHORD TABLE (p. 102).

There are four 3 Bs Rows options:
A-7th and B-7th mean that the 6th
chord row plays seventh chords (7)
that dont contain the fifth. In the case
of a C7 chord, you therefore hear C-E-Bb
(but not the G).
14.1 Dynamic Bellows Behaviour

This parameters allows you to specify how the
FR-8x should respond to the bellowss movements.
.
2 Bs Rows,
3 Bs Rows A-7th,
Parameter
STATUS
Value
Off, On
Default: On
Explanation
The Dynamic Bellows Behaviour technology allows to open and close in real time
the overall air hole (overall amount of air
going into / out of the bellows) considering
the selected register and the number of
played notes.
BASS &
CHORD
MODE
3 Bs Rows A-5 dim,

3 Bs Rows B-7th,
3 Bs Rows B-5 dim,
3 Bs Rows Bx-7th,
3 Bs Rows Belgium
Default: 2 Bs Rows
A-7th and B-7th differ in the

arrangement of the bass notes (see the
illustration on page p. 100).
The Bx-7th option reverses the B-7th
settings (from right to left), so that
the C3 note moves from 9th to 12th
position.
NOTE
This shift does not apply to Free
Bass mode, which is an altogether
different mode.
-64~0+63
Default: 0
The A-5dim and B-5dim options

mean that those seventh chords dont
contain the root note. A C7 chord is then
sounded with the notes E-G-Bb (but not
the C).
Positive values increase the bellows

resistance and negative values decrease the
bellows resistance.
RESISTANCE
Select Off if you want a fixed bellows

resistance without considering the selected
register and the played notes. See also the
RESISTANCE parameter below.
A-5dim and B-5dim differ in the

arrangement of the bass notes.
If STATUS parameter is On, the

RESISTANCE adjust the bellows resistance
considering the selected register and the
number of played notes.
If STATUS parameter is Off, the
RESISTANCE adjust the bellows resistance
(the force needed to push and pull it).
100
NOTE
The FR-8x is supplied with several
reference caps designed to help you
locate the bass and chord buttons
without looking at them.
See How to Remove and Insert
Reference Caps (p. 26).
Parameter
Value
Explanation
This parameter allows you to choose the
note system used in Free Bass mode. We
already mentioned that there are a vast
number of accordion varieties. The same
is true of Free Bass systems.
Minor 3rd,
Bajan,
FREE BS
MODE
Fifth,
North Europe,
Finnish
Default: Minor 3rd
Your FR-8x contains the 5 most popular

ones (see the illustration on page p.
103). Be aware that the system you
select here is only used when you
activate the FR-8x Free Bass mode. It
is of no consequence for the regular
Bass mode.
NOTE
The FR-8x is supplied with several
reference caps designed to help you
locate the bass buttons without looking
at them. See How to Remove and Insert
Reference Caps (p. 26).
Like for the accordion instrument itself,
there are different varieties of chromatic
instruments, with different Right Hand
button layouts. Since your FR-8x is an
electronic musical instrument, changing
the note assignments to the button keys
is a matter of selecting the preset that
best suits your playing style.
C-Griff Europe,
TREBLE
MODE
(Only for
buttontype)
C-Griff 2,
B-Griff Bajan,
B-Griff Fin,
DGriff 1, D Griff 2,
Default:
CGriff Europe
Please look at the TREBLE MODE TABLE

(p. 105) to identify the setting you
need. Pay attention to the note names
(all Cs appear on a grey background)
and look at how they are arranged,
then make your selection. The numbers
next to the letters refer to the octave.
The numbers below the note names
represent the corresponding MIDI note
numbers.
You may have noticed that the Right
Hand buttons are colored white (for
notes without alteration) and black
(notes with alteration, i.e. #/b). This
coloring doesnt change when you
select another system.
You can, however, replace the buttons
and install them in the right places so
as to make the white and black buttons
correspond to the notes being played.
See How to Replace a Right Hand
Button of your FR-8x Keyboard (p.
25).
101
Menu Options
BASS & CHORD TABLE
A
G3
D3
A3
E3
G3
D3
A3
E3
B3
Ab3
C#3
F#3
B3
B3
E3
7th= 1-3-7; 5dim= 3-5-7
7th= 1-3-7; 5dim= 3-5-7
Bx
Ab3
C#3
A3
F#3
D3
F3
B3
G3
Bb3
FM
C3
Eb3
BbM
Fm
7th= 1-3-7
E3
F3
Ab3
EbM
Bbm
F7
A3
Bb3
C#3
AbM
Ebm
Bb7
D3
Eb3
C#M
B3
F#M
C#m
Ab7
C3
Ab3
F#3
Abm
Eb7
G3
F3
C#3
E3
BM
F#m
Bb3
F#3
A3
EM
Bm
Eb3
B3
D3
AM
Em
E3
G3
DM
Am
A3
C3
GM
Dm
F3
CM
Gm
C#7
F#7
B7
E7
A7
D7
G3
C3
F3
Bb3
Eb3
D3
Ab3
Bb3
FM
Cm
G7
G3
Eb3
BbM
Fm
C7
C3
EbM
Abm
Eb7
Eb3
C#M
AbM
G3
Ab3
F#3
C#3
Ebm
Bb7
D3
Bb3
F3
Ab3
Bbm
F7
A3
B3
F#M
E3
BM
F#m
C#m
EM
Bm
Ab7
C#7
F#7
D3
G3
Em
B7
E7
C3
Belgium
C#3
F#3
G3
B3
C3
Eb3
F3
Ab3
EbM
102
Ab7
A3
Bb3
C#3
AbM
Ebm
7th= 1-3-7
E3
Eb3
F#3
C#M
Abm
C#7
D3
Ab3
B3
F#M
C#m
F#7
C#3
E3
BM
F#m
B7
F#3
A3
EM
Bm
E7
B3
D3
AM
Em
A7
E3
G3
DM
Am
D7
A3
C3
GM
Dm
G7
D3
F3
CM
Gm
C7
C#3
G3
Bb3
FM
Cm
Eb3
Bb7
F3
Ab3
EbM
Bbm
Eb7
E3
B3
C3
BbM
Fm
F7
F#3
Bb3
C#3
Ab7
Eb3
F#3
C#M
AbM
Ebm
A3
Abm
C#7
Ab3
B3
F#M
C#m
F#7
C#3
E3
BM
F#m
B7
F#3
A3
AM
EM
Bm
E7
D3
Em
A7
DM
Am
D7
Dm
G7
FREE BASS MODE TABLE
Ab2
Eb2
E2
Ab2
Bb2
B2
F#2
Eb2
E2
F2
C#3
Bb2
B2
C3
Ab2
F2
F#2
G2
Eb2
C3
C#3
D3
Bb2
G2
Ab2
A2
F2
D3
Eb2
E2
C3
A2
Bb2
B2
G2
E2
F2
F#2
D3
B2
C3
C#3
A2
F#2
G2
Ab2
C#3
D3
Eb2
E2
Ab2
A2
Bb2
B2
F#2
Eb2
E2
F2
C#3
Bb2
B2
C3
Ab2
F2
F#2
G2
Eb2
C3
C#3
D3
Bb2
G2
Ab2
A2
F2
D3
Eb2
A2
Bb2
F2
Fifth
Ab2
Eb2
E2
Ab2
Bb2
B2
Eb2
E2
F2
F#2
Bb2
B2
C3
C#3
F2
F#2
G2
Ab2
C3
C#3
D3
Eb2
G2
Ab2
A2
Bb2
D3
Eb2
E2
F2
B2
C3
A2
E2
Bb2
F#2
G2
B2
F2
C3
C#3
D3
F#2
G2
Ab2
A2
C#3
D3
Eb2
E2
Ab2
A2
Bb2
B2
Eb2
E2
F2
F#2
Bb2
B2
C3
C#3
F2
F#2
G2
Ab2
C3
C#3
D3
Eb2
G2
Ab2
A2
Bb2
D3
Eb2
F2
A2
Bb2
F2
Finnish
Ab2
Eb2
E2
Bb2
B2
D7
F#2
B6
C#7
C#3
Ab6
Bb6
C7
G2
Ab2
F6
G6
A6
B6
C3
F2
Eb2
D6
E6
F#6
Ab6
D3
F6
C3
F5
G5
A5
B5
B2
F2
Ab5
Bb5
C6
D6
E2
Bb2
B5
C#6
Eb6
A2
G2
D5
E5
F#5
Ab5
F#2
F5
D5
D3
B4
C#5
Eb5
C#3
Ab2
A2
Ab4
Bb4
C5
B4
E2
F4
G4
A4
Ab4
Eb2
Bb2
B2
D4
E4
F#4
F4
F#2
B3
C#4
Eb4
D4
F2
C3
C#3
Ab3
Bb3
C4
B3
Ab2
F3
G3
A3
Ab3
G2
Eb2
D3
E3
F#3
D3
A2
Bb2
B2
C#3
Eb3
F3
D3
F2
Ab2
Bb2
C3
B2
F2
G2
A2
Ab2
E2
F#2
F2
Eb2
D2
103
Menu Options
TREBLE MODE TABLE
1/2
C-G r i f f E u r o p e
104
C-G r i f f 2
B -G r i f f B a j a n
TREBLE MODE TABLE
2/2
B - G r i f f Fi n
D -G r i f f 1
D -G r i f f 2
105
Menu Options
14.3 Audio/Power Setting

This parameters group allows you to specify Audio
and Power Settings of FR-8x.
1
6
Parameter
OUTPUT LEVEL
Value
12 dB, 6 dB, 0 dB
Default: 0 dB
This parameter is only meaningful

when the FR-8x is connected to an
amplifier, a HiFi mixing console or
a commercially available wireless
system. If the FR-8x output signal
distorts even if the [VOLUME]
knob is set to the minimum value
(or close to it), try 6dB. If that is
still too hot, set this parameter
to 12dB.
NOTE
This parameter has no effect on
the FR-8x internal speakers.
Much care has been taken to
provide a natural stereo image
for the accordion sounds. If you
think the stereo image is too wide
for comfort (or if you prefer to set
the PAN controls on your mixing
console differently), you can use
this parameter to reduce the
stereo image.
STEREO WIDTH
-63~Natural, Wide
Default: -15
Function
Switches
Explanation
Parameter
Status
Value
Switch 1
Switch 2
Switch 3
The functions you can assign are the same as for the
Chin function.
Switch 4
Please refer to 13.4 Chin function (p. 98).
Switch 5
Switch 6
14.5 Sustain - A routing

The parameters on this page allow you to specify
whether or not the available sections should be
controlled by the Chin switches or an external
MIDI foot controller (e.g. FC-300) that has the Sust.
A (Sustain A routing) function.
63 corresponds to an
extremely narrow stereo image. All other values represent
slight (or increasingly drastic)
reductions of the stereo
width.
AUTO OFF
Default: On
Disable, 10 min, 15
min, 20 min
Default: 10
Parameter
Value
Orchestra 1
Off, On
Wide represents the widest

stereo image.
Off, On
Select On if you want to use the bass

button column closest to the FR-8x
logo to select or control the desired
functions. When this parameter is set
to On, the buttons in question can no
longer be used to play notes or chords.
Off, On
Natural means that the

original stereo image is used,
while
SPEAKERS
Explanation
Orchestra 2
Off, On
Orchestra Bass
Off, On
Orchestra Chord
Off, On
Orchestra FBass
Off, On
All parts
Off, On
When you use the FR-8x

for live performances and
therefore connect it to an external
amplification system, it may be
convenient to switch off the FR-8x
internal speakers, because doing
so preserves battery power.
cause the FR-8x to switch itself
off after the selected number of
minutes has elapsed if you are not
using it.
The parameters on this page allow you to assign

the desired functions to the bass buttons that can
be used as function switch. Remember that these
functions are only used when the Function
Switch parameter (see above) is set to On.
Off: the relative section is not

controlled by the Sust. A (Sustain A
routing) function.
On: the relative section is controlled
by the Sust. A (Sustain A routing)
function.
14.6 Sustain - B routing

The parameters on this page allow you to specify
whether or not the available sections should be
controlled by the Chin switches or an external
MIDI foot controller (e.g. FC-300) that has the Sust.
B (Sustain B routing) function.
Select Disable if you prefer not to

use this function.
14.4 Function Switch
Explanation
For the Sustain - B routing parameters see 14.5 Sustain - A routing (p.
106).
14.7 MIDI Foot Controller

This page allows you to assign functions to the
external MIDI foot controller (e.g. FC-300).
As you will notice below, there are also functions
for remotely controlling external instruments, like
an arranger module.
Parameter
106
Value
Explanation
Type Device
FC-300
Select the MIDI Foot Controller device
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Switch 1
Switch 2
Switch 3
Switch 4
Switch 5
Switch 6
Switch 7
Switch 8
Switch 9
The functions you can assign are the same as for the
Chin function.
Please refer to 13.4 Chin function (p. 98).
Switch 10
In the example above we type the message My FR-8x.
Switch 11
The page shows information related to the Sound Expansion areas.
Switch 12
Switch 13
15. Utility
Switch 14
Switch 15
The UTILITY group contains three kinds of parameters: those that

keep you informed (to check the battery pack status), several
parameters that allow you to copy settings and several parameters
for archiving your settings.
14.8 General Setting

The parameters in this page allows you to set some
general settings of FR-8x.
Parameter
LCD CONTRAST
KBD&BTN NOISE
START-UP SET
USB Driver
Value
0~12
Default: 12
On, Off
Default: On
1~100
Generic, Original
Default: Generic
15.1 Copy SET

This parameter allows you to copy the settings of
one Set to another Set memory. It copies
everything related to a Set: the Common
parameters (including the effects) as well as the
parameters of the various sections (Treble,
Orchestra, Bass, etc.).
Explanation
change the contrast if the FR-8x
display is difficult to read. The
smaller the value, the darker the
display becomes.
Warning
All settings of the target memory are overwritten. It might
therefore be a good idea to archive the target Set using 15.7
EXPORT (p. 110) before proceeding.

specify if you want or not the
typical noise that Keyboard and
Button board produce.
1. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the SET whose

specify which Set should be
loaded at power-on.
2. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the SET to which the
Generic: Choose this

if you want to use the
standard USB driver that
was included with your
computer. Normally, you
should use this mode.
settings you wish to copy (FROM).

settings should be copied (TO).
3. Press [MENU/WRITE] to copy the settings.

Original: Choose this

if you want to use a USB
driver downloaded from
the Roland website (www.
roland.com).
14.9 Start-Up Name

This parameter allows you to enter a short
message (your name, for example) that is
displayed each time you switch the FR-8x on.

the knob to copy the Set.

Select NO if you do not want to copy the Set after all.
1. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to enter the desired message.


3. Save the System parameters before power off the FR-8x.
See How to Save System Parameters (p. 117).
The following page is displayed during the FR-8x start up:
15.2 Copy EFFECT to SET

This parameter allows you to copy the settings of
the desired effects processors from one Set to
another. This may help you save time, because the
effects processors contain an impressive number
of parameters.
107
Menu Options
NOTE
TYPE
VALUE
Noise,
Bandoneon, I-Folk, I-Folk2,

Classic, Cajun, Jazz, F-Folk,
D-Folk, Organetto, F-Folk2, It allows you to specify what
Classic2, Studio, Tradition, kind of instrument should
generate the noise.
TexMex, Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan
Noise Vol,
Off, 40~Std~+40
It allows you to specify how

Mus
Detune
Off, Dry, Classic, F-Folk,

American_L, American_H,
North_Eu, German_L,
D-Folk_L, Italian_L,
German_H, Alpine,
Italian_H, D-Folk_H,
French, Scottish
It allows you to choose the

system used for detuning the
8 reeds
This function does not effect the VTW organ effects.
1. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the type of effect

you desire to copy (TYPE).
Parameter
Value
TYPE
All, Reverb, Chorus, Delay
3. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the SET whose effect

you wish to copy (FROM).
4. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the SET to which the

effect should be copied (TO).
5. Press [MENU/WRITE] to copy the effect.

Explanation
3. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to set the value (VALUE).

4. Press the [MENU/WRITE] to proceed.
If you selected Reed ALL or Vol ALL, the following warning may
be displayed:

the knob to copy effects.

Select NO if you do not want to copy the effect after all.
15.3 Treble register on current SET

This parameter allows you to change the settings
of the Right Hand register (Treble) in the current
SET.
5. To make your changes use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to

select YES. Otherwise, select NO.
15.4 Bass register on current SET

This is an environment in its own right that has the
same functionality as 15.3 Treble register on
current SET. It applies to the Bass registers of the
currently selected Set, however.
This may help you save a lot of time, especially for

increasing or decreasing the volume of some or all
reeds, or for selecting a different noise type.
1. Select before the Set whose Treble registers you want to

edit simultaneously. See How to Select Sets (p. 42).
2. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the type of register

parameter you desire to edit for all Treble registers
(TYPE).
The field VALUE changes depending on the TYPE of selected

parameter. See the following table:
TYPE
VALUE
Reed ALL,
Reed 16,
Reed 8,
Reed 8-,
Reed 8+,
Reed 4,
Reed 5-1/3,
Reed 2-2/3,

D-Folk, Organetto, F-Folk2, You can set the reed type for all
Classic2, Studio, Tradition, reed (Reed ALL) or for a specific
reed.
TexMex, Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan
Vol All, Vol

16, Vol 8,
Vol 8-, Vol
8+, Vol 4,
Vol 5-1/3,
Vol 2-2/3,
108
Off, 40~Std~+40
Explanation
You can set the reed volume for

all reed (Vol All) or for a specific
reed.
1. Select before the Set whose Bass registers you want to

edit simultaneously. See How to Select Sets (p. 42).
2. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the type of register
parameter you desire to edit for all Bass registers(TYPE).

TYPE
VALUE
Reed ALL,
Reed 16,
Reed 8,
Reed 8-4,
Reed 4,
Reed 2,

You can set the reed type for all
D-Folk, Organetto, F-Folk2,
reed (Reed ALL) or for a specific
Classic2, Studio, Tradition,
reed.
Steierische, Trikitixa, F-Jazz,
Classic3, Bajan
Vol All, Vol

16, Vol 8,
Off, 40~Std~+40
Vol 8-4, Vol
4, Vol 2,
Explanation

reed.
TYPE
VALUE
Noise,

It allows you to specify what
kind of instrument should
generate the noise.
Classic3, Bajan
TYPE
VALUE
Noise,

It allows you to specify what kind
of instrument should generate
the noise.
Classic3, Bajan
Noise Vol,
Off, 40~Std~+40

Noise Vol,
Off, 40~Std~+40

Reed Growl,
Classic3, Bajan

typical instrument noise a bass
reed makes just before it stops
vibrating altogether (a kind of
musical flatulence if you will).

Reed Growl,
Classic3, Bajan

typical instrument noise a bass
reed makes just before it stops
vibrating altogether (a kind of
musical flatulence if you will).
Growl Vol

Growl Vol

Off, 40~Std~+40
Explanation

The following message is displayed:
15.5 FreeBass register on current SET


15.6 Restore Data
This is an environment in its own right that has the

same functionality as 15.4 Bass register on current
SET. It applies to the Free Bass registers of the
currently selected Set, however.
1. Select before the Set whose Free Bass registers you want
to edit simultaneously. See How to Select Sets (p. 42).
2. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the type of
register parameter you desire to edit for all Free Bass

registers(TYPE).
TYPE
VALUE
Reed ALL,
Reed 16,
Reed 8,

You can set the reed type for all
reed (Reed ALL) or for a specific
reed.
Classic3, Bajan
Off, 40~Std~+40

Vol All, Vol

16, Vol 8,
Off, 40~Std~+40
Explanation
Explanation

reed.
parameters back.
This function allows you to undo all or some

changes you made after last saving your settings
by reloading the last version you saved. This can
be handy when it turns out that your changes
dont yield the expected result and that starting all
over again would be quicker than changing the
NOTE
This function does not necessarily load the factory settings: it
loads the settings stored in the selected memory area(s).
1. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the type of

parameters you desire to reload.
TYPE
Explanation
ALL,
Restores all of the FR-8x settings.
Master Tune,
Restores the last 1.1 Master Tune setting you saved ( p.

71).
Scale Tune,
Restores the last 1.3 Scale Tune (p. 71) settings you
saved.
System,
Restores the last 14. System settings you saved ( p. 100).
MIDI,
Restores the last 16. MIDI Parameters settings you

saved ( p. 112).
All Sets
Restores the settings of all Sets and the registers they

contain.
Set 1~100
Restores the settings of the selected Set.
2. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to reload the settings.

109
Menu Options
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Select ALL to import All SET.
15.7 EXPORT
Select Single to import the single SET.

SET File
ALL, Single
This function allows you to save the SET or User

Program data to the connected USB memory.
MEMO
This field is active only if you selected
to import SET.
Select the SET you want to import.
Dest. SET
1~100
MEMO
to import a single SET.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Select ALL to import All User Program.
Type
SET, User
Program
Select the type of data you want export.
Select Bank to import all User Program

of the selected bank.
Select ALL to export All SET.

Select Single to export the single SET.
SET File
ALL, Single
User Prog. File
ALL, Bank,
Single
Select Single to import a single User

Program.
MEMO
MEMO
This field is active only if you

selected to export SET.

to import User Program.
Select the Bank of User Program in
which you want to import data.
Select the SET you want to export.

Select SET
1~100
MEMO
selected to export a single SET.
UPG Dest. Bank
1~100

to import a bank of User Program.
Select ALL to export All User Program.
Select the number of User Program you

want to import.
Select Bank to export all User Program

of the selected bank.
User Prog. File
ALL, Bank,
Single, List
Select Single to export the single User

Program.

selected to export User Program.
Select the Bank of User Program you
want to export.
User Prog. Bank
1~100
MEMO
selected to export a bank of User
Program.
Select the number of User Program you
want to export.
User Prog. Num
1~14
UPG Dest. Num
1~14
MEMO
selected to export a single User
Program.
See Export and Import Sets to/from the Optional USB memory (p.
44).
See Export User Programs to the Optional USB memory (p. 64).
MEMO
to import a single User Program.
Select List to export the single User

Program List.
MEMO
MEMO
See Export and Import Sets to/from the Optional USB memory (p.
44).
See Import User Programs to the Optional USB memory (p. 66).
See Import FR-7x Sets from the Optional USB memory (p. 45).
15.9 Expansion Sounds

The FR-8x allows you to add new sounds to the
internal sound memory area. The new sounds (files
with the .bin extension) must be copied to a USB
storage device, after which you can load them
with the FR-8x. Loading means that they will be
copied to a permanent internal memory area.
There are four such memory areas (A , B, C and D).
The display shows the list of any possible Expansion Sounds already
loaded.
Load an Expansion Sound

that contains the expansion to import.
15.8 IMPORT
NOTE
This function allows you to import the settings of
a SET and User Program file. You can choose the
Set and User Program memory the settings should
be loaded to. Moreover you can import FR-7x SET.
Carefully insert the optional USB memory all the way into the
port until it is firmly in place.
Never remove a USB memory while this unit is turned on.
Doing so may corrupt the units data or the data on the USB
memory.
The FR-8x supports USB memories with a capacity of up to 2
TB.
Parameter
Type
110
Value
SET, User
Program,
FR-7x All
SETs, FR-7x
Single SET
Explanation
2. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to choose the MEMORY

AREA to load the Expansion Sound.
Select the type of data you want import.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
MEMORY AREA
[A], [B], [C],

[D]
Select the memory area to load a

Expansion Sound or to erase it.
1. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to reset the SETs.

3. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to choose the ACTION to do.

In this case we choose to Load.
Parameter
Value
ACTION
Explanation
Load, Erase
Select if you want load a Sound

Expansion or Erase the internal the
selected memory area ([A], [B], [C],
[D]).
2. To reset the SETs rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select

YES and push it. Otherwise, select NO or press the
[EXIT] button.
The display shows the contents of the USB memory:
15.11 FACTORY UPGs RESET

You can reset the FR-8x User Program memories to
its factory settings, which means that all User
Program memories are replaced by the settings
the FR-8x contained when you first got it.
1. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to reset the User Program

memories.
The icons to the left of the file names indicate the file type:
Icon
Explanation
Expansion Sound file (.BIN)
Folder
5. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the Expansion

Sound you want to load.
6. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to load the Expansion

Data.
How to erase an expansion memory MEMORY AREA.
2. To reset the User Program memories rotate the [DATA/
ENTER] knob to select YES nad push it. Otherwise, select

NO or press the [EXIT] button.
15.12 FACTORY ALL RESET

You can reset the FR-8x to its factory settings,
which means that all settings are replaced by the
settings the FR-8x contained when you first got it..
This procedure allows to delete an internal MEMORY AREA .
1. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to choose the MEMORY

AREA to erase.
2.
Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to choose the ACTION to do.

In this case we choose to Erase.
3. Press the [WRITE] button to erase the selected MEMORY

AREA .
1. Press the [MENU/WRITE] button to start initializing the

FR-8x.
After an Deleting message the display will show Function

complete.
The Expansion page is shown again. The selected memory area is
now empty.
15.10 FACTORY SETs RESET

You can reset the FR-8x SETs to its factory settings,
which means that all SETs are replaced by the
settings the FR-8x contained when you first got it.
2. To reset the FR-8x to its factory settings, rotate the [DATA/

ENTER] knob to select YES and push it. Otherwise, select
NO or press the [EXIT] button.
The display briefly shows a Please Wait message and then
Operation Complete.
111
Menu Options
16.2 External Seq. Playback
16. MIDI Parameters

Your FR-8x also transmits and receives MIDI data. In this chapter
well look which MIDI parameters are available on the FR-8x.
For detail about how to connect a MIDI device see Connecting a
MIDI Device (p. 22).
The parameters can be saved in the System area.
Introduction to MIDI Parameters

The settings you perform here apply to all Set and all sections.
IMPORTANT NOTE
changes. Also be sure to read Important remark about saving
your settings (p. 70).
The table on page p. 22 specifies the default

MIDI channel assignments the FR-8x uses. Those
choices are based on how most accordion players
prefer to use their instrument. You can, however,
change the MIDI channel assignments.
Accordion
Orchestra 1/Organ
Orchestra 2
Bass/Free Bass
Chord
Orchestra Bass
Orchestra Chord
Orchestra FBass
Drum
Basic
Control Channel
112
Value
Parameter
All parts
Accordion
Bass & Chord
Orchestra
Drum
Value
Explanation
Off, On
Default Off
Off, On
Select On to switch off its connection

with the FR-8x internal tone generator.
Default Off
NOTA
Off, On
Bass & Chord includes Orch. bass

Orch. Chord Orch. Free bass.
Default Off
Off, On
NOTA
Default Off
Orchestra includes Orchestra 1,

Orchestra 2 and Organ.
Off, On
Default Off
Working with a sequencer.
16.1 Real Time RX-TX
Parameter
OUT port).
By selecting On for a section, you switch off its

connection with the internal tone generator (this
is what MIDI buffs call Local Off). The section now
receives MIDI data from a sequencer or other
instrument you connect to the FR-8x MIDI IN port
(It also transmits MIDI messages to the FR-8x MIDI
The FR-8x can be used as input device for recording your music. In
the case of a keyboard instrument, such a device is usually called a
master keyboard.
The FR-8x can be used for two things: to input new parts (i.e. MIDI
events) and to play them back.
When you play on the FR-8x keyboards, it sends MIDI data to the
MIDI OUT socket. That socket must be connected to the sequencers
MIDI IN port. MIDI data always go from OUT to IN:
External
Sequencer
Explanation
1~16, Off
Soft Thru
Default 1
1~16, Off
Default 4
FR-8x
1~16, Off
Tone Generator
Default 11
External Seq.
Playback
ON
1~16, Off
Default 2
1~16, Off
Default 3
1~16, Off
Allows you to assign a MIDI receive

and transmit channel to the selected
part. Select Off if the part in question
should neither receive nor transmit
MIDI data.
FR-8x
Default 5
1~16, Off
Default 6
If the FR-8x is used as tone generator for an external sequencer, you

must connect the sequencers MIDI OUT socket to the FR-8x MIDI
IN socket.
1~16, Off
Default 7
1~16, Off
Default 10
1~16, Off
Default 13
1~16, Off
Default 13

and transmit channel to the Basic
part. Select Off if the part in question
should neither receive nor transmit
MIDI data.
The Basic channel can be used for
selecting Sets from an external
MIDI device (using program change
numbers 1~100). If your external source
sends Bank Select messages along with
the program change number, CC00 and
CC32 must both be set to 0.
and transmit channel to the control
channel.
16.3 Global Setting

This page contains Global Filters parameters that
allow you to filter some MIDI messages each
section can transmit.
Use these settings if the receiving MIDI device
poses problems whenever the FR-8x transmits a
given MIDI message.
NOTE
This parameter applies to the FR-8x as a whole (all Sets).
Parameter
Value
Explanation
Note TX
TX Off, Default
Select TX Off to filter the transmission

of MIDI note messages.
Parameter
Value
Explanation
CC 00
TX Off, Default

of Control Change 00 messages.
CC 32
TX Off, Default

of Control Change 32 messages.
PC
TX Off, Default

of Program Change messages.
Aftertouch TX
TX Off, Default

of AfterTouch messages.
Volume
TX Off, Default

of Volume messages.
Panpot
TX Off, Default

of Panpot messages.
Reverb
TX Off, Default

of Reverb messages.
Chours
TX Off, Default

of Chorus messages.
how many data the FR-8x bellows may
transmit for expression purposes (see
also the Expression parameter for
each section on p. 74).
Bellows TX
Super, High,
Normal, Low
Default: Low
As long as the external sequencer you

work with does not display a MIDI
buffer overflow message, you can
leave this setting at High. Depending
on your sequencer, you could also
select Super to achieve the most
natural response.
If, however, the bellows data amount is
too much for the receiving sequencer
(because such data are transmitted
on several channels simultaneously),
select a different setting. In that case,
the amount of data will be reduced.
This leads to a coarser resolution, and
maybe even audible steps, but at least,
your sequencer will be able to record
the data. If Normal still generates
too many data, select Low. TX
means that this parameter only applies
to data sent by the FR-8x. Its own
MIDI buffer is big enough to receive
high-resolution data.
Normal: The note numbers of
all chord notes are transmitted
via MIDI.
D-Mode: Each chord button only
transmits one note number according to the following system:
Major chords: 48~59*
Normal,
D-Mode,
Chord TX Mode Accordion
Default: Normal
Parameter
Start/Stop TX
Value
Off, On
Default: Off
Explanation
whether or not pressing the [DATA/
ENTER] knob while the main page is
displayed sends a MIDI Start message
the first time, and a MIDI Stop message
the second time.
This may come in handy when you
use the FR-8x with a MIDI sequencer, a
drum machine, or an arranger module.
16.4 Expression MIDI TX

This parameter allows you to specify which
section should transmit Expression messages (see
also Expression parameter TX for each section on
p. 74). You can either select all sections (All) or
specific ones and activate or deactivate them
individually. TX means that this parameter only
applies to data sent by the FR-8x.
NOTE
This parameter applies to the FR-8x as a whole (all Sets).
Parameter
All parts
Accordion
Bass & Chord
Orchestra 1/Organ
Orchestra 2
Orchestra Bass
Orchestra Chord
Orchestra FBass
Value
Explanation
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Select Off to deactivate the Expression

MIDI transmission.
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On
Off, On
Default: On
Minor chords: 60~71

7th chords: 72~83
Dim chords: 84~95
* All note numbers are specified
in the order C~B. Example: Note
number 48 represents a C major
chord, note number 49 a C# major
chord, etc.
Accordion: The FR-8x transmits
only the notes of the chords it
plays without adding any other
note degrees.
2nd Bass Out
2nd Bass Ch.
2nd Bass
Octave.
Off, On
Default: Off
1~16
Default: 1
-3~0~+3
Default: 0

define a second MIDI channel for the
transmission of the bass notes you play
on the FR-8x. This additional channel
may come in handy for certain MIDI
modules you may want to control from
the FR-8x.
The bass notes are transmitted on this
MIDI channel.
the bass notes transmitted on the
second MIDI channel up to three
octaves up or down.
113
Menu Options
17. Wireless LAN Function
separately) into the FR-8xs USB MEMORY port.
3. Press [MENU] button.

4. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select 17 Wireless LAN
What is Wireless LAN Function?
and push it.
By inserting the wireless USB Adapter (WNA1100-RL; sold

separately) into the FR-8xs USB MEMORY port, youll be able to use
wireless compatible applications (such as the Air Recorder iPad
app).
iPhone etc.
Wireless LAN access point

(e.g., wireless LAN router)
FR-8x
5. Rotate the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select Connect By WPS

Wireless USB Adapter (sold
separately: WNA1100-RL)
and push it.
The display shows:

Connected By WPS
Wireless LAN
Wireless LAN
Press WPS Button
on Access Point.
Then Press the Dial
Items required to use the wireless LAN function

Wireless USB Adapter (sold separately: WNA1100-RL)
Wireless LAN access point (e.g., wireless LAN router) *1*2*3
iPad etc.
6. Perform the WPS operation on your wireless LAN access

point (e.g.), press and hold the WPS button on your
wireless LAN access point).
NOTE
The wireless LAN access point you use must support WPS. If
your wireless LAN access point does not support WPS, you
can connect using the procedure described in Connecting to
a Wireless LAN Access Point That You Select (p. 115).
The ability to connect with all kinds of wireless LAN access
points is not guaranteed.
If youre unable to connect to the wireless LAN access point,
try connecting using Ad-Hoc mode ( p. 116).
Basic Connection Method (Connect by WPS)

This is a very simple method to connect your FR-8x to a wireless
LAN access point .
The first time you connect the FR-8x to a wireless network, youll
need to perform the following procedure (WPS) to join the wireless
network.
This procedure is required only the first time (Once youve joined
the network, this procedure will no longer be necessary).
What is WPS?
This is a standard that makes it easy to make security settings when
connecting to a wireless LAN access point. We recommend that you
use WPS when connecting to a wireless LAN access point.
1. Turn on the power of the FR-8x.

2. Insert the wireless USB Adapter (WNA1100-RL; sold
114
For details on WPS operation of your wireless LAN access point,

refer to the documentation for your wireless LAN access point.
7. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob.

Once successfully connected, the status field shows Connected
NOTE
The device (e.g., iPad) running the application must be
connected to the same network.
MEMO
The connection data is stored in memory when you perform
the WPS procedure; the device will automatically connect to the
wireless network next time.
All connection data will be erased if you perform a factory reset.
Connection data is not included in a backup.
Status Indication
Icons in the display

The wireless LAN status is shown in the main page and in the
wireless menu when the wireless USB adapter is inserted.
Explanation
Not Available
The wireless USB adapter is not inserted.

Ad-Hoc mode ( p. 116).
The Ad-Hoc SSID and Ad-Hoc Key are shown.
Ad-Hoc
For details, refer to Connecting in Ad-Hoc mode (p.

116).
wireless icon
Access Point Indication

The second row of the Wireless page shows the Access Point
connected. To select an Access Point see Connecting to a Wireless
LAN Access Point That You Select (p. 115).
Device Name Indication

The third row of the Wireless page shows the Device Name.
The Device Name is FR-8x (Default). See Wireless ID (p. 116).
Icon
Explanation
Currently connected to the wireless
LAN access point. Three bars are used to
indicate the signal level (the strength of
the connected wireless LAN access points
radio signal).
The wireless USB adapter is inserted, but
not connected with a wireless LAN access
point.
Ad-Hoc mode ( p. 116).
Connect By WPS Page

Connect the FR-8x to a wireless network by WPS ( p. 114).
Select Access Point Page

Move to a screen where you can choose a wireless LAN access point
and connect to it.
Wireless Info Page

Move to the screen to view the IP address and MAC address.
Wireless Option Page

Make settings for Wireless ID or Ad-Hoc mode (Ad-Hoc Mode).
See Other Settings (Wireless Option) (p. 116).
Wireless LAN Function Settings

You can view or edit the wireless settings.
1. Select the [MENU] button g 17 Wireless.

The Wireless page will appear.
Connecting to a Wireless LAN Access Point That

You Select
This method lets you connect by choosing a wireless LAN access
point from the list that is displayed.
* Wireless standards 802.11g/n (2.4 GHz) and authentication
methods WPA/WPA2 are supported.
1. Select the [MENU] button g 17 Wireless g17.1 Select

Access Point
After a short scan the Select Access Point list will appear.
Select Access Point

My Ap1
My Ap2
2. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to move the cursor to select

the desired parameter.
3. Push the [DATA/ENTER] knob to move in the new page.

Status Indication
The first row of the Wireless page shows the wireless LAN status.
MEMO
* The currently-connected wireless LAN access point is
highlighted
* To refresh the list, exit and then reenter this screen.
Status Indication
Explanation
Currently connected to the wireless LAN access point.
Connected
The identifier (name) of the connected wireless LAN

access point is shown
2. Choose the wireless LAN access point to which you want

to connect, and push the [DATA/ENTER] knob.
You will be connected to the selected wireless LAN access point.
Now Connecting
A connection with the wireless LAN access point is being

established.
If youre using this wireless LAN access point for the first time,
youll proceed to the authorization (AUTHORIZATION) screen.
Not Connected
The wireless USB adapter is inserted, but not connected

to a wireless LAN access point.
If this is a wireless LAN access point to which you have connected

in the past, just press the [DATA/ENTER] knob and youll be
115
Menu Options
connected. Once successfully connected, youll be returned to the
status (WIRELESS) screen.
Authorization screen (Enter Passphrase)
Connecting in Ad-Hoc mode

Heres how to connect in Ad-Hoc mode.
What is Ad-Hoc mode?

Ad-Hoc mode lets you connect the FR-8x directly to an iPhone
or other wireless device without using a wireless LAN access
point. This is a convenient way to use the FR-8x with an
iPhone or other wireless device if youre in a location where
the wireless LAN access point you normally use is unavailable,
such as when youre away from home.
FR-8x
iPad etc.
1. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to enter the security code
(passphrase) of your wireless LAN access point. See How

to type a name in FR-8x (p. 31).
Wireless USB Adapter (sold

separately: WNA1100-RL)
2. Press the [WRITE] button.

* You cannot enter a space at the end of the passphrase.
Once successfully connected, youll be returned to the status
Wireless screen.
Other Settings (Wireless Option)

1. Select the [MENU] button g 17 Wireless g17.1 Wireless
Option.
The Wireless Option screen will appear.
Limitations
The iPod touch or other wireless device connected in Ad-Hoc
mode will be unable to communicate with the Internet or with
another wireless device. However, an iPhone or other wireless
device that has cellular capability will be able to connect to the
Internet via the cellular connection.
Please be aware that if you use a cellular connection for Internet
connectivity, you may incur costs depending on your rate plan.

Option.
The Wireless Options screen will appear.
2. Turn the Ad-Hoc Mode On.

Parameter
Explanation
Specifies the final digits of the FR-8xs device name and
Ad-Hoc SSID (FR-8x) that will be shown as the instrument
in the wirelessly connected app.
Wireless ID
Normally, you should specify 0, but if you have more

than one of the same instrument, you can set the Wireless
ID in the range of 199 to change the device name and
Ad-Hoc SSID for each instrument, as follows.
You can use Channel to specify a channel (111) for Ad-Hoc mode.
Normally, you wont need to change the channel. Try changing the
channel only if you have problems connecting.
3. Press the [EXIT] button to return to the Wireless screen.

The Ad-Hoc SSID (FR-8x) and the Ad-Hoc Key (a five-character text
string) will be displayed in the Wireless screen.
If Wireless ID=0 FR-8x (default value)

If Wireless ID=1, FR-8x_1
:
If Wireless ID=99, FR-8x_99
Ad-Hoc
Mode
Turns Ad-Hoc mode on/off (default = Off).
Ad-Hoc
Channel
Specifies the channel (111) for Ad-Hoc mode (default

= 1).
The Ad-Hoc Mode ON g OFF setting will take effect after

youve turned the unit off, then back on again.
NOTE
* The Wireless Options settings are confirmed and saved when
exiting from the Wireless Options screen.
* The Ad-Hoc Mode ON g OFF setting will take effect after youve
turned the unit off, then back on again.
4. On the iPhone or other wireless device that you want to
connect, select the Ad-Hoc SSID to make the connection.

(For example, on an iPhone, choose [Settings] g [Wi-Fi]
g [Choose a Network] to select the above Ad-Hoc SSID.
A password entry screen will appear; enter the above AdHoc key.)
For details on how to connect to a wireless LAN from an iPhone or
other device, refer to the owners manual of that device.
5. When you want to end the Ad-Hoc mode connection,

restore the iPhone settings in [Settings] g [Wi-Fi] g
[Choose a Network] to their previous state.
116
NOTE
The Ad-Hoc Mode ON g OFF setting will take effect after youve
turned the unit off, then back on again.
Checking the IP Address and MAC Address

(WIRELESS INFO)
Heres how to check the IP address and MAC address.

Info.
5. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select the group of data

you need to save.
At default all group are selected (Yes).
6. Press the [WRITE] button to save the parameter groups.

After a while the display briefly confirms the operation and the
returns to the main page.
MEMO
The MAC address shows the value indicated on the bottom of
the wireless USB adapter (WNA1100-RL; sold separately).
How to Save System Parameters

1. Modify all parameters you would like to use.
Write page.
The display shows the following page.
3. Use the [DATA/ENTER] knob to select System.

117
16. Troubleshooting
This section provides an overview of points to check and actions to take when the FR-8x does not function as you expect.
Feel free to contact your Roland dealer if your issue remains unsolved after reading through this section.
Symptom
Action
Page
Power turns off on its own.
When 10 minutes have elapsed since you last played or operated this unit, the power will turn off
automatically. (This is the factory setting).
106
If you dont need the power to turn off automatically, turn the Auto Off setting Off.
Is the included AC adaptor/power cord correctly connected to an AC outlet and to the FR-8x?
Connect the supplied AC adapter, or install the included FR-8x battery pack.
Power does not turn on.
NOTE
20, 18
Do not use any AC adaptor or power cord other than the ones included. Doing so will cause
malfunctions.
Have you charged the FR-8x battery pack)?
Please charge the battery pack or connect the FR-8x AC adaptor to an AC outlet.
Did you switch the FR-8x on?
Switch it on.
Could the [VOLUME] knob be turned down?
Select a higher setting.
18, 20
27
-
Are you moving the bellows while triggering accordion sounds?

The FR-8x only produce sound if you move the bellows while playing notes (like on an acoustic
accordion).
No sound from the FR-8x.
Is the expression Pedal of an external MIDI Foot Controller device connected to FR-8x MIDI IN
socket?
Move the pedal expression all the way down.

Did you select an extreme Treble/Bass Balance value?
Select a center position.
Did you set the Speakers parameter to off? If so, switch it to on.
Some bass and chord buttons dont play

notes.
106
Could a MIDI message received from an external MIDI device (volume message or exclusive
message) have lowered the volume?
Did you activate the 14.4 Function Switch parameter?

If so, switch it off.
106
Why do the bass buttons provide three

chord rows?
Because you set the Bass & Chord Mode parameter to 3 Bs Rows. Set it to 2 Bs Rows.
100
Why cant I play diminished chords using

the bass buttons?
Because you set the Bass & Chord Mode parameter to 3 Bs Rows. Set it to 2 Bs Rows.
100
In Free Bass mode, the bass buttons play the You may have changed the Free Bass Mode setting.
wrong notes.
Be sure to select the system that best suits your playing style.
No sound is heard when an external
amplifier is connected.
It may be that the connection cables are broken, or that your amp or speaker has malfunctioned.
Check the cables and your equipment once again.
Did you connect the audio cables to the correct jacks?
Check the connection cables.
The volume level of the instrument is too

low when it is connected to an amplifier.
Could you be using a connection cable that contains a resistor?

Use a connection cable that doesnt contain a resistor.
100
21
-
Did you set the 16.2 External Seq. Playback parameter to Yes?
The FR-8x does not respond to your playing. In that case, the FR-8x only responds to MIDI messages received via its USB COMPUTER portnot the 112
notes you play on its keyboards. Set the parameter to No.
Why do the bass buttons only provide three chord rows?

Because you set the BASS & CHORD MODE parameter to 3 bass rows. Set it to 2 Bs Rows.
Why cant I play diminished chords using the bass buttons.
Issues related to the bass buttons board.
Because you set the BASS & CHORD MODE parameter to 3. Set it to 2 Bs Rows.
100
100
In Free Bass mode, the bass buttons play the wrong notes.
You may have changed the FREE BS MODE setting. Be sure to select the system that best suits your
playing style.
A buzz is heard from the external

amplifier.
Is the external amplifier or other device used with the FR-8x connected to a different AC power
outlet?
Connect the amplifier or other device to the same AC outlet as the FR-8x.
What MIDI channels does the FR-8x use by default?
See the MIDI channels table.
The FR-8x does not receive the MIDI messages I recorded for it.
MIDI-related issues
101
Thats because the 16.2 External Seq. Playback parameter is currently set to No. Set it to Yes.
22
112
The external sequencer keeps displaying a MIDI Buffer Overflow message.

The bellows sends too many data at once (its data are transmitted on many channels simultaneously). 113
Select a different resolution. This leads to a coarser resolution, and maybe to audible steps, but at
least, your sequencer will be able to record the data. See Bellows TX parameter.
118
Symptom
Action
Page
Are you using an (optional) Roland USB memory (M-UF series)?
Unable to read from/write to USB memory.
Cant save to USB memory.

Audio recording wont start or stops
unexpectedly.
The songs wont to play.
Reliable performance cannot be guaranteed if you use non Roland USB memory products.
Check the format of your USB memory. The FR-8x can use USB memory that has been formatted as
FAT. If your USB memory was formatted using any other method, please re-format it.
Could the USB memory be write protected?
Is there sufficient free space on the USB memory?
Are you using an (optional) Roland USB memory (M-UF-series)?

Reliable performance cannot be guaranteed if you use non Roland USB memory products.
Is there sufficient free space on the USB memory?
The file type of the song is not one of the file types that the FR-8x can play.
p. 48
It may be that the song data is damaged.
Cant connect to a wireless LAN access

point.
Make sure that your wireless LAN access point supports WPS.
If your wireless LAN access point does not support WPS, you can connect using the procedure
described in Connecting to a Wireless LAN Access Point That You Select (p. 115).
Have you entered the correct password in the iPhone or other wireless device?
Disconnect and reconnect the wireless device and then enter the right FR-8x Ad-Hoc Key. (For
example, on an iPhone, to disconnect, choose [Settings] g [Wi-Fi], press the arrow icon on the
right of the network name and then press Forget this Network.
The 802.11a/b wireless standard is not supported. Please use the 802.11g/n (2.4 GHz) wireless
standard.
The WEP authentication method is not supported. Please use the WPA or WPA2
authentication method.
Make sure that DHCP is enabled for your wireless LAN access point.
If you dont get connected to the previously-connected wireless LAN access point when you
turn on the power, check and make sure the setting described in Connecting in Ad-Hoc
mode (p. 116) is OFF.
There is a limit to the connection data that can be remembered. Making a new connection
may cause older connection data to be deleted.
All connection data will be deleted if you execute a factory reset.
If the connection data has been deleted, please re-connect to the wireless LAN access point.
The display indicates Access Point Not Supported, and cant connect to the wireless
LAN access point.
This Access Point is not supported. Please use the WPA or WPA2 authentication method.
Communication is unstable.
Communication may be unstable depending on the usage of the radio frequency spectrum.
If communication is unstable, the response may be sluggish, or if using audio communication, there
may be dropouts in the audio.
The following actions may improve the situation.
Move the wireless LAN access point and the FR-8x closer to each other.
Change the channel setting of the wireless LAN access point.
The FR-8x is not found in the instrument

connections of the app (such as the iPhone
app Air Recorder).
Is the FR-8x powered up?

Is the wireless USB adapter (WNA1100-RL) inserted to the FR-8x?
Is the FR-8x connected to the wireless LAN?
Are the FR-8x and the iPhone connected to the same network (the same wireless LAN access
point)?
Is the wireless LAN access point set to allow communication between wireless LAN devices?
For details on settings, refer to the owners manual of your wireless LAN access point.
Your iPhone or iPod touch wont connect to

the Internet.
Is the wireless LAN access point connected to the Internet?

Could you be connected in Ad-Hoc mode?
The iPod touch or other wireless device connected in Ad-Hoc mode will be unable to
communicate with the Internet or with another wireless device. However, an iPhone or other
wireless device that has cellular capability will be able to connect to the Internet via the cellular
connection. Please be aware that if you use a cellular connection for Internet connectivity, you
may incur costs depending on your rate plan.
A wireless device such as an iPod touch that does not have cellular capability will become unable
to connect to the Internet in this case.
If the bellows doesnt work as expected, causing notes to sound even while it is not moved, its
sensors may need resetting.
To do this, follow these steps:
a) Switch off the FR-8x.
b) Close the bellows pressing the air button.
The bellows exhibits an erratic behavior.
NOTE
Be sure to close very well the bellows to purge all air that remain.
c) Press and hold the [UP] and [DOWN] buttons while switching the FR-8x. back on.
After a few seconds, the display shows Calibration Complete! and then returns to the main
page.
d) Switch off and switch on the FR-8x.
If this operation doesnt solve the problem, contact your Roland dealer.
119
17. Specifications
DISPLAY TYPE
Display
320 x 240 pixels, color graphic LCD 2,4 (backlit)
KEYBOARD
Right Hand
Left hand
Piano Type: 41 keys piano type with velocity sensitive and aftertouch
Button Type: 92 buttons with velocity sensitive. Aftertouch via Master Bar
120 bass buttons velocity sensitive. Standard
Mode: Standard, Free Bass, Orch. Bass, Orch. Chord, Orch. Free Bass
Treble Mode (only FR-8x button)
C Griff Europe, C Griff 2, B Griff Bajan, C Griff Fin, D Griff 1, D Griff 2
Free Bass Mode
2 Bs Rows, 3 Bs Rows A-7th, 3 Bs Rows A-5dim, 3 Bs Rows B-7th, 3 Bs Rows B-5dim, 3 Bs Rows Bx-7th , 3 Bs
Rows Belgium
BELLOWS
Type
Advanced Dynamic Bellows Behaviour technology to manage the behavior of bellows. The Advanced
Dynamic Bellows Behaviour technology consider the selected register and the number of played notes
Bellows Resistance
Off, On, 63 ~ 0 ~ +64
Bellows Curve
Fixed Low, Fixed Med, Fixed High, X-Light, Light, Standard, Heavy, X-Heavy
SOUND GENERATOR
Max. Polyphony
128 voices
Tones (Accordion Set)
100 Accordion Sets, each one including: 14 Right Hand Registers, 7 Bass/Chord registers, 7 Free Bass
registers, 7 Orchestra Free Bass registers, 7 Orchestra Bass registers, 7 Orchestra Chord registers, 180
Orchestral sounds (28 real time + others selectable by MENU), 18 Drum Sets
Reed Footages
7 Treble, 5 Bass, 3 Chord, 2 Free Bass
Wave Expansion
4 internal areas (8Mb each) to load new sounds
ORCHESTRAL SOUNDS
Right Hand Tones
180: 28 real time (14x2) the others selectable by MENU
Left Hand Chord Tones

Left Hand Bass Tones
180: 7 real time, the others selectable by MENU
Left Hand Free Bass Tones
ORGAN SOUNDS (Virtual Tone Wheel Technology)

Presets
32 for Right Hand, Chord and Free Bass sections, 16 x Bass section
Harmonic Bar combinations
Up to 28 customizable, can be controlled and shaped by bellows.
Vibrato/Chorus
V-1/V-2/V-3/C-1/C-2/C-3
Percussion
2nd/3rd, Soft, Slow
Rotary Sound
Slow/Fast, Brake, Level
Tone Wheel Type
50/60/70
Amplifier Type
TYPE 1/TYPE 2/TYPE 3/TYPE 4/ TYPE 5
DRUM SOUNDS
Drum Set
18
Drum Shift
36 ~ 0 ~ +36
Bass&Chord with drum/percussion sounds
Programmable drum/percussion sounds for Bass/Orch Bass 2 rows, Chord/Orchestra Chord 4 rows
APBM (Advanced Physical Behaviour Modelling)

Noises
Stopping-reed growl, Closing valve noise, Left button noise
Individual Reed Simulation
Hysteresis threshold, Expression curve, Pressure variant filter, Pressure variant pitch deviation
Switching Reed Sound Wave
By bellows acceleration. by note repetition speed
Bellows opening/closing sound change
By bellows opening/closing detection
Bellows Behavior
Dynamic Bellows Behavior technology for a perfect simulation of the bellows behavior in an acoustic
accordion
MUSETTE TUNING
Micro-Tuning Presets
16 Types: Off, Dry, Classic, F-Folk, American L/H, North Europe, German L/H, D-Folk L/H, Alpine, Italian L/H,
French, Scottish
Fine Tuning reed footages 8- / 8+
100 ~ 0 ~ +100
EFFECTS
Reverb/Chorus/Delay
MFX multi effects
8 types, 8 types, 10 types

MFX x 4 (84 types) for:
Accordion, Orchestra 1, Orchestra 2, Orch Chord/Orch Free Bass
Rotary for Organ sound
Slow/Fast with Vibrato, Chorus, Overdrive and VK-Rotary
Cassotto simulation
Yes
USER PROGRAMS
User Program Lists
120
Unlimited number (storage on USB memory)
Performance memories per List
1400: 100 User Program Bank x 14 registers
AUDIO PLAYER and AUDIO RECORDING

Media
USB Flash memory
Audio Recorder Save format
Audio files (WAVE 44.1 kHz, 16-bit linear), MIDI files (SMF)
Audio Loop Function
REC (with Overdub function) and Play
OTHER FUNCTION
Accordion, Orchest1/Organ
Orchest2, Drum
Zone, High, Low
Octave
-1, 0, +1 for Treble, -3, 0, +3 for Orchest1, Orchest2
Orchestra Chord Guitar Mode
Gtr Table1, Gtr Table2, Gtr Table3
Sound Edit
Orchest1, Orchest2, Orch Bass, Orch Chord, Orch Free Bass
Speakers Off
Yes
Additional switches
6 user assignable function switches on last row of bass buttons
PANEL CONTROLS
Encoder
Data Edit with Enter
Knob controls
Volume, Balance, Reverb Chorus, Delay, Effect (assignable)
Registers
14 Right Hand registers

7 Left Hand registers
Navigation switches
Up, Down, Menu/Write, Exit/Jump
Chin switches
3 programmable chin switches
Other switches
Set Up, Set Down, Orch 1 On/Off, Orch 2 On/Off, Organ On/Off, Accordion On/Off, Orch Bass On/Off, Orch
Chord/Free Bass On/Off, Free Bass On/Off, Bass&Chord On/Off, Drums On/Off, Bass to Treble On/Off, User
Program On/Off, Song List On/Off, Power On/Off, Charge On/Off, Loop/Wave/MP3 player: Loop, Reset/Stop,
Play/Pause, Audio Rec
CONNECTORS
Audio OUTPUT jacks (R, L/Mono)
1/4 phone type
PHONES jack
Stereo 1/4 phone type
MIDI connectors
IN, OUT
USB ports
USB COMPUTER connector (Type B, reception and transmission of MIDI data)

USB MEMORY (Type A, data storage devices)
GENERAL SPECIFICATION
Power supply
AC adaptor (PSB-14U adaptor)
Current Draw
3750 mA
Auto Off function
Disable, 10, 15, 20 minute

Piano type: 415 (H) x 543 (W) x 280 (D) mm;
Dimensions
Weight
16-3/8 (H) x 21-7/16 (W) x 11-1/16 (D) inches
Button type: 410 (H) x 510 (W) x 260 (D) mm;

16-3/16 (H) x 20-1/8 (W) x 10-1/4 (D) inches
Piano type: 12,1 Kg, 26 lbs 11 oz without straps

Button type: 11,9 Kg, 26 lbs 4 oz without straps
SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES
Owners Manual
PSB-14U AC adaptor,
Power cord (for connecting the AC adaptor)
Rechargeable Ni-MH battery pack (BP-24-45)
Reference caps for the bass buttons
Reference buttons for the treble keyboard (only for FR-8X button type)
Straps
Accordion Cloth
Accordion soft bag
OPTIONS
USB
USB flash memory (M-UF-series)

Wireless USB Adaptor (WNA1100-RL)
Headphone
Roland RH Series
MIDI Foot Controller
FC-300
NOTE
In the interest of product improvement, the specifications and/or appearance of this unit are subject to change without prior notice.
121
18. MIDI Implementation Chart

V-Accordion
Model: FR-8x
Date: May 2013

Version: 1.00
Function...
Transmitted
Recognized
Remarks
1= Treble, 2=Bass/Freebass, 3=Chord,
4=Orch1/Organ, 5= Orch Bass, 6=Orch
Chord, 7=Orch Free Bass. 11= Orch2
2 Logical parts: 13= Basic MIDI Channel
for SET change, 13= Control MIDI Channel
only TX
Basic
Channel
Default
Changed
1-16
116, Off
116
116, Off
Mode
Default
Messages
Altered
Mode 3
**************
**************
Mode 3
**************
**************
Note
Number :
True Voice
0~127
*************
*1
0127
0127
Velocity
Note On
Note Off
O
X
*1
O
X
After
Touch
Keys
Channels
X
O
Pitch Bend
X
O
*1
O
0, 32
1
7
10
11
64
91
93
Control
Change
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
X
X
O
O
X
X
*1
*1
*1
*1
*1
*1
Bank Select
Modulation
Volume
Panpot
Expression
Hold 1
Reverb Send
Chorus Send
Program Number 1~128 transmitted
Recognized: 1~100:
- 1~14 Accordion Register
- 1~7 Bass
Program
Change
O
0~127
True Number
*1
O
013
- 1~7 Free Bass

- 1~7 Orchestra Bass
- 1~7 Orchestra Chord
- 1~7 Orchestra Free Bass
- 1~28 Orchestra 1, Orchestra 2, Organ
- 1~100 SET
System Exclusive
System
Common
Song Position Pointer

Song Select
Tune Request
X
X
X
X
X
X
System
Real Time
Clock
Commands
X
O
Aux
Messages
All Sound Off

Reset All Controllers
Local On/Off
All Notes Off
Active Sensing
System Reset
X
X
X
X
O
X
Notes
Mode 1 : OMNI ON, POLY

Mode 3 : OMNI OFF, POLY
122
*1 *3
*1 O X is selectable
*2 Recognized as M = 1 even if M
*3 Transmit Start (FA), Stop (FC)
Mode 2 : OMNI ON, MONO
Mode 4 : OMNI OFF, MONO
X
X
X
X
X
X
O
X
1.
O : Yes
X : No
19. Index
Symbols
DATA/ENTER knob . . . . . . . . . . 14
Keyboard Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
DC IN socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
AC Adaptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
DELAY knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Access Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Delay macro/Parameters . . . . 98
LAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Ad-Hoc mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
demo songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
LAN access point . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Air button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Detune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Air Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,30
Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Amplification System . . . . . . . 21
Drum Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Left Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Audio files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Drum sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Left Hand Bass and chord section
Audio Looper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Drum Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Left hand registers . . . . . . . . . . 16
Audio Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Dynamic Bellows Behaviour . 100
Left Hand Registers . . . . . . . . . 12
Audio/Power Setting . . . . . . . 106
12
LEFT HAND section . . . . . . . . . 14

E
EFFECT knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
BALANCE knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Main Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Bass and chord buttons . . . . . 16
Effect Send . . . . . . . . . . . 76,78,79
Master Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,16
Bass and Chord System . . . . . . 34
Effects Send . . . . 72,85,88,91,95
Master Bar Recall . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Bass&Chord BASS Link 1 . . . . . 95
exhausted Battery . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Master Tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
EXIT/JUMP button . . . . . . . . . . 14
MENU/WRITE button . . . . . . . . 14
Expansion Sounds . . . . . . . . . 110
MFX Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,80
Bass & Chord Button Board . . 26
EXPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
MFX Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 89,93
Bass&Chord CHORD Link 1 . . 95
Expression MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . 113
MFX Edit . . . . . . . . . . . 72,80,89,92
External Seq. Playback . . . . . 112
MIDI Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Bass Edit parameters . . . . . . . . 75
MIDI IN & OUT sockets . . . . . . . 17
BASS MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
FACTORY ALL RESET . . . . . . . . 111
MIDI Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Bassoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
FACTORY SETs RESET . . . . . . . 111
MIDI TX . . . . . . 73,81,87,90,93,96
Bass register on current SET . 108
FACTORY UPGs RESET . . . . . . 111
MODE section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Bass Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
FREE BASS MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . 78
Multiple Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
BASS TO TREBLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
FreeBass register on current SET . 109
Musette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Battery compartment . . . . . . . 17
Free Bass System . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,19
Function Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
MIDI Foot Controller . . . . . . . 106
N
Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,77,79,100
Bellows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
G
C
General Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Global Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Noises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
O
Orch Chord Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
CHARGE button . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Orchestra 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chin function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Orchestra 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Chin Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,16
High and Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Orchestral Sounds . . . . . . . 35,36
CHORD MIDI TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
CHORUS knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chorus macro/Parameters . . . 97
Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Controllers . 73,76,78,81,86,90,93,96
Copy EFFECT to SET . . . . . . . . 107
Copy SET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Orch Free Bass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

I
Organ Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Organ Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
IMPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Organ Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Inserting the cap . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
OUTPUT L/MONO . . . . . . . . . . . 17
IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Overdubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
123
Index
PHONES socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
TREBLE MODE TABLE . . . . . . . 104
Playback Options . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Treble register on current SET . 108
PLAYER section . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
POWER button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
type a name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Power On/Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
U
Q
UP/DOWN buttons . . . . . . . . . . 14
USB COMPUTER port . . . . . . . . 17
USB MEMORY port . . . . . . . . . . 15
Real Time RX-TX . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
User Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Reed Type . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,75,77

Reference Caps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,75,77
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Removing the cap . . . . . . . . . . 26
VOLUME knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
VTW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Replace a Right Hand Button . 25
VTW Lower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Restore Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
VTW Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
REVERB knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
VTW Pedal Parameter . . . . 85,88
Reverb macro/Parameters . . . 97
VTW Upper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Right Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Right Hand Button . . . . . . . . . . 25
Right Hand Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Wireless Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Right hand registers . . . . . . . . . 15
WIRELESS INFO . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Right Hand Registers . . . . . . . . 12
Wireless Option . . . . . . . . 115,116
Right Hand Section . . . . . . . . . 12
WPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
RIGHT HAND section . . . . . . . . 15

S
Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
X
Y
Scale Tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
SET buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Set Common . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Zone Accordion - Orch . . . 96,97
Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Sound Edit . . . . . . . . . 80,86,89,93
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Start-Up Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Stradella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Straps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Sustain - A routing . . . . . . . . . 106
Sustain - B routing . . . . . . . . . 106
SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
T
Tone Control . . . . . . . . . . 84,88,91
Tone Selection . . . . . 79,84,87,91
Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,71
Treble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
124
Information
AFRICA
EGYPT
Al Fanny Trading Office
9, EBN Hagar Al Askalany Street,
ARD E1 Golf, Heliopolis,
Cairo 11341, EGYPT
TEL: (022)-417-1828
REUNION
MARCEL FO-YAM Sarl
25 Rue Jules Hermann,
Chaudron - BP79 97 491
Ste Clotilde Cedex,
REUNION ISLAND
TEL: (0262) 218-429
SOUTH AFRICA
Paul Bothner(PTY)Ltd.
Royal Cape Park, Unit 24
Londonderry Road, Ottery 7800
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
TEL: (021) 799 4900
ASIA
CHINA
Roland Shanghai Electronics

Co.,Ltd.
5F. No.1500 Pingliang Road
Shanghai 200090, CHINA
TEL: (021) 5580-0800
Roland Shanghai Electronics
Co.,Ltd. (BEIJING OFFICE)
3F, Soluxe Fortune Building
63 West Dawang Road, Chaoyang
District, Beijing, CHINA
TEL: (010) 5960-2565
HONG KONG
Tom Lee Music
11/F Silvercord Tower 1
30 Canton Rd
Tsimshatsui, Kowloon,
HONG KONG
TEL: 852-2737-7688
Parsons Music Ltd.
8th Floor, Railway Plaza, 39
Chatham Road South, T.S.T,
Kowloon, HONG KONG
TEL: 852-2333-1863
INDIA
Rivera Digitec (India) Pvt. Ltd.
411, Nirman Kendra Mahalaxmi
Flats Compound Off. Dr. Edwin
Moses Road, Mumbai-400011,
INDIA
TEL: (022) 2493 9051
INDONESIA
When you need repair service, call your nearest Roland Service Center or authorized Roland
distributor in your country as shown below.
TAIWAN
ECUADOR
ROLAND TAIWAN ENTERPRISE

CO., LTD.
9F-5, No. 112 Chung Shan
North Road Sec. 2 Taipei 104,
TAIWAN R.O.C.
TEL: (02) 2561 3339
Mas Musika
Rumichaca 822 y Zaruma
Guayaquil - ECUADOR
TEL: (593-4) 2302364
THAILAND
Theera Music Co. , Ltd.
100-108 Soi Verng Nakornkasem,
New Road,Sumpantawong,
Bangkok 10100, THAILAND
TEL: (02) 224-8821
VIET NAM
VIET THUONG CORPORATION
386 CACH MANG THANG TAM ST.
DIST.3, HO CHI MINH CITY,
VIET NAM
TEL: (08) 9316540
OCEANIA
AUSTRALIA/
NEW ZEALAND
Roland Corporation
Australia Pty.,Ltd.
38 Campbell Avenue
Dee Why West. NSW 2099,
AUSTRALIA
For Australia
TEL: (02) 9982 8266
For New Zealand
TEL: (09) 3098 715
CENTRAL/LATIN
AMERICA
ARGENTINA
Instrumentos Musicales S.A.
Av.Santa Fe 2055
(1123) Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
TEL: (011) 4508-2700
BARBADOS
A&B Music Supplies LTD
12 Webster Industrial Park
Wildey, St.Michael, BARBADOS
TEL: (246) 430-1100
BRAZIL
Roland Brasil Ltda.
Rua San Jose, 211
Parque Industrial San Jose
Cotia - Sao Paulo - SP, BRAZIL
TEL: (011) 4615 5666
CHILE
PT. Citra Intirama

Ruko Garden Shopping Arcade
Unit 8 CR, Podomoro City
Jl.Letjend. S.Parman Kav.28
Jakarta Barat 11470, INDONESIA
TEL: (021) 5698-5519/5520
Comercial Fancy II S.A.

Rut.: 96.919.420-1
Nataniel Cox #739, 4th Floor
Santiago - Centro, CHILE
TEL: (02) 384-2180
KAZAKHSTAN
Centro Musical Ltda.

Cra 43 B No 25 A 41 Bododega 9
Medellin, COLOMBIA
TEL: (574) 3812529
Alatau Dybystary
141 Abylai-Khan ave, 1st floor,
050000 Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN
TEL: (727) 2725477
FAX: (727) 2720730
KOREA
Cosmos Corporation
1461-9, Seocho-Dong,
Seocho Ku, Seoul, KOREA
TEL: (02) 3486-8855
MALAYSIA/
SINGAPORE
Roland Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd.
45-1, Block C2, Jalan PJU 1/39,
Dataran Prima, 47301 Petaling
Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA
TEL: (03) 7805-3263
PHILIPPINES
G.A. Yupangco & Co. Inc.
339 Gil J. Puyat Avenue
Makati, Metro Manila 1200,
PHILIPPINES
TEL: (02) 899 9801
COLOMBIA
COSTA RICA
EL SALVADOR
OMNI MUSIC
75 Avenida Norte y Final Alameda
Juan Pablo II,
Edificio No.4010 San Salvador,
EL SALVADOR
TEL: 262-0788
GUATEMALA
Casa Instrumental
Calzada Roosevelt 34-01,zona 11
Ciudad de Guatemala,
GUATEMALA
TEL: (502) 599-2888
HONDURAS
Almacen Pajaro Azul S.A. de C.V.
BO.Paz Barahona
3 Ave.11 Calle S.O
San Pedro Sula, HONDURAS
TEL: (504) 553-2029
MARTINIQUE
Musique & Son
Z.I.Les Mangle
97232 Le Lamentin,
MARTINIQUE F.W.I.
TEL: 596 596 426860
MEXICO
Casa Veerkamp, s.a. de c.v.
Av. Toluca No. 323, Col. Olivar
de los Padres 01780 Mexico D.F.,
MEXICO
TEL: (55) 5668-6699
NICARAGUA
Bansbach Instrumentos
Musicales Nicaragua
Altamira D'Este Calle Principal
de la Farmacia 5ta.Avenida
1 Cuadra al Lago.#503
Managua, NICARAGUA
TEL: (505) 277-2557
PANAMA
SUPRO MUNDIAL, S.A.
Boulevard Andrews, Albrook,
Panama City, REP. DE PANAMA
TEL: 315-0101
PARAGUAY
Distribuidora De Instrumentos
Musicales
J.E. Olear y ESQ. Manduvira
Asuncion, PARAGUAY
TEL: (595) 21 492147
PERU
Audionet Distribuciones
Musicales SAC
Av. 2 de Mayo 562
Miraflores
Lima, PERU
TEL: (511) 447-0691
TRINIDAD
AMR Ltd
Ground Floor
Maritime Plaza
Barataria TRINIDAD W.I.
TEL: (868) 638 6385
URUGUAY
JUAN Bansbach Instrumentos

Musicales
Ave.1. Calle 11, Apartado 10237,
San Jose, COSTA RICA
TEL: 258-0211
Todo Musica S.A.

Francisco Acuna de Figueroa
1771
C.P.: 11.800
Montevideo, URUGUAY
TEL: (02) 924-2335
CURACAO
VENEZUELA
Zeelandia Music Center Inc.

Orionweg 30
Curacao, Netherland Antilles
TEL: (305) 5926866
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Instrumentos Fernando Giraldez
Calle Roberto Pastoriza #325
Sanchez Naco
Santo Domingo,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
TEL: (809) 683 0305
Instrumentos Musicales
Allegro,C.A.
Av.las industrias edf.Guitar import
#7 zona Industrial de Turumo
Caracas, VENEZUELA
TEL: (212) 244-1122
EUROPE
BELGIUM/FRANCE/
HOLLAND/
LUXEMBOURG
Roland Central Europe N.V.
Houtstraat 3, B-2260, Oevel
(Westerlo) BELGIUM
TEL: (014) 575811
BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
Mix-AP Music
78000 Banja Luka, Veselina
Maslese 3,
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
TEL: 65 403 168
CROATIA
ART-CENTAR
Degenova 3.
HR - 10000 Zagreb, CROATIA
TEL: (1) 466 8493
CZECH REP.
CZECH REPUBLIC DISTRIBUTOR

s.r.o
Pod Bn 8
180 00 Praha 8, CZECH REP.
TEL: 266 312 557
DENMARK/ESTONIA/
LATVIA/LITHUANIA
POLAND
KUWAIT
ROLAND POLSKA SP. Z O.O.

ul. Kty Grodziskie 16B
03-289 Warszawa, POLAND
TEL: (022) 678 9512
EASA HUSAIN AL-YOUSIFI &

SONS CO.
Al-Yousifi Service Center
P.O.Box 126 (Safat) 13002,
KUWAIT
TEL: 00 965 802929
PORTUGAL
Roland Systems Group EMEA, S.L.
Branch Office Porto
Edifcio Tower Plaza
Rotunda Eng. Edgar Cardoso 23,
4-B
4400-676 Vila Nova de Gaia,
PORTUGAL
TEL: (+351) 22 608 00 60
RUSSIA
SERBIA
QATAR
Music AP
Sutjeska br. 5 XS - 24413 PALIC,
SERBIA
TEL: (0) 24 539 395
AL-EMADI TRADING &

CONTRACTING CO.
P.O. Box 62, Doha, QATAR
TEL: 4423-554
SLOVAKIA
SAUDI ARABIA
DAN Acoustic s.r.o.

Povazsk 18.
SK - 940 01 Nov Zmky,
SLOVAKIA
TEL: (035) 6424 330
SPAIN
FINLAND
Roland Scandinavia A/S

SWEDISH SALES OFFICE
Mrbackagatan 31, 4 tr.
SE-123 43 Farsta, SWEDEN
TEL: (0) 8 683 04 30
ROLAND Germany GmbH.

Adam-Opel-Strasse 4, 64569
Nauheim, GERMANY
TEL: 6152 95546-00
GREECE/CYPRUS
STOLLAS S.A.
Music Sound Light
155, New National Road
Patras 26442, GREECE
TEL: 2610 435400
HUNGARY/ROMANIA
Roland East Europe Ltd.
2045. Trkblint, FSD Park 3. p.,
Budapest, HUNGARY
TEL: (23) 511 011
IRELAND
Roland Ireland
E2 Calmount Park, Calmount
Avenue, Dublin 12,
Republic of IRELAND
TEL: (01) 4294444
ITALY
Roland Italy S. p. A.
Viale delle Industrie 8,
20020 Arese, Milano, ITALY
TEL: (02) 937-78300
OMAN
TALENTZ CENTRE L.L.C.
Malatan House No.1
Al Noor Street, Ruwi
SULTANATE OF OMAN
TEL: 2478 3443
Roland Systems Group EMEA, S.L.

Paseo Garca Faria, 33-35
08005 Barcelona, SPAIN
TEL: 93 493 91 00
GERMANY/AUSTRIA
Chahine S.A.L.
George Zeidan St., Chahine Bldg.,
Achrafieh, P.O.Box: 16-5857
Beirut, LEBANON
TEL: (01) 20-1441
Roland Music LLC

Dorozhnaya ul.3,korp.6
117 545 Moscow, RUSSIA
TEL: (495) 981-4967
Roland Scandinavia A/S

Skagerrakvej 7 Postbox 880
DK-2100 Copenhagen,
DENMARK
TEL: 39166222
Roland Scandinavia As, Filial
Finland
Vanha Nurmijarventie 62
01670 Vantaa, FINLAND
TEL: (0) 9 68 24 020
LEBANON
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
Roland (Switzerland) AG
Landstrasse 5, Postfach,
CH-4452 Itingen, SWITZERLAND
TEL: (061) 975-9987
UKRAINE
EURHYTHMICS Ltd.
P.O.Box: 37-a.
Nedecey Str. 30
UA - 89600 Mukachevo, UKRAINE
TEL: (03131) 414-40
UNITED KINGDOM
Roland (U.K.) Ltd.
Atlantic Close, SWANSEA SA7 9FJ,
UNITED KINGDOM
TEL: (01792) 702701
MIDDLE EAST
BAHRAIN
Moon Stores
No.1231&1249 Rumaytha
Building Road 3931,
Manama 339, BAHRAIN
TEL: 17 813 942
IRAN
MK MJUZIK
Alekso Demnievski-Bauman 9-3,
1400 Veles, MACEDONIA
TEL: 70 264 458
MOCO INC.
Jadeh Makhsous Karaj (K-9),
Nakhe Zarin Ave.
Jalal Street, Reza Alley No.4
Tehran 1389716791, IRAN
TEL: (021)-44545370-5
MONTENEGRO
Adawliah Universal Electronics

APL
Behind Pizza Inn
Prince Turkey Street
Adawliah Building,
PO BOX 2154,
Al Khobar 31952,
SAUDI ARABIA
TEL: (03) 8643601
SYRIA
Technical Light & Sound Center
PO Box 13520 Bldg No.49
Khaled Abn Alwalid St.
Damascus, SYRIA
TEL: (011) 223-5384
TURKEY
ZUHAL DIS TICARET A.S.
Galip Dede Cad. No.33
Beyoglu, Istanbul, TURKEY
TEL: (0212) 249 85 10
U.A.E.
Adawliah Universal Electronics
APL
Omar bin alkhattab street, fish
round about, nayef area, deira,
Dubai, U.A.E.
TEL: (04) 2340442
NORTH AMERICA
CANADA
Roland Canada Ltd.
(Head Office)
5480 Parkwood Way Richmond B.
C., V6V 2M4, CANADA
TEL: (604) 270 6626
Roland Canada Ltd.
(Toronto Office)
170 Admiral Boulevard
Mississauga On L5T 2N6,
CANADA
TEL: (905) 362 9707
U. S. A.
ISRAEL
MACEDONIA
MAX-AP
Przno, Kamenovo bb., 86000
Budva, MONTENEGRO
TEL: 68 050 112
NORWAY
Roland Scandinavia Avd.
Kontor Norge
Lilleakerveien 2 Postboks 95
Lilleaker N-0216 Oslo,
NORWAY
TEL: 2273 0074
Roland Corporation U.S.

5100 S. Eastern Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90040-2938,
U. S. A.
TEL: (323) 890 3700
Halilit P. Greenspoon & Sons

Ltd.
8 Retzif Ha'alia Hashnia St.
Tel-Aviv-Yafo ISRAEL
TEL: (03) 6823666
JORDAN
MUSIC HOUSE CO. LTD.
FREDDY FOR MUSIC
P. O. Box 922846
Amman 11192, JORDAN
TEL: (06) 5692696
As of Oct. 1, 2012 (ROLAND)
125
For EU Countries
For China
126
127
602.00.0585.01 RES 951-13 FR-8x Owners Manual - E

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What are the main components of the FR-8x?

What are the main components of the FR-8x?

How do you turn on the FR-8x and connect it to an external device?

How do you turn on the FR-8x and connect it to an external device?

Owners Manual

Owners Manual (this document)

PDF Manual (download from the Web)

This is a list of the sounds contained in the FR-8x.

To obtain the PDF manual

2. Choose FR-8x as the product name.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

For C.A. US (Proposition 65)

For the U.K.

For the USA

This indicates an important note; be sure to read it.

1. Using the Unit Safely

About the Symbols

Used for instructions intended to alert the

The symbol alerts the user to items that must never be

* Material damage refers to damage or

The symbol alerts the user to things that must be

ALWAYS OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING

To completely turn off power to the unit, pull out the

Use only the included AC adaptor and the correct

Dont allow foreign objects or liquids to enter unit;

Even with the power switch turned off,

Be sure to use only the AC adaptor

Do not place containers containing

Do not disassemble or modify by yourself

Do not place in an unstable location

Protect the unit from strong impact.

Do not open (or modify in any way) the

Do not repair or replace parts by yourself

Do not use or store in the following types of

Use only the included power cord

Do not bend the power cord or place heavy objects

Avoid extended use at high volume

Adults must provide supervision in places where

Do not drop or subject to strong impact

Turn off the unit if an abnormality or malfunction

Do not share an outlet with an unreasonable

Do not use overseas

Place in a well ventilated location

Handle battery pack carefully

Before using the unit in a foreign country,

The unit and the AC adaptor should be

If used improperly, battery pack may

Handle batteries carefully

Grasp the plug when connecting or disconnecting

Periodically clean the AC adaptors plug

Manage cables for safety

Avoid climbing on top of the unit, or placing heavy

Do not connect or disconnect the AC adaptor with

Disconnect everything before moving the unit

Unplug the AC adaptor from the outlet before

Carefully follow the installation

Keep small items out of the reach of children

Take care not to get burned

Handle leaking battery pack carefully