FA 06 + FA08

[jimmy]

That's a bummer. The Electric guitar in Daniel Fishers demo didn't sound too bad even if it was PCM. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqT0KNR9Pt4&t=4m23s

Still wish they'd hurry up with that sound list/manual, so we didn't have to rely on hearsay so much.

[cello]

Still wish they'd hurry up with that sound list/manual, so we didn't have to rely on hearsay so much.

I'm beginning to think parts of the OS plus maybe the sounds (eg all the demos have a 'FA preview' soundset) are still being finalised hence it's not possible to publish the manuals.

Can't think of a reason why Roland would willfully withhold releasing the documents otherwise - not even a business one; they've already told the competition what the FA does!

[Jan_nl]

It seems logical. If the FA's would have had all the SN tones it could kill the sales of the Integras and the Jupiters, I may be quite wrong.

That's probably true, they don't want to end up cannibalizing the other products.

Nevertheless, I hoped that the 'selection' Roland made from existing SN instruments would be a broad pallet of different instruments, but apparently they excluded entire sections, such as the electric guitars, and reverted to the old ROM based sample engine.
This would not be such a big deal if it were possible to install additional SN instruments in the future, and that is why I am curious about what sort of instrument packs aside from the SRX Roland has in mind for the FA.

The thing that puzzled me is the fact that Roland made an announcement some time ago about SN being the new standard for their instruments, yet with the FA they take a few steps back, even replacing existing SN instruments present in the JP and Integra with the old PCM ROM based equivalents in the FA.
So, is it merely to avoid releasing products which compete with each other, or is it that creating SN instruments takes up too much time and therefore costs too much so that Roland is reverting back to the old PCM standard again?

I'm beginning to think parts of the OS plus maybe the sounds (eg all the demos have a 'FA preview' soundset) are still being finalised hence it's not possible to publish the manuals.

Going by Ed's comments I think you're right and that Roland is still finalizing the details.
And I hope this finalizing process will also include the soundset for the FA.

[Saxifraga]

Everyone knows this already? http://www.soundonsound.com/news?NewsID=16938
New video at SOS with Adrian.
Posted to early. Nothing new here.

[PauloF]

Just confirmed by a Portuguese Store, the FA-06/08 will be available as from 25/02/2014 and the prices will be:
FA-06: € 999,00
FA08: € 1599,00

Awesome!! 25 days away

[MauroR]

They just look cheap. I hope the price is too.

Almost exactly the same marketing slogans as the Fantom X was sold with in 2003. And so far I wouldn't "upgrade" mine.

The Jupiter would be a no-brainer after this.

EDIT: If the Fa-06 weighs only 5,7 Kg, and plays well, then her looks deceive her! I might have to beg my pardon! :) (The FX6 weighs about 13Kg).

I've asked the price to my local store (Italy), it's about 999 euros for the 61 keys model and 1599 euros for the 88 keys model. The cheap price is due also to the lack of the aftertouch I think but I'm not sure how much this feature affect the price of a workstation.

P.S. It seems that PauloF has preceded me. :)

[PauloF]

They just look cheap. I hope the price is too.

Almost exactly the same marketing slogans as the Fantom X was sold with in 2003. And so far I wouldn't "upgrade" mine.

The Jupiter would be a no-brainer after this.

EDIT: If the Fa-06 weighs only 5,7 Kg, and plays well, then her looks deceive her! I might have to beg my pardon! :) (The FX6 weighs about 13Kg).

I've asked the price to my local store (Italy), it's about 999 euros for the 61 keys model and 1599 euros for the 88 keys model. The cheap price is due also to the lack of the aftertouch I think but I'm not sure how much this feature affect the price of a workstation.

P.S. It seems that PauloF has preceded me. :)

Ciao MauroR !! ;-)

And BTW, Welcome to the Clan!!!

[MauroR]

They just look cheap. I hope the price is too.

Almost exactly the same marketing slogans as the Fantom X was sold with in 2003. And so far I wouldn't "upgrade" mine.

The Jupiter would be a no-brainer after this.

EDIT: If the Fa-06 weighs only 5,7 Kg, and plays well, then her looks deceive her! I might have to beg my pardon! :) (The FX6 weighs about 13Kg).

I've asked the price to my local store (Italy), it's about 999 euros for the 61 keys model and 1599 euros for the 88 keys model. The cheap price is due also to the lack of the aftertouch I think but I'm not sure how much this feature affect the price of a workstation.

P.S. It seems that PauloF has preceded me. :)

Ciao MauroR !! ;-)

And BTW, Welcome to the Clan!!!

Ciao and thanks. :)

[marczellm]

That's a bummer. The Electric guitar in Daniel Fishers demo didn't sound too bad even if it was PCM. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqT0KNR9Pt4&t=4m23s

That's the very same electric guitar as on the Fantoms and JUNOs, with COSM amp modeling.

[anotherscott]

Since I prefer the SN engine over plain PCM I am somewhat puzzled by Roland's decision to go one step back and simply use PCM guitar emulations over the SN electric guitars. And that includes the other 'acoustic' instruments.

Not surprising. Cheaper machine. So probably smaller ROM space and/or lesser processing power.

I hoped that the 'selection' Roland made from existing SN instruments would be a broad pallet of different instruments, but apparently they excluded entire sections, such as the electric guitars

I think it makes sense, because I believe the entire "section" (i.e. all the SN elec guitar variations on the upscale models) are based on the same set of modeling data. So I think it would be all-or-none... i.e. the resident sample/modeling data needed for one of the SN elec guitars would provide everything that was needed for all of them, it's the same data with different processing. So once you provide one, there's no further cost savings in not providing all the rest.

This would not be such a big deal if it were possible to install additional SN instruments in the future, and that is why I am curious about what sort of instrument packs aside from the SRX Roland has in mind for the FA.

From what they have said so far, nothing but SRX. We don't know whether or not it's a technical limitation. Maybe they will come out with SN packs a year from now, or never, no one knows. But I wouldn't buy an FA expecting it to do anything more than they say it will when you buy it.

The thing that puzzled me is the fact that Roland made an announcement some time ago about SN being the new standard for their instruments, yet with the FA they take a few steps back, even replacing existing SN instruments present in the JP and Integra with the old PCM ROM based equivalents in the FA.
So, is it merely to avoid releasing products which compete with each other, or is it that creating SN instruments takes up too much time and therefore costs too much so that Roland is reverting back to the old PCM standard again?

I don't think it's time, I think it's a matter of actual hardware resources available in the lower cost machine.

Really, I think this does so much for $1199, and so much more than any $1199 Roland has ever done, that it's a good value as is, and that it would be unrealistic to expect this $1199 machine to do everything it does plus have, say, all the SN sounds a $1999 Jupiter 50 or Integra-7 does.

[Jan_nl]

Really, I think this does so much for $1199, and so much more than any $1199 Roland has ever done, that it's a good value as is, and that it would be unrealistic to expect this $1199 machine to do everything it does plus have, say, all the SN sounds a $1999 Jupiter 50 or Integra-7 does.

The FA certainly looks like a very fine instrument, but the compromises make me reluctant.
Still, from what I have seen it looks very user-friendly and intuitive to operate.

Actually I had hoped to see a true flagship workstation which differentiates Roland from the others, something along the lines of a V-synth with vocal designer and the SN soundset from the Integra in workstation format.
I certainly hope that the V-synth will not end up in Roland's archives of past synths, but that they will take this fabulous technology and develop it further, especially since processors continuously increase in power and offer more possibilities.

[PauloF]

This would not be such a big deal if it were possible to install additional SN instruments in the future, and that is why I am curious about what sort of instrument packs aside from the SRX Roland has in mind for the FA.

From what they have said so far, nothing but SRX. We don't know whether or not it's a technical limitation. Maybe they will come out with SN packs a year from now, or never, no one knows. But I wouldn't buy an FA expecting it to do anything more than they say it will when you buy it.
.

I don't think it will be just SRX no, but also SN-Synth tones, as they are announcing the following here

SuperNATURAL synth engine is fully compatible with the expansive collection of free INTEGRA-7 synth tones available from Roland’s Axial sound library site

[PauloF]

This would not be such a big deal if it were possible to install additional SN instruments in the future, and that is why I am curious about what sort of instrument packs aside from the SRX Roland has in mind for the FA.

From what they have said so far, nothing but SRX. We don't know whether or not it's a technical limitation. Maybe they will come out with SN packs a year from now, or never, no one knows. But I wouldn't buy an FA expecting it to do anything more than they say it will when you buy it.
.

I don't think it will be just SRX no, but also SN-Synth tones, as they are announcing the following http://Www.roland.com

SuperNATURAL synth engine is fully compatible with the expansive collection of free INTEGRA-7 synth tones available from Roland’s Axial sound library site

[anotherscott]

I don't think it will be just SRX no, but also SN-Synth tones, as they are announcing the following here

SuperNATURAL synth engine is fully compatible with the expansive collection of free INTEGRA-7 synth tones available from Roland’s Axial sound library site

I was under the impression that the SN-Synth tones don't take expansion slots; they are merely settings for the existing synth engine that comes in the FA (unlike the SRX tones which require the presence of new samples, and therefore take up the memory allocated to the expansion slots)

[anotherscott]

I don't think it will be just SRX no, but also SN-Synth tones, as they are announcing the following here

SuperNATURAL synth engine is fully compatible with the expansive collection of free INTEGRA-7 synth tones available from Roland’s Axial sound library site

I was under the impression that the SN-Synth tones don't take expansion slots; they are merely settings for the existing synth engine that comes in the FA (unlike the SRX tones which require the presence of new samples, and therefore take up the memory allocated to the expansion slots)