Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Forum for Roland FA-06/08
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ducker69
Posts: 31
Joined: 02:29, 6 March 2014

Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by ducker69 »

Im really loving my FA-08 .. great sounds .. sequencer is powerful and works great!.. midi import and sample editing is all very good however i thought id start a list for things we would like them to update and i will send it off to roland.

Here is my personal list (feel free to comment.. or tell me a work around !)

1. No syncing of sampling with the sequencer.... you can sync the rhythm track to the sequence... but u cant do the same for smapling.. i dont want to start on audio level.. or with a button press... but in time with the music. This way i could easily lay my guitar tracks to my sequence.

2. You cant sample anything with the sampler playing... i intended to lay multitrack audio to go along with the sequence... i can do that so long as i dont need to here any audio track whilst i do it. I would love to sample the sampler with the TFX into a new sample... cant be done.

3. No directory support for audio samples... total limit of 300 ..if only you could change directory you could store banks of sounds then "auto import" them.. instead you can do that once then have to remove the files but putting hte sd card back in the pc and copying new ones!

If these 3 things were changed i would not need a computer to capture all my ideas .. at the moment its not quite possible.
geeman
Posts: 100
Joined: 17:45, 31 January 2014

Re: Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by geeman »

ducker69 wrote:Im really loving my FA-08 .. great sounds .. sequencer is powerful and works great!.. midi import and sample editing is all very good however i thought id start a list for things we would like them to update and i will send it off to roland.

Here is my personal list (feel free to comment.. or tell me a work around !)

1. No syncing of sampling with the sequencer.... you can sync the rhythm track to the sequence... but u cant do the same for smapling.. i dont want to start on audio level.. or with a button press... but in time with the music. This way i could easily lay my guitar tracks to my sequence.

2. You cant sample anything with the sampler playing... i intended to lay multitrack audio to go along with the sequence... i can do that so long as i dont need to here any audio track whilst i do it. I would love to sample the sampler with the TFX into a new sample... cant be done.

3. No directory support for audio samples... total limit of 300 ..if only you could change directory you could store banks of sounds then "auto import" them.. instead you can do that once then have to remove the files but putting hte sd card back in the pc and copying new ones!

If these 3 things were changed i would not need a computer to capture all my ideas .. at the moment its not quite possible.
Greetings ducker69 and all,

Post-honeymoon gripes? Agreed the FA-06 is an awesome tool. And now to the point...

For me, it is your Number 2 (above). The sudden discovery that I can't overdub vocals, or make a new sample whilst listening to other samples? Pity, that. "Useful for sampling backing vocals', somebody said during a demo video. Eh? How do you sing backing vocals or vocal harmonies when you can't even hear the first one - heh heh.

Okay, for some folk this may not matter much. But if your song building is vocal based, this obvious Lack surely matters. My little Kaossilator 2 does short vocal overdubbing (recording whilst monitoring), and as I recall, my old 4-track Fostex cassette did it.

Is the FA is still a keeper? Probably. Time will tell. Yet another hardware add-on? Maybe, although always ready to hear folks' suggestions. Meanwhile, it looks like my songs are still hobbled by the need for a computer and DAW.
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Candy
Posts: 274
Joined: 06:30, 15 November 2008

Re: Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by Candy »

To the first point: You can trigger the Samples by the Sequencer, so that they are nearly synced with the system. For more look here: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=48141.

Candy
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Quinnx.
Posts: 3439
Joined: 11:28, 13 January 2005
Location: HomeTown Ireland: Current Location USA

Re: Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by Quinnx. »

You say you can not resample the sampler or do backing vocals...

What happens if you press record on the sequencer
trigger some samples
stop

go to the sampler to re sample
choose source/input Both
and start sequencer playback and re sampling
dont you get the sampler re sampling whats playing and what also what is coming in from the microphone?
geeman
Posts: 100
Joined: 17:45, 31 January 2014

Re: Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by geeman »

Quinnx. wrote:You say you can not resample the sampler or do backing vocals...


Hi there, I'm not the original poster here, and still a freshman, but followed your lead:

I sequenced 4 bars of music including two bits of vocal harmony on pads 1 & 2.

(quote): "... go to the sampler to re sample choose source/input Both
and start sequencer playback and re sampling
dont you get the sampler re sampling whats playing and what also what is coming in from the microphone?
Okay, I chose KBD + INPUT, started again and then shook a bit of percussion bells via mike into Pad 3.

The thing is, as I start the sample recording, all the sample pads (except the one target pad) go grey and previous samples can't be heard in the music. Or, as the original poster is saying, you can't play samples and record samples at the same time.
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Quinnx.
Posts: 3439
Joined: 11:28, 13 January 2005
Location: HomeTown Ireland: Current Location USA

Re: Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by Quinnx. »

So are we also saying that if anyone creates a full composition on the FA
and we have used samples as part of this composition..
When we finally choose export as stems or stereo track we also loose the sample track performance??
or will it still export the whole song correctly?
geeman
Posts: 100
Joined: 17:45, 31 January 2014

Re: Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by geeman »

Quinnx. wrote:So are we also saying that if anyone creates a full composition on the FA
and we have used samples as part of this composition..
When we finally choose export as stems or stereo track we also loose the sample track performance??
or will it still export the whole song correctly?
Hi again,

Not the original poster here, so can't add much. Haven't got as far as using a DAW yet, as I was hoping to avoid those.

Already knew the FA pads weren't velocity sensitive and lacked any kind of pro' sampling features, like multisampling. However, to me, this problem ((as described above) makes the FA's pads virtually useless to me as a quick and intuitive song-writing tool.

Hey-ho, tomorrow is another day.
LivingEdge
Posts: 31
Joined: 15:17, 1 September 2016

Re: Limitations of the FA-08 (although it is awesome!)

Post by LivingEdge »

geeman wrote:
Quinnx. wrote:...Already knew the FA pads weren't velocity sensitive...
I know this is an old post, but the FA pads can be velocity sensitive when they are triggered by the keyboard by the sequencer in pads mode. Just thought others might want to know this. :)
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