Still a good buy?

Forum for Roland FA-06/08
The Man Machine
Posts: 14
Joined: 13:01, 13 May 2017

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by The Man Machine »

Thanks for the replies.

Now I also have an eye on the Juptiter 50 since that comes with Sonar LE.

A different approach since I wanted a hardware sequencer but I can get a used one under 1K.

Any thoughts on that?

What worries me the most is the editing of sounds since it seems pretty APP oriented.

As a synth it is impressive, just wondering if I should give up the FA and compromize somewhat and dive into a DAW from the get go.

Don't own an iPad...
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Myrk-
Posts: 329
Joined: 19:45, 27 August 2016
Location: Bristol, UK

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by Myrk- »

OK I'll give my 2 cents, because I hate seeing these threads go in circles :P

Making music in a DAW is a very different experience to a keyboard/workstation/hardware sequencers. Are you a musician or a guy who has musical ideas? If you are the former, then DAW's suck the life out of you. If the latter maybe go DAW...

From my perspective I'd say get an FA, or a JD-XA... it's 8 channels of goodness on board (all individually triggerable externally), and then 8 more channels of midi control. You have loads of sliders and knobs to make amazing sounds. It's a sound designing platform really. I know someone else listed out all their keyboards and said it just had nice lights, but I don't think he explored the synth properly...

Get an external sequencer like an Engine or a Deluge, and I think you'll have everything you want really. If you go the FA option just note the sequencer is linear, not pattern based, and you can't set looping on the fly, so once you've started a track you gotta carry it to the end or press the stop button and halt the gig! If you go the DAW route the JD-XA is still a winner - it can act as a controller for all your VST synths, and can be triggered from the DAW all via USB.

I too have been on an expensive search through keyboards. I have an FA-06 (relegated to my front room as a jam tool), and in my main rig I'm using a JD-XA and a Kurzweil PC3LE7 to control a load of boutiques and other modules of goodness. The JD-XA was my best purchase by a long shot, as I can get any sound I desire on that thing - analogue or digital.

To answer the topic, yes, the FA is still a really good buy, especially with all its sound capabilities, and the free AXIAL sound updates - these alone in the old days would have cost the current retail price of the whole synth, but free on the FA!
The Man Machine
Posts: 14
Joined: 13:01, 13 May 2017

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by The Man Machine »

Myrk,

Forgot to update the thread.

Did buy a Jupiter 50 for less than a new FA06.

So I had to rethink the whole thing.

For now I am looking for a good program for midi sequencing and an interface.

The Jupiter sounds amazing but the FA06 as well is a great sounding synth and package.
JPWC
Posts: 21
Joined: 15:36, 1 December 2015

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by JPWC »

Congratulations on the JP-50.

I've been buy synthesizers for 30+ years. So far, I pretty much love them all. My only regret is selling a few along the way. Like all endeavors, it's not the tool, it is what you do with it and does it make you happy and satisfied.
Skijumptoes
Posts: 681
Joined: 11:08, 21 June 2010

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by Skijumptoes »

Totally! Same regret with the selling of them, was at a BBQ last night, had a few drinks and someone asked about what regret that had in life, and i don't really have one, but then i thought back to when i was younger and had more disposable income that i didn't just go out and got what i wanted at the time.

Funnily enough, I didn't think i'd get that feeling with modern synths, but i even have regrets selling my Fantom, which was only a few years back. I would definitely miss my FA a ton if i sold it, just as a quick ideas machine it's worth it's position on my shelving.

As for good program for sequencing (The Man Machine) - check out reaper, it's free to use as long as you want to evaluate it.
The Man Machine
Posts: 14
Joined: 13:01, 13 May 2017

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by The Man Machine »

Thank you both of you guys.

The Jupiter I bumped into online as an occasion and haggled 15% of the asking price :)

The shop gave me a new PSU and the synth is in mint condition with 3 month warranty.

For computer connectivity I was looking at Steinberg UR22MKII with Cubasis and Cubase for €129.

Reaper I can also check out yet still I need a usb/Midi to usb connector or AD converter.

Just want to keep it small so I might add a sampler and vocoder and that would be it.
stevel
Posts: 520
Joined: 07:08, 17 May 2015

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by stevel »

The Man Machine wrote:Thank you both of you guys.

The Jupiter I bumped into online as an occasion and haggled 15% of the asking price :)

The shop gave me a new PSU and the synth is in mint condition with 3 month warranty.

For computer connectivity I was looking at Steinberg UR22MKII with Cubasis and Cubase for €129.

Reaper I can also check out yet still I need a usb/Midi to usb connector or AD converter.

Just want to keep it small so I might add a sampler and vocoder and that would be it.
You know, the FA has a vocoder, sampler, and runs MIDI and Audio over the USB cable!

I think you went the wrong way!!!!

But the Jupiter - does it do audio and midi over usb? It may do only midi.

But yes, if it only does midi, or neither, you need some kind of USB Audio/MIDI interface. Many of those come with some basic DAW software - that's how I got into Cubase and it's still my favorite all around DAW.

Even if you do get Cubase or something when you buy an interface, go ahead and download Reaper and try it. It's got a lot of non-standard things about it, but at the same time it's far more customizable than all other DAWs. It doesn't come with any VST instruments (one plain synth) but it does have a Sampler that's pretty darn functional. You can of course find many free VSTs online - most of what it comes with are audio VSTs like EQs, Compressors, and that sort. Some of those are actually better than many $300 VSTs!
The Man Machine
Posts: 14
Joined: 13:01, 13 May 2017

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by The Man Machine »

stevel wrote:
The Man Machine wrote:Thank you both of you guys.

The Jupiter I bumped into online as an occasion and haggled 15% of the asking price :)

The shop gave me a new PSU and the synth is in mint condition with 3 month warranty.

For computer connectivity I was looking at Steinberg UR22MKII with Cubasis and Cubase for €129.

Reaper I can also check out yet still I need a usb/Midi to usb connector or AD converter.

Just want to keep it small so I might add a sampler and vocoder and that would be it.
You know, the FA has a vocoder, sampler, and runs MIDI and Audio over the USB cable!

I think you went the wrong way!!!!

But the Jupiter - does it do audio and midi over usb? It may do only midi.

But yes, if it only does midi, or neither, you need some kind of USB Audio/MIDI interface. Many of those come with some basic DAW software - that's how I got into Cubase and it's still my favorite all around DAW.

Even if you do get Cubase or something when you buy an interface, go ahead and download Reaper and try it. It's got a lot of non-standard things about it, but at the same time it's far more customizable than all other DAWs. It doesn't come with any VST instruments (one plain synth) but it does have a Sampler that's pretty darn functional. You can of course find many free VSTs online - most of what it comes with are audio VSTs like EQs, Compressors, and that sort. Some of those are actually better than many $300 VSTs!
It may seem I went the wrong way but just went a different way, the sequencer is linear, the samples can't be timestretched and the layering and splitting on the 50 is mesmerizing.

The 50 does midi over usb but not audio, though some vendors say it can.

This is exactly the PIA, you can't trust all vendors information.

I was aware of dropping the sequencer and vocoder getting the Jupiter.

So sequencing now has to be done via laptop and vocoder might be a VP-03, it sounds good to me.

Some DAWs have a built in vocoder (Reason has one I just read) and could be used as a sampler in a different fashion.

Just lookin for options since the interface itself won't be my main concern but the software that comes with it.
Skijumptoes
Posts: 681
Joined: 11:08, 21 June 2010

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by Skijumptoes »

If you're adding hardware sampler or additional external gear then your audio interface needs to become the big concern, as you need the right number of inputs (unless you already have a mixer?) to be able to hear them running in conjunction with one another. Also, you want good quality inputs and balanced connections where possible if you're serious about getting good quality in/out, lower latency/reliability, product life and more options for monitoring your input signals.

The DAW's you get free with audio interfaces is going to be a seriously cut down version, so check that all matches up to what you will be needing.

'If' the software is a big part of which interface you buy, Just bare in mind that Reaper will do everything, if not more (thanks to it's customisation) that you would ever need in a DAW, without restrictions.

There are tons of third party plugins out there which will give you vocoder options for most DAW's for free, TAL Vocoder is one that leaps to mind:- https://tal-software.com/products/tal-vocoder

Longterm, you find any serious projects you undertake will be sequenced via DAW, anyway, so you done the right thing in terms of Jup-50 for it's sounds, the layering is great on that.
JPWC
Posts: 21
Joined: 15:36, 1 December 2015

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by JPWC »

Keyboards I own and what I'd do if I lost them>

FA06..buy a new one
Kronos..buy a new one
Krome..I'd just miss it
JP-80..I'd Just miss it
JD-XA..I'd miss it
System-8..but a new one
JD-Xi..maybe miss it
Motif FX..Buy a Montage
Deepmind 12..might buy a new one
Nord Lead 2X..I'd buy a Nord Lead A4
Prophet 12..But the MaxiBrute
Mopho X4..Buy a Prophet Rev2

Of course if they all disappeared I'd get them in the order listed..
The Man Machine
Posts: 14
Joined: 13:01, 13 May 2017

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by The Man Machine »

Well...

Bought a M-Audio MTrack 2x2M.

The unit works but Cubase LE is a piece of crap.

It will deny that the driver is installed. Then when it does take it (after fixing the install) you got sound on the left channel.

Later it won't give you any sound.

Been through several youtube videos and if I can't get this puppy running stable within 24 hours it is going back.

Mind that I know I'd need a merger for more midi devices.

And I thought ahh Cubase LE, the reason to get this one, boy was I wrong.

Next is prolly the Tascam (Pro Tools).

Read some forums on this, Cubase doesn't like the driver so it seems.
LivingEdge
Posts: 31
Joined: 15:17, 1 September 2016

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by LivingEdge »

I use my FA-08 a little differently than most.

I have a WX5 wind-synth along with the weighted keys... best of both worlds. I also have two other keyboards. So along with real instruments, I add what I don't have into midi sequences. The FA-08 sounds good, real good! Mixing in other brands of keyboards rounds out the sound.

Only problem for me is slightly multiple, so I use work-arounds. I still enjoy using the VS-2480 as my mixer/master but not to print CDs. Also the polyphony of the FA is too low, I hear dropouts.

Progression... modify audio and midifiles on PC, and slave FA to PC or PC to FA (doesn't matter). Eventually move all midi to the FA-08 using midi dump or sequencer record. Pick instruments and blend. Remove blend and render all midi channels to separate wave files. Remove SD card from FA-08 and load wave files into reaper along with other recorded audio tracks. Use 896mk3 interface and built in mixer CueMix to record onto VS-2480. Send final digital mastered mix back to reaper and record. Render final mp3, aac, etc. and also wave/flac. Cut CDs on PC for delivery.

What I'm not telling you. I have a few favorites: LA2A, 1176 compressors, Autotune, Vocal effects, other stuff with the VS-2480, including the mastering suite. Then the are a few more toys like the Voicelive Rack, GSP-1101, Axon midi, and Motu AV Timepiece for timing and it can run 8 midi devices x16 channels simultaneously.

I work this way because I like the end result and can avoid/make up for equipment short-comings. My FA-08 makes a world of difference, but by itself it's just okay. Well, better than just okay, but without everything else it falls short -- surround sound, after touch/effects, etc. which I use extensively. ymmv

My wife and I are both worship leaders and soon to be private label musicians, songwriters, and we have produced/sold our own CDs. The FA-08 is allowing us to step up our game.
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Myrk-
Posts: 329
Joined: 19:45, 27 August 2016
Location: Bristol, UK

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by Myrk- »

Looking for a sequencer, sampler, pattern machine, everything in 1 box with every function you could dream of? This:

https://synthstrom.com/

Thank me later ;)
Skijumptoes
Posts: 681
Joined: 11:08, 21 June 2010

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by Skijumptoes »

Dunno if i'd fancy playing piano on that thing! ;)

Good for EDM though.
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Myrk-
Posts: 329
Joined: 19:45, 27 August 2016
Location: Bristol, UK

Re: Still a good buy?

Post by Myrk- »

Skijumptoes wrote:Dunno if i'd fancy playing piano on that thing! ;)
Just plug a controller via midi into it! :P
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