I love the FA-07!

Forum for Roland FA-06/08
cgreene
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Joined: 10:35, 18 May 2003
Location: Detroit MI
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I love the FA-07!

Post by cgreene »

Just got it the other day, and played a gig on it last night. It has better key action than my FA-06, and having 76 keys allows me to stretch out more. Of course, all the great sounds are there, and with the light weight, I've finally found the "happy medium".
cgreene
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Joined: 10:35, 18 May 2003
Location: Detroit MI
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Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by cgreene »

stevel
Posts: 520
Joined: 07:08, 17 May 2015

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by stevel »

Congratulations - I really wish I could upgrade because of the key action.

Do the SN-A Pianos react any better with the action on the 07?

It's so easy to trigger the highest velocity possible on the 06 - I mean you barely brush the key and it's topped out - so you get that "clang" of the piano struck about as hard as you can.
scramble
Posts: 88
Joined: 20:21, 16 November 2007

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by scramble »

Steve, have you played around with the Keyboard Velocty Curve, and the Keyboard Velocity Curve Offset? I've done this on the 08, and it's really made a difference.
cgreene
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Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by cgreene »

The key action is even, quiet and provides more resistance, which makes for a better 'pianistic' performance than on the 06. And, as Scramble said, the velocity curves can be adjusted to suit you.
Radon_22
Posts: 184
Joined: 05:03, 20 June 2005
Location: Louisville, KY

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by Radon_22 »

stevel wrote:Do the SN-A Pianos react any better with the action on the 07?
While I don't know that I'd buy a FA-7 to replace a FA-6, the action is probably the best non-fully-weighted for piano I've used in this price range, and a step up from the 6. Mileage will vary based on your playing style, of course.
stevel
Posts: 520
Joined: 07:08, 17 May 2015

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by stevel »

scramble wrote:Steve, have you played around with the Keyboard Velocty Curve, and the Keyboard Velocity Curve Offset? I've done this on the 08, and it's really made a difference.
Oh boy have I!

I finally "discovered" (and this may have actually be new in the 2.0 update) that there's a velocity curve for each part - 4 types and off in addition to the global action.

Here's the thing - even if I set it to heaviest and 10, and then go in and pick the curve that makes you have to whack it to get louder notes, it STILL always gets up to 128 pretty easily.

I've put it in a MIDI Monitor to check. I have the Roland A-800 Pro and it has a multitude of curves and here's the difference - I can set that on a medium high one and I simply can not hit the keys hard enough to trigger a velocity above about 110.

But I can still barely hit the FA's keys and get it up to 128 (or 127 I suppose).

I've recorded passages with both and on the whole, the FA registers about 10 units higher than the A-800.

There are also velocity offsets and limits you can set per part, but there is still no way to bring the top end down - you can bring the bottom end up, and you can make it not play if you hit it too soft or too hard, but there's no way to "limit" the top end so it doesn't get above 110 - which is where the "clang" happens in the SN-A piano sounds.

I mean seriously, I really don't have to hit it all that hard to get the top velocity and clang out of it. I suppose that's good if you want that, but I don't.

The A-800 gives me much better control over Piano and other "dynamic" sounds. So I think if I ever gig with it again I'm going to use the A-800 even though I don't really need to - so the Pianos will sound good - set the FA to a synth action for everything else (which it seems to do well with) and use the A-800 for anything where more "finesse" is needed (and aftertouch).

I have them both set up with my recording/sequencing rig so if I want to do piano, I use the A-800 for that right now.
cgreene
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Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by cgreene »

I forgot to mention the overlays that came with the 07. They cover the glossy panel sections with a black matte surface that's less reflective.
Skijumptoes
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Joined: 11:08, 21 June 2010

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by Skijumptoes »

Cheeky i know - But any chance of an image of that overlay when it's on? :)
cgreene
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Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by cgreene »

There's a FA-07 photo with overlays from a German website on this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=53730
Skijumptoes
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Joined: 11:08, 21 June 2010

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by Skijumptoes »

That's just a computer generated image though isn't it? Doesn't look like the JD-XA overlay, which i'm guessing the actual -07 overlay is like?
craigousb
Posts: 4
Joined: 13:48, 11 November 2015

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by craigousb »

I've been looking to get one of these, I owned a FA06 in the past, a few things weren't quite working for me at the time but v2 seems to have nailed them. From memory though I never got on with the 06 keys, they were pretty short as I recall. When you say the 07 has a different action is it just in terms of resistance or are they actually a different depth?

Thanks
TerryW
Posts: 2
Joined: 15:22, 9 August 2017

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by TerryW »

cgreene wrote:This gig bag fits it perfectly: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GKB76Slim
I'm planning to get an FA-07 very soon.

I see that you got the "Slim" model, and that there is a (non-slim?) GKB-76 bag that is a little roomier for $10 more. (1/2" more internal length, 5 1/2" more int. width, and 1 1/4" more int. height).

Did you deliberately go with the slimmer bag for a tighter fit? Is a tighter fit better in general? I'm thinking the straps in the roomier bag would hold it tight, and also have room to store some extra stuff inside, like the power cord and whatever, and the external pocket looks to be a little bigger (with a cool big Gator logo on it, haha) allowing more storage . . .or would it not be good to have other stuff inside possibly banging around the KBD?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/search ... &Go=Search
Radon_22
Posts: 184
Joined: 05:03, 20 June 2005
Location: Louisville, KY

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by Radon_22 »

TerryW wrote:
Did you deliberately go with the slimmer bag for a tighter fit? Is a tighter fit better in general? I'm thinking the straps in the roomier bag would hold it tight, and also have room to store some extra stuff inside, like the power cord and whatever, and the external pocket looks to be a little bigger (with a cool big Gator logo on it, haha) allowing more storage . . .or would it not be good to have other stuff inside possibly banging around the KBD?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/search ... &Go=Search
Always put your stuff in an outside pocket or separate duffel. :) That being said, I used to use roomier cases, relying on the straps to hold the keyboards in place. Problem is, this can be detrimental to your knobs and keys, which end up taking the brunt of everything.
Bonaventure
Posts: 4
Joined: 13:33, 30 August 2017

Re: I love the FA-07!

Post by Bonaventure »

Hi there, im really keen to hear what people's think of the fao7 key action. I'm in England and they haven't arrived he're yet! I play piano on lots of songs in our set; the keyboard really appeals to me. I have a Yamaha Mox8 and the size and weight of the fao7 would be a welcome change.
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