Keyboards: FR-7 vs. FR-7x?

[Alan Sharkis]

Hello,

Can anybody here contribute to, or maybe even solve a controversy I've
run into?

When I was looking for a reedless about three years ago, I tried a
Roland FR-7 but couldn't make friends with the keyboard. (I wound up
with a SEM Ciao, but that's a whole different story.)

I recently met someone who has an FR-7 and understands where I was
coming from when I decided it didn't like the keyboard. He claims to
have a friend with an FR-7x and that he tried his friend's FR-7x and
insists that the keyboard has been improved.

I had to call my dealer for another question recently, and we got to
talking The dealer told me that the keyboards of the FR-7 and the
FR-7x are physically identical; that the improved response of the
FR-7x is due exclusively to an improved processor.

Now I'm wondering: who's right?

Alan

[Ventura]

hi Alan,

i have limited info, but here it is
1>
when the new model was first talked about
(i was still an insider then)
i asked and was specifically told the new 7x
keyboard could NOT be used as a replacement
or up-fit for the FR-7, that it had a separate
parts number and was not compatible.
2>
Cory P. firmly says it is now a faster action, and
he is the only person I know of who is fast enough
to tell the difference (no-one else i've met ever claimed
they could over-run one, as regards speed, while playing)
3>
if it's the depth of the throw that gave you the willies
it still will - for some people the depth and (for me) especially
the false-bottom due to the after-touch, while being something
you can get used to if you want to, feels un-natural and foreign
on an Accordion... especially if you've owned "Competition level"
accordions with wicked actions
4>
if it's the combination of the bellows stiffness plus feel of the
action that
together put you off, again it still will as the combined dynamic
is quite difficult for many to use comfortably
5>
i did a show on a 7x this Summer for a friend, got used
to it, programmed it, then played the hell out of it within
24 hours of getting my hands on it. It gave me no problems
i couldn't work around.

so IMHO it is usable, and it is what it is, and anyone
can get past it's limitations if they play it to it's strengths

also, IMHO it's the usual smoke and mirrors, as the whole
vague "we improved it" offers no quantifiable facts or
technical info, but the "sheep" can easily be gotten to repeat
such hype with little trouble, and generating a perception of the
problems being "fixed" are way more important than
actually fixing them

i still recommend the FR-3x for former MIDI accordionists,
i only recommend the 7x to leisure-time players with
a ton of money and little desire to use MIDI

ciao

Ventura

PS: happy Holidays to all