About the FBC-7 | Using the FBC-7
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FR-7/FR-5 V-Accordion
Your FR-7/FR-5 comes with an FBC-7 footswitch unit that doubles as power supply for your V-Accordion and also allows
you to recharge a battery. If you purchased an FR-5, you must connect it to the FBC-7 (or purchase an optional battery).
FR-7 users, on the other hand, can also play their instrument without connecting it to the FBC-7.
Using the FBC-7
• If you own an FR-5 and did not purchase an optional
battery, you always need the FBC-7.
• If you want to select registers and Sets using the SET
and REGISTER footswitches.
• If you want to use the SUSTAIN footswitch and possi-
bly also an optional expression pedal.
• If you want to take advantage of the FR-7/FR-5’s
MIDI functionality. This may include starting and
stopping an external arranger module, selecting oth-
ers Style divisions, etc.
• If you do not use an optional wireless system and do
not want to use excessively long audio cables that
run from the FR-7/FR-5 to your amplifier or mixing
console.
• If you need to recharge the (optional) battery.
Connecting the FBC-7
See page 15 for how to connect the FR-7/FR-5 to the
FBC-7 and the FBC-7 to a wall outlet that matches its
voltage.
Using the footswitches
The FBC-7 has five footswitches that grant you even
more flexibility:
Use the
SET
switches (
[1]
and
[2]
) to select Sets. The
[1]
switch allows you to select the preceding Set (e.g. Set
18 if you are currently using Set 19), while the
[2]
switch is used to select the next Set (e.g. 20 if you are
currently using Set 19).
If you press
[2]
again after selecting Set 40, the FR-7/
FR-5 jumps to Set 1. Likewise, if you press
[1]
after
selecting Set 1, the FR-7/FR-5 jumps to Set 40.
The
REGISTER
switches (
[3]
and
[4]
) allow you to select
Treble registers
[1]
~
[14]
. They work the same way as the
SET footswitches:
[3]
selects the preceding register,
while
[4]
selects the next one. These footswitches are
most effective when you combine them with the Link
function (see p. 42), because that allows you to recon-
figure the Bass/Free Bass and Orchestra sections simply
by selecting another Treble register.
The
SUSTAIN
footswitch allows you to hold the notes
of certain Orchestra sounds (piano, mandolin and gui-
tar). It also transmits CC64 messages on the Treble
Orchestra section’s MIDI channel. Its main use is to
generate legato notes for piano and similar sounds like
on an acoustic or digital piano. Notes whose keys are
pressed when you press the footswitch will be held
until you release the SUSTAIN footswitch.
Connecting an optional expression pedal
You can also connect an optional EV-5 or EV-8 expres-
sion pedal to the EXPRESSION PEDAL jack. That pedal
applies to the Treble Orchestra part only (again for the
piano, mandolin and guitar sounds; these, by the way,
are the only sounds whose expression cannot be con-
trolled via the bellows). It allows you to create swell
effects in much the same way as an organ or guitar
player does.
The reason why the Treble and Bass sections do not
respond to this pedal is that you can control their vol-
ume via the strength with which you press and pull the
bellows (like on any accordion).
The expression pedal can be used to fade the Orchestra
part in and out, which is probably most effective in
DUAL mode (see p. 24). When the expression pedal is all
the way up (heel down), the Orchestra part does not
sound. Press the expression pedal down (toe down) to
increase the Orchestra section’s volume.
Note:
The expression pedal can also transmit CC11 messages via
MIDI. See page 73.
5. About the FBC-7
When do you need the FBC-7?
Roland