Roland FR-2 V-Accordion

Being gifted with a prodigious talent at playing one note on piano so repetitiously that I often lull myself to sleep (no joke), I've often thought that I would have been better served by the accordion. All that bellows-pumping would keep the blood flowing. Alas, my younger self thought accordion a dying instrument.

How shocked I would have been to stick my head through the slippery folds of time to gaze on the Roland FR-2 V-Accordion, with built-in drum loops, MIDI, and virtual bellows. (Well, the bellows are physical with "high-resolution pressure sensors," but you don't need to actually push air to make this squeezebox squawk. It's a synthesizer.) And of course the thing can be battery powered for hours of boardwalk busking. It does not appear to have a built-in speaker, though, which is baffling.

I will buy this as soon as I have three thousand dollars free of previous commitment or I become an accordion virtuoso, whichever comes first.

Product Page [RolandUS.com via Crave.CNET.com]

Previously • Suzuki Omnicord (1981) [Gadgets.BoingBoing.net]

[#1 posted by failrate, February 12, 2008 9:28 AM]

It seems like it would be a simple matter to install a speaker oneself.

[#2 posted by Beastmouth, February 12, 2008 11:44 AM]

Generally, only lower end electric/electronic instruments have a built-in speaker. I would be quite surprised that something costing 3 grand wouldn't simply plug into an amplifier. Shoot, this one has a headphone jack, a treble output, a bass output, and a MIDID i/o connection.

[#3 posted by Mike, February 12, 2008 2:02 PM]

I tried an earlier version out - there was a stall punting them heavily at last years UK national accordion festival; the one I played with had an internal speaker.

Personally I didn't think it any substitute for real reeds, but I scored a great (i.e. proper) accordion from a bloke that was trading up to a Roland box.

[#4 posted by Wingo , February 12, 2008 2:08 PM]

I agree with beastmouth. Built-in speaker is usually a sign of cheesiness - no one looking to spend that much on a midi controller would want that.

But... (and I believe this was posted before on BB proper) the coolest thing ever is that there are add-ons that this extremely bizarre German dude has to offer. The video is awesomely ridiculous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8xZ4tmUkDY

[#5 posted by Wingo , February 12, 2008 2:16 PM]

edit: whoops - I guess the midi control part is one of the 'extensions'- not standard.

[#6 posted by jphilby, February 12, 2008 4:54 PM]

"you don't need to actually push air to make this squeezebox squawk"

One of the reasons you may have thought it was dying is that this very expressive instrument is often played by people who never learned what bellows are for ... playing on the cheapest set of reeds they could buy.

[#7 posted by Marshall, February 12, 2008 8:39 PM]

Must own digital accordion... Mmm... Electro-Polka.

[#8 posted by Kit10inDublin, February 13, 2008 3:26 AM]

What's the difference between an onion and an accordion? No one cries when you slice up an accordion.

[#9 posted by michaelportent, February 13, 2008 1:41 PM]

I demand that Roland give one of these to Jenny Conley from the Decemberists. I think she could actually make good sounds come out of it.

[#10 posted by Anonymous, April 15, 2009 5:37 AM]

I'm having to play one of these for a roland competition and it feels awful compared to the acoustic accordion. No comparison, don't waste your money!