Roland FA series (FA-06, FA-08) Music Workstation Keyboards

Roland FA series include the FA-06, FA-08 keyboards that pack a ton of power into an easy to operate, lightweight instrument. Lot of musicians see value in an all-in-one synth/production workstation, and such keyboards have been around for quite some time now. Roland has produced several synth/production workstations that could be used for composition, recording and performance (in almost any genre). The Fantom series was a huge hit, and now the FA series continues to make its presence felt in professional studios and live rigs. See PRICE on zZounds.

Highlights

• Great selection of sounds and effects
• Excellent user interface
• You can use it for playing live on stage or for composing in the studio.

Roland FA Series: Pros & Cons

• PROS: Excellent sounds (and ability to add more). Informative, easy-to-read display.
• CONS: No touchscreen display. Sampler pads aren’t velocity sensitive. No aftertouch for keys.

Roland FA Series: Review

Since the idea of the all-in-one synth/production workstation came into its own decades ago,

Roland has been cranking out all sorts of formidable, great sounding workstation keyboards for composition, recording and performance (that can be used for almost every genre).

Their new FA series is a departure from older Fantom designs (extremely successful), yet the “FA” part of the name tells you that it retains several great features of the Fantom. And that technological and sonic goodness can be found in Roland’s latest FA series workstation too.

Quick access to all the features
The keyboard provides quick access to all the important features and functions so that you spend less time looking for things and more tie on the more important things – such as playing / creating.

• The keyboard powers up quickly and is ready to go in seconds.
• A large color LCD makes it easy to access various sounds and functions
• The panel is laid out nicely, with every section clearly accessible.

Dedicated buttons give you direct control over all essential functions, including selecting tempos on the fly. The Sound Modify section features six knobs and an assignment matrix that lets you tweak several sound parameters in real time while performing. Roland’s famous D-Beam is also accessible on the panel.

Easy to capture your songs & ideas
The keyboard allows you to quickly capture your music ideas, assuming you’re not close to the computer or your computer is not on and you’re feeling too lazy to access your computer/software based DAW.

• It features a 16-track sequencer that lets you quickly build up songs.
• You can save the songs to an SDHC card as a stereo audio file, you can even export tracks as individual WAV audio files or MIDI data.

Top notch sounds and multi-effects
The keyboard gives you access to over 2000 tones derived from the INTEGRA-7 (Roland’s flagship pro sound module). The FA series is also compatible with free INTEGRA-7 synth tones (that you can download at Roland’s Axial sound library site). You can even expand the internal sound set further, with optional wave expansion collections.

• Independent MFX engines—each with 67 effects types—are available for all 16 parts of a Studio Set, great for live playing and song mixing.
• Six separate COMP+EQ processors are dedicated for individual drum sounds, so that you can create top-quality percussion tracks without slowing down the other parts.
• The workstation’s output can be enhanced with global EQ, chorus, and reverb, as well as dramatic TFX (total effects) such as DJ FX Looper, Isolator, and many others.

Sampler Based on the SP-404SX
The keyboard comes with a performance sampler based on Roland’s popular SP-404SX.

It allows you to sample internal sounds and/or external sources (via Mic/Guitar and Line inputs). The samples can also be loaded (WAV, AIFF, or MP3 files) via SDHC cards, with almost no wait time which is a great plus point when performing live.

You can assign the samples to the 16 pads for triggering and looping on the fly.

Easy to connect to your Computer DAW
The keyboard has a dedicated DAW Control button that allows you to instantly set up the FA-06/FA-08 to communicate with your computer DAW. Once setup, you can use the keyboard’s knobs and buttons to send MIDI data to your DAW for playing software synths, operating transport controls, and more.

The FA series allows high-quality sound capture and playback via the workstation’s rear-panel audio jacks (behaves like a USB audio interface).

Roland FA Series: Demo / Video Review

Roland FA Series: Specs

Features of Roland FA Keyboards:

• 88-Note weighted Ivory Feel-G Keyboard (FA-08)
• User interface is laid out in an easy to understand manner.
• Compatible with Roland Axial library.
• Included 4GB SD card.
• INTEGRA-7 sound module packs over 2,000 sounds
• SuperNATURAL synth engine
• 16-Track sequencer
• Onboard sampler with 16 pads x 4 banks and direct recording/playback via SDHC cards
• Studio-quality effects
• USB MIDI for DAW integration
• D-Beam, Rhythm Pattern, Arpeggiator, and Chord Memory functions for creative playing
• Guitar/Mic and Line input jacks for performing, sampling, and DAW audio recording
• Dedicated input reverb provides ambience for performing/recording
• USB ports for sound expansion data, updates, and audio/MIDI interfacing with a computer
• MIDI communication with the iPad is possible when using Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit

Roland FA Series: Buying Links & Pricing

The FA series keyboards have a new ergonomic interface, looks attractive, and is portable. You can integrate it in your DAW with the touch of a button. The FA is clearly one of Roland’s finest workstations to date.

Buying Links

• Roland FA-06 on zZounds | Roland FA-06 on Musiciansfriend | [easyazon_link identifier=”B00HV8FJ8W” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Roland FA-06 on Amazon[/easyazon_link]
• Roland FA-08 on zZounds | Roland FA-08 on Musiciansfriend

With 2000 INTEGRA-7 sounds, powerful effects, the FA series keyboard (FA-06 & FA-08) is a go-everywhere, do-everything workstation.

KeytarHQ Editorial Team

KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.