Roland has been building high-quality keyboard workstations for a long time, and even though DAWs have pushed workstations further into the realm of a niche product, there are still people who need a physical workstation as part of their workflow.
Roland offers a number of different options in this regard, and today we’ll be looking at the Roland FA 08 which is an 88-key music workstation that sits one tier below Roland’s top FANTOM series and serves as a versatile instrument capable of intuitive real-time control and DAW integration with a built-in USB audio interface.
It’s also equipped with a weighted action keyboard for musicians who also need an authentic acoustic piano experience as opposed to a traditional synth keyboard.
We’re going to dive under the hood here and see what this thing is all about. Let’s get started.
Roland FA 08 Music Workstation – Background & Overview
Roland’s FA series consists of 3 models; the FA-06, FA-07 and the new FA-08. All three models have the same internal functionality, but the difference comes down to the number and style of keys; The FA-06 features a traditional synthesizer 61-key velocity-sensitive unweighted action, the FA-07 features a 76-key velocity-sensitive semi-weighted action while the FA-08 features an 88-key fully weighted and velocity-sensitive action.
Now, some people are sure to be asking why anyone would need a physical workstation given all of the great software options available today, and even further, what’s the point of a workstation with an 88-key weighted action?
The answer is that there are a lot of musicians and producers out there who find the tactile, intimate experience of working with a workstation more creatively stimulating than a DAW. A workstation also offers a different experience from a high-end synth, such as the Juno DS-88 from Roland. Korg and Yamaha are also well known for their workstation keyboards as well.
And the action is important for gigging musicians who will be performing some piano-centric music while also driving sequences and in need of multi-sound setups. Many musicians prefer to do this with a single machine rather than manipulating a computer and jumping over to a separate digital piano for piano parts.
Given that the action is what sets the FA-08 apart from its brethren, we’ll start our discussion there.
Keyboard Action
Ivory Feel-G Keyboard
Roland’s Ivory Feel-G Keyboard was introduced a number of years ago and has largely been replaced by both the PHA4 and PHA50 throughout most of Roland’s lineup. That said, this is still a relevant action with a very solid keybed.
In fact, the Ivory Feel-G actually feels closer to the PHA-50 action than it does to the PHA-4, with the PHA50 being the more advanced action of the two. It features escapement, as well as textured keytops, so from an on-paper standpoint, it’s certainly an impressive-looking action for the price.
The weighting is fairly down the middle – no one would call it light, but it’s nowhere close to as heavy as the Yamaha P515’s Natural Wood X action for example. The texture on the white keys is quite subtle, and there’s a matte finish on the black key.
In terms of the actual playing experience, it’s quite reminiscent of Kawai’s RH3 action that you’ll find on a number of their models, as well as a special version of the Nord Grand which features the RH3 as opposed to Nord’s standard, more basic action.
Like most of the other modern Roland actions, the edges of the white keys are a little bit sharper and not quite as rounded as what you find on on other digital pianos.
So, all in all, this is a solid and very serviceable action, and will likely be just fine for anyone who needs a workstation with a weighted action. Is it the ideal action for a classical pianist? No, but a classical pianist looking for a digital piano is very unlikely to be looking at a workstation anyway.
Keyboard Sound
5 Distinct Sound Engines
The FA-08 is loaded up with no less than 5 distinct sound engines, inheriting much of the sound architecture from Roland’s flagship INTEGRA-7 sound module. The sound engines available here are the SuperNATURAL Acoustic, SuperNATURAL Synth, SuperNATURAL drum kit, PCM Synth and PCM Drum Kit.
When selecting a patch. the LCD display lets you know which sound engine is producing it, and you can sort and organize your patches according to whether or not you want to be accessing the SuperNATURAL engines or the PCM engines.
PCM stands for Pulse Code Modulation, which essentially is just a form of synthesis technology. This was quite advanced technology in years past but is becoming a little bit archaic by today’s standards, especially compared to the SuperNATURAL engines, which in this case, feature a combination of sampling and modeling for the piano sounds.
Over 2,000 Sounds
When it comes to the sheer number of patches that are available here, it’s pretty enormous with more than 2,000 different sounds. Everything is very logically organized according to category, and there really are a ton of great electric pianos, organs, synths, pads, strings etc. available here.
In terms of the overall sound quality however, some of these patches are sounding a little bit dated, but that’s not terribly surprising given that the FA-08 has been on the market for several years now.
That said, the vast majority of the patches here still sound just as good as the very best instruments that are available today.
Sound Expansion Slots
Now, if you’d like to access even more sounds, you can do so by downloading additional patches via Roland’s Axial Sound Library site and uploading them to the sound expansion slots.
This is a very nice feature given that Roland frequently updates their sound library, so you can tweak your FA-08 continually to suit your musical needs.
Layers
Like most workstations, you’re able to layer far more sounds at once than even on most advanced stage pianos, which typically max out at 8 on the high end. On the FA-08, you can layer up to 16 sounds at one time. From there, you can split the keyboard up into different velocity layers and key ranges while also being given full editing control between send and receive MIDI channels.
You’re essentially working with full-fledged DAW software built right into the FA-08. For people who are building complex live sets, this is a huge benefit, especially once you’re fluent in how to create the studio sets.
The only potential drawback here is the FA-08’s 128 notes of polyphony, meaning that if you were to start firing 16 layers at once, polyphony will get tasked fairly quickly, though this is likely to be a fairly rare occurrence.
Effects & Controls
The FA-08 has a lot going on in the way of effects, applicable to both the sounds and sequencer tracks with independent multi-effects available for all 16 layers or tracks, as well as an array of total effects.
There are also effects processors for the drum kits, a vocoder, choruses, reverbs, a Master compressor and a Master EQ. Controlling all of this live is quite easy with Six assignable knobs and the Sound Modify joystick.
Speakers?
One important thing to note about the FA-08; it does not feature any built-in speakers, as is the case with most stage pianos and workstations. The expectation with a stage piano or workstation is that you’ll be running it through a PA system or amplifier when performing anyway, and of course, you can use the FA-08 with headphones when you’re at home.
So in that sense, this isn’t really a sacrifice since it is the norm, but it’s something to be aware of nonetheless.
Sampler & Sequencer
A huge part of a workstation actually is what happens behind the scenes, and that’s the ability to import new sounds through a sampler and sequencer. We should mention that the rhythm generator and arpeggiator are also wrapped in this general set of functions.
Everything is laid out in a way that all of the live controls and the sound selection controls occupy one area of the instrument, while the 16-track sequencer and sampler-type features are on the other side. All of this is the say that the interface is laid out in a way that makes it easy to understand what part of the instrument you are using at any given time.
The work environment makes it easy to build a highly customized live patch set due to the level of control offered, and this also is great for stimulating creativity. The sampler and sample pads are based on Roland’s SP-404SX, and you’re able to record and playback directly using an SDHC card (WAV, AIFF and MIDI.)
The possibilities here get pretty deep, so we would definitely recommend hopping over to the video review as Stu Harrison demos some of the various applications and controls, such as the D-BEAM controller, loop recording and more.
Connectivity – USB, MIDI & Line Out
In terms of connector ports, the FA-08 is of course equipped with USB in and out, which is pretty much standard these days. There’s also an SD Card for sending the sample data in and out.
Next, we’ve got standard 5-pin MIDI, and three-pedal jacks allowing for a triple pedal, various control pedals, volume pedals, damper pedals, etc.
There’s of course a headphone jack, a main 1/4” line out, a sub-line out, stereo mini line input, a mic input that also doubles as a guitar input (imagine the possibilities), and of course, a DC In for the power supply.
Closing Thoughts
All in all the Roland FA 08 is a very interesting machine with a couple of major selling features right off the hop compared to similar models on the market. For one, it’s lighter than most 88-note workstations at just over 36 lbs, while most other 88-key workstations come in over 70 lbs.
Secondly, the action is definitely one of the best available in a workstation at this price point, bar none, given that the touch is often an afterthought on workstations.
In terms of functionality, there’s a nice amount of DAW control built in, and both the sampler and sequencer are quite straightforward and easy to use. The massive sound bank which can still be extended further sure doesn’t hurt either.
Thanks for reading!
