🎹Roland FA-08 Music Workstation Review & Demo🎹

#Roland #FA08 #DigitalPiano

Hi everyone, and welcome to another digital piano review here at Merriam Pianos. We’ll be dovetailing our Roland FA-08 unboxing video with an in-depth review of the instrument here.

The FA-08 is an 88 note workstation/synthesizer. While it’s positioned below Roland’s top of the line Fantom instruments, the FA-08 is still built for professional use. We’re going to do a deep dive here and I’ll pass along all of my impressions.

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Piano Action:

The FA-08 uses Roland’s Ivory Feel G Keyboard, which was originally introduced with Roland’s Fantom G series in the late 2000’s. This action is essentially a precursor to the PHA4 action you’ll find in many current Roland models, though it actually feels quite similar to Roland’s higher end PHA50 action. The Ivory Feel G action features escapement, and it’s medium weighting should be able to accommodate many different types of playing styles. This instrument isn’t really intended for a classical player, but this action would be serviceable for those purposes.

There’s a subtle texture on the white keys, and a matte finish on the black keys that actually reminds me of Kawai’s RHIII action featured in their CN series, and the Nord grand that uses the RHIII action. Like the other Roland action, the edge is a little sharper than the more rounded edges you’ll find in a Kawai. Overall, this is a really solid action.

Piano Sound:

A really cool thing with the FA-08 is that there are several different pre-loaded sound engines to choose from. We’ve got SuperNATURAL Acoustic, SuperNATURAL Synth, SuperNATURAL Drum Kit, PCM Synth and PCM Drum Kit, which when added together amounts to a whopping 2000 sounds. As you can hear as I play through various patches the overall sound quality is very good, even if some of the patches sound a bit dated.

Another cool thing here is that you can layer up to 16 sounds at once, and the customization is almost endless with the ability to split the keyboard up into different velocity layers and different key ranges. It’s essentially like having access to DAW software loaded right into the machine. For people who are putting together intricate live sets, the amount of customization available here is a huge plus. The sequencer works off of the exact same 16 track assignable architecture.

Piano Features:

Beyond the tone and the action, a huge part of a workstation is everything that goes on behind the scenes. The sampler, sequencer, arpeggiator and rhythm generator are the bread and butter of what you can do with a workstation. Everything’s laid out very logically from a user standpoint; all of the live controls such as sound selection are located on the left hand side and middle of the instrument, while everything related to the sequencer can be found on the right hand side.

The sampler offers up 16 pads and 4 banks for every song, and is very straightforward to use. You can assign various patches to the sampler for quick navigation among the various sounds in real time. It’s also really easy to create a drum track through the rhythm pattern editor. You can select up to 4 rhythm patterns, an intro and an ending. The built in arpeggiator is also super intuitive and easy to use, with lots of variations available.

In terms of connectivity you’ve got USB in and USB out, a port for an SD card, standard MIDI and a port for a triple pedal. You can also record straight in from a microphone or guitar which makes it a really handy recording device. There’s also a stereo line in for the same purposes, and a main ¼” stereo out, as well as a headphone port.

Conclusions:

All in all, this is a great 88 note workstation. It’s lighter than many other 88 note options, so it’s a huge plus for anyone who requires portability. The action is one of the better ones available in a workstation, and overall quite satisfying. Despite being a few years old, this instrument still holds up really well overall. One final thing I’ll mention is cost; for what you get, this instrument is priced very competitively.

Connect with Merriam Music:

[ivo]

I own an FA-08 for about 2 years now, nice to hear it is still relevant and can still compete with the modern expensive stuff that's come out lately. This confirms for me that I made a good choice back then

[cresshead]

I bought a roland FA-06 a few years ago, it's a fantastic keyboard, great specs and sound plus with the axial site you have access to thousands of new sounds for it. In 2020 it's a valid option for those looking for a feature packed quality keyboard.

[chrisjrlachica]

Even the Fantom couldn't cast a shadow on the FA series mainly because this is such a steal, given at the price it's available today. I've been waiting for this review. Thanks Stu!

[lassel]

I "only" have the Fa 06 and it is the best sequenser songwriting tool i ever had. The sound you can tweak or double them up to get the expererience you like. Together with my Kross 2 i have an awesome gear rig.

[odmusicman]

I have the FA06 and it's been a stunning piece of gear for sound creation, inspiration. All these new synths now (2023) with a measly 1-2-4-8 voices and no multitimbral capabilities layering makes me so happy with my choice. As for all the "analog" snobs out there, I have created leads for ELP, Yes, UK and all the prog bands and played out with them and everyone noted how authentic they were. This beast can do it all

[i_n_c_r_y_p_t_o]

I just ordered one of these last night. Thanks for the great demo and nice playing. You’re overflowing with musical ideas.

[tuneunleashed]

They still make the FA?! Wow....6 years and is still going strong.

[CorruptPianist]

3:39 This describes the EXACT thought process I had when I started looking for something like this. I didn't realize other people felt the same!

[tomblaze]

19:40 - That Part Select is one of the Best Features on this workstation - I have never seem it demo'd before - super helpful

[guitarno]

Great review from Merriam! Excellent playing and explanation of the core features as with all of your reviews! Just bought a used FA-08 and really looking forward to it!

[piggy]

I discovered your channel last night. Amazing work and reviews. Keep it up.

[stevied]

Totally agree about the creativity aspect being part of the machine..I'm also happier with an old analog or digital multi-track than a computer..The FA is a real powerhouse and and with drums bass lines, guitar & keyboard riffs within the arpeggiator and a superb sampler & sequencer, theres not much that this wont do ! If u are not a lover of touch screens the saving over a fantom 08 is terrific!

[Zoco]

Thanks for another interesting review, even if it was three years ago. My supplier lists the action as PHA-4. Many stage pianos and synths and workstations don't feature a graded action even when they do feature a weighted hammer action. Nord even had the grading removed from the RH3 action supplied by Kawai, on some models. So, can anyone comment on whether the 08 has a graded action?

Anyway, this instrument is very tempting (wish I had had one a few years ago when I started doing a lot of sequencing) but now that I'm much more focussed on early jazz piano styles, I don't need the distraction. I'm impressed that so many features are offered on a medium weight, modestly priced instrument. Looks like it's still a great deal. Great going Roland!

[brunomaiamusic]

4:50 there is really that discussion about workstations being old school. Maybe I am old school. My workstation experience dates back to my old Korg M-1 in 1991.

Back in the day I did not have Cubase (which was 100% MIDI only) because Machintosh pc's were just off reach so being able to make music using a keyboard with a sequencer was so powerful and handy. Avid had just come up with no linear Pro Tools.

But now it is affordable for me to use Steinberg's Halion SE 3 which is shipped with all those nice Yamaha piano samples with 2ms latency in and 2ms out. Maybe Soundscape would even be a choice for the Roland boards that are shipped with a sound interface, just to have a lot more sounds.

So it is arguable that having sequencer onboard is maybe a bit nostalgic. Despite the awesome display in this Fantom - 08, for my old and tired eyes a large PC screen is so much more comfortable.

The same with other MIDI instruments. I own a Roland v-Drums, for example . Recording from that box is only useful to research some groove ideas or study because my Cubase DAW is so at hand and so full of features to manipulate the MIDI roll.
My point being that recording or sequencing ideas in the instrument feels a bit old school these days.

Maybe f it were not for the latency of audio interfaces, the concept of keyboard workstations would likely feel a bit redundant, imho.

[michaeljohndadd]

I have this worstation for months and it is imcredible and fantastic.

[derekalder]

I have always wanted to learn to play, at present all I can do is hear a tune and play along with one hand. I now have a small Roland and I am going to learn to play property then I want a really good dream keyboard for my home, so I will be following your reviews so I can make the right future choice.

[michaeltrenier]

Just when I was settled on the Nautilus and the MoDX. Fathom X6 was my first workstation. Tough choice ahead.

[MrJondinham]

I haven't performed for a long time so that's not important to me. The songwriting part for me is massive with this. As well as the impressive sounds. Going to order the FA 07 version now

[MusicWizard]

Roland needs to work on having more simple to use/beginner friendly/intuitive keyboards. I love my FA07 but it stresses me out sometimes trying to figure out how everything works. There's some tutorials on YT but they don't cover everything or go as in depth/step by step as I would like.

Overall I'm happy with my FA07. I don't need the big flagship boards that cost double or triple what an FA07 goes for. I hope Roland makes an updated version of these or a new series with more realistic keys and more user friendly.

[JoshuaG]

A while ago I got a keyboard. A really nice one. But I wanted one that was just a keyboard. No extra sounds. It may have like four tones to it. haha But in 2019 I saw this one and made a file on it. I just started thinking about synths again and looked at the file to find this. Since watching a movie on a guy names Moog, I like the idea of having something that would allow me to create so many different sounds. So I will totally be buying this soon. Cool review.