Have the chance to buy a Roland A30 for around a hundred dollars. Used to play a Juno 106 back in the 80s. Never found a string sound to match it. And they still go for almost 2000 if you can find one. Stumbled on your video. Great information. I'll look for your other videos. Thanks
I bought a jobjot of old recording equipment for parts a few weeks ago for under £50. I didn't even know that a keyboard was included until I got there, and the guy picks up the A-33 and hands it to me. He said it didnt power up but he must have only tried batteries. Not only did I, luckily, have the right adapter at home but my only sound modules are Roland SC-33 and it's clone, the Boss DS-330! They were literally made for each other. Unbelievable coincidence in 2023. Amazing really
I have had a DS330 for a few years and have just got my hands on an A33 but I can't get the A33 to change/select voices on the DS330. If I change the DS330 voices manually from its own buttons, the A33 plays them just fine buy I'd like to know how to control the DS330 from the 33
Keyboards from the 80s and 90s are high quality. I have a nearly 40 year old Roland synthesizer, a JX-8P. I asked my local repair guy if it needed to be recapped, he said no, if it is working there's no need!
I have a couple of A-33 's with a modified case to use a a lower keyboard for a Hammond RIgs Your video was very informative and I kept wondering myself why no 73 or 76 note midi controllers. The Dual midi output is a great feature, I use one channel for the lower keyboard on the hammond or split it and have pedals and lower. The other channel goes to an Kurzweil for pianos,strings and etc. Been very happy with the A-33.
Once you buy a Roland keyboard, you know its going to last. The Quality Control is just unmatched. Heard way too many issues with those Fatar keybeds esp on the Studio Logic SL88. Native Instruments Komplete, Keylab.. They share the same keybed. I still own a 15 year old Roland/Edirol PCR-800 and a 10 year old Roland A-88 that are both in mint condition.
I still own and use my 17 year old Roland/Edirol PCR-800 midi controller and my 12 year old Roland A-88 that are in mint condition. My buddy still owns and used his old A-90 also in excellent condition. Roland is not known for quality issues. I own a lot of Roland gear including Fantoms and Integra-7..
I only know of one 73-key controller currently available: Studiologic SL73. It has hammer-action and weighs 25 pounds (the action gets mixed reviews at best). I like using a combination of a 61-key controller and a 37-key controller (the CME X-Key). Key action preferences are subjective, but I like the action on the M-Audio Keystation MK3 and the Arturia KeyLab MkII. The Arturia KeyLab has a lighter action than the M-Audio Keystation, but both work well for me. The Arturia is much higher-quality than the M-Audio (metal case, lots of faders and encoders, etc.) but more expensive too. The CME X-key has full-size keys with a unique "chiclet" action that is useless for pianos but works great for synth, brass, and organs (and it weighs less than 2 lbs). I find the combination of 61 + 37 is easier to work with because there are fewer splits to remember. I can fit both keyboards on a single-tier keyboard stand.
You mentioned the Hammond B3 having the lower bottom octave preset keys reducing the number of playing keys. That's not the case. Both manuals have 61 playable keys and an octave of preset keys in addition on the left. In addition to my MIDIfied Hammond, I have a A-49, an A-500 and an A-88 in addition to several A-33s and they are all great for various purposes :-)
I've got a Roland A-30 controller. Looks very similar to the A-33. I LOVE this keyboard. I also use Mainstage. The keyboard action is fast. Feels like a Hammond organ keyboard or a minimoog keyboard. Fast and quick to respond. Playing something like Boston's Longtime intro is not possible, for me, on a lot of other controllers. Mainstage makes it easy to set things up, also. Once you get the controller's program or patch buttons set to the correct value, Mainstage can handle the rest. For more versatility, add an Akai midimix. Then the world of control opens up to a ton more possibilities. You can put faders and organ drawbars at your fingertips.
@Maggooster, I have the same keyboard but I can't get it to work well with the mainstage, could you tell me what interface you use, in my case I use the Roland um one midi interface, but I can't configure the keys correctly, could you help me how you have it configured? ?
I really hope 76 key need come onto manufacturer’ radar. I use lots of Kontakt libraries with key switches. 61 keys aren’t enough & 88 keys has too big of a footprint
Thanks for the great video. I picked on up in perfect condition in 2021 for $100. I use it in my home studio all of the time and love the way it works. I use very little of it's capability since I only play in the studio these days. Still wish I had my old Oberheim X/K. Thanks again.
thanks for this video and the information you have given ...looking in my local [England adverts] one for sale for peanuts and your explanations mean I can go for it...I'm principally a guitarist who can play chords on the a keyboard to make backings for my songs and I use a roland sound module ...thanks again for this video I doubt I will go as deep as you in using the midi settings ..
Forgive me but did you discuss the weight of the keys? Can you play it without a DAW? Thanks Jeff. I bought an MAudio Hammer 88 but I need something standalone that I can just play without a DAW. Preferably semi- weighted. I love the Hammond feel or the Nord feel but those boards are both very expensive.
@@JeffyG Totally understandable. I just wasn't clear if it was a semi weighted piano style board or a "Light plastic" board without weight. Thanks for the answer. I'll look up the model.
@informedchoice2249: The keyboard experience of the Roland A-33 is similar to that of a Hammond keyboard. If you remove the "lip" from each key, you get a waterfall keyboard. The disadvantage of the Roland A-33 keyboard is that it doesn't have the "high trigger" function by default, which is very useful for a Hammond sound source. The Roland A-33 doesn't have its own sound, so you can play it without a computer by connecting its MIDI Out to the 5-pin MIDI In of a sound module.
@@kiskadar69 Brilliant thanks for the fantastic info. I've checked a website for waterfall keyboard and learned a thing or two about the three main types of keys. Also good to know that the Roland A-33 is only effectively a midi keyboard. Thanks.
Thank you for the great overview of using the A-33. I'm still in search of the 'ultimate' 76-note controller to replace my current upper keyboard which is a Roland FA-07. I'm not even using the sounds on it, just as a controller. I do not love the action and the lack of aftertouch is annoying. I've been considering hunting down either a A-33 or a A-50. My main holdup has been not wanting to add a usb/midi interface for my macbook. Which one are you using, and how is it working out for you?
73-key MIDI keyboard with aftertouch: Studiologic SL73 Studio (there is also a USB port). Controller expansion: Studiologic SL Mixface. 76-key MIDI keyboards with aftertouch: Elka MK76 (poly aftertouch, no USB port) Physis Piano K5 (channel aftertouch, there are also USB ports) Roland A-37 (channel aftertouch, no USB port) Roland A-50 (poly aftertouch, no USB port) Roland A-70 (channel aftertouch, no USB port) Yamaha KX76 (channel aftertouch, no USB port)
Thanks for clarifying what the A33 is. I've seen that model since the 90s but never needed a controller. Now I'm looking at one for sale precisely for live work. How about the weight? Do you find it too much heavier since you had the Axiom61?
I find it's a reasonable weight for the size. Yes - most 61's are a little lighter - but this is far lighter than most 88's. Also, the high-end 88's are often weighted hammer-action which I didn't want. Some piano players are after the closest thing to real piano keyboard action, but I use this to play organ, synth, strings and brass, and hammer-action would just hurt my fingers.
Hello Jeff, I have been offered this for just £50.00 which I think is great value ...Can I ask how can I set this up with or without using a pc ( not an appl pc ) ? I normally play a tyros 3 and a casio ctx 5000.. I would like to have a 76 key bed for occasional use.. Can you offer me any suggestions ??
@@manjsingh5073 you don’t need a PC. The default config should work. Buy a 5 pin midi cable. Plug 1 side into the A33 midi out #1, the other into your Casio midi in. Playing notes on the A33 should trigger sounds on the Casio. If not, you may have to configure the Casio to receive external midi (check the manual). Let me know….
Hello sir, a local music shop have a Roland A37 which they have difficulty in selling for quite some time, I guess it's a newer version than the A33, how do you find the keybed of A33 in a recording situation? I would also like to bring the A37 together with my JV1010/Fantom XR module/iPad to wedding gigs, church, company gathering events, etc
I use my A33 for live performance and the keybed is exactly what I like, because they’re full sized semi-weighted synth keys - a perfect balance for organ, synth, and piano. Some purists prefer fully-weighted piano style keys, but I find it impossible to play synth, brass or organ on “piano style” keys. The A37 is not a modern midi controller - doesn’t have a usb interface, no encoders, pads or faders, but if the price is right it’s still very useful. There’s no problem using the 5 pin midi cables to connect to your JV1010 or Fantom equipment.
I use both an A-33 and an A-37 in my live MainStage rig and I love them both. They both have great keybeds. The main difference is that the 37 has channel aftertouch and the 33 doesn't. One really nice feature of both boards is that the MIDI In functions as a MIDI merger. In my setup, I have the A-37 as my upper board with it's MIDI out set to MIDI channel 2. I then plug that into the MIDI In of the A-33. The A-33's MIDI Out is set to MIDI channel 1. I then only need to connect a single MIDI cable from the MIDI Out of the A-33 to the MIDI In of the combined audio/MIDI interface for my computer (in my case I use an M4 from MOTU). With this setup, I can have both controllers independently control two different virtual keyboards in MainStage using different MIDI channels over a single MIDI cable. Oh, and to give you all the fader and rotary encoder control of modern MIDI controllers, just pick up a Korg nanoKontrol and add it to your setup. It really helps a lot.
Hello, excellent video, I wanted to ask you several questions, in my case I have a Roland A30 and I connect it through the Roland Um One midi interface to my Macbook. When I open the mainstage it recognizes the interface but I can't get the keys to work properly. since the controller recognizes that I am an octave up even though I am playing the first key, which is C1
Hey Jeff, I'm not a keyboard player, but I have a full studio and we have a Roland A-33 sitting on top of my Rhodes, alongside our Grand Piano. When keyboard players come in, they want to play it along with the other keyboards. BUT... I cannot get it to fire up with the midi it's plugged into. No sounds, nothing. I don't get it. At some jam party I had here once, some genius guy who builds Synths was here and mangaged to get it going. I think I need a proper midi processor made for it. Any idea. Also, I am using a small DC plugged into this for power. Is there any rhyme or reason to using another source for power? Anyway, nice video, I did get some information about our keyboard that I hope to dive into once I have it rolling along. I am a fingerstyle guitarist and bass player, so the keyboard is a bit of a reach for me. At 68 years old, retired and devoting most of my time to music now, Instead of building bridges barns and banks. I built an amazing recording studio that just has a couple of quirks to work out. This A-33 being on of them. Thanks for any input. By the way, i used to have a Juno I back in Dallas in the mid 80's/ sold it, Was it a good synth? I didnt play it much.
Loved the video! I have a question about Midi controllers in general. I have recieved this controller as a gift from somebody and I want to use it to play live music on it. Can I play the keyboard without a computer connected to it and make it audible through a speaker? I am willing to buy external devices that help me achieve that but I really don't know what. Thank you!
@@gaeandrei7165 the Roland A33 was designed to work with Roland Sound Canvas sound modules, which are rare and expensive. You might consider a used Roland SonicCell.
Which editor do you use? I have found that neither the Roland A-33 editor written by Jeff Blatt nor the Roland A-33 editor written by Steffen Trager is perfect. For example, they both confuse the A13 patch with the A14 patch and the B13 patch with the B14 patch.
Does your computer have a USB port? FORE MIDI to USB Interface MIDI Cable Adapter with Input&Output Connecting with Keyboard/Synthesizer for Editing&Recording Track Work with Windows/Mac OS for Studio USB 2.0 Color Red - 2M / 6.5Ft a.co/d/hJ4ISl3
Howdy Jeffy! I’ve got a new Yamaha Reface CP that I’d like to find a 61 or 73 key midi controller for. I like the simplicity of the A-33 and am wondering if it’s a good fit. I’d also go midi to GarageBand with it if it’s compatible. Whatcha think?
I tried a few 73 and 76 keyboards and some were great, buy expensive in the $2000 range, up to $5000 for a Nord. A friend just bought a Roland V-Combo VR730 and it’s great, around $1500 I think, but when i stumbled upon the A-33 the seller was asking $150. It was a mess, but I got everything working. Very happy with the keybed, but the buttons are meh… I miss encoders and faders, so I recently added a Worlde .9 Mini USB Slimline Controller for $60 from Amazon. It’s held on with Velcro and provides the encoders, faders, jog wheel and transport controls.
Hello I bought an A33 and I would like to know what kind of power supply you are using in this keyboard, because I ended up reading some articles that say that the polarity of this keyboard is reversed! i Hope your answer!
Roland A-33, programming MIDI channel Step 1. Make sure that the button LED is not lit. Select the A-33 Patch (A1..A16, B1..B16) you want to modify. The contents of the Patch are copied to the "temporary" memory. Step 2. Make sure that the button LED is lit. You will edit the Patch in "temporary" memory. The Roland A-33 has two key zones (Lower, Upper). When only the LED is lit, only the Lower zone is active. When only the LED is lit, only the Upper zone is active. If both the and LEDs are lit, both zones are active. If only the LED is lit, both zones are active. Step 3. If necessary, press the or button to select the zone whose settings you want to change. Step 4. Press button and its LED will show that. Use the .. and buttons (see numbering below the buttons) to enter the MIDI channel value (1..16). Confirm by pressing the button. Note: the MIDI channel value cannot be the same as the MIDI channel value of the other zone. If it does, the LED will flash. If you want to change the settings for the other keyboard zone, go to Step 3. Step 5. You can copy the Patch in "temporary" memory to the non-forgetting Patch A1..A16 or B1..B16 as follows: 5.1. Press and hold the button. 5.2. If necessary, switch banks by pressing the or button. 5.3. Press one of the buttons .. (see numbering above the buttons) corresponding to the Patch Memory where you wish to store the values you set. 5.4. Release the button.
Hi Jeff. I recently bought this keyboard but i have strange behaviour from it. Do you know some kind of software where i could map all buttons from A33 (essentialy messages) in order to custom asign them later ? Thanks
Unfortunately, there is no software for changing the internal mapping. It is programable, but it’s done through a series of button pushes and lcd lights. Instead of changing the internal midi setup, I just use it with MainStage on a MacBook and assign patches as I please. Do you have the user manual? If not, I can email it to you.
@@JeffyG i have some but i think its missing pages. For example, if i happen to use kontakt for my external player, can i assign program (patch) change to one of 16 buttons provided onboard? Im new to midi
@@bogdanzivkovic157 Step 1. Write down which Bank Select LSB (=CC32), Bank Select MSB (=CC0) and Program Change values you need to program into the A-33. Step 2. Make sure that the button LED is not lit. Select the A-33 Patch (A1..A16, B1..B16) you want to modify. The contents of the Patch are copied to the "temporary" memory. Step 3. Make sure that the button LED is lit. You will edit the Patch in "temporary" memory. The Roland A-33 has two key zones (Lower, Upper). When only the LED is lit, only the Lower zone is active. When only the LED is lit, only the Upper zone is active. If both the and LEDs are lit, both zones are active. If only the LED is lit, both zones are active. Step 4. If necessary, press the or button to select the zone whose settings you want to change. Step 5. Press button and its LED will show that. Use the .. and buttons (see numbering below the buttons) to enter the Bank Select LSB (=CC32) value (0..127). If you do not enter anything, the value will not change. Confirm by pressing the button. The LED of the button will be switched off. Step 6. The LED of the button will be lit. Use the .. and buttons (see numbering below the buttons) to enter the Bank Select MSB (=CC0) value (0..127). If you do not enter anything, the value will not change. Confirm by pressing the button. The LED of the button will be switched off. Step 7. The LED of the button will be lit. Use the .. and buttons (see numbering below the buttons) to enter the Program Change (Program number) value (1..128). If you do not enter anything, the value will not change. Confirm by pressing the button. The A-33 sends out Bank Select MSB (=CC0), Bank Select LSB (=CC32) and Program Change messages with the values entered. If you want to change the settings for the other keyboard zone, go to Step 4. Step 8. You can copy the Patch in "temporary" memory to the non-forgetting Patch A1..A16 or B1..B16 as follows: 8.1. Press and hold the button. 8.2. If necessary, switch banks by pressing the or button. 8.3. Press one of the buttons .. (see numbering above the buttons) corresponding to the Patch Memory where you wish to store the values you set. 8.4. Release the button.
I bought one yesterday and the cheapest midi/USB device but I'm finding some problems. When I play the sound sometimes hold and sometimes not. Could it be the shit midi/USB interface?
When I got mine, the modulation/pitchbend didn’t work, the sustain pedal was reversed and 1 of the midi out 5 pin connectors was shorting out. I got a sustain pedal with reverse polarity switch, I cleaned the midi connector with contact cleaner and compressed air, and I had to reset the hardware/defaults to get the pitch/modulation wheel to work. Everything is good now.
@@JeffyG I'using pianoteq from Modart and Hammond b-3x from ok multimedia. I was looking at the mid signal and when a press a key along with the usb2 signal something like "auto-generated signal" is also showing.
@@levialberto4379 sounds like the midi spy / monitor software is interpreting some midi messages as ‘auto-generated’ but I really have no idea what that means. If the A33 is generating extra or strange midi messages, I can think of 2 reasons. First, the A33 has an extended midi send mode for Roland GS Sound Modules, which is useless unless you own a GS sound module. It’s possible the A33 preset configuration you’re using is sending the extra GS midi messages. Second, an electrical ‘short’ in the 5 pin midi connector might generate messages randomly. Do,you have the A33 User Manual? If not, I can email you a *.pdf version. The A33 is a little strange - every one of the 30 patch/presets is also a settings configuration for things like midi channel, pitch bend on/off, sustain on/off in addition to CC0, CC32 and a Program Value. With no LED display on the keyboard, it’s impossible to know how the previous owner configured each patch/preset. That’s why I recommend resetting the keyboard to its factory defaults. To do this, power on the A33 while pressing and holding the ‘WRITE’ button.
@@JeffyG I just figured out that the midi cable was causing all the problem. But now, if you have any tips for me, the write button is not loading for nothing, not even when I turn the keyboard on, and I would like to config the others tone banks to access specified midi channels, but when I apply the change I can't save it because, it seems, that the write button is not littin. I don't know if it just lit when connected to a GS module.
Hi - I bought an A-33 from a friend's widow that he was using with a Roland GS Module... However - I am using it with a MIDI interface to control a Roland RS-70 directly through a MIDI cable. It works great EXCEPT I want to remap the program #'s being sent from the A-33 to my favorite RS-70 sounds. LOVE the A-33 but I really need to remap the midi messages; I realize you are doing this with Mainstage but I'm using either a direct MIDI interface to the RS-70 OR an ipad. Have you ever figured out how to edit the PGM #'s internally in the A-33? Roland has been little help, probably because they unfortunately no longer support this fantastic keyboard! Thanks...
The Roland A-33 user manual explains how to program the internal patches, however, it’s finicky and there’s no LCD or sounds to confirm your changes. I decided to leave the internal midi parameters as delivered and change patch assignments in MainStage. Do you want me to send you a pdf of the user manual?
Step 1. Write down which Bank Select LSB (=CC32), Bank Select MSB (=CC0) and Program Change values you need to program into the A-33. Step 2. Make sure that the button LED is not lit. Select the A-33 Patch (A1..A16, B1..B16) you want to modify. The contents of the Patch are copied to the "temporary" memory. Step 3. Make sure that the button LED is lit. You will edit the Patch in "temporary" memory. The Roland A-33 has two key zones (Lower, Upper). When only the "KBD MODE LOWER" LED is lit, only the Lower zone is active. When only the "KBD MODE UPPER" LED is lit, only the Upper zone is active. If both the "KBD MODE LOWER" and "KBD MODE UPPER" LEDs are lit, both zones are active. If only the "KBD MODE SPLIT" LED is lit, both zones are active. Step 4. If necessary, press the "SELECT UPPER" or "SELECT LOWER" button to select the zone whose settings you want to change. Step 5. Press button and its LED will show that. Use the .. and buttons (see numbering below the buttons) to enter the Bank Select LSB (=CC32) value (0..127). If you do not enter anything, the value will not change. Confirm by pressing the button. The LED of the button will be switched off. Step 6. The LED of the button will be lit. Use the .. and buttons (see numbering below the buttons) to enter the Bank Select MSB (=CC0) value (0..127). If you do not enter anything, the value will not change. Confirm by pressing the button. The LED of the button will be switched off. Step 7. The LED of the button will be lit. Use the .. and buttons (see numbering below the buttons) to enter the Program Change (Program number) value (1..128). If you do not enter anything, the value will not change. Confirm by pressing the button. The A-33 sends out Bank Select MSB (=CC0), Bank Select LSB (=CC32) and Program Change messages with the values entered. If you want to change the settings for the other keyboard zone, go to Step 4. Step 8. You can copy the Patch in "temporary" memory to the non-forgetting Patch A1..A16 or B1..B16 as follows: 8.1. Press and hold the button. 8.2. If necessary, switch banks by pressing the "PATCH A" or "PATCH B" button. 8.3. Press one of the buttons .. (see numbering above the buttons) corresponding to the Patch Memory where you wish to store the values you set. 8.4. Release the button.
