Roland's Summer NAMM 2007 booth offerings included yet another milestone in the development of electronic music. The Roland FR-7 V Accordion combines traditional instrumentation of the classic accordion with Physical Behavior Modeling (PBM) and MIDI integration. In this video we get Chris Rybak to put the instrument through its paces.

The FR-7 has the ability to simulate up to 30 different accordion sound groups, each including 14 Treble registers, 7 Bass & Chord Registers and 7 free bass registers. In addition, the accordion can simulate various orchestral sets.

Multiple types of bass can be played including: Acoustic Bass, Bowed Bass, Fingered Bass, Picked Bass, Fretless Bass, Bariton Tuba, Baritone Tuba + E.Bass. Overall, this is a huge step for the accordion, and provides sound sets for anything from French Musette to German Polka.

Check out the Gearwire video from Summer NAMM 2007 to learn more. And check out accordionist Chris Rybak at his web site