FR-8X: How to Program the Chin Switches
The FR-8X has been updated with 3 programmable chin switches, located on the top of the keyboard on the right side of the accordion. These switches can be programmed to do many different functions.
To program the Chin Switches, follow this procedure:
- Press the menu button.
- Use the data/enter knob to scroll to menu #13, called Set Common.
- Press the data/enter knob to access the set common parameters.
- Scroll until the number in the top right hand corner is 13.4, and the screen says Chin Function.
- Press the data/enter knob again to enter this parameter.
You’ll see that there are 3 chin switch parameters: chin 1, chin 2, and chin 3. These parameters correspond to the physical chin switches, with the closest one to the bellows being chin switch 1. - If you press the data/enter knob again, you’ll see that value of Chin 1 becomes highlighted.
- You can turn the knob to the left and to the right to discover the various functions:
- Set up, Set down
- UPG up, UPG down
- Register up, Register down
- Sustain pedal
- Start/Stop (for controlling external MIDI devices)
- Trigger intros, main themes, fills, variations, and endings (for controlling external MIDI devices)
- Pitch up1/2, Pitch up 1 (for bending the notes a half step or whole step up)
- Pitch down 1/2, Pitch down 1 (for bending the notes a half step or whole step down)
- Rotary effect on and off
- Rotary rotation speeds (slow and fast)
- VTW organ brake effect on and off
- Modulation (add vibration to the notes you are playing)
- Play/Pause (start and stop the playback of an audio file)
- Skip BWD (starts the audio file from the beginning)
- Skip FWD (forward to the next audio file in line)
- Rec On/Off
- Play/Pause Loop
- Rec On/Off Loop (Start the recording of a loop with your chin)
- Rec Erase Loop
- Drum On/Off
- Register 1-14 (recall whichever register you select immediately)
- If you want to program a different chin switch, press the data/enter knob and scroll to the next chin switch.
- Once you’ve assigned all desired functions to the chin switches, you can close out of the menu and return to the main screen by holding the exit button.
The chin switches will remain how you’ve set them until you turn the accordion off. If you’d like to save your settings so that the chin switch is always set to your liking, you can save them to a set or user program. For help on these procedures, refer to the following articles: