Install Free Expansions on your FA06 Workstation

One of the great things about the Roland FA series workstations is that you can download free expansion packs from the Roland Axial website. Here’s a how to guide on how to get those expansions and patches off of the Roland website and onto your Roland FA06 or FA08 keyboard.

Step 1: Download the Expansion Packs

Download one or two of the expansion packs here.
Unzip the file you just downloaded and copy the .BIN file to the root level of a compatible USB stick.

The file should be named something like EX04.BIN. It will be the biggest file in the zip. If you’re looking for a compatible USB stick here’s the one that I use Sandisk Cruzer 32GB FA06 Compatibble USB Stick on Amazon.

Step 2: Boot the Roland FA06 in WAVE UPDATE MODE

Turn off your FA06/FA08.
Plug in your USB stick with the expansion packs on the root level.
Hold down the PREVIEW button while turning on the keyboard power to enter wave update mode. Hold the preview button until you see the screen change to WAVE UPDATE MODE.

Step 3: Install the Expansions Into Your FA06

The prompt will now say “Please select a file for slot 1“.
There should also be a list of available files numbered from 01 and up.
Press the corresponding SAMPLE PAD to select which file to load into slot 1.
1. If you want to skip slot 1 press the EXIT button and it will jump to slot 2.
The prompt will now say “Please select a file for slot 2“.
Use your SAMPLE PADS to select a file for slot 2 or press EXIT to skip slot 2.
Then press ENTER to confirm (or EXIT to cancel)
The prompt will say “Writing…” and should take a minute to load.
When the prompt says “Complete.” turn the keyboard POWER off and turn it back on.

To find the tones you just loaded, unlock any studio set and scroll down to type. You should be able to change the type to the name of the expansion you just loaded (ie: EX04) then cycle through all of your new patches.

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