Roland Fantom X

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zaphod B
  • Start date Start date
Zaphod B

Zaphod B

Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
One of these days I'm going to have to buy something that will allow my home studio the benefit of noises other than guitars, bass, and drums. I can hack my way around a keyboard (I do understand piano chord structures at least), and I'm not interested in chaining together a bunch of MIDI components. I'm more of a "everything in one box" kind of guy. (Which explains my use of a TASCAM 2488 - I'm not even using a DAW.)

So a sampling workstation seems like the right direction. Is something like a Fantom X overkill?
 
I like mine...

Have had a Fantom X6 for a couple years. It's worked well for playing along with some of my buddies' bands, fleshing out the strings, organ, and piano-type sounds. I also have a V-Synth that I use for the electronic sounding stuff.

I'm mainly using mine for live playing, but the Fantom can go pretty deep in the workstation department. Sampling, drums, basic multitrack recording, and layers of midi stuff are onboard, so it can be used as a "mini-DAW", though a computer would probably be an easier interface to navigate in that regard (I'm getting into Reaper for that myself).

Sounds like you're mainly looking for a sound source and will mix/edit/etc using other gear. I'd suggest that you try the Fantom, as well as a Yamaha Motif and whatever the current Korg workstation is to see what you like. They all have somewhat different sound palettes but similar workstation functions. I personally prefer the Fantom's keyboard action, and have always been a fan of Roland's sound, but that's all a matter of taste.

Good luck!
 
Hey, SuperJX - since I would be using it primarily as a sound-generating workstation (rather than purely as a keyboard) is there any sense in getting more than 61 keys?
 
Zaphod B said:
Hey, SuperJX - since I would be using it primarily as a sound-generating workstation (rather than purely as a keyboard) is there any sense in getting more than 61 keys?
Click to expand...

61 should be just fine.

It's a nice unit, good choice.
 
I agree, 61 is fine, unless you really feel the need for the extended range of the 76 or 88 key versions. I use an 88 key controller in my studio, for composing. But for gigging I use either a 76 or 61, depending on what I need. The cost of those extra keys is pretty high, so if you don't think you *really* need them, 61 should work out fine.

I also like the Roland sounds and the Fantom series. Good stuff, and a great selection of SRX expansion boards for them too.
 
I agree that 61 keys would probably do you fine-- and the cost to jump up to something more is significant. That being said, I gigged with a 76-key synth for years (a SuperJX, btw :) ) and it was nice for those times that I needed to split the keys for two different sounds. But it's really a matter of personal preference. There are a lot cheaper ways of getting 76 or 88 keys, and you can still patch them into the 61-key synth and use it as a sound source. (Pretty much all synths have a 128 key range now, when controlled externally or when you shift the octave range around on the keyboard.)

The other thing to consider is the action-- lots of folks like a piano action, and you're pretty much only going to find that on an 88-key board. I prefer a synth action, which is common on the 61 or 76 key boards.

You might want to check out the RolandClan forum-- good info on the Fantoms there and a fair user discussion board. IIRC, it's at http://rolandclan.info
 
Thanks, all. :)

I see a Christmas present in my future. Hopefully the near future. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top