The Next Fantom (Roland) Workstation?

for all people wanting to replace fantom x w/ m3 or add m3 to fantom x, i will give my personal opinion, because i tried it for an hour, including making tweaks (i owned a triton extreme before).

i think the korg m3 is good but kinda cheesy, especially the dance sounds are so cheesy. its sorta fat but software (digital/cold) sounding. the filter resonance still has that cheesy whistle sound typical of the HI synthesis system. Its not (as aggressive or deafening as the Roland/Yamaha filters which sound better in my opinion). the pad sounds are really good, just like korg's signature.

for everything else, including mind blowing acoustics and awesome synth textures and a far more superior filter architecture (18 filter types), i would recommend the motif xs.

motif es sounded somewhat boxy and plasticky, but the xs has a lot of presence, thanks to the reverb from the dm2000 modules.

cuborg, you made a great choice adding the xs to juno-g, because the juno-g, which sucks at acoustic (understandably, because of the price), has some vintage roland synth sounds that in my opinion is much better and less cheesier than korg's.

i do like korg's radias, but i would prefer virus over the radias instead.

well, I did try the XS ... and it did anything but blow me away ...

I suppose it's worth another trip soon, though ... Who knows?



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Roland Fantom X7, Alesis Fusion 6HD, Novation X/A-Station 25, Alesis Micron

some tunes and whatnot ...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=405125

I was looking at Korg M3 but I end up with Korg MicroX and Roland SonicCell(preorder) I like them both alot.

Roland JD 990,Roland SonicCell,Korg MicroX,Korg Radias,Access Virus TI,Alesis ION,Yamaha Motif ES 6

I agree with Starship's assesment. The Korg M3 sounds a bit cold. And the filter resolution has notching steps if you listen close....that bugged the crap out of me. Yamaha has always had great sounds and continue that tradition, but their overal build it not to my liking.

I am quite confident that I am going to be Xtremely happy with the Fantom X. I do wish it was possible to add a fire wire port to it thought. That was definitly a plus for the M3.

What, the M3 has firewire?

It's like baiting the mouse with cheese. Every year they dangle evermore trinkets. But ...lord don't let them stop.

Z-bro

the M3 has a firewire OPTION ...



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Roland Fantom X7, Alesis Fusion 6HD, Novation X/A-Station 25, Alesis Micron

some tunes and whatnot ...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=405125

dangle, dangle...


zebro


(the bait, that is)

dangle is cool, I'm just happy where I IS...

(and broke)

Hi, I'm Chris Hansen from Dateline NBC.

Have a seat ...

What ... are you doing?



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Roland Fantom X7, Alesis Fusion 6HD, Novation X/A-Station 25, Alesis Micron

some tunes and whatnot ...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=405125

Hi, I'm Chris Hansen from Dateline NBC.

Have a seat ...

What ... are you doing?


LMAOROTFLOL!!!!!!!!!

Keep Makin Music!!!!!
T.R.I.C.K.M.A. Entertainment 2007
http://www.myspace.com/trickmaseang

Hi Chris Hanson from Dateline"


Zebro here just chiming in about the mega companies churning out produce and danglin the sparklin tekno swirlin
ever more phanstik.....


okay, I lost it!!


Z-bro

Korg M3 borrowed a lot of ideas from the older Motif ES, Yamaha Motif ES had firewire, 480 ppq resolution sequencer, part EQs for each of 16 tracks...

the new Motif XS has firewire built in, you don't have to buy as a separate option. Motif XS is da beast!

Well, this weekend I upgraded my old Fantom 76 to a Fantom X7. My dealer offered me a trade in for my old 76, or a good price on a demo unit still sealed in the box without a trad-in. I took the demo unit. Now I need to do something with my F76. Anyway ...

I tried to like the Motif. My ES6 sounds good but the OS is like a big, distracting wall. If I want to get a song down quickly I always ended up back on the Fantom. If I used Cubase I would consider the EX, but I don't, ... so I will not bother. I would sell the ES6 but right now they are almost giving them away. You can buy a new one for under $1000. At that rate I will stick a Roland VK8M on it and turn it into an extreme organ.

skyy38: "Intelligent Tempo-
You play something into a channel without a click and the keyboard gives you a readout in BPM.No more being a slave,trying to mold yourself to the click!"

I'm relatively new to today's synth market, after not buying any gear since I bought my JV80 over a decade ago. But after waiting for, I don't know what, I had a sudden urge to start writing again. So, I went out and bought a Yamaha Motif ES8 last week. Mainly because I had previously only owned Roland keyboards, and I wanted something new that sounded both "different" and "better." I had the ES8 for four days until I got so frustrated with the UI, I returned it for a full refund. I bought a Fantom X8 the next day. I also bought the SRX-04/06/09 boards. I thought I would miss the ES sounds, but I think the SRX sounds kick the ES sounds' ass.

How old is the Fantom series? Four years? Older? The next-generation Roland flagship must be due for '08 NAMM, yes? Perhaps not. How long was the Yamaha ES series out before the XS was introduced? Will XS' introduction likely push Roland to bring out a new flagship for '08? Is the XS that much different from the ES? Seems like more of the same to me. Here's the things that would make me feel sick if a new Fantom came out TOMORROW.

• VGA output for an external monitor.
• Firewire I/O.
• A new, brand-wide network interface standard.

Oh yeah, and if they changed the SRX slots to make my current SRX boards incompatible. And another thing that would make me sick . . . doubling the amount of ROM sounds or something like that for about the same price point as an X8. But, alas, I couldn't wait. After four days with my ES8, I felt like throwing it out the window. After two minutes with my new Fantom X8 this afternoon, I felt like calling in sick for work.

That's a long time to wait ... If the next Fantom is all that, I'll most certainly get it ... but don't be surprised if they make changes people don't like ... for example, removing the audio tracks and doing it Korg or Yamaha style emphasizing a computer?

Hmm. Would you likr that?

I wouldn't ... like it nor get that.

I think audio tracks, the pads and warm sounds are just among the Fantom's highlights. It's a solid workstation ... and really solid ... not like the new M3 which really seems made to a different standard.

I wouldn't be surprised if Roland does something similar with thr next Fantom (sort-of Juno-izing it to undercut does two) ...
However, the apparent quality of the V-Synth GT ... though I've not seen one ... speaks well of Roland's flagship priorities.



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Roland Fantom X7, Alesis Fusion 6HD, Novation X/A-Station 25, Alesis Micron

some tunes and whatnot ...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=405125