Anyone moved from an FA-06 to Fantom 06 (or I'll take opinions on the Fantom 06 as well)
21 Jul 2022, 19:04I asked a couple of months ago but the Fantom 0 series had just been released so I'm hoping that maybe a few more people may have converted or picked up 06s.
I LOVE my FA-06 with two major exceptions:
1. The "shaved keys" - the keys are all a bit smaller than standard in all dimensions - shorter, narrower, and things like the slopes on the black keys are a bit odd. Anyone who has one probably knows this. They're the same on my A-800. This is not a MAJOR problem for me, but it's something that if I could get back to a more full-size synth key, I'd prefer.
2. This is the really huge problem: the black keys too easily send out velocity message of 127 no matter what you have the velocity setting set to. Again those of you who have one will know this. But for those of you who don't, it's just far too easy to hit a black key and have it send max velocity. And the white keys are only marginally better. But you do something like play a Bb chord, and the Bb will be louder than the D and F. It's fine for sounds that are less or not velocity sensitive, but for things like Piano - it just doesn't work (maybe only if you're very light handed). I'm not expecting Graded Piano Hammer Action or anything like that, but in no way shape or form should any keyboard EVER send different velocities from the white and black keys given the same touch.
One thing I was considering was moving to the FA-07 when they finally came out. I hated to spend extra money on just more keys though - but if the keys were at least without this black/white problem, that would make the FA the "perfect keyboard" for me (even if the keys were still a bit shaved). An FA-08 would really be great, but the size, weight, and so on were drawbacks and dealbreakers for me (can't even fit it in my car, need a nice case, stronger stand, bigger stage footprint, etc.)
Now that the Fantom 0 series is out, I would consider moving "up" to a Fantom 06 IF it doesn't have this velocity issue and if the key dimensions are the same or larger, even better.
I'd love to know:
1. What am I gaining and losing if I move to the Fantom 06?
2. Do the keys have either of the issues above on the 06?
I can tell you right now, the biggest way I use the FA-06 is as a live performance keyboard for bread and butter keyboard and synth sounds - Piano, EP, Clav, Organ, Synths, Brass, Winds, Strings, Choir, sound effects, etc. I'm playing mostly classic rock and contemporary pop cover music, and not doing a lot of EDM or electronic music things - so just to give you an idea, the EXP 2 and 10 - keyboards and orchestral were far more useful to me than EXP 1, which was the more modern dance-oriented stuff.
I also use the Pads to select sounds within a Studio Set. I set up 16 sounds in 1 studio set, and then use the pads to switch between them, or, if a song has a number of complex keyboard parts, I'll set them all up in one SS and use the pads to select between them in various combinations. So one "bread and butter" SS with all the basic types of keys, and then song-specific SS for more complex songs with more "one off" sounds.
I don't really use the Sequencer. It's nice to have, and I'm sure as soon as I give it up I'll need it, but, I can live without it.
I don't really launch loops on the pads (few exceptions, see below).
I didn't care about not having a mappable sampler.
But I will say, being able to record an audio file, like the intro to Pink Floyd's "Time" and just trigger that to start it, or, I've also taken each sound from the intro to "Money" (the 7 cash register type sounds) and play them by running through 7 pads!
So if I could still do stuff like that, great. But since it's not the primary way I use the pads, I can live without it (I just played back audio clips on my phone running into an input before I got the FA!)
I really don't even do that much creating and editing of sounds.
There are two other things I don't like about the FA series:
1. You can't turn the MFX on each part on or off. I HATE that I can't just turn off the Tremolo or Delay on a sound without editing the sound and saving it as a new patch. And I HATE that you can't just press a button to turn the MFX on and off on a patch.
2. I HATE (the hate is strong with this one) that there was no software editor. I probably would do a lot more sound creation if I could do it on the computer.
But both of those are not deal-breakers - I just do other things to get around them.
I hate to sell the FA and lose the money in getting a Fantom 06, and it REALLY pisses me off that they came out at the same basic price level.
But I'll take the hit if it adds some more pros (more sounds? able to load more sounds - without subscription? better keys/no velocity issues, mappable sampler) and won't mind losing the Sequencer...but what else am I giving up?
I LOVE my FA-06 with two major exceptions:
1. The "shaved keys" - the keys are all a bit smaller than standard in all dimensions - shorter, narrower, and things like the slopes on the black keys are a bit odd. Anyone who has one probably knows this. They're the same on my A-800. This is not a MAJOR problem for me, but it's something that if I could get back to a more full-size synth key, I'd prefer.
2. This is the really huge problem: the black keys too easily send out velocity message of 127 no matter what you have the velocity setting set to. Again those of you who have one will know this. But for those of you who don't, it's just far too easy to hit a black key and have it send max velocity. And the white keys are only marginally better. But you do something like play a Bb chord, and the Bb will be louder than the D and F. It's fine for sounds that are less or not velocity sensitive, but for things like Piano - it just doesn't work (maybe only if you're very light handed). I'm not expecting Graded Piano Hammer Action or anything like that, but in no way shape or form should any keyboard EVER send different velocities from the white and black keys given the same touch.
One thing I was considering was moving to the FA-07 when they finally came out. I hated to spend extra money on just more keys though - but if the keys were at least without this black/white problem, that would make the FA the "perfect keyboard" for me (even if the keys were still a bit shaved). An FA-08 would really be great, but the size, weight, and so on were drawbacks and dealbreakers for me (can't even fit it in my car, need a nice case, stronger stand, bigger stage footprint, etc.)
Now that the Fantom 0 series is out, I would consider moving "up" to a Fantom 06 IF it doesn't have this velocity issue and if the key dimensions are the same or larger, even better.
I'd love to know:
1. What am I gaining and losing if I move to the Fantom 06?
2. Do the keys have either of the issues above on the 06?
I can tell you right now, the biggest way I use the FA-06 is as a live performance keyboard for bread and butter keyboard and synth sounds - Piano, EP, Clav, Organ, Synths, Brass, Winds, Strings, Choir, sound effects, etc. I'm playing mostly classic rock and contemporary pop cover music, and not doing a lot of EDM or electronic music things - so just to give you an idea, the EXP 2 and 10 - keyboards and orchestral were far more useful to me than EXP 1, which was the more modern dance-oriented stuff.
I also use the Pads to select sounds within a Studio Set. I set up 16 sounds in 1 studio set, and then use the pads to switch between them, or, if a song has a number of complex keyboard parts, I'll set them all up in one SS and use the pads to select between them in various combinations. So one "bread and butter" SS with all the basic types of keys, and then song-specific SS for more complex songs with more "one off" sounds.
I don't really use the Sequencer. It's nice to have, and I'm sure as soon as I give it up I'll need it, but, I can live without it.
I don't really launch loops on the pads (few exceptions, see below).
I didn't care about not having a mappable sampler.
But I will say, being able to record an audio file, like the intro to Pink Floyd's "Time" and just trigger that to start it, or, I've also taken each sound from the intro to "Money" (the 7 cash register type sounds) and play them by running through 7 pads!
So if I could still do stuff like that, great. But since it's not the primary way I use the pads, I can live without it (I just played back audio clips on my phone running into an input before I got the FA!)
I really don't even do that much creating and editing of sounds.
There are two other things I don't like about the FA series:
1. You can't turn the MFX on each part on or off. I HATE that I can't just turn off the Tremolo or Delay on a sound without editing the sound and saving it as a new patch. And I HATE that you can't just press a button to turn the MFX on and off on a patch.
2. I HATE (the hate is strong with this one) that there was no software editor. I probably would do a lot more sound creation if I could do it on the computer.
But both of those are not deal-breakers - I just do other things to get around them.
I hate to sell the FA and lose the money in getting a Fantom 06, and it REALLY pisses me off that they came out at the same basic price level.
But I'll take the hit if it adds some more pros (more sounds? able to load more sounds - without subscription? better keys/no velocity issues, mappable sampler) and won't mind losing the Sequencer...but what else am I giving up?