New workstation: Roland Fantom 06/07/08

The Lounge Other Gear
#32

I have both MC-101 and MC-707.

What interests me about the Fantom 0 series:

  • Sequencing experience looks like an upgrade over the 707, from the perspective of UI/UX
  • SuperNATURAL engine, which is not on the MC series
  • Virtual Tonewheel, also not on the MC series

If an old sample was good, I have no problem with it being reused over and over. Same with old synth presets. People in 2022 still obsess over recreating old Roland presets/patches like the ones found on Jupiter 8, Juno 106, etc. Hell, even JD-800, D-50…

OTOH, I did go through the trouble of creating a Tone preset on the 707 that relies on aftertouch and the Fantom 0s do not have aftertouch.

I’ve had my eye on the Yamaha YC series for the clonewheel and 8-op FM sounds - does not bother me one bit that the FM sounds are not editable to a deep level. Fantom 06 is quite a bit less costly than the YC-61, does not have any FM, but has the SuperNATURAL stuff and option of loading Model Expansions.

So, no immediate plans to buy, but will keep an eye on how they evolve as OS updates get released and such. I have a bunch of workarounds for the no-aftertouch situation.

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#33

Have tried it now. Won’t buy it. But it was pretty neat :slightly_smiling_face:

#34

It’s less of an easy sale for peeps who don’t have previous experience with the MC or Fantom sequencer. As with any sequencer, some people take to it like a duck to water and others go “WTF”

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#35

I see this as the two edges of the Roland sword. The classic Roland sample library and much of the synth and FX stuff that has been associated with it all in one box.

The Integra-7 is on my to-buy list when the closeout sales start, but I could see paying full price for a Fantom 0 series instead because of the (presumably) better interface, sequencer, sampler, and keys. The Fantom 0s remind me of the XV88, which I passed up when I bought an XV5080 (on closeout, naturally :innocent:). The 5080 is long gone now, the Jupiter Xm was supposed to be its replacement. But the Xm is cramped, and I have an easier time justifying the spend on a Fantom 0 than a Jupiter X.

I still need to get my hands on a Fantom 0. And find some additional studio space for it.

#36

I agree, the sequencing UI does look like and upgrade over the MC’s. I wonder the new Fantoms will have all of the sequencing features? It doesn’t look like it has scatter. And I haven’t seen anywhere yet if it has step probability or different track lengths.

Still, these new Fantom’s do look intriguing.

#37

Ah good catch!

Searching through the reference manual PDF, I am unable to find any mention of mute probability, mute groups, or Scatter. Also, no First Step/Last Step. I don’t there is a Looper in there either, although that is hardly the best-loved feature of the MCs, from what I’ve seen from fellow users.

So the MC-707 will probably stay even if I get a Fantom 0.

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MC 707 / 101 : Roland Grooveboxes
#39

Looks like enough squeaky wheels got Roland grease

The maximum polyphony of the FANTOM-06 FANTOM-07 FANTOM-08 is shown below.

  • This number changes depending on the processing load of the tones in use.

ZEN-Core tones/drum kit tones (common): 256

  • The polyphonies for the ZEN-Core tones and drum kit tones (including PCM/VA) are counted throughout all zones (a maximum of 16 parts).
  • If the OSC TYPE is PCM, one partial is counted as two notes, as waves can be assigned to the L and R sides of the partial respectively.

On a related note, the n/zyme Model Expansion is rumored to work only on the pro Fantom, not the 0-series

#40

I play keyboard like old people type…so 1 note polyphony for the win!

#41

So basically between 32 and 64 expected. Of course if you buy the Juno or Jupiter expansion and mainly use those then you up the ante.

#42

and direct “DAW” bottom access to Logic or Live.

#43

It appears the 0 Series has buttons with more direct access to some functions compared to the Fantom Series to make things bit more streamlined. So you have the “Daw” button as one example. Also if the touch screen is primarily used for tone editing then the Expansions might be less confusing to edit than say on the Jupiter-Xm where some hardware just did not work depending on the Model.

#44

Most likely you’ll figure out the real-world polyphony when you use it yourself. My brain hurt from reading the Zendesk explanation.

And their explanation of sample memory… real world users will probably find this out the way they have on the MC-101/707, by loading their samples until they encounter “memory full” errors. This is where I appreciate the Octatrack documentation saying flat out there’s 80MB RAM - no guesswork needed.

#45

I sold my Xm as dealing with the UI was a creation killer. This appears much better. More direct flow. The amount of menu diving and huge lists on the Xm was really bad.

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#46

I sold my Xm as the UI just was to painful and I was always frustrated (creativity killer). I was about ready to get a MPC Live II and then this is announced. This appears to be a much more direct UI for dealing with Roland Zen Core. Time will tell but the layout appears to be musician friendly.

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#47

After my TBI three years ago my Brain definitely hurt a lot. I can only take so much of the maze.

#48

It seems that people over at RolandClan are not happy with the aftertouch on the bigger Fantoms:

https://forums.rolandclan.com/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=63413

#49

256 % 4 partials = 64 note polyphony.

#50

Hi guys!
How do you feel about the sequencer on Fantom/Fantom 0?
By looking at the videos it seems to have everything you wish from a sequencer, with step sequencing, tr-rec, piano roll editing.
Seems better then the one on Mpc.
What is your opinion and does it sequence externally?
Thanks!

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#51

Super late reply but maybe you’ll still be interested. The irony of NeoZeed offering help to Shinobi is not lost on me BTW lol.

So I’ve only had the Fantom 06 for about a week but I’ve been using the sequencer heavily so at least I have some insight coming from an Elektron / DAW user. I’ll try to tackle it the Elektron angle considering what forum we’re on.

Elektron vs Fantom 0:
I’ve owned a Digitone, Digitone Keys and still own a Digitakt and A4 MKII. The Elektrons can be quicker when it comes to sound design. The mangling options and trigs make it very intuitive to shape and mangle things. Also, all the per-step features and probability make evolving sounds much more intuitive.

The Fantom is more rigid and “traditional” in a sense as it’s really great for playing in things to a metronome with expression and polyphony and having it just fit perfectly. If you need anything to be expressed specifically with vibrato or modulation all that is way way easier on the Fantom. With the Digitakt, I need to apply an LFO after the fact or ad vibrato with the A4. Much more laborious.

TR-REC is nowhere near as intuitive as the Elektron sequencer if you want to do anything other than velocity and laying down basic patterns. Because once you get into the piano roll to really tweak things it can get dicey. That said, as cumbersome as the piano roll may be, it’s there and it offers more flexibility for stuff like flams and expressive fills with drums than anything you can do with the Digitakt.

So really it’s a trade-off: If you enjoy playing synths more and would like to lay down melodies and play-in stuff with a keyboard while using expression and modulation, the Fantom offers more than any Elektron box can deliver. It just works better for these types of things. It also trounces them when it comes to polyphony so if you’re looking to sequence chords and pads.

If you, on the other hand, really enjoy the evolving / per-step craziness of Elektron stuff, you’re going to be running into walls with the Fantom. Gritty dirty glitchy stuff is just very hard to implement with it. Takes a lot of setting up modulation lanes and steppy LFO and arpeggio stuff while heavily utilizing curated samples then importing to approach the sounds you can easily create on an elektron box.

Sorry for the wall of text! To put it simply: It’s great for a particular type of songwriting and can’t replace other gear if you are looking for a particular sound. If I can figure out how to properly sync the two song modes of the Fantom 0 and the Digitakt / Analog Four, it’ll become the centerpiece of a live rig / studio… but if it can’t it’ll merely become a synth I use as a soundbox for my Elektron gear.

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#52

Thanks a lot for the effort my friend!!
How is the piano roll editing, and also putting notes directly on the touch screen?
Also can you do long recordings?

I am asking everything more for a sequencer to use with other modules, not its internal sounds.

On its sounds I believe it s the same zencore engine as on the other Fantom right?
As a side note, how is the parameters editing for the synths in Fantom? Easy or menu diving?

Thanks again!