I like Roland's approach. Not only do I get new "tools" for very little money, it also increases the value of my original Fantom. I prefer this over Roland releasing a new hardware workstation called Fantom EX that is £4000. 🤷♂
@@SixteenVoiceLOL… Korg hasn’t done anything good since the now old Kronos, and they still haven’t done anything with software like Roland Cloud. So yeah, Roland is way ahead and not playing catch up at all. When Korg will have any kind of cloud and software you can run in your DAW, fully integrated to their synth, then we could start to talk and compare. Until then, they should simply STFU and release new better products.
@@SixteenVoice- Kronos is down on user patch banks, terrible file management, only 2 channel USB, no ASIO driver, no MIDi passthrough from USB, 4 min startup, a lot less effects, non-optimized menus scaled down from the bigger OASYS display. Korg is also not a keybed innovator at all.
I work at an engineering firm. I see the costs to develop a new product, parts,labor, inventory, testing, certification and marketing. It amazes me people believe this should be free. No one is forcing the update plus the company is reinvesting to keep your instrument fresh.
I'm ultimately of that view as well but I do have sympathy for the other side of the argument about Fantom specifically. Everything in Fantom EX has already either been released elsewhere before, or in its own hardware since. The only work thats been exclusive to the Fantom platform has been the porting/osd design. JD800 expansion has been on Jupiter X for over a year. N/Zyme is the wavetable engine in the Gaia 2. V Piano German Grand was released earlier this year on the Rd2000. Shimmer reverb was on Gaia 2 first. ACB is obviously from the System 8 and it's running on the same type of DSP chip that's already inside the Fantom. I guess it's more about how much you think you deserve as the owner of a a £2500-3800 flagship instrument. Nord for example made that White Grand piano available for free and it was an absolute world beater. I am glad Roland made the first 4x ABM models and all the wave expansions available for free. I do believe Shimmer Reverb should have been free on its own as part of a firmware update though - as I expect it'll be rolled into the Zenology spec before long, if it hasn't been already, and it'll need to be free to ensure patch compatibility.
@@MakeMagic You are right, I noticed this recycling behavior with Roland. They have their ingredients spread on many devices, so much overlap that I made a note with every modern device and their included sound engines written just to get it through my head. Not to mention polyphony! Some has zen core in bits like SH-4D. The Jupiter X and Juno X are exactly the same except for their own engines and some model expansions. I think Roland is the most confusing Music company in existence. However, even though I love and despise Roland. Having the engines already made doesn't mean they should add it for free (Arturia did it with Microfreak 5.0 update) but it's understandable. 200$ is reasonable price for such upgrade.
Just when I almost thought about trading it in Lol. I really wanted the JD 800 and Vocal Designer. It seemed like Roland was focusing on the Jupiter and Jupiter XM over the last 2 years. Now I have the JD-800 and N Zyme and some other goodies at a great price. I’m satisfied.
? ......Will the Fantom have enough space to load up all the expansions available and the new EX Upgrade, without having to uninstall any of the expansions?
It's a nice upgrade given they're giving a part refund for people who payed full whack for n/zyme - which looks pretty cool, the most fun in the Fantom I think.. a little like the SH-4D stuff ACB is excellent, but the System-8 still has the best hands-on interface for those models. The full phat Fantom has 4x BMC chips in it, so has enough grunt for ACB. Only 2x BMC chips in the Fantom 0, so seems like they may not get that feature sadly. Roland are kind of due to roll out a new evolution of the ESC2/BMC series chips with more cores in, as those 2 are quad cores and ACB uses up a full core per voice for its circuit modeling Bring on the System-16 with more plugout slots, RGB LEDs, poly-at (or at least bog standard at) on a nice 5 octave keybed, mod+pitch wheels in addition to the bender. Oh and BRING BACK THE MIGHTY D-BEAM!!!11
Yeah but you still end up paying more than a non n/zyme owner. I got $100 off of EX, but $100 - EX + $150 - n/zyme = $250. While its nice they did that, (and really didn't have to) it's still an extra $50 out of pocket.
I like that there is a platform for expansions, but the installation process and complicated navigation of their website makes me think that this was not well thought out beforehand. If I am not mistaken if you were to sell the keyboard with all of the expansions they will persist as long as they are not overwritten or removed. If they could work on streamlining the installation process on the next flagship keyboard that would be nice.
Yes as a Fantom 8 owner I'm very pleased that Roland are continuing to add more and more. The early updates were free and for what this delivers. the price is very fair. Have the Montage and Nautilus and both offer upgrade routes at a much heftier price. Understand some of the limitations with this route but for me, very pleased.
As a Fantom G8 owner, I am not very pleased that I don't have money to buy the new Fantom. But the G is still my favorite piece of gear hands down. It's my main keyboard/piano/midi-controller since I bought it at release. It's a matter of taste, but it has wonderful string, brass, woodwind, bell, and electric piano sounds. The EP sounds I still use on a daily basis because they are absolutely beautiful. The strings and the woodwinds have that typical 'Roland sound', that is reminiscent of 90s, but I love them. Just throwing this out there, but if you're into video game music of the 90s/2000s (like Final Fantasy soundtracks by Nobuo Uematsu), those sounds are pretty much exclusively Roland. I'm basically writing this just to let anyone who might read this know, that if they can get their hands on the Fantom G for a bargain, go ahead. You won't regret it. Obviously don't pay like 3k for it, because then you might as well get the modern ones. But if somebody's selling their used one for a reasonable price, get it! The pianos tho, are... meh. What can you expect from a workstation released in 2008? You can find plenty of vst and digital pianos that sound much better, but they're not bad by any means. Just not something I'd use on a finished record as a main piano. I still play with the Fantom G pianos everyday tho when I'm just practicing piano, and it's a great experience. The bell and string and brass sounds I use daily. The brass are not the most realistic, but they work really well in pop/rock/jazz/soul songs if you layer them and add your own FX in a DAW. The bells are amazing. Especially if you layer several bell instruments in the Live Mode. They stand up to any physical modelling plucky sounds of modern VSTs, EASILY. I dont know why they're so good, but they are. Obviously don't expect any modulation capabilities, because they don't exist. The sound design in Fantom G is basically layering existing sounds (up to 8 layers), and adding a few basic FX on them. I'm personally really partial to workstations because I want to avoid sound design in a DAW as much as possible, and quickly sketch a musical idea down, and just have the sounds I want locked and loaded. Oh and one other thing. The Fantom G8 keybed and action is something really, really special. I haven't played the modern Fantom 8, but the Fantom G8 has a really unique keyboard, that I haven't encountered in before or since in any actual, or digital piano. It has a kind of a noisy 'thump' sound when you press the keys hard, and you have to press them quite hard to get the highest velocity, but it feels SOOOO GOOD to play. This might be an acquired taste, and that nobody shares my opinion on this, but I actively yearn for the G8 keybed in any other keyboard or actual piano that I play. It's unique. The updates for the Fantom G were discontinued quite abruptly, considering the price range of the thing, so I'm glad to see the new iteration is being taken care of. I hope to own it one day!
The bad thing about this, is that if you one day decided to sell your Fantom, the new owner cannot register the keyboard with Roland. If they do, then it will wipe out the update because it's attached to your Roland account. If you decide down the road to buy another Fantom, you'd have to buy the update again too. Found this out from Scotty's Synth Stuff.
Remedy that scenario by not selling the Fantom. I bought my Fantom 8 earlier this year. I made the mistake back in the 80s and 90s by selling old classic synths that I used to have. I could kick myself. I'll never sell mine. I don't see why anyone would want to ever sell theirs.
Before I ""bite" ( and i'm so so so tempted ) I really want to see improvements to their sequencing workflow. I totally get that FANTOM bests the competition in this regard by miles ( along with Ableton/DAW support ) but it - the firmware can still be improved - producer/composer support wise..
then you're going to be waiting a long time. Roland isn't about change the sequencer. It's all clip-based. They may add some quality of life improvements etc, but as far as adding a linear sequencer, like so many have been complaining for, don't hold your breath.
ACB made the Boutique synths the greatest value in the history of synths. I would use these little digital wonders in unison and blow the heads off everyone in a solo. Very powerful. (BTW Any Boutique is the best value in synth history for sound and physical (no menu) control of it.)
I wish there was an update like this for the Fantom 0 series... They didn't even give the Fantom 0 series the option to have your own custom wallpaper at least like the flagship fantom.
German Grand expansion alone is $150 US...????.....I have been pondering this, since the V-Piano on the RD-2000 has a problem, I was wondering if the expansion would solve it, but I have only about a 10% confidence it will.
The "C" key one octave above middle "C" (MIDI note number C5) is not reacting the same as the notes around it, where it is not sustaining the same with or without the sustain pedal. And this happens only under forte and fortissimo and forte fortissimo. @@jordanbanko5347
Bit annoying that they’re calling all the keyboards similar names Fantom 6/7/8 Fantom 06/07/08 FA06/07/08, same with Yamaha and all their modxf/modx/modx+ series
I’d like to see Spitfire Audio or some big sample developer partner with Roland to add better orchestral samples to their game. They have the synth stuff locked down and it’s awesome of course.
@@Jason75913 perhaps but Yamaha re sampled an entire orchestra years ago to update their acoustic sounds. Roland had some excellent modeling on their Jupiter synth years ago (I can’t remember the model but it was out mid 2000s). It would be great for them to get back into that direction.
What's with Roland continuing to re-release and re-re-release old synth libraries? Are there just tons of people producing 80s music today? Theses are ooold sounds!
Then switch to Native Instruments software and gear, or Akai MPC stuff. Or learn sound design and make modern sounds with these Roland synths, it's not hard. Roland, Yamaha, Korg, Casio, and Kurzweil will never ever do that for you.
ive owned many roland products.. and im getting tired of the sound selection. It’s like theyre stuck in the 80’s. The piano sounds are probably the worst out of all the other leading keyboard manufacturers. Why cant roland update the hardware to atleast the early 2000’s with ample space to load in vsts or something
@@liambate2301There's a bit of an uncanny valley effect with the V-Piano. It's like the metal string modelling produces the exact same tone on every strike, always perfect, always metallic. It does come across particularly poorly on a phone. I wasn't impressed by it on mine even when playing it - but once you're listening back to your recording on proper headphones... It sounds better than you remember when you were playing it. It's odd
@@liambate2301 the sample ROM in the Fantom is full of '90s samples, very dated-sounding next to Montage and Nautilus/Kronos (though they have some '90s samples as well) Everyone wanting someone else to give them modern sounds is using VSTs like Kontakt. Native Instruments is the way to go. Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Casio, and Kurzweil stick to old old sounds, always have and likely will continue for the foreseeable future. Alternatively, quit being lazy and learn sound design and program modern sounds into your keyboards when you're at home.
I have the German Grand V-Piano for my RD2000 - which cost £150. i held off NZyme as I didnt really want to spend another £150 on that, as I have an iridium and 3rd wave. Given just those 2 cost £300 separately, and the EX was £200.... Then ACB - I loved the sounds in the boutiques and system 8 but not the keybed, so thats a bonus. I had a JD800 back in 93/94 ish, so thats another plus - and again the models for the 0 series cost $150 each. I know people dont like to pay for what they think should be evolutionary Firmware, but I really do think this is a worthwhile UP. I did, even though I had the German Grand V-Piano 9and wont get a refund as its on a different product).
do you think this keyboard would be too heavy to gig with? i found a bag that has backpack straps but didn't know if that would get old quick. I looked at the fantom 06 but really need a solid piano so thought a fantom 6 would be better. I thought about getting the MPC key 61 but didn't know if the fantom 6 would be a better buy in the long term for gigging.
When you download the EX Sounds from the website, can you install and keep? or is it just subscription, and you are not able to keep the downloads to use when you want?
it's still an awesome upgrade regardless of N/Zyme. I already owned N/zyme and they refunded me $100 on the EX upgrade. So the upgrade only cost me $99 essentially.
I’m glad nord doesn’t do this. Charge for new adds to their sound library. Crazy you pay 4000 for a keyboard and then you have to pay more for their upgrades
The developers don't work for free. Roland SRX expansions for their products in the '90s weren't free either. Upgrading RAM or the GPU in a computer aren't free. Upgrading to the latest Cubase version isn't free either. Sex sure isn't free as well. Do you see a pattern?
This is good and bad news. Good that Fantom users get new tools. Bad that the polyphony issues will continue on since Roland isn’t going to roll out new hardware any time soon.
Or just get an FP60X or something for piano, let your Fantom do anything and everything else. No amount of upgrading will bring the Fantom in the same league of piano quality as the dedicated digital pianos like YC88 and FP60X and such, it's just not made for that.
@@MrAbiye1If they can have ACB and V-Piano run on a dedicated BCM chip so there's no impact on polyphony for everything else.... could they let you run just more 'normal' engine stuff on that chip instead? Like anything on Zone 1 gets its own chip, regardless of what it is.
199 quid and I don't hear it and they still can't auto follow in a pattern which is handy for times when on your own and u just wanna jam, only good thing is 88keys
Roland is funny. $199 upgrade for EX. You can buy the Fantom 8 for 3600. BUT, if you buy the NEW EX, it's 4200.00 So, buy the original, buy ex expansion. Spend 3800 and save 400.00 for the lack of a STICKER added by the factory. LOL. ROLAND YOU ARE INSANE!
Do you think older Fantom's will be on sale for a long? No. Also, I don't wanna here to make false statements, but as I've heard, EX upgrade and certain Roland Cloud purchases are tied to users account, meaning, if one will buy older Fantom on aftermarket he will not get these upgrades, unlike in a case of EX edition.
It bothers me that they charged for Nzyme and now it’s included. Shouldn’t there be a credit for what you already have? Nevermind, I just heard it’s $99 if you own Nzyme.😝
There's lots of owners in the US reporting that Roland are refunding them 50% of the purchase price if they already own the N/Zyme expansion. As yet waiting to see if anyone in the UK has received £100 back.
There is a big problem with polyphony if you want to layer with the supernatural piano it literally cuts the sound sometimes, I was shocked by the review
I am not a keyboard whiz by no means. I am self taught and I am limited to my playing skills. This technical mumbo jumbo of these newer keyboards are like Chinese to me. So I am not even sure as to what yall are mentioning about the polyphony issues.Yall must be technical whiz kid gurus with keyboards and in that case, there is no keyboard satisfactory for any of yall. Because an average player like myself, have no problems with polyphony issues and anything else for that matter. This comment is not a bashing anyone comment. It is a comment of really wanting to know what this issue that many of yall speak about with polyphony. I will say this, I commented a couple of months ago on a Fantom video about the fact that there are sounds that are used for lead sounds and they are only one note at a time. I asked if there was a way that all 88 keys could be active on these single note lead sounds and I received a reply. They told me to click the parameter box on the screen for the lead sound I was on and change it from single note to multiple. I did that and the single note lead sounds was active on all 88 keys. I figure this is not the issue many of yall are having. Obviously there must be some other polyphony issue that I don't know. I just thought I would share this with hopes to get a reply from some about the issue and about what I shared. Thanks.
@@thecoolestdad Okay, so if you play the fantom using some sounds like piano and strings, the notes cut off after some seconds even if you still keep holding them down with your finger and with the pedal, and for someone who uses the fantom to play the auxiliary keyboards, I find it frustrating because the notes dropping off makes the music “scattered”in a sense. Imagine listening to and orchestra piece and the piano and strings keep cutting off, it makes the music sound like an amateur. I love the fantom for the usb in, some tones and the daw integration but for someone who recommended for my church to buy the fantom because we had to replace our Yamaha montage 8, it is really frustrating. I guess I will keep managing it that way. I found that if I use the vet sounds from my daw, the notes don’t cut off it’s just the sounds from the fantom
@@ImOluwatosin That is interesting. See that's what I was saying above, I didn't know what the polyphony issue was. Now that you explained it, I understand a little better now. But as for me, I am not on that caliber level of playing or performing, so I don't think it would ever be a problem for me. But I get it now, I really do. Thanks for clarifying it for me.
Jack has never been wowed one little iota in any of the Fantom videos since the release date. I wish I had tuned into his lack of enthusiasm at that time. Such a frustratingly disappointing instrument in many, many areas. But hey, forget about updating basic workflow enhancements for free like Akai does and go for the expensive upgrade route. The Fantom acoustic drums are insipid. The Sampling SSSUUUCCCKKKKSSSSS
I KNOW my opinion does NOT matter, But UNTIL ROLAND FIXES their polyphony issues where sounds drop out suddenly when you have a big patch OR makes a tutorial on how to fix it, if there is a solution, then ALL ROLANDS are TRASH. Sorry!!! *I own a Roland fantom I paid huge money for!
AGREE! Done with Roland for that very reason. Beautiful Instrument and the inteface was nice and fresh, but what wasnt fresh was the sounds that came from their old keyboards and major polyphony problems. It was useless to me as a stage keyboard on a professional level. Kronos still rules. I do hope Korg gives us a real kronos replacement though. Nautilus is just a filler. No where near a replacement.
That problem is the main reason Roland is no go for me. I own a Yamaha YC73 which has keybed design issues. Shipping it back tomorrow.....but what to buy. Et opland no-go, khronos just seen complicated at a UI mess. Nord is (too) expensive .......
The Fantom is an incredibly massive super fantastic instrument in every way. Few match it and none supersede it. Yes I LOVE❤ my Fantom but this is a hard one. I will buy the upgrade eventually but …
So… I am a bit lost. And lazy to run my research. Fantom 8, Fantom M8x, Fantom M7,M6 (no poli aft???), Fantom Ex. Oh gosh… which is which? Which is better than the other???????
10 หลายเดือนก่อน +3
Yamaha released Montage M8X ,M7 & M6. Fantom upgraded flaghip Fantom 6,7,8 model to Fantom 6,7,8 EX.
The Kronos rocks harder for sounds, though that is all I have liked about it. I prefer the user interface of Roland workstations over any modern workstation from Korg, though the Electribes do rock. Weird, my old Korg M50 has a better user interface than anything Korg makes now.
I like Roland's approach. Not only do I get new "tools" for very little money, it also increases the value of my original Fantom. I prefer this over Roland releasing a new hardware workstation called Fantom EX that is £4000. 🤷♂
I could almost go with that if Roland weren't still playing catch up to 2011 Korg Kronos, for example 😐
@@SixteenVoiceLOL… Korg hasn’t done anything good since the now old Kronos, and they still haven’t done anything with software like Roland Cloud. So yeah, Roland is way ahead and not playing catch up at all. When Korg will have any kind of cloud and software you can run in your DAW, fully integrated to their synth, then we could start to talk and compare. Until then, they should simply STFU and release new better products.
Unfortunately the EX isn’t part of any resale deal.
@@SixteenVoice- Kronos is down on user patch banks, terrible file management, only 2 channel USB, no ASIO driver, no MIDi passthrough from USB, 4 min startup, a lot less effects, non-optimized menus scaled down from the bigger OASYS display. Korg is also not a keybed innovator at all.
@@SixteenVoice being a user of Kronos for over 10 years, I agree to disagree.
There are now two monsters keyboards:
Yamaha MONTAGE 8X.
Roland Fantom 8 EX.
Congratulations for these two manufacturers!
It’s sad that Yamaha made their new flaship with aftertouch only in the 8 and not in the 6
@@EliveltonFagundesADV the yamaha 6 and 7 both have aftertouch(channel), only the 8 has polyphonic aftertouch
@@biggiesmalls7939 gotta love Yamaha retardation
I work at an engineering firm. I see the costs to develop a new product, parts,labor, inventory, testing, certification and marketing. It amazes me people believe this should be free. No one is forcing the update plus the company is reinvesting to keep your instrument fresh.
I'm ultimately of that view as well but I do have sympathy for the other side of the argument about Fantom specifically. Everything in Fantom EX has already either been released elsewhere before, or in its own hardware since. The only work thats been exclusive to the Fantom platform has been the porting/osd design.
JD800 expansion has been on Jupiter X for over a year. N/Zyme is the wavetable engine in the Gaia 2. V Piano German Grand was released earlier this year on the Rd2000. Shimmer reverb was on Gaia 2 first. ACB is obviously from the System 8 and it's running on the same type of DSP chip that's already inside the Fantom.
I guess it's more about how much you think you deserve as the owner of a a £2500-3800 flagship instrument. Nord for example made that White Grand piano available for free and it was an absolute world beater.
I am glad Roland made the first 4x ABM models and all the wave expansions available for free.
I do believe Shimmer Reverb should have been free on its own as part of a firmware update though - as I expect it'll be rolled into the Zenology spec before long, if it hasn't been already, and it'll need to be free to ensure patch compatibility.
@@MakeMagic You are right, I noticed this recycling behavior with Roland. They have their ingredients spread on many devices, so much overlap that I made a note with every modern device and their included sound engines written just to get it through my head. Not to mention polyphony! Some has zen core in bits like SH-4D. The Jupiter X and Juno X are exactly the same except for their own engines and some model expansions. I think Roland is the most confusing Music company in existence.
However, even though I love and despise Roland. Having the engines already made doesn't mean they should add it for free (Arturia did it with Microfreak 5.0 update) but it's understandable. 200$ is reasonable price for such upgrade.
Just when I almost thought about trading it in Lol. I really wanted the JD 800 and Vocal Designer. It seemed like Roland was focusing on the Jupiter and Jupiter XM over the last 2 years. Now I have the JD-800 and N Zyme and some other goodies at a great price. I’m satisfied.
They're offering this for $99 if you've already purchased nzyme - no brainer at that point.
N/Zyme costed $149, now the update is for $99 for them? Something is not right with the math... it should be $50 for N/Zyme owners.
I was just wondering about this. Thank you for sharing this information--definitely going to do the ugprade when I get off from work today lol
@@XPJV Reason to sell this monster.
Please, for the Love of God! Allow Vocal Designer Expansion for the Roland Fantom ALREADY!
? ......Will the Fantom have enough space to load up all the expansions available and the new EX Upgrade, without having to uninstall any of the expansions?
I love it!
But I need sampling update soon! Fantom absolutely needs Variphrasing!
It's a nice upgrade given they're giving a part refund for people who payed full whack for n/zyme - which looks pretty cool, the most fun in the Fantom I think.. a little like the SH-4D stuff
ACB is excellent, but the System-8 still has the best hands-on interface for those models. The full phat Fantom has 4x BMC chips in it, so has enough grunt for ACB. Only 2x BMC chips in the Fantom 0, so seems like they may not get that feature sadly. Roland are kind of due to roll out a new evolution of the ESC2/BMC series chips with more cores in, as those 2 are quad cores and ACB uses up a full core per voice for its circuit modeling
Bring on the System-16 with more plugout slots, RGB LEDs, poly-at (or at least bog standard at) on a nice 5 octave keybed, mod+pitch wheels in addition to the bender. Oh and BRING BACK THE MIGHTY D-BEAM!!!11
Yeah but you still end up paying more than a non n/zyme owner. I got $100 off of EX, but $100 - EX + $150 - n/zyme = $250. While its nice they did that, (and really didn't have to) it's still an extra $50 out of pocket.
@@twintriode Roland really didn't think things through beforehand
This is absolutely FANTASTIC !!!!! Love it ::: thanks !
Hi Jack, could you or Roland please share the scenes Andy prepared for you?
I like that there is a platform for expansions, but the installation process and complicated navigation of their website makes me think that this was not well thought out beforehand. If I am not mistaken if you were to sell the keyboard with all of the expansions they will persist as long as they are not overwritten or removed. If they could work on streamlining the installation process on the next flagship keyboard that would be nice.
Yes as a Fantom 8 owner I'm very pleased that Roland are continuing to add more and more. The early updates were free and for what this delivers. the price is very fair. Have the Montage and Nautilus and both offer upgrade routes at a much heftier price. Understand some of the limitations with this route but for me, very pleased.
As a Fantom G8 owner, I am not very pleased that I don't have money to buy the new Fantom. But the G is still my favorite piece of gear hands down. It's my main keyboard/piano/midi-controller since I bought it at release. It's a matter of taste, but it has wonderful string, brass, woodwind, bell, and electric piano sounds. The EP sounds I still use on a daily basis because they are absolutely beautiful. The strings and the woodwinds have that typical 'Roland sound', that is reminiscent of 90s, but I love them. Just throwing this out there, but if you're into video game music of the 90s/2000s (like Final Fantasy soundtracks by Nobuo Uematsu), those sounds are pretty much exclusively Roland.
I'm basically writing this just to let anyone who might read this know, that if they can get their hands on the Fantom G for a bargain, go ahead. You won't regret it. Obviously don't pay like 3k for it, because then you might as well get the modern ones. But if somebody's selling their used one for a reasonable price, get it!
The pianos tho, are... meh. What can you expect from a workstation released in 2008? You can find plenty of vst and digital pianos that sound much better, but they're not bad by any means. Just not something I'd use on a finished record as a main piano. I still play with the Fantom G pianos everyday tho when I'm just practicing piano, and it's a great experience. The bell and string and brass sounds I use daily. The brass are not the most realistic, but they work really well in pop/rock/jazz/soul songs if you layer them and add your own FX in a DAW. The bells are amazing. Especially if you layer several bell instruments in the Live Mode. They stand up to any physical modelling plucky sounds of modern VSTs, EASILY. I dont know why they're so good, but they are. Obviously don't expect any modulation capabilities, because they don't exist. The sound design in Fantom G is basically layering existing sounds (up to 8 layers), and adding a few basic FX on them.
I'm personally really partial to workstations because I want to avoid sound design in a DAW as much as possible, and quickly sketch a musical idea down, and just have the sounds I want locked and loaded. Oh and one other thing. The Fantom G8 keybed and action is something really, really special. I haven't played the modern Fantom 8, but the Fantom G8 has a really unique keyboard, that I haven't encountered in before or since in any actual, or digital piano. It has a kind of a noisy 'thump' sound when you press the keys hard, and you have to press them quite hard to get the highest velocity, but it feels SOOOO GOOD to play. This might be an acquired taste, and that nobody shares my opinion on this, but I actively yearn for the G8 keybed in any other keyboard or actual piano that I play. It's unique.
The updates for the Fantom G were discontinued quite abruptly, considering the price range of the thing, so I'm glad to see the new iteration is being taken care of. I hope to own it one day!
after gaia and this im glad they don't do the paid stuff with the SH-4d
The bad thing about this, is that if you one day decided to sell your Fantom, the new owner cannot register the keyboard with Roland. If they do, then it will wipe out the update because it's attached to your Roland account. If you decide down the road to buy another Fantom, you'd have to buy the update again too. Found this out from Scotty's Synth Stuff.
I bought a second hand ACB synth. Worked fine after update/register. Nothing is wiped.
Remedy that scenario by not selling the Fantom. I bought my Fantom 8 earlier this year. I made the mistake back in the 80s and 90s by selling old classic synths that I used to have. I could kick myself. I'll never sell mine. I don't see why anyone would want to ever sell theirs.
@@thecoolestdad Perhaps to pay this winter's energy bill?!
Nah, just sell it as an EX fantom and transfer the license
I want more pianos. Give us an Itlian concert grand, Japanese Grand, and Vienna Grand.
I was not expecting that blast beat. I laughed loud enough to get funny looks from the people around me.
Great stuff dude and looking forward to seeing you on the Geo channel, hope the falcon comes as well
Before I ""bite" ( and i'm so so so tempted ) I really want to see improvements to their sequencing workflow. I totally get that FANTOM bests the competition in this regard by miles ( along with Ableton/DAW support ) but it - the firmware can still be improved - producer/composer support wise..
Agreed … really needed to hear able to copy and paste clips and create a default template. Stuff like that would be very helpful
then you're going to be waiting a long time. Roland isn't about change the sequencer. It's all clip-based. They may add some quality of life improvements etc, but as far as adding a linear sequencer, like so many have been complaining for, don't hold your breath.
@ToRFlow i wasn't asking for a linear sequencer mode( although it would be good ) just better user interface and useability for whats already there
ACB made the Boutique synths the greatest value in the history of synths. I would use these little digital wonders in unison and blow the heads off everyone in a solo. Very powerful. (BTW Any Boutique is the best value in synth history for sound and physical (no menu) control of it.)
How much polyphony does the acb Jupiter have?
I wish there was an update like this for the Fantom 0 series... They didn't even give the Fantom 0 series the option to have your own custom wallpaper at least like the flagship fantom.
ACB is way more authentic sounding compared to Zencore. Zencore is just anaemic sounding.
audiences won't ever care
Jack: *exists* ....Oz: ouff!
German Grand expansion alone is $150 US...????.....I have been pondering this, since the V-Piano on the RD-2000 has a problem, I was wondering if the expansion would solve it, but I have only about a 10% confidence it will.
I am currently looking at the Fantom 8 and RD-2000. What issues are you having with the V-Piano on the RD-2000?
The "C" key one octave above middle "C" (MIDI note number C5) is not reacting the same as the notes around it, where it is not sustaining the same with or without the sustain pedal. And this happens only under forte and fortissimo and forte fortissimo. @@jordanbanko5347
The V-pianos have their own chip which is different from building a sample based piano!
Great demo! I would also like to see Andy play
Bit annoying that they’re calling all the keyboards similar names Fantom 6/7/8 Fantom 06/07/08 FA06/07/08, same with Yamaha and all their modxf/modx/modx+ series
understatement, the naming schemes are stupid
I’d like to see Spitfire Audio or some big sample developer partner with Roland to add better orchestral samples to their game. They have the synth stuff locked down and it’s awesome of course.
Kontakt-tier sounds are total overkill for the stage, man
@@Jason75913 perhaps but Yamaha re sampled an entire orchestra years ago to update their acoustic sounds. Roland had some excellent modeling on their Jupiter synth years ago (I can’t remember the model but it was out mid 2000s). It would be great for them to get back into that direction.
Thanks for the sad cry montage
"will it win jack over".....????....Anderson sells stuff, you going to tell us not to buy something you offer????
the piano sound is from factory ? I mean sin your set up thank's for this great vidéo
What's with Roland continuing to re-release and re-re-release old synth libraries? Are there just tons of people producing 80s music today? Theses are ooold sounds!
Then switch to Native Instruments software and gear, or Akai MPC stuff.
Or learn sound design and make modern sounds with these Roland synths, it's not hard. Roland, Yamaha, Korg, Casio, and Kurzweil will never ever do that for you.
The editing is 🔥 😄😄😄
ive owned many roland products.. and im getting tired of the sound selection. It’s like theyre stuck in the 80’s. The piano sounds are probably the worst out of all the other leading keyboard manufacturers. Why cant roland update the hardware to atleast the early 2000’s with ample space to load in vsts or something
I agree, everything sounds very thin and artificial on the fantom
@@liambate2301There's a bit of an uncanny valley effect with the V-Piano. It's like the metal string modelling produces the exact same tone on every strike, always perfect, always metallic.
It does come across particularly poorly on a phone. I wasn't impressed by it on mine even when playing it - but once you're listening back to your recording on proper headphones... It sounds better than you remember when you were playing it. It's odd
@@liambate2301 the sample ROM in the Fantom is full of '90s samples, very dated-sounding next to Montage and Nautilus/Kronos (though they have some '90s samples as well)
Everyone wanting someone else to give them modern sounds is using VSTs like Kontakt. Native Instruments is the way to go. Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Casio, and Kurzweil stick to old old sounds, always have and likely will continue for the foreseeable future. Alternatively, quit being lazy and learn sound design and program modern sounds into your keyboards when you're at home.
I have the German Grand V-Piano for my RD2000 - which cost £150. i held off NZyme as I didnt really want to spend another £150 on that, as I have an iridium and 3rd wave. Given just those 2 cost £300 separately, and the EX was £200.... Then ACB - I loved the sounds in the boutiques and system 8 but not the keybed, so thats a bonus. I had a JD800 back in 93/94 ish, so thats another plus - and again the models for the 0 series cost $150 each. I know people dont like to pay for what they think should be evolutionary Firmware, but I really do think this is a worthwhile UP. I did, even though I had the German Grand V-Piano 9and wont get a refund as its on a different product).
do you think this keyboard would be too heavy to gig with? i found a bag that has backpack straps but didn't know if that would get old quick. I looked at the fantom 06 but really need a solid piano so thought a fantom 6 would be better.
I thought about getting the MPC key 61 but didn't know if the fantom 6 would be a better buy in the long term for gigging.
DO you know when Fantom 06 will be Fantom Z?
When you download the EX Sounds from the website, can you install and keep? or is it just subscription, and you are not able to keep the downloads to use when you want?
the free EX expansions? subscription is irrelevant for those as far as I kbow
Great instrument! Have one (not upgraded) I really enjoy keybed of 8 but regarding sounds looks like Roland mostly stuck in 80’s IMO
0:55 😂. This convinced me. Nice one
Excuse my ignorance so if I grab the Fanton 8 EX i get all these sounds in their subscription model? Thanks
Awesome upgrade if you haven't purchased enzyme
it's still an awesome upgrade regardless of N/Zyme. I already owned N/zyme and they refunded me $100 on the EX upgrade. So the upgrade only cost me $99 essentially.
You didn’t zoom to Pro Mode in the ACB, which allows you to navigate and edit from the full Jupiter 8 front panel.
I’m glad nord doesn’t do this. Charge for new adds to their sound library. Crazy you pay 4000 for a keyboard and then you have to pay more for their upgrades
The developers don't work for free. Roland SRX expansions for their products in the '90s weren't free either. Upgrading RAM or the GPU in a computer aren't free. Upgrading to the latest Cubase version isn't free either. Sex sure isn't free as well.
Do you see a pattern?
If you look at Roland as software company, that's pretty normal.
Not update it is big upgrade ;) please retype
This is good and bad news. Good that Fantom users get new tools. Bad that the polyphony issues will continue on since Roland isn’t going to roll out new hardware any time soon.
Fanthom's branding becomes so confusing over the years lol.
Gr8 ... Which 1 is better buy.... Montage M or Fantom Ex now?
Will the EX win Jack over? I haven't even watched the video and i know the answer.
199 to update??? I think I won't get Fantom.. Probably should stay away from all Roland keyboards until they come to their senses.
or just stick to the Fantom-0 and ignore the flagship?
Did you get the crying girl footage by telling her the price of the update?
It's only a matter of time until you have to upload 5% of your soul into ''the cloud'' to get a decent piano 🎹😇
Or just get an FP60X or something for piano, let your Fantom do anything and everything else. No amount of upgrading will bring the Fantom in the same league of piano quality as the dedicated digital pianos like YC88 and FP60X and such, it's just not made for that.
I have buy , nice
Those things are beautiful to play. I got lost the other day on one.
As of late? hummm....
That piano sounds phenomenal!!
Did they fix polyphony in general? I know it's not an issue with V-Piano.
Nope, it's more to do with the hardware architecture, so I dnt expect anything major until a newer version is released.
I literally just made a comment on that. The polyphony issue is so frustrating!!!!!!!!!
Apparently there was a slight real world polyphony improvement in the firmware update that came just before this. (3.02?)
@@MrAbiye1If they can have ACB and V-Piano run on a dedicated BCM chip so there's no impact on polyphony for everything else.... could they let you run just more 'normal' engine stuff on that chip instead? Like anything on Zone 1 gets its own chip, regardless of what it is.
199 quid and I don't hear it and they still can't auto follow in a pattern which is handy for times when on your own and u just wanna jam, only good thing is 88keys
Roland is funny. $199 upgrade for EX. You can buy the Fantom 8 for 3600. BUT, if you buy the NEW EX, it's 4200.00 So, buy the original, buy ex expansion. Spend 3800 and save 400.00 for the lack of a STICKER added by the factory. LOL. ROLAND YOU ARE INSANE!
Do you think older Fantom's will be on sale for a long? No. Also, I don't wanna here to make false statements, but as I've heard, EX upgrade and certain Roland Cloud purchases are tied to users account, meaning, if one will buy older Fantom on aftermarket he will not get these upgrades, unlike in a case of EX edition.
Why not D-50 modeling ?
D-50 needs no modeling, it's already fully digital. Grab a D-05.
Fantom’s screen interface is second to none!
It bothers me that they charged for Nzyme and now it’s included. Shouldn’t there be a credit for what you already have?
Nevermind, I just heard it’s $99 if you own Nzyme.😝
O cara pega o timbre do Crystal Rhodes que é lindo e caga tudo, não tem sensibilidade e domínio nenhum com o timbre.
Rodumb
9:26 😂
There's lots of owners in the US reporting that Roland are refunding them 50% of the purchase price if they already own the N/Zyme expansion.
As yet waiting to see if anyone in the UK has received £100 back.
Update - I got the £100 back
4:10 amazing sounds.
There is a big problem with polyphony if you want to layer with the supernatural piano it literally cuts the sound sometimes, I was shocked by the review
Really? Saw some people doing it and it didn’t cut
@@EliveltonFagundesADV You are the bigest genius in the world well done
I wish they can solve the polyphony issues on the Fantom. It would make playing so interesting
I am not a keyboard whiz by no means. I am self taught and I am limited to my playing skills. This technical mumbo jumbo of these newer keyboards are like Chinese to me. So I am not even sure as to what yall are mentioning about the polyphony issues.Yall must be technical whiz kid gurus with keyboards and in that case, there is no keyboard satisfactory for any of yall. Because an average player like myself, have no problems with polyphony issues and anything else for that matter. This comment is not a bashing anyone comment. It is a comment of really wanting to know what this issue that many of yall speak about with polyphony. I will say this, I commented a couple of months ago on a Fantom video about the fact that there are sounds that are used for lead sounds and they are only one note at a time. I asked if there was a way that all 88 keys could be active on these single note lead sounds and I received a reply. They told me to click the parameter box on the screen for the lead sound I was on and change it from single note to multiple. I did that and the single note lead sounds was active on all 88 keys. I figure this is not the issue many of yall are having. Obviously there must be some other polyphony issue that I don't know. I just thought I would share this with hopes to get a reply from some about the issue and about what I shared. Thanks.
@@thecoolestdad Okay, so if you play the fantom using some sounds like piano and strings, the notes cut off after some seconds even if you still keep holding them down with your finger and with the pedal, and for someone who uses the fantom to play the auxiliary keyboards, I find it frustrating because the notes dropping off makes the music “scattered”in a sense. Imagine listening to and orchestra piece and the piano and strings keep cutting off, it makes the music sound like an amateur. I love the fantom for the usb in, some tones and the daw integration but for someone who recommended for my church to buy the fantom because we had to replace our Yamaha montage 8, it is really frustrating.
I guess I will keep managing it that way. I found that if I use the vet sounds from my daw, the notes don’t cut off it’s just the sounds from the fantom
The last update for the smaller Fantom 0 fixed that issue so I assume it was done for the big brother
@@williamshaneblyth I’ve updated to v3.02. It hasn’t been fixed on Fantom 8
@@ImOluwatosin That is interesting. See that's what I was saying above, I didn't know what the polyphony issue was. Now that you explained it, I understand a little better now. But as for me, I am not on that caliber level of playing or performing, so I don't think it would ever be a problem for me. But I get it now, I really do. Thanks for clarifying it for me.
Duh montage m, not just a sticker, out of their mind, roland been bad for along time, new ceo time.
Jack has never been wowed one little iota in any of the Fantom videos since the release date. I wish I had tuned into his lack of enthusiasm at that time. Such a frustratingly disappointing instrument in many, many areas. But hey, forget about updating basic workflow enhancements for free like Akai does and go for the expensive upgrade route. The Fantom acoustic drums are insipid. The Sampling SSSUUUCCCKKKKSSSSS
Very bad workstation synthesizer Please don't Purchase
your more sound choices were piss poor.... come on!!
Meh
I KNOW my opinion does NOT matter, But UNTIL ROLAND FIXES their polyphony issues where sounds drop out suddenly when you have a big patch OR makes a tutorial on how to fix it, if there is a solution, then ALL ROLANDS are TRASH. Sorry!!! *I own a Roland fantom I paid huge money for!
AGREE! Done with Roland for that very reason. Beautiful Instrument and the inteface was nice and fresh, but what wasnt fresh was the sounds that came from their old keyboards and major polyphony problems. It was useless to me as a stage keyboard on a professional level. Kronos still rules. I do hope Korg gives us a real kronos replacement though. Nautilus is just a filler. No where near a replacement.
That problem is the main reason Roland is no go for me. I own a Yamaha YC73 which has keybed design issues. Shipping it back tomorrow.....but what to buy. Et opland no-go, khronos just seen complicated at a UI mess. Nord is (too) expensive .......
The Fantom is an incredibly massive super fantastic instrument in every way. Few match it and none supersede it. Yes I LOVE❤ my Fantom but this is a hard one. I will buy the upgrade eventually but …
So… I am a bit lost. And lazy to run my research. Fantom 8, Fantom M8x, Fantom M7,M6 (no poli aft???), Fantom Ex. Oh gosh… which is which? Which is better than the other???????
Yamaha released Montage M8X ,M7 & M6. Fantom upgraded flaghip Fantom 6,7,8 model to Fantom 6,7,8 EX.
Not sure what you’re smoking bro, but please stop it from your own good… M6, M7 and M8x are keyboards made by Yamaha, and nothing related to Roland.
the korg kronos is a far better machine in every single way
lol riiiiight. Dude, I own a Kronos and a Fantom 6. You have no idea what you're talking about.
The Kronos rocks harder for sounds, though that is all I have liked about it. I prefer the user interface of Roland workstations over any modern workstation from Korg, though the Electribes do rock. Weird, my old Korg M50 has a better user interface than anything Korg makes now.
great job on the edit oz, good stuff.
Cheers!! ❤❤