Roland Clan Forums

After 3 weeks of playing around with my F G7, I have to say that "I still love my V-Synth XT and I'm keepin' it". Not comparing G7 with XT .. just making a point that I have nothing against Roland. I believe that they are a quality company with their own strengths and short comings, just as any other synth manufacturer.

G7 Pro:
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Really liked the user interface of the software and hardware layout. Screen is beautiful (under-statement). More than enough controls therefore makes a wonderful controller in any rig. Great addition for anyone's set up with DAW and even more reason to buy it if you are without a DAW. Ergonomically great. Streamlined work-flow.

G7 Cons:
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Lack of quality sounds in multiple categories.

Yes, I know that sound's subjective and you can tweak these sounds/effects to make it sound more customized to your liking but you can do that with any other professional grade workstation as well. So all things being equal, I feel that the root of the problem lies in the underlying waveforms/samples. Higher quality and carefully created waveforms/samples are capable of producing higher quality patches/performances. You can tweak all the reverb/eq/compression settings you want to but a poorly and un-musically recorded track is only capable of making a mediocre (at best) recording. Ever heard a great song which is poorly recorded. In this day and age, a musician's talent shouldn't be spent on compensating a company's over-sight/short comings on part of a company's think tank. These short comings could even be (knowingly) self-inflected due to competitive nature of the market which doesn't allow the company to utilize it's full potential to improve and innovate in all aspects of a particular product. After all, they are all in this business to make money.

Many of us may be completely content and happy with this synth and rightfully so. These are just my humble opinions based on my preference and recent experience with G7.

After 3 weeks of purchase, I continued using my G7 (for past 2 days, mostly as a controller to my V-Synth XT, Access Virus) and adjusting to it short comings in hopes for a firmware upgrade which would address my issues with it. I would've even continued down this path ... until last night, upon powering up, a blank screen was staring at me and the only sign of life was a lit up sequencer's play button. After some troubleshooting with no success, I took it back to the retail store. I debated getting a replacement G7 but they had none in stock. I opted for a Yamaha Motif XS7 instead. I was already semi-thinking about it after my disappointment with G7's sound patches. Motif addressed many of sound quality concerns with G7, right out of the box. I can still choose to tweak these sounds to my heart's content or not. I use Logic as my main sequencer therefore on board sequencer is not a big issue for me. I use third party effects plug-ins, therefore it's another thing that I don't have to worry about. Although, I found Motif's on-board effects a bit more to my taste as compared to Fantom's. IMHO, G7 has a better user-interface and work-flow therefore, for last couple of days, I found myself using Fantom G7 only as a controller which is a bit pricey proposition for me. On top of that, I also own Novation Remote Controller. Given all the above mentioned reason, my switch from Fantom to Motif made sense for me. and I'm quite happy with it. Although, I wish for a workstation with Motif's sound and Roland's user interface. In the end, music is the only thing that matters. We all take different routes and use different tools to make it (a very democratic process in my opinion) but as long as we have fun making it!

Some Motif sounds are more realistic (analog synth, guitars) compared to the G, but the G overall sounds cleaner to my ears and I personally like the G effects better.

Each man to his own.

"but the G overall sounds cleaner" - to me after trying for the second time the Fantom G it also seemed Clean, i mean way too clean and digital...
And i have to agree there are too many categories lacking good sounds and sounds are the base of a Synth...

Sorry to hear about your disappointment with the G. I have found a few categories that are lacking on the G in my opinion also, such as AC.Piano, Brass, Woodwind, AC Guitar, Elec. Drum kits but they are by no means "bad" per se. Just lacking somewhat. Although some in those categoies I mentioned are actually quite acceptable. And of course as you pointed out sounds are subjective and what is one persons opinion about certain sounds may not be the next persons same opinion about those same sounds. Although, those of us who are long standing musicians and have an ear for music generally know the difference between what sounds average or mediocre vs. what sounds magnificent and outstanding. Even a child knows the basic difference between what sounds natural and realistic vs. what sounds unnatural and unrealistic. Granted, there are some mediocre sounds in the Fantom G in my opinion but that is how it is in every keyboard really. At least all the ones I have played anyway. I've owned both the Motif ES and XS and while they both had their strengths they both have their weaknesses as well. One thing for sure though is Yamaha has the edge as far as AC guitar sounds go. But many of the sounds I like better in my Fantom G vs. the Motif ES/XS. Go figure.

Whatever floats your boat and makes you happy is the main thing. Sorry the Fantom G didn't work out for you. We'll miss you on Roland Clan. Don't forget to write when you can.

Motifator.com is Yammies hang out for Motif and Yamaha users. Oh.., and say hi to Phil Clendeninn and Athan Billias for all of us over here at Roland Clan. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know you ditched the G and bought an XS. As would the president of Yamaha Corp. also. lol.. Just kidding... Athan and Phil are great guys and very involved in the forum activities and are very helpful as well. But just be aware that there are a few over there who are very staunch fan boys and who might jump all over your back if you start to speak one negative word about the XS on motifator. I just want to prepare you that's all.

I still have my V-Synth So, I'll still frequent other section of this forum. In the mean time, I'll keep an eye out for latest upgrades for Fantom because I think it's a great synth with lots of potential. I just hope that Roland make good decisions to allow it to reach it's true potential. If and when that happens (IMHO), I'll give it another serious consideration. I still love how it allows the user to interact with it's engine. Also, no rule against owning them all (Roland, Korg, Yamaha) ...

I'm aware of motifactor.com as well. There are always a few everywhere who takes things too seriously ... Not trying to start anything at any forum .. hehe!

Thanks for all your input!

I am sorry to hear the G died on you. That is scary thing to hear. The keyboards meant to last forever, and that's what most of them do.

I love the Motif XS, and hope to see you on Motifator forum, but gotta tell ya- there sounds that missed on Motif as well. Like- there only 2 flute sounds. The strings missing that legendary warm fill to it and in general are average. I mean- I got exactly what I expected from G- keyboard version of my JV 2080 with expansions. Its Roland- that's how it sounds and its not going to change. In perfect world you would have both of these boards, but Motif will hold you till the Module version of Fantom will get released- I would wait for it if I did not need portable good sounding board to play live. Also- if you use V-Synth, Virus and Motif, you will miss Roland warm sound. But take your time. I wish I had V-Synth here and now. But then again- I already have too many sounds. Don't forget to order the Synth expansion labraries on MotifMart for your YM7- it will blow your virus together with your brain out of the window- yes it,s that good. Good luck.

or get a Sonic Cell and get some of the G and X sounds to your rig.

emranrao:
When I started with the Fantom it was for one reason:
Its potential<---
I was not to reliant on its presets it was the possibilities that attracted me not the presets.

I always said that OBE (out of box experience with the fantom range has never been great and thats usually on the synth side)
The way I see it is this....

The Fantom S/X/G is a board to help you make better use of what you`ve got and is also flexible enough to allow you to create.
Its not a sound box with OBE presets its a crafting tool.
Now lets say you take the G as a master (the center of your studio) and you want some OBE sounds, solution is simple, get yourself an add on module and route it through the Fantom.
Forget srx/arx as they are to much of the same sound stock. You need to add a bit of chocolate to your cake, not just more cake.
The MicroX has some really nice OBE sounds and can be tweaked.
So i think for future reference the Fantom should be seen as a center piece for everything else to fit around it and not the be and end all but your beginning.

Quinnx:

Potential is important but meaningless without it's realization. Most modern synths can be categorized in his manner but very few can claim to reach it's true potential. Inspiration is another thing that I personally look for in a synth. Out of box sounds not only shows the user what a synth can potentially do but also get the creative juices flowing which may inspire to write a great melody, chord progression or a song. Factory patches showcase the user of synth's capabilities. Otherwise, they are all capable of synthesizing sound.
Given the order of things these days, even with the coolest and most powerful hardware workstations around, I believe "computers" are arguably the center of most studios. A great testimony to this argument is the software plug-ins, editors, librarian software provided by manufacturers for their hardware product. Also, plug-in versions of their hardware counter-parts (B4, FM7, soft samplers, Pro-53 etc)
Therefore, it is difficult for me to envision any hardware workstation as the center of my studio and everything revolving around it. As much as I like my computers, I love having hardware synths though. I guess, I like to have double serving of my cake with double chocolate toppings ..

I agree the fantom range on preset do not inspire.
but they do give you a starting point for what you may create yourself.

I think the one roland sound set that always had inspiration behind it was the D-50.
Just dialup any of its patches and away you go...

I suppose your inspiration need prompting, you could always download some user patches or go for some new ones by Art:
Now you do have the XT so you have the D50 engine.
Just route it through the Fantom and use it as your inspiration and then build the fantom around it.