Home studio with Roland Fantom X8

[Zoltan]

Hi, R.C. members!

I'm a newbie in this forum - this is my first post.

WHAT?

I intend to start a home studio. I searched on the web for the most powerful music work station and I found the Roland Fantom X8. Should I have in mind any other option?...

HOW?

Here I would like to ask for your help. As my budget is limited, about 4000 EUR, I will have choice the most important equipments. If it would be possible, I would avoid to work with computer, but this is not a "must".

For starting the home studio I thought about the following equipment:

1 - Roland Fantom X8 [the main instrument]
2 - BOSS BR-1200CD digital recorder*
3 - monitor speakers - I don't know the brand... **
4 - one studio microphone - I don't know the brand... **
5 - cables and stands**

*Is this a good choice or I should consider other brands, too? If "yes", which ones?
** Please help me giving me advices about the brands and products.

What do you think about my concept regarding to the studio equipment?

Thank you for your help!

Zoltan
www.bassplayer.ro

[jgore]

Based on my experience, I strongly recommend you the Eventrs TR8.

Should be arround 400 euros.

Roland Fantom X7

Event TR8 Studio Monitors

[Zoltan]

JGore,

Thank you for your help! What do you think about the BOSS BR-1200CD digital recorder? Do I need it/it's a good choice/it's professional enough?... and so on

Zoltan

[V-CeeOh]

Hi Zoltan
Welcome to the Roland Clan.

Unless you don't have any other way of burning CDs you wont need the BR cause you already have an 8 track audio recorder in the Fantom. So if you want it just for burnning save some cash and go for the BR900CD or buy a decent CD recorder. You also better consider that cash for upgrading the Fantom with extra RAM and memory card.

About the monitors I can highly recomend the GENELEC 8000 series (check the model/price range that best suits you) - although I actually use a pair of Edirol MA20D - decent but not of the same range obviously )))


o - ...just could not afford the 8
(
\_/
hear what I've done with the 7

[john68]

i am new here as well. i am a live playing musician so
i have my studio to be able to accommidate live playing.
might want to concider that,,so i bought a p.a. system.
if you have partys often with 10 or more people,,then a p.a. system is a good choice. you can facilitate a live band or have a dance party!! fun fun!
as far as yer questions,, make every purchase carfully.
know that you will need each item for mulitipurpose apps.
so this is what i use....
1. behringer p.a. >500 watts minimumsome nice onesmg10/2>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>> john

[canefire]

Get a mac g5 dual used they are cheaper now that the new MAC computers are out....very powerful.
Get a fantom x7 if you want to have fast key action.
Get a fantom x8 if you are a pianist. (it has weighted keys)
Get a fantom s if you are smart!
Mics... you have to choose by taste...can't go wrong with Rode NTK, or the regular US$200 Rode NT1A or whatever it is called.
Get a recording program for your like DP (digital performer) MAC because you will kick yourself later once you realize how limited the BR recording machines are and the fact that they are hard to resell.
Get an interface made by MOTU like the ultra lite. 10 inputs and small!
Monitors...for now go cheap because these get expensive and instead get really good headphones that have a wide range like 5hz - 22khz.

You can't go worng with this set up! Professional sound guaranteed. Only other thing you may want is an expensive preamp but that can wait for when you start making big money.
cheers
Ian

"Never waste venom on dead and fleeing things" - The mantra of the Cobra

[SPISHAK]

hi Zoltan,

I also like to avoid COMP set ups.I do all pre-production work in my Fan X6. Generally I make patterns for verse,chorus,breakdown,etc, & step record PATTERN CALL messages into Song.Then record those
tracks by routing them through OUTPUTS A or B OR 1 2 3 4 to my Yamaha AW16G, which is set as midi master(FanX is set to slave). I then add bass guitar,acoustic guitar, vocal,etc. for monitors I use EVENT 20/20's w/matching SUB. I would use the best CONDENSER mic I could afford...rodes are good (I use one) for the price...I don't know if br1200 has phantom power(my YAMAHA does) and you'll need it for condensers. I bought all my stuff at the local GUITAR CENTER. If you have a similar store near you they can be a great help in picking out the equipment that's right for you & your budget.
Also you'll need a midi cord to slave your FANX to your stand-alone recorder of choice

A couple'o'quarts'o'beer makes it so the intonation does not offend yer ear!

[Zoltan]

I just discovered Fantom-G8 and I am wondering if it would be the best workstation for me. My questions are:

1. It has proper sounds for contemporary Christian rock music? [Examples: Delirious?, Tim Hughes, Michael W. Smith & Hillsong]
2. It is good enough to record an official CD material exclusively on it?

Thanks for your help!
Zoltan

[Wilmar]

>> 1. It has proper sounds for contemporary Christian rock music? [Examples: Delirious?, Tim Hughes, Michael W. Smith & Hillsong]

I'm using my X8 a lot in church. Soundwise theres a big difference between Delirious and MW Smith, but both are no problem for the X or G.


>> 2. It is good enough to record an official CD material exclusively on it?

When is a CD official?
First thing needed for producing a CD of broadcast quality is songwriting, producing and engineering skills. Next in line is the equipment. Springsteen made a record using a 4 track cassette (Nebraska).

My advise for a cheap and simple homestudio: An Imac with something like an Edirol USB audio interface and Garageband or Logic Express for recording. Yamaha HS50's are nice monitors, SE or Rode are nice mics. Don't forget to soundproof the room your recording and mixing in, acoustics are often overlooked and make a huge difference.

I'm a songwriter myself. I use the The Fantom X for sketching down idea's. And use an iMac to get from the idea to a finished demo (and get that demo to my band).

[Zoltan]

Wilmar, thanks for your input!

Regarding to my 2nd question, I tried to ask if Fantom X8 could be the right choice for a complete music production.

Let me explain it. I would work in the following way:

1. I would compose and record my songs on Fantom X8,
including: piano, synth, drums & percussion, bass & grooves.
2. I would ask a guitar player to play his parts and I would record
them into the Fantom X8.
3. Having all the instrumental part done, I would record the voices,
perhaps, in the Fantom X8, too.

This way, I could have the entire CD material done with the Fantom X8.

My question was: is the up-mentioned process viable and
is Fantom X8 the best solution for such a working process?

Will my CD material sound GREAT, just as I dream of?...

Thanks!

[Vlad_77]

Zoltan,

Welcome to the Clan.

The X8 can do it all. Sound is subjective of course, but and I and quite a few others consider the pianos in the X better than the G out of the box.

In addition to the standard MIDI sequencer, you also have an 8 track audio recorder built right in.

The X is a VERY deep instrument in terms of programming possibilities, the X8 has a GREAT action.

It really is a complete concept to completion workstation. I have eight hardware workstations/synths, and the X is my "goto" board. It can do metal, rock, techno, trance, acid, house, classical, jazz, great psychedelic stuff like The Beatles, etc.

I believe that the X will fulfill your wishes and much more.

I would suggest also purchasing Artemiy's Planet Mega Pack (available for purchase from the Sound Libraries link on this site). You get the Tweakbook, and the Planet F, X, and V libraries. It doesn't cost a lot of money but this bundle WILL astound you.

Best,
Vlad

[wudsiba]

Once again, I have to agree with Vlad_77. The X should do all that you are looking for. You may want to buy a computer down the line, but you can deffinately acomplish all that you want in the X, or the G for that matter. I own the Fantom X6, and I'm very happy with it. You may want to skip to the G, but I really don't think it's a must. Also, if you buy the X, you will save a lot of money for a good mic and headphones. I would also recomend the Rode NT1-A mic. I do not own one, but I will in the near future. Right now, I just own a Shure beta 57a. A great mic for live apps, but not the best for recording. I would also recomend AKG 271s headphones. The sound is great with not a lot of "color" added- to give you an acurate reproduction. These are also "Closed Back" which means you can record vocals, for example, while litening to the music already recorded on the Fantom, and the sound you hear will not "bleed" into the mic. I do own these, and I absolutely love them. Other than that, you will need a small pre-amp just to provide phantom power to a condenser mic. These can be bought very cheap. This is another reason I have the Shure mic right now, but I have bought a Samson C-valve pre-amp in preporation for the Rode mic.
Long post, I know. Hope it helps...
EDIT: As for the digital recorder,you might want to hold off. You can basically do everything in the Fantom and record the finished product as a WAV file. Then just drop those Wav files into a friends computer and burn them as a CD. That's why I think you will eventually want a computer, just to fill the odds and ends. You can also get some cheap moniters like the Edirol MA series.

[Wilmar]

To be honest. The X8 can do it all, but to some extend. Yes, you can produce a finished song with audiotracks in the X8. But with a 4 minute song, the sequencer and lets say 3 four minute audiotracks running the X user interface will become very sluggish. The audio editing in the X8 is not nearly as intuative as on a computer based DAW (drag and drop with a mouse). And processes like normalizing a 4 minute track takes very long to complete. And at the end you need to save your work wich also takes some time. You're waiting for your UI to finish a lot of time and that becomes annoying when recording with friends. The audiotracks feature in the X8 is actually a differend twist to sampling, it's not inline direct to HD recording like a multitrack-DAW.

I love my X8 and use it every day, it's my main board. So don't take this as bashing the X8. But I hoped when I bought it I could produce finished songs that including a few guitar and vocal tracks (including dubs). On paper it can. But in practice it's sufficiend to lay down idea's and use it as a MIDI+Audio sketchpad. Producing a finished popsong with MIDI and 8+ tracks of audio is a much easier and faster task on a computer based DAW. Last but not least, you have to burn a CD, so you need a computer anyway. Adding a Roland, Boss (, or Yamaha) multitrackrecorder will overcome these flaws and then you can do it without a computer. But for the price of a Roland VS or even Boss BR recorder you can buy an Mac Mini, iBook or iMac. That will give you a great recorder with a big screen, all effects you will need and virtual instruments and supereasy recording of 32+ tracks (and a word processor for writing lyrics, and a web browser to upload songs thrown in for free).

Of course you can start with an X8 and add a computer based DAW at a later stage.

Actually adding an iBook is as mobile as an Boss BR and you can use it onstage for additional sounds (like a Hammond VST-i, a much needed sound in gospelworld, and the rotary's of the X are OK but not as terrific as Native Instrument's B4 or Logic's Hammond emu).

(I'm not affiliated with Apple in any way, just a very happy convert from Windows to Mac, just fill in PC in al the Apple refferences if that's your preference .

[Vlad_77]

It makes me VERY happy to see that so many of us realise the power of the X. Some G owners have commented that the G is light years beyond the X. For THEM it might be true, but for ME, the G was not terribly impressive. The X is by no means overshadowed by the G in any way as far as I am concerned.

We have more power in the X than the Beatles EVER had in their whole studio at Abbey Road!! And look at what they and George Martin accomplished!

Sgt. Pepper was recorded on an analog FOUR track. That album is still considered to be one of the masterpieces of modern music. The Beatles changed music forever. Of course, it is not the equipment that makes the music, but the musician! But, imagine if, somehow you could transport an X back to those sessions in early 1967. I cannot even comprehend what the Beatles and George Martin would have come up with!

John Lennon was especially fond of pushing musical boundaries. He would have LOVED the X. And remember, at the time of his murder, only the Fairlight CMI was available in terms of insanely powerful musical experimentation in a digital realm.

The X is damned near a complete STUDIO. As a synth it is DEEP.

When I play the X, it feels so very alive. I know it might sound daft, but I truly believe that a musician and her/his instruments develop a relationship. Every single keyboard I own is like that. I have auditioned other stuff out there like the Motif XS, Korg M3, and others - including the G side by side with an X. To my ears, none of these could cut it against the X for my needs.

"New" does not necessarily mean "better". Guitarists and bassists and drummers understand this very well. Brass players, wind players, and string player also understand this.

Some people talk about outdated sounds. To me there is no such thing as an outdated sound. I have said this before and I will repeat here again: if a sound can be considered outdated, then why are we still enchanted with pianos, guitars, violins, violas, cellos, etc. etc.

These are OLD instruments, but, are they obsolete? NO. Even in electronic music, there is no out of date sound. You can take ANY sound - even the oft used "Jump" patch on your synth of choice and make crazy new music.

I just added a JP-8000 to my rig. Some would consider its sound to be outdated. Not I. This little 8 voice VA is a marvel! I have it alternately MIDIed to either an XV-88 or an SH-32. INSANE possibilities!!

And you know, the X can never get out of date. Alongside a deep synth engine, we have a pretty good hardware sampler too. So, unless the universe runs out of sounds, I think the X will be around a LONG time - at least it will for me:)

Best,
Vlad

[prajnaimmovable]

own a x8 will skip the g series