What keyboard to complement your Fantom?

[Artemiy]

Diametro, I officially announce that I HATE YOU

[PauloF]

Hi Brianb,

I could't agree more with Quinnx, as I also think the Fantom X / V-Synth XT is a killer combination.

My 3 boards are: an (upgraded) Fantom Xa (that I use as my main sound bank and Drum machine), a V-Synth XT (with a PCR-500) that I use as my Arpeggios, beats and solos board, and an old RD 170, as Main Piano.

I'm planing on (maybe...) buying a Korg MicroX, to take advantage of it's small size, and it's ability to act as a sound module and of course because of its powerful poly arpeggiators, feature that unfortunately no Roland machine has...

My kind of music varies from Orchestral to classic and progressive Rock, and some funk too.

Take care
PauloF

[rickysee]

I have always used Roland for my workstation and the perfect compliment is Yamaha...because the yamis have better pianos and organs which comliment the rolands horns and strings....of course there is so much more to it than that but this is a brief synopsis. you can find an S 90 for around 800

[cigi]

I have X6 and Nord Electro 2 73. It´s a pretty nice combination. I take Nord for small jazz gigs. It´s lighter and it has everything you need to play in hotels, bars and clubs. When it´s bigger show, I take both of them. I have also Korg M1. M1´s piano is the best one for reggae (I use it with BOSS RE-20 Space Echo), so I take all three of them for reggae gigs. At home when composing and experimenting, X6 is definitely the most used gear.

[jb1970]

Fantom X6
XP-10
RS-70

[howardS]

I see the benefit in having a second keyboard that brings different colours to your sound. For this reason the v-synth is a great second keyboard as would be any analogue or VA synth. I would like to get a Virus TI at some point. I also think any of the Nord Electros or any B3 emulator would be a great second board if you are after those sounds. You have to ask your self what sounds are missing from your X that you would like to add and then find a board that has it. Remember though that the SRX cards and Artemiy's sound libraries add a lot of new sounds to the X so you might find what you need on your board already.

That said, there is also a benefit in having another Fantom as your second controller. I have an X6 and an S88. You get the benefit of being able to take patches and performances that you write on one keyboard and load them onto the second keyboard.

Also, the knowledge you get studying one board can be applied to both boards. The basics of sound design might apply to all keyboards but the tricks and glitches are brand specific. This is the reason I bought the S88 after having the X6. I see how much more I can learn on the X6 and really didn't want to have to spend time learning how another keyboard works.

As far as playing style, brianb, I also play the classic rock to funk with some blues and jazz as well.

[stoutmasterd]

The following picture shows the additional Roland gear that I use to supplement by Fantom X-7, where I use the Fantom as my Midi Controller. I purchased the Juno-60 new in 1983. I pickup and restored the JX-10, MKS-20 and MKS-70. For gigs, I use just the Fantom and the rack gear.