BAD NEWS

[John01W]

Yeah, you're right piano. Though the problems themselves did manifest themselves through obvious problems myself and other people were having. It was very obvious(that noise would blast your head off through the pa speakers lol). The patch lag sucked too. Making the info available that it was being fixed was how we got help here, and it should have been fixed.

Make no mistake, you were aware of the first problem. The second problem may make you listen harder. To tell you the truth I haven't even played my X through anything but headphones since I got it back(have a set of m-audio BX-8s I've been testing on). I do believe these problems WOULD be noticed regardless of what it posted on this board.

[2TIM316]

What is up with this. 6 pages of text. Can anyone please "bottom-line" this for me. I have an XR. Bought it December 20, 2004. SN# ZS22866

Now, here's the cool thing. The unit was damaged when I opened the box, so the store (a local store in the US) has agreed to replace it with a new Fantom XR. I've checked in a couple of times but haven't really pushed the issue, since I wanted to see what was happening at NAMM.

Now that NAMM's over, I want to get the new unit.

Is there a certain serial number (remember I have the rack version) beyond which one can be reasonably sure there will not be these problems you all are describing?

Regarding patch change delays. I've used mine on 3 gigs, only in performance mode, controlled via a D-70. I never experienced any problem when switching sounds.

Regarding crackling - On some of the Rhodes sounds I have experienced it, but I thought it was just improper gain structure, either bad programming, as Nate said (too much wave gain), or faulty gain structure between the Fantom XR and my amp. This only seemed to occur when I really cranked everything up - Fantom XR at around 75-80% master volume, and amp cranked around the same.

Is this the type of crackling problem you guys are describing? Or is it a much more comprehensive problem that is much more obvious?

I am extremely dismayed at what I am reading here. Even though Roland seems to be very agreeable, just the hassle of shipping units back and forth for motherboard replacements is totally unacceptable to me. I need my gear to work correctly out of the box. So if the new XR I will be getting will have just as much chance of having a faulty motherboard as the one I have now, then I will just take store credit and consider something else (maybe a Yamaha Motif Rack ES).

Please advise if you are knowledgable about this (i.e. Nate or John 01W).

Thank you in advance!

[John01W]

The patch delay was very obvious, there will a big gap when switching, where as on the first mobo upgrade it was hardly anything(almost instantaneous but not quite), and there was a big shocking sound when switching patches randomly. Very obvious. They did fix that, and I sincerely appreciate it.

The newer problem, it's hard to differentiate.... Many of the patches and stock sounds for me crackle, but it seemed worse on the first board. Still there. For it to me such a wide number of patches as it is for me, it's hard for me to believe that they are all badly written patches, because they are all stock sounds. (more than an acceptable amount compared to other boards I have). Many of them are on SRX and present sounds which makes it to where you can't change the settings. On the old mobo, I suggested a -3 gain parameter here in Fantom X before the 1st upgrade because too many of the sounds clipped out and it still does it.

I can't play over 3 notes on a great deal of sounds without crackling at that's at any volume level.

I will say your serial number is about 22,000 ahead of mine. My serial number is below 1000, as in ZS000XXX. Mine is WAY lower than yours, it's possible you don't have this problem at all Tim.
You could be one of the lucky ones. I hope so.

[2TIM316]

So even though mine took a big hit in shipping (lower right rack ear is bent back and the whole case is actually somewhat twisted), maybe since it seems to be working properly, I should leave well enough alone and just stay with the unit I have. Maybe talk the store into some other type of compensation.

Thanks for the info John01W. I do recall you getting one of the earlier units. That's why I usually wait for a while. Sorry to hear about all of your problems.

You know I could trade it straight across for a Motif Rack ES - same MAP - $1100 - that's what I paid for my XR.

[pianodick]

John01W, my point was there would be a bunch of kids sitting at their boards with the mobo problem thinking, well I guess it is just a design of the keyboard had it not been brought up in an open discussion forum amongst two or more experiencing the same issues. We can search back and follow the actual series of events that were discussed on this very forum to establish a time line of events but by now surely the point is moot. I still stand by the fact that in order for Roland to be accounted as having Good Customer Service, THEY should have contacted every registered owner and issued a "RECALL" if you will. That would Be GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE. They obviously still haven't issued a world wide statement regarding the issue and that is also evident in a search of the various threads where some members have stated many times, "my service rep said they have never heard of this issue". Point of fact, Roland Still needs to Step Up and act accordingly. Not just sit back and wait to see how many buyers notice it. JMIO

Signed, "Nature is hard enough on us, let's not be hard on each other."

[John01W]

I don't think that would be a good idea, the Fantom XR destroys the motif es rack. If they will replace it with a new one, then let them do it. Seriously, the XR is a keeper. I love it very much, and that's why I hope they get it right. I love the unit, as IMO it's one that will continue to be useful for years to come, primarily because you can load samples, you can always make new sounds on it(even though with the libraries available, will quench almost any thirst for new sounds). Many other reasons too.

I don't think the XR can be surpassed by any rack at the moment, that's why I want it to get it worked out. It's a great unit. If you don't notice those things from the first mobo change, than you probably don't have the problems which would be awesome. Like I said my serial is below 800 lol, I preordered mine before it was even available.

I'm a huge fan of the XR and Fantom series. The XR is king of racks at the moment. Roland, I love my unit, please take care of it for me...

[John01W]

Piano, man I agree with you totally, I hope I didn't seem bad. The problem was obvious.

Pianodick said:
"I still stand by the fact that in order for Roland to be accounted as having Good Customer Service, THEY should have contacted every registered owner and issued a "RECALL" if you will. That would Be GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE. They obviously still haven't issued a world wide statement regarding the issue and that is also evident in a search of the various threads where some members have stated many times, "my service rep said they have never heard of this issue". Point of fact, Roland Still needs to Step Up and act accordingly. Not just sit back and wait to see how many buyers notice it."


Yes, thank you. I shouldn't be going through this..... they should just fix it for me. Not waiting for people to find out when it's too late even though I think I do have problems.

[EL Weezie]

Pianodick is very much on target with his assessment of Roland customer service. Just think about the poor guy/gal who do not have internet access and owns a fantom xr. Sucks to be them, unless Roland stepped up to the plate and contacted that registered owner.

EL W

[2TIM316]

Your right, John 01W! What was I thinking. The Fantom XR will always have a place in a well-equipped studio for just the reasons you mention. And it has worked solidly on the 3 gigs I've used it on so far, even being banged up the way it was when I got it out of the box. I am just going to insist that the store get me a new unit.

[sb1]

Just taken a phone call from Simon K. @ Roland UK service in reponse to an email I sent probing further this issue. He was very helpful ( and I think this is good customer service - certainly here in the UK anyway) and honest about this issue. There appear to have been very few instances of this problem (in the UK) and he acknowledged that the service note was a little ambiguous. From what Simon said it is highly unlikely you will experience this problem BUT if you do they, Roland (UK), will willingly investigate and correct as neccesary. Fair enough.
Trouble is if you listen hard enough to a lot of the patches you will here stuff that is not neccesarily related to the digital to analogue conversion process. Nothing is perfect.

[toom driver]

If Roland UK offers such good customer service, how come none of the Fantom OS updates are available through the Roland UK website?

Toom!

[dboulden]

Maybe 'cos you can use the Interwebularhighway thingy to download them from the US site?? Lots of the international sites link to the US one for downloads.

Dave

http://www.drstudio.demon.co.uk/ "Some musicians have a physical block, some have a mental block, while others have a wooden block". Unfortunately, I'm in the 1st category!

[toom driver]

So why have a UK site anyway then? WIth the money saved from closing it down and just having a single global site thy could probably afford to give away the OS2 Update!!

Toom!

[dboulden]

"So why have a UK site anyway then?"

All Roland companies are half locally owned (i.e. half owned by a local company, and half owned by Roland Corporation). So each country is going to country specific information, local support details, local promotions etc... plus the obvious difference of local languages.

Dave

http://www.drstudio.demon.co.uk/ "Some musicians have a physical block, some have a mental block, while others have a wooden block". Unfortunately, I'm in the 1st category!