fantomx for serious live applications - please help!

[binderdonedat]

Guys, Just purchased a Fantom x6 for a live gig - and now I am realizing the band needs me to reprogram their entire set list complete with resampling the vocals. All within a week! (Bring on the coffee hey!)

At this point with their old set up (DAW) they had somewhere between 5 and 6 gigs of vocal samples - along with the corresponding sequences. (We are talking about a large night club cover band venue here).

Im wondering of any advise on the best way to approach this problem, as in pre loading songs + samples, what I may have to do between sets to load or reload vox samples for different songs/ sets, how can I quickly select between songs for spontaneous set list changes, e.t.c...

What are my limitations in this regard? If we are performing between 8 to 10 songs per set, do I have to pre arrange the order of vocal samples/ songs and load them from an individual smart card - (i.e. card 1 = set 1)

and BTW, will there be any heavy loading time in between songs, as this band needs to have the ability to spontaneously change songs on the fly and play songs one right after another.

Sorry for the incredible noobness of these questions but I have owned this keyboard less than 24 hours, I am in a foriegn country, and I really don't want to spend my own money on extra samplers or for shipping all my home studio equipment here to complete the job required. It would just take too much time and money.

Also, maybe off topic to my original querry, but is there any possiblity of expanding the outputs on the Fantom to have more than just 4 outs? Way back in the day my EPS an ASR's had these expansion boards that allowed me to provide 8 outputs to the soundman, can I accomplish this somehow with the digital I/O connected to a soundcard, or am I limitted to the outputs provided?

Disclaimer: this is not a flame post by any means, I love the Fantom for what it is, always dig Roland gear - could go on and on about how cool this axe is. It's just that I am in a situation now where I really have to tax this system to meet my live performance requirements and any of the experts here must have some answers for me. I would really appreciate the assistance! Thanx all

[Diametro]

No offense intended ... but I don't think you left yourself enough time to learn your Fantom before your gig ... It's one thing to buy a new car before going on a trip; it's another thing to also have to learn how to drive ...

The other limitation is that the Fantom loads audio quite slowly ... It may not be realistic to use the Fantom as the source for ALL the backing material ... From what I gather, you're going to need a good 20-30 minutes (or more) with your Fantom on and loading for all those files to load ...

Use the Live setting feature to create performances and switch through them during your gig ... That's not very hard ... hit shift + piano mode to get see what that's about ...
(I use this all the time for my show) ...

Try to get some of your backing tracks on the Fantom ... Your going to need to get your Fantom in USB mode ... go to the Fantom X folder and find the folder with the Audio Import ... that's where you take those files first (I find AIFF works much better for me with the Fantom even though I'm PC ... Then back on the Fantom ... you want to go to press the save/load button ... import that audio ... THEN you're going to need to WRITE it to your card ... Then you need to go into the Audi section of the sequencer, INSERT the audio that's been written to your card ... and don't forget to save the song (or the next time you come back looking for it ... it won't be there ... plus like I said, you need load your samples each time you power on the Fantom) ...

It's a lot of shit ... and I'm sure that wasn't enough to be a real help ...

All I can say is it's possible to do what you want, but I'm just not sure you'll get there in a week ...

ALSO, the BPM at which the music is recorded is important ... in the sample parameters of the sample, you'll need to set the BPM ... I don't know how you recorded this music, but I've run into problems when I've just recorded my tunes at 120 bpm ... Which is fine if you set the Fantom's sequencer always at 120 ... but if you want to set the sequencer at another BPM (for instance, arps or plusating patches set to a specific BPM), you're going to find your music has been timestretched ...

I hope you can pull this off ... the functions that you are attempting to do really almost require a total understanding of the Fantom and how the various sections come together ...

I've had my Fantom for a year ... and I'm really just getting up to speed with it ...

Good luck ... and if you have more specific questions ... I'll do my best to help.



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Roland Fantom X7, Alesis Fusion 6HD, Novation X/A-Station 25, Alesis Micron

[binderdonedat]

Yes, this all happened very quick because the main guy in this band up and left with his computer and all the sequences plus samples. It was kinda a nightmare for me to walk into, and I had no idea it was happening when I bought the Fantom - I was initially just supposed to use patches to cover some piano parts and horns, e.t.c... I know the Fantom rocks for that.

Thanx so much for the advise, it has already helped my perspective alot. My plan right now is;
1. resequence the cover tunes on the Fantom (29 total), and
2. when Im finished that process I have to bring in the singers in to sample vox for what is needed in the songs. (i.e. chorus harmonies, tag lines)
3. Create a patch that is comprised of the vocal samples...
4. Play the samples into the sequencer by assigning the part to the corresponding performance.
5. Create 1 bar intros for the songs to allow for program change data that will get the songs linked to the right performances.

So essentially at that point I need to compile all of this information and turn it into viable songs/sets that I can play at night when the songs are called - by pressing nothing but the play button. It's a real mess.

I have 30 minute breaks in between sets so as long as I can load within that time any samples related to the upcoming set I should be ok. Each set is about 8 to 10 songs long and about half of these songs will be with vocal samples.

I am checking out the USB features now for saving and transferring to the card, i will definitely keep you updated. If you can think of anything else that may help lemme know! Right now Im on day 2 of no sleep - lol!

thanx again

[binderdonedat]

If you can see anything that may improve my plan just tell me, I am sure there is a way to use the audio expansion for much of the sampled backing tracks, but so far I have had no time to check out the features of it.

peace

[john68]

um you really do have yer hands full bro,,i feel for you.

as far as the live audio samples,,meaning the vocals/samples
if i were in yer shoes i would spilt up the workload,( because you dont have much time,) to learn all about the fantomx.

is it possible for you to have all live audio and vocal samples on a multitraker like a AW16G you could have all yer stuff
meaning the samples vocals on the aw16g,

,then that would free up the fantomx for whatever else,,,untill you learn it better,,lol

i will be using my fantom for the same kinda apps,,but i would rather spilt up the workload,,between my fantom and my aw16g,, maybe instead of aw16g it could be a dedicated sampler,,like mpc1000 or,,whatever!
but anyway thats how i would try to pull this off that way,
becuase you have no time,,and yer gonna drive yerself crazy
trying to figure it all out--,lol

i wish you the best of fortune and a rocking show,,with the new band,,blow there doors off!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> john

[Skyline_UK]

A monumental task indeed - good luck. BTW, you do realise there is no 'chain play' function as in the XP predecessor range? i.e. you'll have to load each song separately before playing it. V2.0 of the software allows for a tricky workaround. This thread has more info.

Click and drop by my site!

[binderdonedat]

Skyline thanks man, helps me out a great deal. I will check yo site very soon. Right now Im busy re-attaching all the hair Ive been pulling out over this gig lol!

From what I see in the live setting page, there are 20 "banks" and then up to 8 performance save points in each bank(?), am I correct in assuming that? Also if that is the case does this mean I have 8 performances available in each bank - ultimately allowing me to attach 160 performances + songs to the live settings? If so, what would my memory limitations be in this regard - as in - about how many performance/ songs could I potentially load from one card or save in the user memory for instant recall? Any ideas or experience?

I've used an XP 60 for years to run sequences, and always had extreme limitations having to load sound files everytime I used up the performance bank memory (32 user performances if I remember) Plus having only 2 user kits really licked - there were nights when I would juggle floppies back n forth while trying to play solos and comp montuno piano lines. Was hilarious. On the XP I would run the songs directly from the floppy and not load them into the XP in order to have songs quickly accessible - but it was floppy hell on stage. Anyway, I am sure this board has far more available to me than that old school xp.

Also, for my vox sampling problem I have decided to send for my 828 sound card and get a sampler for my laptop to run just strictly VOX samples. This likely makes for alot less memory hassle for the fantom with load times n such. Anyone have a recommendation on a good soft sampler? I heard Tascam Gigastudio was good.

However my new issue here is just exactly how best I can accomplish this? Should I just send midi to the computer to trigger the samples, and play the notes into the sequences still - via an empty patch on the fantom?

Man I am such a noob to this kind of issue and my problem is timing really, I know the manual can likely answer all these questions but right now with programming, playing at night and sleeping (very little) this thread and you guys have helped me more than anything - so thank you all very much.

Anyway, any further info on what I have just described would be extremely helpful, believe me.

[SkylineUK]

On the Roland site there's a booklet Performing with the Fantom X which has been updated for V.2 of the software enabling songs to be put into live settings. I recommend it. One part says: "There are a total of 320 locations organised into 20 banks containing 16 live setting locations each." I'm presently trying to figure it out, although I just need to be able to play two gig sets each comprising 13 songs but with no samples. So I'm sorry I'm no use advising on that area!

Click and drop by my site!

[illiac]

However my new issue here is just exactly how best I can accomplish this? Should I just send midi to the computer to trigger the samples, and play the notes into the sequences still - via an empty patch on the fantom?

Well, you put the samples into a soft sampler and assign them to certain pitches, one pitch per sample. It doesn't matter what the pitches are, they just trigger the samples. Then you send the appropriate note from the Fantom to the soft sampler. You probably also want to send bank select and/or program change to call up the program holding the samples for each song. You should set aside one MIDI channel for this purpose, the same one on every song.

Sequencing 29 songs in a week, man, I feel for you. I had to sequence three sets of material in two weeks last year and it wiped me out. Good luck.

One bit of advice: use songs rather than performances on the Fantom to organize all the patches etc. That way you have no limits on performances or anything. A song stores the associated performance as well as all the patch settings, so it makes organization of the sounds a lot easier, especially if some of the songs have associated sequences anyhow.

-illiac

[binderdonedat]

Well, I just finished the last of the songs this morning, and from this evening on I will begin sampling the bg's. Man that was a hassle but I can tell you the Fantom is very user friendly - the more you use the sequencer the easier it is to run. If I had to do this again, I can't think of any other board I would have rather had.

Now comes my background vox sampling nightmare. The singers are coming to my hotel room after the gig tonight to get started on vox.

So far I am still waiting for my 828 (is being fedexed now) but I had a friend send me a copy of Sony Acid Pro via MSN - I hope to use this program as my sample playback interface. Was wondering if anyone is familiar with that software, as I have never used it. I was going to just go out and buy Gigasampler, but hopefully Acid Pro can handle this task.

Basically I am thinking I will sample directly into the fantom keyboard, edit as much as I can within the fantom, and then transfer the samples into the computer via USB. At that point I should be able to open them in Acid Pro and then navigate the samples around inside the software - maybe create a "virtual instrument" or something from which all the samples will be available via midi for my fantom.

That way I can get the samples on the computer hard drive and simply assign each sampled vocal part to one key, and on my Fantom I can then manually play the sample into the song.

Anone think this is a bad idea? I would love to hear how you all integrated your Fantom with your computer based DAW's - for those of you who have done this. Myself, I have avoided using computers for my live applications for so long - I am beginning to see that has really hurt me because now I'm like some sort of permanoob.