Fantom G sound thread

[BigBrotherMotown]

How does everyone quote each others posts....

I have been trying to figure it out for about a year...LOL

[The Audacity Works]

How does everyone quote each others posts...

[ quote ] Content content content content [ / quote ]

Remove the spaces and you're golden.

[hallifax]

"*[I know a many of you find these kinda useless, musically, so take this one with a grain of salt. And, I don't mean like, more lame telephone rings or whatnot."

ABSOLUTELY !!! Lose the phone rings, bird chirps and babbling brook sounds already Roland! A "high end professional" workstation does not need those ancient and silly sounds included in its' rom.

There are alot more useful waves they could put in there than those completely outdated fisher price sound fx that nobody uses anyway.

It's the equivalent of useles bundled "bloatware" when you buy a computer.

[Diametro]

Don't want to alienate the GM midifile crowd ...

[rezfactor]

As I said earlier, Jim, this is a GREAT thread. Lots of content-rich discussion going on here. I agree with much of what EVERYONE'S saying in here. And I love that Jim is so persnickety about his Rhodes (yes, I've played a few, and carried one "a few meters" myself). I too, believe that you can actually tell a LOT about a sound, even from a highly compressed, low-res YouTube clip.

Since I'm first a filmmaker, and second, an amateur musician (barely), I will have a MUCH different set of "bread and butter" and "often-used" sounds.

Most of the keyboardists here are either gigging performers or damned fine piano players who just play for themselves or write and compose. As far as the Rhodes, B3s, and Wurlys, I don't really use them at all for my needs. I think that's what separates me (a "non-keyboarist") from almost all of you.

FILMMAKERS' 'G' LIST:

1. BREAD & BUTTER:
• Grand piano
• Pads, pads, and MORE pads!
• Strings
• Brass
• Synth leads
• Synth brass
• Synth bass

2. OFTEN-USED:
• Weird pads and "effects" (not telephones or birds, though)
• Percussion
• Woodwinds

3. CASUALLY USED:
• Other synth (I have other synths for VA sounds)

4. RARELY USED:
• Acoustic guitars (I have real ones)
• Electric guitars (I have real ones)
• EPs, B3s, etc.

[Mauro Rosati]

Yes, rez, but I'm not agree that you can judge a sound also from the crappy audio of youtube, it's a bullshit, sorry to tell you. If someone has to buy something referring to youtube I think all the companies would be bankrupt (also the Oasys sounds crappy on youtube and the Motif XS too, imagine to decide to buy them and the only source to get some video demos or audio demos it's youtube, just imagine it). Sorry again, but this is a crap. The only word that comes in my mind is prejudgement, and nothing more. I don't want to sound harsh but it's what I think.

[rezfactor]

Then again, there is the possibility that you are totally right, and I am totally wrong.

[Mauro Rosati]

Check this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwmv9tDhzjY
and the this:http://www.karma-lab.com/vp/klvp2.html?playID=40 , in this order.
Tell me that you'd buy an M3 if the only source to hear something it'd be just youtube.
I've choose the Korg M3 randomly, just as example, it is the same argument for the Motif XS, Korg Oasys, the Fantom X, etc.

[rezfactor]

I tried an M3 in person. Nice pads, but I didn't care much for its other sounds.

[Jimknopf]

Mauro,

these videos are welcome examples showing what it's about and that sound quality and sound character are two things not to be mixed up.

In the first video I have no problem at all to tell the basic 'character' of that Rhodes EP, even within poor Youtube quality.
I could judge it better in better quality, of course, but even this poor example tells me enough to judge that Rhodes: it's one of those half-crappy, mediocre Rhodes sounds which are common in the FantomX and the SRX-07 as well, all based on much too small sample sets. In the Korg videos I didn't find a Rhodes sound demoed separately, I guess because they know they don't shine. What I did find there was a nice organ demo by Derek Sherinian.

So the main difference between the two video sources - besides different sound quality - is the quality of sound presentation and sound choice. This can best be compared looking at the organ sounds chosen: in the Youtube video one of the less impressive organ patches is chosen on the fly: if now anyone would guess all M3 organ sounds from that, it would be misleading. Sherinian demoes a very nice, slightly distorted rock B3 sound - by the way one whole class above *any* B3 sound in the Fantom X and SRX 07!

With ARX 02 again it's something else: I do not have the slightest difficulty to get a lot of information from the mp3 we discuss (not from the former Namm videos with too much background noise!).
It is completely obvious to me that this in high probability is no sampled Rhodes sound, and if this is true, this would make it probable that *no* EP sound on ARX02 is sample based. In this case you could pretty much tell the basic character of the rest (take the ridiculous sound called 'Wurly' as example) from this one.

Does that mean I am sure about ARX02?
No!
It just means I have - from my view - a strong first hint.
Not more and not less. I will be patient to wait for more information. But if you are talking it down as if you could exclude by imperative that anybody could hear anything from that example, I simply contradict and insist on the exact opposite: I say I can!

I won't say anything about what you can or can not. I just talk for myself. I don't want to quarrel with you in any way. I respect your opinion. But in this case I see no reason at all not to stay with my own.

Let's take it as fun thing, like a bet: when ARX02 is delivered or we get more info before, and it becomes clear that I was completely wrong, I promise I will gladly concede the better judgement to you, here in the forum.
If it should occur that I was right, well you should decide for yourself...

[Artemiy]

Jim, if you're after such a pure Rhodes sound, why don't you get The Real Thing? When I want a real analog synth sound, I use an analog synth, and do not try to blame Roland engineers that the Fantom or V-Synth doesn't really sound like one. I understand that you want everything in one box, but you must realize they just cannot fulfill all tastes at the same time.

[Jimknopf]

but you must realize they just cannot fulfill all tastes at the same time.

Artemio,

you are missing the critical point here: they already *have* supplied a first class Rhodes with the SRX-12! They surely havn't done it for fun: it was their second of the highest quality samples cards after the SRX11, and I know more than a few keyboarders who bought it. The Rhodes is one of the most requested sounds today, used in nearly every kind of modern rock, r&b, electro and jazz music. It may well be that others do not love it as much as I do, but still it just is objectively essential, nothing less. I wrote the SRX-12 review in the German 'Keyboards' magazine and got enough feedback about that. So it's not quite like asking for a nice dog bark sound...

Selling my Fantom X7 and still paying ~ 1500€ for possibly downgrading some of my most important sounds doesn't sound like a very smart move, does it? And I guess Roland would be sursprised how many others would react like me, if they don't get something on SRX-12 level with the Fantom G!

Concerning the real thing, I already answered that within this thread. See above...

[Artemiy]

Oh, I see now, Jim. Well, I guess we really need to wait for the official board release.

[Mauro Rosati]

See rez, it's your opinion and I respect it. I don't think that any workstaion right now available sound crap, we're in 2008 and we've the resources to have good sounds, the problem it's the people who talks without knowing well a product nor try it in real or having listened to some good quality audio example, and Jim if you really be able to understand that a sound is crap for those crappy very very low quality videos, I think that you have something like a gift, because judging something from a crappy video(I think that also the official Fantom G video demo it sucks in term of quality and it's impossible to judge, 'cause it's the sounds what it does matter not other things, we're talking about workstation keyboards and the first thing that it MUST have it's good sounds, and Warren who keeps on recording his fucking bass guitar instead to show sounds, but someone can burn that fucking bass? ) it's wrong, I'll keep on repeat it. Not something against you Jim.

[Jimknopf]

@BBMotown and @Mauro:
No problem at all: we all hope for a fine Fantom G and wait for some sound info and better demo mp3s...