Is anyone successfully using Fantom inputs for another synth?

[Acidizer]

Fore onc you need to go into effects options and enable audio in on every boot, you can't save this.

Another the Fantom seems to add noise / noisegate to my synth..... Novation Peak.

I'd like to hear from anyone who is using it successfully with another synth.

[FLOW_ZEN]

Yes I connected a virus ti successfully.

cheers

[Acidizer]

Yes I connected a virus ti successfully.

cheers

How did you do it exactly?

Do you need to enable audio in every time you boot it?

[gearsharknu]

I have had success connecting other synths to the Fantom as well. I would recommend trying both the TRS input options and balanced XLR approach. Most keyboards don't have balanced outputs, so they must be balanced with a preamp or direct box prior to connecting them to the XLR inputs on the Fantom. Note: Both inputs do not have the same electrical characteristics/sound to my ears, and proper connections must be made to prevent sound quality loss as with any professional mixer. I balance all of my inputs using preamps before connecting to the Fantom and have gotten the best results.

[Murray152]

Yes, I use a Nord Lead A2...it doesnt save the audio in on shutdown, you have to enable it each time...connect it via the TRS connections at the back, set your midi channel on yr external keyboard, go to zone edit and choose any zone, but ensure that the midi channel is the same as the ext keyboard, and enable ext by shift clicking that track. Go to audio input under effects edit and enable audio in and voila...would be good to have the audio in settings kept on shutdown though..

[Diaphone]

Most keyboards don't have balanced outputs, so they must be balanced with a preamp or direct box prior to connecting them to the XLR inputs on the Fantom. ... I balance all of my inputs using preamps before connecting to the Fantom and have gotten the best results.

Active balancing is recommended, especially if there is a long cable run between the machines, but it's also worth noting that balanced TRS inputs are designed to handle unbalanced TS plugs. The "cold" contact of the TRS socket, normally expecting the negative (opposite phase) copy of the signal will contact the sleeve of the TS plug, simply grounding that input. The tip with the normal-phase signal connects as expected. You just won't have the noise-cancellation benefits of a balanced connection.

If it's a short patch cable between machines, or you're using the second synth as vocoder input where a little noise wouldn't matter anyways, you don't technically need to balance the lines. In some cases, adding a less-than-stellar pre-amp/active balancer could add more noise than a short, high-quality cable run. Nothing will break, it will work as expected, maybe needing a few extra dB of gain somewhere in your input chain if the output of the second synth isn't particularly "hot".

The only thing to be aware of is that you should make the connection with actual TS cables, not TRS. Plugging a TRS cable into an unbalanced output doesn't always guarantee that the ring will get a good connection to ground, and you don't want the ring contact of the TRS input just connected to some ungrounded length of wire, that would likely introduce more than an acceptable amount of noise.

[bomdabba]

Yep, Nord Wave coming through clear on mine with no noise issues. Above posters are correct about the need to understand what outputs and cables TS vs TRS you are using.

One thing I quickly saw about the Fantom is that there are many different opportunities to maximise gain so if you're having problems that aren't solved by using the correct cables for your synth's output I'd ensure that your gain structure is in check.

[JeffB63]

Do you need to enable audio in every time?

I have my software send it a sysex string on opening so I don't forget.