Just watched Mr. Krishner's video about the roland AX-Synth a few days ago. Since then I'm really interested in getting into to the whole keyboard universe.
My questions regard a few types of products, so I opened the thread in the most general forum I could find. Sorry if the forum is wrong, I just didn't wish to open 2 or 3 different topics with no reason.
Right now I'm thinking about what should I get from Roland.
I learned so much about their products the last few days but I still can't manage to answer some of my questions by myself...
If you may help me, I would highly appreciate it
1) What is the major different between the Fantom X and the Fantom G series?
2) What should affect my choice between a Fantom and a V-Snth?
3) I see a lot of people complaining about the lack of MIDI, wireless MIDI (I think) and things similar to that, in the AX-Synth. what does it all mean?
The Fantom G series is the new follow on model to the Fantom X series. As such it is an evolution, some new features, some dropped features, some changes. If you start reading various threads in this forum, you will find all kinds of detailed talk including likes and dislikes of how the G has evolved from the X. But if you are new to the whole keyboard idea, than a simple comparison is this. The X is an older model, so they will cost less and you can expect no additional updates to the software. The G is the new model, it will cost more, but you can expect that since it has only been out for about 1 year, Roland will continue to support it with updates for another 2-3 years.
Now differences between a Fantom and a V-Synth. The Fantoms are "workstations", that is they are not only designed to be played live or in a studio, but they include computers such that they record what you play and allow you to go back and record again with different patches to build up a whole song. If you are familiar with a DAW, digital audio workstation, running on a computer, this is the kind of thing that you can do on a Fantom. Being dual use, they are not as powerful as using a DAW, but because you interact with them as musical instruments, many people feel more musically creative than when tied to a computer. The V-Synth has functions that overlap with a Fantom, but they are more focused on synthesizing new sounds. In particular, when played live, they have a lot of controls that let you dramatically modify the sound with one hand as you are playing notes with the other.
I'm less familiar with the AX-synth, but think of it as having the basic Roland sound engine built into an instrument made for high impact stage performing. Why you would want MIDI on such an instrument is that it would allow you to take the instructions for notes you are playing and send them to some additional sound sources not built into the AX itself, but say from a dedicated sound module or computer software module. Why would you want wireless MIDI on an AX? Well, the whole purpose of an AX is to allow you to get out from behind a keyboard and put on a show by moving around. If you end up getting your feet wrapped up in the MIDI cable and falling off the stage, you will have put on a show, but maybe not the show you were planning.!
- If you need all kinds of sounds in one board, not just synths but also pianos, organs, orchestral instruments, acoustic drums, etc. you should get a Fantom-X
- If you need an all-in-one board that you can compose whole tracks with, you need a Fantom-X
- If you already have a workstation that you make music with, and you need an instrument that can give you unreal, amazing new sounds, you should get the V-Synth
