I got an offer to buy a used Fantom G8. Its a good offer, and i can probably make a profit of it after i am done playing with it.
Just wondering what makes this workstation still loved after all those years, what are its strengths and what are its weaknesses compared to the competition of todays Motif and Kronos
Strengths of the Fantom G series
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
The user interface of it for one. I am speaking for myself here but it's the only workstation I've used where I felt like I was playing a super powerful instrument rather than diving through menus to get what I want. For the few things that don't have simple controls, you can plug a usb mouse in and access them quickly. It's plain old easy to use and understand. That giant colored screen sure made me feel like I was using a proper DAW most of the time as well.
Second is the sound of course. I mean it's a Roland flagship, who can really complain? And it doesn't stop at the presets, this thing is a powerful synthesizer that can make just about any instrument you need with a little creative thinking. Plenty of waveforms to work with.
Second is the sound of course. I mean it's a Roland flagship, who can really complain? And it doesn't stop at the presets, this thing is a powerful synthesizer that can make just about any instrument you need with a little creative thinking. Plenty of waveforms to work with.
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
if you think its a good offer and you can afford it..
get it now!
get it now!
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
Totaly agree! I have a G-7, and it is the most used synth in my homestudio. I also have the OASYS-88 (and five other), but this is more complicated than the Roland. The Roland is a little behind in the organ sounds (and some others), but there are things to fix this. The user interface alone, is enough to buy this!Macska wrote:The user interface of it for one. I am speaking for myself here but it's the only workstation I've used where I felt like I was playing a super powerful instrument rather than diving through menus to get what I want. For the few things that don't have simple controls, you can plug a usb mouse in and access them quickly. It's plain old easy to use and understand. That giant colored screen sure made me feel like I was using a proper DAW most of the time as well.
Second is the sound of course. I mean it's a Roland flagship, who can really complain? And it doesn't stop at the presets, this thing is a powerful synthesizer that can make just about any instrument you need with a little creative thinking. Plenty of waveforms to work with.
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MrSteveVee
- Posts: 65
- Joined: 18:19, 12 January 2014
- Location: UK
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
Strengths, as mentioned by the other guys it has an excellent UI, massive screen, DAW like sequencer, extremely easy to operate and a great Midi controller. I have the Motif XS as well and the UI on the XS is an absolute nightmare compared to the G. Weaknesses, well the biggest for me is the Arp functionality as I use these a lot. In fact if the G had the same Arp functionality as the XS I would sell the XS without hesitation. The G only has a limited single Arp controller, Pity but I believe that this may have something to do with Yamaha and patents as the XS has excellent 4X Arp controls that are a lot more interactive.
Still you can always step sequence in your Arps to the sequencer if you want complex phrases that cannot be played, or record the Arp multiple times with different voice/phrases into the sequencer to play back together, I’m just a bit lazy and want them all pre-done lol. The Sampler is pretty cool too, you can even recall the last (up to 30 seconds I believe) of whatever it was you were playing and use that as a wave sample to capture that amazing loop you just played on the fly, neat eh? There are a few annoying bugs in the operating system that would be nice if they were fixed but there are work around.
I only play for fun and amusement, I had the XS for a while and it was my first true workstation. I could never get on with the UI. I was tempted by the G when I saw the ease of the UI and when I got it loved the way it operated but was disappointed with the Arp functionality. However as the UI is so easy to use I have learned loads about how sounds are programmed and I now use the G as the main board whenever I have a play or want to experiment with something, The XS is gathering dust as I mainly use the XS as the Arp player via Midi
I’ve never understood why the G was not a massive hit, it is easily as powerful as the XS (apart from Arps) much, much easier to use, has a bigger screen a better sequencer and is a great controller. It has a PFX for each of the sixteen playable voices a 128 Midi 24 Audio track DAW like sequencer and even a mastering mode!
Sound wise, some people get hung up on comparisons and say that the G sounds are not as good as … or sound flat compared to … myself I never have that sort of problem. If it doesn’t sound to your liking you can tweak and play with the parameters nice and easily to your hearts content. Maybe the XS grand piano sounds more accurate than the G. I really do not care as none of my audience would know what the real one sounded like anyway and even if they did, it would not sound much like the original going through their Ipod or hi-fi speakers, the important question is, does the G piano sound nice, yes it does and therefore I am happy
I had a mad five minutes a couple of months ago and decided to sell all of my keyboards and buy the Kronos. Why? Because it seemed better and the grass was greener. I had a good chat with the guys over there and one asked me the question, what is it you need to do that you cannot do on your boards and you can on the Kronos. Short answer, not a lot. Sure it’s more up to date, got loads of generators, but by careful sampling and some manipulation I can get pretty close to most if I ever wanted (well I could if I get clever enough) and I have noticed that they seem to have a very high board fail rate as there are lots of “help it broke” threads. My G is like a tank.
So I am very happy with the G and have no intention of selling the board
Hope this long ramble helps somewhat!!
Steve V
Still you can always step sequence in your Arps to the sequencer if you want complex phrases that cannot be played, or record the Arp multiple times with different voice/phrases into the sequencer to play back together, I’m just a bit lazy and want them all pre-done lol. The Sampler is pretty cool too, you can even recall the last (up to 30 seconds I believe) of whatever it was you were playing and use that as a wave sample to capture that amazing loop you just played on the fly, neat eh? There are a few annoying bugs in the operating system that would be nice if they were fixed but there are work around.
I only play for fun and amusement, I had the XS for a while and it was my first true workstation. I could never get on with the UI. I was tempted by the G when I saw the ease of the UI and when I got it loved the way it operated but was disappointed with the Arp functionality. However as the UI is so easy to use I have learned loads about how sounds are programmed and I now use the G as the main board whenever I have a play or want to experiment with something, The XS is gathering dust as I mainly use the XS as the Arp player via Midi
I’ve never understood why the G was not a massive hit, it is easily as powerful as the XS (apart from Arps) much, much easier to use, has a bigger screen a better sequencer and is a great controller. It has a PFX for each of the sixteen playable voices a 128 Midi 24 Audio track DAW like sequencer and even a mastering mode!
Sound wise, some people get hung up on comparisons and say that the G sounds are not as good as … or sound flat compared to … myself I never have that sort of problem. If it doesn’t sound to your liking you can tweak and play with the parameters nice and easily to your hearts content. Maybe the XS grand piano sounds more accurate than the G. I really do not care as none of my audience would know what the real one sounded like anyway and even if they did, it would not sound much like the original going through their Ipod or hi-fi speakers, the important question is, does the G piano sound nice, yes it does and therefore I am happy
I had a mad five minutes a couple of months ago and decided to sell all of my keyboards and buy the Kronos. Why? Because it seemed better and the grass was greener. I had a good chat with the guys over there and one asked me the question, what is it you need to do that you cannot do on your boards and you can on the Kronos. Short answer, not a lot. Sure it’s more up to date, got loads of generators, but by careful sampling and some manipulation I can get pretty close to most if I ever wanted (well I could if I get clever enough) and I have noticed that they seem to have a very high board fail rate as there are lots of “help it broke” threads. My G is like a tank.
So I am very happy with the G and have no intention of selling the board
Hope this long ramble helps somewhat!!
Steve V
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
I went out to see the G8 today, and now understand why it was so cheep, it was all scratched, two keys where mailfunctioning and if i pressed the screen hard it went black untill i restarted..
But i took the time to play with it, and i can see now whats so good about it, surprisingly the thing i loved most was the ensemble voices of the ARX03 Brass expression, they offered a depth not possible on my Integra (and neither on FA and JP series) creating true multi voice ensembles.. I enjoyed them, and with such great technollogy one asks himself why did Roland not continue the high end workstation range..
Maybe the new management will change things, so far they started creating instruments that people have fun playing...
But i took the time to play with it, and i can see now whats so good about it, surprisingly the thing i loved most was the ensemble voices of the ARX03 Brass expression, they offered a depth not possible on my Integra (and neither on FA and JP series) creating true multi voice ensembles.. I enjoyed them, and with such great technollogy one asks himself why did Roland not continue the high end workstation range..
Maybe the new management will change things, so far they started creating instruments that people have fun playing...
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
That's a shame. I'll never understand the number of people who purchase these pricey beautiful workstations and then treat them so poorly.
My gear stays behind a locked door and I clean the whole studio every week! ARX 03 better than Integra you say? I must check this out...
My gear stays behind a locked door and I clean the whole studio every week! ARX 03 better than Integra you say? I must check this out...
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
How cheap was it? If you are not interested, maybe someone else on here might be if the price is right...MacTyros wrote:I went out to see the G8 today, and now understand why it was so cheep, it was all scratched, two keys where mailfunctioning and if i pressed the screen hard it went black untill i restarted..
Dan
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
€850dpalmi123 wrote:How cheap was it? If you are not interested, maybe someone else on here might be if the price is right...MacTyros wrote:I went out to see the G8 today, and now understand why it was so cheep, it was all scratched, two keys where mailfunctioning and if i pressed the screen hard it went black untill i restarted..
Dan
Still a reasonable price.. I will however have to check if its allready sold, i think there where more potential buyers
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
I have used Roland gear since JV days and there are just some you keep and some you sell. I keep three. XP30 (great keyboard action, loaded with good sound, a good gig synth), V Synth (great keyboard action & sound creation, fun to play) and the G8 (great keyboard action and anything else you need). The V's and G's are still in demand.
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
I try to get rackversions of the synths i love most, got a Vsynth XT, a D550 and the Integra 7 in my rack and seriously considering a System 1m and some modular stuff, but that would mean adding a 3rd rack..middle c wrote:I have used Roland gear since JV days and there are just some you keep and some you sell. I keep three. XP30 (great keyboard action, loaded with good sound, a good gig synth), V Synth (great keyboard action & sound creation, fun to play) and the G8 (great keyboard action and anything else you need). The V's and G's are still in demand.
Re: Strengths of the Fantom G series
MacTyros wrote
[/quote]I try to get rackversions of the synths i love most, got a Vsynth XT, a D550 and the Integra 7 in my rack and seriously considering a System 1m and some modular stuff, but that would mean adding a 3rd rack..
[/quote]
Racks are good, I did keep my jv880, great soft string patch.
[/quote]I try to get rackversions of the synths i love most, got a Vsynth XT, a D550 and the Integra 7 in my rack and seriously considering a System 1m and some modular stuff, but that would mean adding a 3rd rack..
[/quote]
Racks are good, I did keep my jv880, great soft string patch.