Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Forum for Fantom-S/S88, Fantom-X6/7/8, Fantom-XR and Fantom-Xa
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ikhor
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Joined: 18:24, 11 July 2004

Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by ikhor »

hello.

recently i've been interested in buying a Fantom, but cant decide which one to choose - the S or X?

1. sounds - does the Fantom X have much better sounds?
2. sampler/sequencer - does the X have additional features in the sampler and sequencer besides the extra sample ram capacity?

is it worth the extra $500-$800 for the X?
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Artemiy
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Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by Artemiy »

1. It has 64 Mb extra ROM waves, including new stereo grand piano, strings, bass and acoustic drums. It also has 3 extra patch banks, although these banks are available for Fantom-S (re-programmed with FS wave ROM). Other than this, the sounds are identical - as the synth engine and MFX are totally the same on both FS and FX series.

2. No, there are no new features, just extra RAM ability. You get larger storage options and 128 voices of polyphony.

Other than this, FS can do all the FX can.
ikhor
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Joined: 18:24, 11 July 2004

Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by ikhor »

i know that sounds are somewhat subjective, but how much better are the piano, strings, bass, and drums on the X? good enough to not have to buy the expansion cards?

thanks for the help, and let me say that this site is very nice (and you even programmed your own BB? wow)
trrstrl
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Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by trrstrl »

The new ROM section of the fantom x is nice to have, but I wouldn't say so good as to not buy the expansion boards. The exception might be the new piano which some like better than the one on piano expansion board. The main reasons to opt for the x over the s is the extra amount of ram that can be utilized. All the other additions are less important, though nice to have. That said, it was enough for me to get a fantom x.
John01W
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Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by John01W »

For one the extra samples are really good. The new piano is really really good.

They fixed the limitation that if you had fully loaded expansion boards it took away your sample ram. In the Fantom X, this doesn't happen. In the Fantom XR you can have 6 SRX expansion boards(512mb rom total) and have your full 512mb of ram simultaneously

Twice the user memory

Compact flash and Microdrives, PC card hard drives are all compatible with the Fantom X and XR over 2 gigs tested so far. This is quite significant.

XR is the first sampler in one rack space with 512(+ 16mb user) mb of ram. Also first to have 512 ROM. The first to have over 1 gig of wave data possible.

The expansion boards are top notch. If you don't get them you're missing out plain and simple. Part of the reason you get a Fantom S or X. The rom sample strings just don't hold a candle to the SRX 04 and 06. The Drums in Dynamic Drums SRX expansion are the best out there in a synth(even motif ES by far) and rivals some really killer sample libraries(I use along with Drumkit From Hell). And that's just a little bit.

IMO, the internal samples and importantly the SRX samples give the Fantom X have the best sound set out there anywhere of high quality sounds by far, and they are just churning out more.

New live mode

128 poly of course
DogZilla
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Location: Surrey, UK

Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by DogZilla »

Hello ikhor

I have owned both units & can tell you this:

Fantom X is arguably more powerful, the pads feel slightly better, more options for storage, usb midi, new piano sample, colour screen etc etc bla bla bla.

BUT patch changes aren't instantaneous as in the Fantom S and I think aesthetically it looks cheaper & more tacky.

I'd buy a Fantom S and save the money.
Migamix
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Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by Migamix »

dog's comment about cheapy look.... you know, as i look at my FS, and a pic of the FX, you are right, the FX does have a CTK toy look to it

about the standard sounds of th FX over the FS, i was lucky my local New Orleans area GS has both the FS61 and the X7 racked and amped to the same output, so i used this time to play.
IMHO...
the FX does take .25 sec longer to change almost EVERY patch than the FS (faster internal proc????), whats so dif about the effects in the FX that makes it do this (that seems to be whats changing the load time)... as for th sounds...i would say, soundwise, i heard no changes, i forgot to check mastering settings to see what they were set at while playing....

the display....very nice little feature...but....i had problems reading it (eye doc. refuses to give glasses so i must have good vision), i felt the slight blending of colours -FX-, and not the sharp contrast of 4 shades of cyan -FS- made it hard to read simple things like the knob settings (pointing up...little left. little right?????? cant tell )

memory ..... i dont know what the load time of 1G would be on the FX, but i know the time on the FS and 128m with almost no samples is looooooong, i know there are settings to avoid this wait, so im sure the 1G option is still good

pads... suposed to be better, didnt have time to check

the grand patches... sorry, if i wanted a piano/KB with dedicated grand piano sounds and nothing else, there are better options (i do not know model/brands), the grand option should be an SRX card option only, saving ppl that dont need it alot of money(im sure this is what it realy is under the hood)

all this is how i feel about it, and im sure 6 of you are going to say, "your just bitter cause you got the FS very shortly before it was discontinued".....reply......"kinda, but still happy with what i have"

PS. none of this post refers to the XR...which seems to be another beast of its own, and should not have actulay been classed as the FX series
Septimo
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Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by Septimo »

well the only thing I can think of that can actualy be considerd better on the S is the flat screwed in screen plate.
(not the screen!)it gave it a cool look!

They should have made it possible to pop it up or down on the X instead of that permanent ramp we have to deal with, IMO. but that would be my only complain bout that! my other gripe USE TO BE the inabillity to record mute on & off presses.
But NO MORE, now that I figured out how to use the RPS function.WOW! what a keyboard! oh and that skipback sampling kicks ass! ideas are never lost anymore!

OH! back to the screen,,,, DON'T use an air duster on your X cuz it will blow dust under your screenplate.(very annoying)
How did I get it out you ask?
I got some seran plastic wrap, and the static that the plastic produces, went thru the screenplate as I dragged it gently across the screen, the dust followed like a magnet. so be careful not to use air. use a feather, or a rag duster. :)

OH BTW! My X beat your little s up!;) Ha-Ha!


Septimo
ikhor
Posts: 17
Joined: 18:24, 11 July 2004

Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by ikhor »

thanks for the opinions guys.

i think i will go for a used or b-stock Fantom S-61. they seem to be going anywhere from $900-$1200 from what i've seen. the X is very nice, but i dont think i will use any more polyphony or sample time than what the S already has.

as for the sounds, i can deal with just using 2 expansion cards, to get the maximum sample time. if i need more sounds i will get the yamaha ES rack when it comes out :P
DogZilla
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Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by DogZilla »

Good choice ikhor!

Either way you get a monster :-)
ikhor
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Joined: 18:24, 11 July 2004

Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by ikhor »

well i finally got a chance to test a Fantom S vs Fantom X side by side in the store today. played them both for about 45 mins. On a side note, i was in a massive music store, and when i put on a demo of the FX, everybody in the synth department stopped and stared in my direction!

its hard to tell some differences in the sounds, but then again i only played them for a short while. The pianos actually sounded the same to me, but i am no pianist. (guitarist i am!) The acoustic guitars sounded better on the FX, but I wont be using them much. Overall, I think they both sounded very good.

There was a guy playing a Yamaha Motif ES right next to me, and that thing sounds awesome. I'm buying a Fantom for the ease of use 1st, sounds 2nd. The Motif just looks too hard to use, small screen, too many menus. I can buy a Motif rack for the sounds, when it comes out.

one thing that bothered me about the FX is the color screen, in particular, how in dark colors you can see pixels moving - it made my eyes hurt.

Unfortunately, i did not have time to figure out the sequencer or sampler there in the store, which is what i'm mostly interested in.

So at this point, i'm still leaning toward the FS, mostly because i want to use the extra money saved on a VA :P
Septimo
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Re: Fantom S vs. Fantom X ?

Post by Septimo »

ikhor...

I have A motif classic(my cousins) and a FX ( mine)next to me side by side right now and although the fx has a bigger screen does not mean it is easier to use at all..

you said more menus? you MEAN less menus. mostly every feature on there has a dedicated button for instant access. don't let the small motif screen fool you. I let that big Fantom screen fool me!!

every track has its own seperate 4 band EQz.

The sequencer on the motif is leaps and bounds easier to use than the FX. it's alot smoother to work with(it makes more sense) less labor intensive.. It takes too much work to do something simple on the FX, that's why I cheat, and make a quick 8 or 16 bar patterns on the FX then record that looped pattern seperating every track into Cubase 4 trax at a time. then arrange everything with the mouse on cubase, and if i need more I jus add it live into the mixx. It wurx.... but now I work in a work-around style, to speed up the process.
O BTW, motif ES has that MLAN abillity that lets you stream all 16 audio trax at the same time into your DAW. that's Awsome, and each track can have it's own loop length, FX has the RPS and that's cool but not as quick as yamaha's way of doin it. dedicated track buttons, so you don't have to cursor around like you do with the Fantom. just tap and go. dedicated patch bank buttons, that switch to category of sounds, VERY EZ! VERY FAST!

The preset patches on the motif are more useful, and more creative than FX although Roland waveforms might be of a higher calibur. I have some 20/20 BAS Event monitors, so I can really hear the difference, but the difference aint that much to sacrifice Yamahas ease of use. With Yamaha's user interface, your up and runing on those trx..With Rolands Clunky interface your trippin over your laces wich never seem to tie. yamaha speaks an EZ muzic making language, Roland talks alot of mumbo jumbo that nobody cares about slowin down your workflow making you jump thru too many hoops to do some ez sh*t.

so if you want to 'PROOVE' to your frendz that your smart go for the roland, but if you want to be free to do whatever on a song QUICKLY go for the ES, and get the FXR for the soundz!

Before you buy anything consider everything. I let my salesman lead me down the roland road . It's an awsome keyboard, I still love it, Ive learned alot with it, but truth is truth and I know that ES would have been A wiser choice for me.

My oppinion based on experinence not speculation.

Septimo
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