Fantom X6 - Saving Presets To A Computer

[trevorious]

Hi you guys! :)

So I'm using the Roland Fantom X6 and really badly want the internal sounds
on my computer using the Internal Memory. I've pretty much read the manual over and over and researched everywhere I could find info but still feel like I'm missing something.
I have all drivers + Librarian and Editor working perfectly.
My Roland X6 is also functioning correctly.
I have no problem saving the Samples to my computer.
I've gone through the process of saving samples to the internal memory but I cant seem to figure out how to do this with Presets - Rhythms - patches.
Is this even possible? I just need to know if I absolutely need to buy a PC Card or not.

Please Help! I just want to make Music!!!! :) Thank You!!!

[rcraven]

It sounds like you want to take the samples and the patches to your computer and play them without the Fantom.
Can't be done with out a either re-sampling or rebuilding the patches in a PC sampler.

If you mean that you want to save the ROM presets so you can use them in the Library program this can be done. Let me know if this is what you want.

All the best
Royce

[trevorious]

Thank you so much for the reply Royce :)

So... I'm using Cubase 6LE and the Presonus 2x2 Audio Interface.
What I was original trying to do was record the internal presets of the Fantom into Cubase as midi, obviously because of the control it gives you. But I realized that because the presonus interface only has 1 main output for the monitor speakers, I'm unable to send a stereo signal back to the Fantom to monitor in stereo during recording.
It kinda sucks. :) I can only hear the stereo track after its been converted to audio. Which totally defeats the purpose of being able to hear the playback the same way it was recorded. My only fix for this was the need for an interface that has 2 separate outputs.

So then.... I decided that for now. maybe I should try something else.
I figured maybe If I could actually somehow sample the presets myself, I could save them to the computer
and load them into cubase as a VST instrument or something. like save them into a folder where I would be able to keep them forever even if the Fantom finally did give out on me. Also this would completely fix the need for a better interface.

I came across some articles about PC Sampler Software but really didn't know where to start.
If anybody feels like they might be able to point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.
But either way... I won't give up :) People like us on this forum never do! lol

Thank you Royce for your time. Saving changes to presets was pretty easy to figure out.

[trevorious]

Hey Royce,

Do you think there's a way to get my DAW to trigger the data saved in the Librarian
so I can somehow monitor in stereo within the program? Hmmm....
Cubase 6 LE might not offer Direct Monitoring internally considering the Interface I have is pretty basic.
Like I said I still feel like I'm missing something.

Anyway Sorry, you know how dumb these questions
can get without going to school for this stuff.

[rcraven]

Forgive me if I am wrong, but it seems like you are not too sure how presets on a synth work.

There is a list of a LOT of controls or settings or parameters , whatever you want to call them, on a synth that tell it how to make a sound and this list is called a Patch or a Preset. The terms mean the same thing and are often used in the same sentence.

A preset is NOT a sound. It is just a list of instructions on how to set up things so the synth will make a certain sound when you play it or send it a Note On Midi message.
So presets are not Samples either. Samples are small snippets of sound that are used in the making of the final sound. They are also sometimes called waves or waveforms and are the building blocks of a synth patch.

So Presets are a list of instructions.
Midi is also just a list of instructions asking a synth or lighting console or any other computer controlled machine to do something. Midi is NOT sound.

A very common misunderstanding these days. A few years back I was told that Midi is dead and MP3 had taken over. Nooooooooo
MP3 is recorded sound, Midi is a set of instructions.
There are plenty of uses for both.

As a preset is NOT a sound, you can only use a DAW to record the instruction list (Preset). Playing it back will not make a sound. It will just load the preset into the FanX, but it may not be the best way to achieve what you are trying to do.

Inside the synth there are memory chips that store the list of instructions (Presets) for lots of sounds, so you really don't need to store them in the DAW .
There can be special reasons to store them in the DAW with your song, but it's not the normal thing to do when you first start.

Normally you send a simple Patch Change (or Preset Change), PC for short, Midi message that asks the synth to use the Preset (a parameter list) it has stored in memory, to build a new sound in the synth.
Now when you send a Note On Midi message to the synth, the new preset has built the sound that will come out of the synth.

So although you can record sound (audio) into a DAW, Midi messages like PC, Note On and Note Off can also be recorded into the DAW.
But playing back a Midi track won't make any sound without a synth connected.
You can even change the synth the DAW is connected to, and Midi will play back whatever sound that synth is set to.

"Do you think there's a way to get my DAW to trigger the data saved in the Librarian "

Sure,sort of. You can use a Midi message called System Exclusive (shortened to Sysex), but I would go for a simpler approach.
Use the Librarian to load the Patches you need (if they are currently not in the synth memory) in to the synth memory. They will be located in the USER banks which is the only patch memory you can write to.
The other Banks (PR-A PR-B etc) are always inside the synth ready to go and can never be overwritten.

Plug the FanX Midi In and out as well as the FanX Audio left and right into the Presonus. The Presonus Main Out to your amp or powered speakers or plug in your headphones

So now you are ready to go. Select the Patch you are interested in on the new track of your DAW (always good to have a list of the patches inside the DAW. I use Sonar and the patch name list is different to Cubase, but these lists for the FanX and instructions on how to load it into your DAW are floating about the web.)

Selecting the sound for the track tells the DAW to output a PC message when you start playback or record. So when you reload the song into your DAW at a later date, if the patches are still in your FanX in the same place your track will sound the same.

Midi can be easily edited and you can change the note you misplayed and remove ones that you should have never played, change the start of the note and how long it goes for etc.

Once the Midi track is edited, you could create a new audio track and record arm it so it records the FanX being played by the DAW. Set the record volume levels with the FanX and the Presonus. Press record.
This is the same as Freezing a VST track.

You can now change the patch on the Midi to select a new sound that plays along with the audio track.
Try transposing the Midi track up or down an octave so you can hear the new FanX patch clearer.

You can modify the Midi track by changing some of the notes so it plays a harmony.
Record that to a new audio track and try a different patch to add a third part.

Welcome to the amazing world of composition and arranging.

All the best
Royce

[trevorious]

You're Awesome Royce :)

Thank you for all this very useful information.


Well the cool thing is that a few months back I figured out how to import the Fantom X Patch Script into Cubase providing me access to all of the presets etc. within the DAW. As well as recording small songs on multiple midi tracks. Really Cool Stuff!
I also saved all the presets I wanted to a (new song) in the keyboard while in performance mode and of course, every time I opened Cubase, it plays back all of the information I recorded perfectly. Except for the one fact that during auditioning, recording and playback,
I only get this kind of dual mono signal. Its only after I convert the midi track to audio, do I get the true stereo sound of the Fantom with all of the panning. When the keyboards local switch is set to on, I hear the stereo signal just as it should sound. But when I set it to (OFF) to record midi I only hear the Fantom X in Mono. I read that the only way to make this work was to have an interface with more than 1 output and sending it back to the Line In 1/2 of the Fantom X.

Fantom X - Both Line out 1/2 going into both 1/2 inputs of the Presonus 2x2 AudioBox
Fantom X - Midi In/Out is going to and from Keyboard to interface
Fantom X - USB is connected to computer
Interface - USB is connected to computer

To be precise. I want to hear the Fantom X in stereo at all times while auditioning, recording and playing back the tracks as midi. Not only when recording audio or after being converted to audio. Is it possible by following the steps you mentioned that this can be achieved?

Thank you for your time Royce!
Really hope to hear from you if any of this makes sense lol :)

[trevorious]

Ya so this really seems like a monitoring issue to me. Sorry guys for the misleading subject title.

The main reason I wanted to save the Fantom X presets to a computer was to eliminate the Stereo monitoring problem. I realized that with the setup I have, the only way I hear the Keyboard as it truly sounds is to A: Plug the Fantom Directly to the speakers/headphones.
Or B: Record Audio and then play it back. When it comes to midi tracks I have to convert to audio so that cubase can sample the true stereo sound. So there you go. I'm looking into buying the Stienberg UR44. I hope I make the right decision.

Thanks Again Everyone! :) Keep All Your Dreams Alive!!!!!!

[Romey]

Hello
I believe you are right, this is a monitoring issue with the Presonus doesn't do direct monitoring. The Steinburg interface would if thats the way you want to go But:

If you connect the fantom directly to the speakers and keep your midi in/out connected like you mention above, this should work.
Leave local =on
Record midi into cubase by playing keys on fantom. This should sound normal since you are connected to speakers directly.
You should now have a midi track created in cubase. Start playback. Cubase will now send the midi data in that track of you playing to the fantom. Should still sound normal as you are still connected to your speakers.(Make sure your midi channels are correct)
You can then record audio into the Preonus inputs like vocals, etc.
If you want to record audio from the fantom, you will have to reconnect it to the Presonus inputs and you have the same monitoring issues. ( a workaround would be to record fantom midi first so you can hear it and then record the audio being played back from cubase.)

Another option might be a small external mixer so you can combine the outputs of the Presonus and the fantom sent to your speakers.

Hope this helps.
Romey

[trevorious]

Hey thank you so much for the info! You're Awesome. :)

I actually thought of routing it this way a billion times but I was too scared to mess something up.
Hmmmm...
So I guess my question is - How would I be able to hear audio tracks if they were pre recorded in cubase?
How would the sound get to the speakers if only midi cables were connected? I thought maybe if I sent the outs of the presonus to the ins of the fantom then I would hear them correctly in the speakers. But that just sounds really dangerous to me lol.
I"m gonna go ahead and try creating a song with everything set up like you said. who knows I might love it. Thank you, It all helps very much.