New Roland Synthesizer Workstation Coming at Namm 2014

[kday]

The Fantom synthesizer has been discontinued.

That's means a new Roland Workstation replacement will make it's debut this NAMM season.

1. Hopefully it's a great one. First off, they need to catch up to the Motif XF before they can compete with the Korg Kronos.

No Flash Memory or no SSD of course would be a total bummer. A million sounds in a standard keyboard with a sometimes confusing sampling engine would be old and outdated. Roland desperately needs something fresh and funky, new and exciting other than a small incremental evolution of the current Fantom synth.

2. Roland took a long long long time to redraw and redevelop the whole workstation concept after the not so great sales of the Fantom G.

I kinda need more of my own sounds playable in these hardware keyboards, because I hate computer libraries that has to triggered by midi keyboards and that latency issue. I'm also burnt out on more and more mediocre stock sounds companies add to sell keyboards, what would compel me to buy another synth would be for the next synth to allow me to import my own sounds onto a huge Flash Memory board or SSD drive, yeah Korg and Yamaha spoiled me. Hopefully Roland tries to spoil me too, otherwise they won't be getting none of my money. .

[Macska]

Is that a confirmed announcement or wishful thinking?

I've only had my fantom g a week so I won't be upgrading in the next 10 years as far as that goes, but it would be neat to see them put something new out. All I can really imagine is it would be like a jupiter 80 meets fantom g. I'm getting an integra to fill my sound options up. I figure the G's sequencer + Integra's supernatural sound will = more than I can explore in my lifetime! And I already spend 9 hours a day behind the G! Add that to the V-synth that arrives in the mail tomorrow and goodbye sunlight!

Really cool if they've confirmed a new workstation though.

[Leh173]

I think it's wishful thinking. No one will have any idea there's one coming until they say there is. Still, with your setup, I doubt you'll need one Macska! The Integra is probably a pretty good way to "upgrade" the Fantom G. If they had released more ARX cards, they would have added up to what the integra is anyway. I'd like to get one, but have to admit I don't really need it. The V-synth on the other hand... I think about replacing my battle weary JP-8000 with it, but the JP is just too good.

[Macska]

Yeah I won't be getting anymore gear after my final few pieces come in the mail this week. I'm set to compose for a lifetime! And then I caved and bought a Juno 106 today from a local ad...god help me.

OT: Is the JP 8000 a good beginner synth? I have a 14 year old sister who is interested in synths and for christmas I want to get her one. I'm thinking between the Sh 201, JP 8000, and Gaia. It's gotta be Roland cause, well I just have a thing for Roland gear and it's always been good to me. I think I love them so much initially for their persistence in being the only company who seems to care about guitar synthesis.

[Leh173]

The JP-8000 is simple enough to use, but it's pro synth, you may be better getting her a Gaia. It's a current model and pretty hands on, with more modern amenities and probably has a kind of JP-8000 type sound to it. The JP-8000's are 17 years old now.

[kday]

Is that a confirmed announcement or wishful thinking?

Wishful thinking, but it's more likely they will debut a new synthesizer.

How long can a company go without releasing an exciting synthesizer since the Fantom X in what 2004 I think ?

We're talking a 9 year drought, of rehash and scale downs, evolution gone backwards, while the other synth makers have gone forward.

The thing that usually happens when a company stop selling their standard product.

1. They plan on releasing a newer product, so they liquidate their old stock to focus support and promotion on a newer product.

Or they're just going out of business.

I think Roland knows it's about time they come with something, I can't take another hyped up bogus Roland Connect Countdown to another Accordion, FX Pedal, GT Tuner, BOSS 4Track Recorder, or V-Piano.

[Devnor]

For many users, the Jupiter/Integra lines are exciting, new synthesizers that represent a new trend with features such as supernatural instruments, a very nice VA synth, registration mode and live sets, ipad editing and 15 second boot time.

2014 sure seems like the year for a new Roland workstation.

[alphaC]

I really doubt. A successor of FantomG would be a competitor for J80/50

[jabberwocky]

I wonder if it comes with a mac/win editor and librarian software :)

[Leh173]

This just comes up again and again... who knows if they'll release a new one. 6 years between workstations is a long time so if they do release a new one, hopefully they have worked hard on it. In the meantime I suggest we enjoy making music with what we have, which despite a lot of what you may read, is actually pretty good.

[Quinnx.]

the closest thing to a workstation right now from roland is the integra but its a dog.. and for all its potential it has no vst plugin and you need an ipad to do any external editing (what gives???)
the days of needing a workstation have gone.
a computer and DAW with as many plugins you can handle from here to the moon
or for hardware enthusiasts a multichannel sound module (ala integra) and computer are all you need to have a workstation these days.
Years ago it was the economical sense to get a workstation but now its more expensive and no longer as flexible as it needs to be there will always be limitations. the Fantom G itself only excels when you get past the idea of it being a closed box and start using it with a DAW it then becomes an awesome beast altogether.
so if your holding out for another workstation your waisting time, its no longer the gem it use to be.
and my bets are we wont see one in 2014 from roland and probably not for along time after.

[Vlad_77]

the closest thing to a workstation right now from roland is the integra but its a dog.. and for all its potential it has no vst plugin and you need an ipad to do any external editing (what gives???)
the days of needing a workstation have gone.
a computer and DAW with as many plugins you can handle from here to the moon
or for hardware enthusiasts a multichannel sound module (ala integra) and computer are all you need to have a workstation these days.
Years ago it was the economical sense to get a workstation but now its more expensive and no longer as flexible as it needs to be there will always be limitations. the Fantom G itself only excels when you get past the idea of it being a closed box and start using it with a DAW it then becomes an awesome beast altogether.
so if your holding out for another workstation your waisting time, its no longer the gem it use to be.
and my bets are we wont see one in 2014 from roland and probably not for along time after.

Quinnx,

Offering a counterpoint here but I think it depends on needs and preferences. As a gigging musician I want the sturdiness of a workstation and workstations are built with the specific purpose of making music. So for me, trying to round out my rig, it has to be hardware. I am one of the stubborn people that stuck with the Fantom X. It's still a great workstation. I bought it right before the G release and I don't think I need to get into that fiasco. I will say this: it's musicians like you that made the G a viable instrument, first by pressuring Roland to actually un-hobble the G, and then by working some real magic with it. Like I said, I down own a G but I read this part of Roland Clan because I am blown away at what the community did to make it all work.

I love the Jupiter 80 and I think it bodes well for Roland's return to focusing on synthesis. I have to disagree with you on Integra-7 being a dog. Yeah, I hate the fact that I'll have to get an Ipad to edit it when I buy Integra, but, using it with Kronos or Fantom X I would say it's a killer piece of hardware. If it had sampling, I would consider selling the X. Yeah I have samplng covered in Kronos, but, I like redundancy especially as a live musician who doesn't trust a laptop on stage. ;)

Could be however that Roland won't be getting back into the workstation game. Seems like Kurzweil's new baby is still some time away and that leaves Korg and Yamaha to slug it out. I would love to see a super synth from Roland. Imagine one that had all the features you would need for VSTs! Now add in the fact that Roland has as rich a history as Korg. Roland could build on the Jupiter and Integra-7 and do what Korg did with Kronos: multiple engines. Assignable real time controls to legacy synths like V-Synth (with a Time Trip), the Super JX, and a touchscreen/real time control hybrid for JD-800. The Jupiter is a pretty damned deep VA, and the SN sounds are great though I don't like the rather limited editing one can do with SN Tones.

If Roland unleashes a synth with specs like that, it would be a real beast to reckon with.

Best,
Vlad

[Parsifal]

Roland could build on the Jupiter and Integra-7 and do what Korg did with Kronos: multiple engines.

As a matter of fact, Roland ALREADY built multiple engines into Jupiter-80. The way I see it, there is an acoustic modelling synthesis and there is a synth modelling synthesis. I really think Roland lost the marketing train by slapping "modelling" on top of everything going inside Jupiter-80. They should have labeled it differently. And carefully. And put a lot of sparks and lipstick onto it, too. That way maybe people wouldn't get a Kronos with a zillion synth engines and none the wiser (come on, shoot me, I still think Kronos sounds weaker than Jupiter-80.)
I personally have 2 big gripes with it (namely, price and weight) but I don't think that would discourage everybody.
Jupiter-50 wasn't quite what I expected - I'd rather have a 61-note aftertouch-capable keyboard (I already have a 88-key instrument - having to lug 2 big battleships was out of the question). Now that JP-50 prices have come to their senses, I really think it's a great synth: great sounds, minimum weight, best build quality, great price. Still not my cup of tea, though. (bring aftertouch back, guys)

Assignable real time controls to legacy synths like V-Synth (with a Time Trip), the Super JX, and a touchscreen/real time control hybrid for JD-800. The Jupiter is a pretty damned deep VA, and the SN sounds are great though I don't like the rather limited editing one can do with SN Tones.

If Roland unleashes a synth with specs like that, it would be a real beast to reckon with.

TBH, the problem lies not having any other goodies apart from the sound engine. Granted, it's great (maybe the greatest on hardware synths today) but workstation = integration and Roland dropped the ball big time here. Not only they don't have a workstation anymore, nor any drummachine / grooveboxes: you need to buy 3rd party products to make some of their stuff work at 100% potential. That's what I call sloppy design.
No matter what controls you slap onto the JP-80, it's still only a (great) synth. And it's still going to lose ground against competitors' workstations.
They either need to bring down the price (to move it out of top workstation price range) or to put workstation features on it. That's how I see it.
Both Korg and Yamaha are agressively pricing their workstations and deliver newer, cheaper versions of them (souped-up, ofc): you can get a Kross or a MX at 500 euros (if I'm not mistaken).
Moreover, Korg has brought the drummachine / groovebox market into the kid-toy pricing: Volca stuff going on.
In these conditions one cannot expect to put a 3-grand price and expect heavy selling. It's not possible.
I see a great seller in Roland VK-09 (if advertised correctly - Roland is notorious for "fire-and-forget" policy when releasing synths on the market) because they got everything right with this one: price, features, target, ease of use.
They also released probably the best sounding arranger on market (BK-9) and still not providing a decent presentation movie(s) about it.
It's quite mind-boggling: I read somewhere about them having a bit of a financial shortfall and still not being able to put a minimum of effort to marketize their products online. I don't expect they'd get a bailout like the big banks, duh.
Maybe they sell enough of everything else and synth market is fluff to them? Or maybe their market share involves only guys in their 50's and 60's, who knows?

[Vlad_77]

Parsifal,

I wouldn't shoot you! I have a Jupiter 80 and Kronos; best of both worlds plus some other gear. The modeling on the Jupiter 80 is nice, but, STR-1 on Kronos is where I would have liked to have seen Roland go with SN. I feel that the Jupiter 80 is a very powerful VA but the relative lack of parameters for SN feels restrictive.

I would agree with your assessment that Roland has stressed the SN aspect a bit too much, and, one thing that has turned some people off to both Jupiters is that it boots at the highest level - Registrations - as opposed to Live Sets. I've had to show music dealers how to navigate the 80 because they thought that the 80 only had 256 "patches."

I still think Roland will produce a new workstation but "when" is anybody's guess. Korg and Yamaha are ranking very well on Thomann.de rankings of workstations so there is a market for flagships even with the mid range Krome and Mox and the low-end Kross. Kurzweil is working on a project as well which could be a killer. So, I don't see Roland as odd man out among the major four.

Sadly, a lot of people felt and some do feel orphaned by Roland. As I wrote to Quinnx, it is the community that saved the G. Roland really trumpted ARX but it failed. When Roland does a new workstation, the company needs to deliver this time.

Best,
Vlad

[Leh173]

It's hard to know what really happens behind the scenes. Roland seem to have a bit of habit of making something and then moving on, and I think the Fantom G became a case in point of that, it seemed to be released too early, needed more OS updates and TLC as it is a great concept. I bought it over the others as I needed something great for live work and a controller at home and preferred it's general "concept" to the Jupiter or Kronos or Motif, and got I it at V1.5 with fully expanded RAM and the ARX boards so for me, it was pretty complete when I got it, and I've been able to work around most of it's "issues".

I think there is still a market for these boards. The Kronos has done very well as it's just too useful and like the G makes the "one board rig" a reality. I'd imagine if the Jupiter had flash based sampling and the Fantoms knobs and sliders as well it would have been more of an alternative to the Kronos or Fantom G. They specialised the Jupiter too much I think, which is shame as it sounds fantastic.

I really think what we really want is a Fantom with an next step Integra engine, so we have the SN stuff, the XV/Fantom engine stuff, the Sampling (flash based) and sequencer, with all the controller options.

The Fantom G is so nearly great. Will they try again and get it right next time? Who knows...