Roland new Fantom-0 series

[TheFrozenSea]

Thanks! Yeah for me the JP and MG filters in the Fantom 0 do some magic with simple analog pad sounds that the Nord doesn't quite get to. The P5 filter is radically different with a thinner, more piercing resonance rather than the mellower tone of the JP and MG. Not that the JP and MG aren't different, they are for sure.

Nice, feel free to share your first impressions as well, I'd be interested to hear what you think

[Lazerlike42]

My Fantom 06 arrived yesterday some first impressions:

- The keybed is very nice, light and quick. Not as light as my Nord Lead 4 but lighter than my Korg Prologue. I like the Prologue more, but the Fantom is good also.
- Overall the hardware feels nice, while keeping weight at a minimum
- The screen felt great at first but as soon as my finger got dry the response worsened. It's still not bad imo, but I'd prefer not to rely too much on it in a performance.

- The VA synth engine is nice and it's good to have lots of PCM waves to complement it with. Having two identical saw waves is seldom what I'm looking for, for example.
- The filters sound great, better than my Nord Lead 4. Great variation among the different LP filters.
- The analog-emulation is not great but adds a little something when set very low. It sounds nothing like the Korg Prologue though. Being able to set random pitch drift for each oscillator separately from the overall "analog" knob is a nice touch.

- The tonewheel organ is great, my only gripe is the bass on the rotary speaker is a bit too noisy (I recently recorded on a real Hammond/Leslie combo that was not as noisy). Apart from that I'd say the organ is on the same level as my Nord Electro 4 and Arturia B3-V.
- The Clavinet sounds are not bad (PCM samples), but not as nice as my Electro or Arturia Clavs. If I do decide to play this live with a band that requires Clav I might want to buy a multisample pack of a D6 (no idea if such exist).
- The SuperNatural woodwinds are a bit hit and miss. The Oboe sounds quite nice, but the Clarinets and Flute (called piccolo flute) are way too similar, and the Bassoon is not available as a SuperNatural sound, only PCM. Neither of these are anywhere near my (budget) Vienna Symphonic Library samples, but I guess that's fair.

- Working with the TR-rec and step-sequencer feels quite intuitive and flexible. I'm probably not using it optimally yet but getting a basic idea down with drums and a woodwind-quartet was fairly straightforward. Only 3/4 and 4/4 time signature is irritating but I'll manage. I will not use this as a replacement for my DAW when sketching out ideas, but putting together patterns for live performances will be easier and more fun than with an Elektron sequencer.

Quick question - I've been asking all over the place and have yet to find an answer - do the SuperNatural pianos offer string resonance? I'd have assumed this is true, but I can't find any mention of it in the documentation or anywhere else. I asked a Roland Rep who said they do and that you can edit how much in the tone edit, but based on what I have read/seen on videos I'm not sure if he was correct or confusing it with the full Fantom's V-Piano.

Unfortunately there's nowhere for me to look at one of these firsthand and this is essentially the deciding factor for me!

[D-Fusion]

My Fantom 06 arrived yesterday some first impressions:

- The keybed is very nice, light and quick. Not as light as my Nord Lead 4 but lighter than my Korg Prologue. I like the Prologue more, but the Fantom is good also.
- Overall the hardware feels nice, while keeping weight at a minimum
- The screen felt great at first but as soon as my finger got dry the response worsened. It's still not bad imo, but I'd prefer not to rely too much on it in a performance.

- The VA synth engine is nice and it's good to have lots of PCM waves to complement it with. Having two identical saw waves is seldom what I'm looking for, for example.
- The filters sound great, better than my Nord Lead 4. Great variation among the different LP filters.
- The analog-emulation is not great but adds a little something when set very low. It sounds nothing like the Korg Prologue though. Being able to set random pitch drift for each oscillator separately from the overall "analog" knob is a nice touch.

- The tonewheel organ is great, my only gripe is the bass on the rotary speaker is a bit too noisy (I recently recorded on a real Hammond/Leslie combo that was not as noisy). Apart from that I'd say the organ is on the same level as my Nord Electro 4 and Arturia B3-V.
- The Clavinet sounds are not bad (PCM samples), but not as nice as my Electro or Arturia Clavs. If I do decide to play this live with a band that requires Clav I might want to buy a multisample pack of a D6 (no idea if such exist).
- The SuperNatural woodwinds are a bit hit and miss. The Oboe sounds quite nice, but the Clarinets and Flute (called piccolo flute) are way too similar, and the Bassoon is not available as a SuperNatural sound, only PCM. Neither of these are anywhere near my (budget) Vienna Symphonic Library samples, but I guess that's fair.

- Working with the TR-rec and step-sequencer feels quite intuitive and flexible. I'm probably not using it optimally yet but getting a basic idea down with drums and a woodwind-quartet was fairly straightforward. Only 3/4 and 4/4 time signature is irritating but I'll manage. I will not use this as a replacement for my DAW when sketching out ideas, but putting together patterns for live performances will be easier and more fun than with an Elektron sequencer.

Quick question - I've been asking all over the place and have yet to find an answer - do the SuperNatural pianos offer string resonance? I'd have assumed this is true, but I can't find any mention of it in the documentation or anywhere else. I asked a Roland Rep who said they do and that you can edit how much in the tone edit, but based on what I have read/seen on videos I'm not sure if he was correct or confusing it with the full Fantom's V-Piano.

Unfortunately there's nowhere for me to look at one of these firsthand and this is essentially the deciding factor for me!

If it is the same as the SN Accoustic Piano on my Roland FA-06 you can change the String Resonance.

The options on my FA are. String Resonance 0-127, Key Off Resonance 0-127, Hammer Noise, Stereo Width 0-63, Nuance Type 1-3 and Tone Character.

[Lazerlike42]

My Fantom 06 arrived yesterday some first impressions:

- The keybed is very nice, light and quick. Not as light as my Nord Lead 4 but lighter than my Korg Prologue. I like the Prologue more, but the Fantom is good also.
- Overall the hardware feels nice, while keeping weight at a minimum
- The screen felt great at first but as soon as my finger got dry the response worsened. It's still not bad imo, but I'd prefer not to rely too much on it in a performance.

- The VA synth engine is nice and it's good to have lots of PCM waves to complement it with. Having two identical saw waves is seldom what I'm looking for, for example.
- The filters sound great, better than my Nord Lead 4. Great variation among the different LP filters.
- The analog-emulation is not great but adds a little something when set very low. It sounds nothing like the Korg Prologue though. Being able to set random pitch drift for each oscillator separately from the overall "analog" knob is a nice touch.

- The tonewheel organ is great, my only gripe is the bass on the rotary speaker is a bit too noisy (I recently recorded on a real Hammond/Leslie combo that was not as noisy). Apart from that I'd say the organ is on the same level as my Nord Electro 4 and Arturia B3-V.
- The Clavinet sounds are not bad (PCM samples), but not as nice as my Electro or Arturia Clavs. If I do decide to play this live with a band that requires Clav I might want to buy a multisample pack of a D6 (no idea if such exist).
- The SuperNatural woodwinds are a bit hit and miss. The Oboe sounds quite nice, but the Clarinets and Flute (called piccolo flute) are way too similar, and the Bassoon is not available as a SuperNatural sound, only PCM. Neither of these are anywhere near my (budget) Vienna Symphonic Library samples, but I guess that's fair.

- Working with the TR-rec and step-sequencer feels quite intuitive and flexible. I'm probably not using it optimally yet but getting a basic idea down with drums and a woodwind-quartet was fairly straightforward. Only 3/4 and 4/4 time signature is irritating but I'll manage. I will not use this as a replacement for my DAW when sketching out ideas, but putting together patterns for live performances will be easier and more fun than with an Elektron sequencer.

Quick question - I've been asking all over the place and have yet to find an answer - do the SuperNatural pianos offer string resonance? I'd have assumed this is true, but I can't find any mention of it in the documentation or anywhere else. I asked a Roland Rep who said they do and that you can edit how much in the tone edit, but based on what I have read/seen on videos I'm not sure if he was correct or confusing it with the full Fantom's V-Piano.

Unfortunately there's nowhere for me to look at one of these firsthand and this is essentially the deciding factor for me!

If it is the same as the SN Accoustic Piano on my Roland FA-06 you can change the String Resonance.

The options on my FA are. String Resonance 0-127, Key Off Resonance 0-127, Hammer Noise, Stereo Width 0-63, Nuance Type 1-3 and Tone Character.

That would make sense, but at least in the documentation it's not the same as on the FA series. On the FA series, the kind of thing we're talking about shows up in two places: as an IFX called "sympathetic resonance," and for the SuperNatural tones as instrument parameters. I think the SuperNatural acoustic piano instrument parameters are what you're talking about.

In the Fantom-0 manual, SuperNatural acoustic piano instrument parameters are listed but the only one is "Stereo Width," and there is no effect listed that says anything about sympathetic or string resonance. I suppose it might be undocumented, BUT in videos where you can see the UI while SN pianos are loaded the only one of these which appear to be there are Stereo Width - just as that's the only one listed in the manual.

[Lazerlike42]

This video also seems strongly to imply that Stereo Width is the only control available: (around the 3:53 mark)

[D-Fusion]

This video also seems strongly to imply that Stereo Width is the only control available: (around the 3:53 mark)

Weird.
I Thought the Supernatural Accoustic Piano engine in the Roland FA-06 and the Fantom 06 where the same but it is seriously crippled if you can only change the Stereo width on the newer one.
Looking Closer at the Parameter guide here for The Different Supernatural engines also says Stereo width as a Parameter.

https://static.roland.com/assets/media/ ... ng01_W.pdf

[Lazerlike42]

This video also seems strongly to imply that Stereo Width is the only control available: (around the 3:53 mark)

Weird.
I Thought the Supernatural Accoustic Piano engine in the Roland FA-06 and the Fantom 06 where the same but it is seriously crippled if you can only change the Stereo width on the newer one.
Looking Closer at the Parameter guide here for The Different Supernatural engines also says Stereo width as a Parameter.

https://static.roland.com/assets/media/ ... ng01_W.pdf

Definitely hampered significantly, and hence why I must find this out. The Fantoms otherwise suit my needs perfectly, but that would be a deal breaker.

[Lazerlike42]

This video also seems strongly to imply that Stereo Width is the only control available: (around the 3:53 mark)

Weird.
I Thought the Supernatural Accoustic Piano engine in the Roland FA-06 and the Fantom 06 where the same but it is seriously crippled if you can only change the Stereo width on the newer one.
Looking Closer at the Parameter guide here for The Different Supernatural engines also says Stereo width as a Parameter.

https://static.roland.com/assets/media/ ... ng01_W.pdf

Perhaps something is lost in translation, but this reviewer seems to suggest that the FA piano produces certain kinds of overtones that the Fantom-0's does not: (~2:30).

[D-Fusion]

This video also seems strongly to imply that Stereo Width is the only control available: (around the 3:53 mark)

Weird.
I Thought the Supernatural Accoustic Piano engine in the Roland FA-06 and the Fantom 06 where the same but it is seriously crippled if you can only change the Stereo width on the newer one.
Looking Closer at the Parameter guide here for The Different Supernatural engines also says Stereo width as a Parameter.

https://static.roland.com/assets/media/ ... ng01_W.pdf

Perhaps something is lost in translation, but this reviewer seems to suggest that the FA piano produces certain kinds of overtones that the Fantom-0's does not: (~2:30).

He has the same feeeling as i have When i have Compared Zenology Pro which the Fantom 06 is based on with my FA-06 and they sound different.

Zenology Pro Sounds Cleaner and less Punchy When i try to Make the same preset on both from my own presets and Zenology Pro envelopes also Behaves differently.

Both are great in their own way and the Fantom 06 can also use some of the model expansions so it only comes down to which sound you prefer.
There is also one thing i prefer on the Zen Core over the Fa and that is the Unison since the FA only has Unison on or off and no detuning.

If i where to get a Roland Fantom 06 it would not be to replace my FA-06 or JD-Xi since i would keep all 3 because of the differences in tone and behaviour.

Since i already have the Zenology Pro and the SRX i like + the Jupiter 8 Model and the JD 800 for it i just might end up Staying in the box for my Roland workstation sounds when my Fa and JD-Xi Says godbye.

[dellboy]

Perhaps something is lost in translation, but this reviewer seems to suggest that the FA piano produces certain kinds of overtones that the Fantom-0's does not: (~2:30).

He talks about the FA as having a "thicker sound,and fatter", and the 06 as being more real and clear. If that's the case I guess he could have just tweaked the filters of the 06 a bit to make it sound like the FA. I do not own an FA and have never even seen one, but the main benefits of the 06 seems to be a quieter keybed, (nice for late night sessions), and the sliders, and some extra knobs to adjust the screen parameters.

The sequencer seems to have changed on the 06 to be clip based like Ableton Live and Bitwig, or maybe that's just my lack of knowledge of the FA.

The big let down for me is that the 06 does not include the analogue models that I at first thought it was shipped with. It seems that you have to pay £149 for each one and download them which brings up the initial cheaper cost significantly.

[AlesisVi61]

Perhaps something is lost in translation, but this reviewer seems to suggest that the FA piano produces certain kinds of overtones that the Fantom-0's does not: (~2:30).

The big let down for me is that the 06 does not include the analogue models that I at first thought it was shipped with. It seems that you have to pay £149 for each one and download them which brings up the initial cheaper cost significantly.

It seems that you are missing the whole purpose of the Fantom-0 series, as it's sole purpose was to provide the budget-minded-player most of what the flagship Fantom is and condense it down & keep the essentials & trim it down in certain areas to make it affordable and Roland has done a r-e-m-a-r-k-a-b-l-e job in doing this.
Keep in mind that the Fantom 06 is $1,900 cheaper than the flagship Fantom 6 and yet, has the same ZenCore engine and all of the sounds(minus the V-Piano & access to the N'Zyme library.)

[AlesisVi61]

Thanks! Yeah for me the JP and MG filters in the Fantom 0 do some magic with simple analog pad sounds that the Nord doesn't quite get to. The P5 filter is radically different with a thinner, more piercing resonance rather than the mellower tone of the JP and MG. Not that the JP and MG aren't different, they are for sure.

Nice, feel free to share your first impressions as well, I'd be interested to hear what you think

I received my Fantom 06 yesterday and it's a MONSTER workstation for the money! The filters are indeed magnificent, the key-bed is surprisingly good, the layered presets are insane, and although the menu-layouts on the screen are very logically laid out....I'm a bit lost(as I've been a Korg-guy for decades and the differences between the 2 companies is huge.)
At the moment, I've been in the process of choosing presets within song mode and I picked an e.bass and cannot figure out why it's layered with 2 other synth presets? I'm also having trouble trying to remove those 2 other synth sounds from the bass sound & I am wondering why this preset is configured in this way by default?
So much to learn....but I'm sure it will be insanely easy, once I get my bearings.....

[dellboy]

It seems that you are missing the whole purpose of the Fantom-0 series,

I was commenting on the youtube review from the previous post which compared the new -0 series with the FA. Other reviewers are pitching it as a cut down Fantom.

[HREQ]

What sounds does this have that Rolland cloud doesn’t? I kinda interested in it but just don’t see the point when most of its sounds are on Roland cloud already. If it had all supernatural sounds maybe. Wish they released a new integra.this year.

I had a FA06 long ago but sold it. Saw no point in buying it back as Roland cloud released all the srx expansions. It only had a few supernat instruments

[D-Fusion]

What sounds does this have that Rolland cloud doesn’t? I kinda interested in it but just don’t see the point when most of its sounds are on Roland cloud already. If it had all supernatural sounds maybe. Wish they released a new integra.this year.

I had a FA06 long ago but sold it. Saw no point in buying it back as Roland cloud released all the srx expansions. It only had a few supernat instruments

If you have the Roland SRX and Zenology Pro with Model expansions and love that 30 Day Call home Protection that might break during these uncertain times we live in now then you don't need the new Fantom 0.

If you don't want the trouble with that horrible copy protection that hurts the legit lifetime owner and you just want to fire up and Play without that limitation then the Fantom 0 is for you.