The Fantom-X (Xa/X6/X7/X8/XR) is a

music workstation A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of: *a sound module, *a music sequencer and *(usually) a musical keyboard. It enables a musician to compose electronic music using just one piece of equipment. Origi ...

/ synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation. It was introduced in 2004 as an upgrade from the Fantom S series. The Fantom-X competes with the

Korg Triton The Korg Triton is a music workstation synthesizer, featuring digital sampling and sequencing, released in 1999. It uses Korg's HI Synthesis tone generator and was eventually available in several model variants with numerous upgrade options. The ...

/Triton Extreme, the

Yamaha Motif ES The Yamaha Motif is a series of music workstation synthesizers, first released by Yamaha Corporation in August 2001. The Motif replaced the EX series in Yamaha's line-up and was also based on the early Yamaha S series. Other workstations in the ...

and other similar large-scope keyboards such as the discontinued

Alesis Fusion Alesis Fusion is a music production workstation produced by Alesis introduced in early 2005. It uses four different types of synthesis: sample and synthesis, virtual analog, FM and physical modeling. It includes sampling capability through an ...

. In 2008 it was succeeded by the Fantom-G*, which was devised to compete with the new Korg and Yamaha flagship keyboards.

Features

The Roland Fantom-X features a 128-voice PCM-based synthesizer, a 16-track MRC-Pro sequencer, 6 effects processors, dynamic pads and infrared D-Beam, a stereo sampler and full on-screen editing. The Fantom X received an audio recorder upgrade with version 2.00 that allows for 8 stereo audio tracks integrated with the internal MIDI sequencer. *The Fantom X6 - 61-key version with aftertouch *The Fantom X7 - 76-key version with aftertouch *The Fantom X8 - 88-key fully weighted piano keyboard *The Fantom XR - (rackmount module version) accepts up to six SRX expansion boards. *The Fantom Xa - Newer model with a smaller screen. Has multiple I/O, microphone inputs, multisampling and 128-note polyphony. All Fantom X series, except for Xa, accept up to four SRX-series wave expansion boards. Total of 12 different SRX boards were produced.

Models

There are five models in the Fantom-X family: * X6: 61 keys - velocity and aftertouch. * X7: 76 keys - velocity and aftertouch. * X8: 88 weighted, hammer-action keys. * XR: Rack-mounted

sound module A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which th ...

holds up to six SRX expansion boards but does not feature a sequencer. * Xa: 61 keys - velocity only. Roland Fantom X6 TopView

The X6, X7, and X8, apart from their keyboards, are almost identical in the controls they offer, the internal software they run, and the expansions they accept. In 2005 the 61-key Fantom-Xa was released. The Xa still uses the same Waveforms and the new X series Chip. The Xa comes with a smaller mpc style graphical green screen, the keyboard is not as professional, and lacks aftertouch.

Successors

After the Fantom-X, Roland produced its successor, the Fantom-G, which included twice the waveform memory, more patches, 128 voice polyphony, advanced and easy to use sequencer. Fantom-G accepts new ARX wave expansion cards, has larger full-color screen, 16 insert effects per patch and other improvements. A partial follow up to the Roland Fantom-X is the Integra-7 sound module. It does not have sequencer, sampler or other functions, however it does contain the waveforms of all SRX boards at a time. In 2019, Roland released the Fantom 6/7/8 series workstation which includes multiple synth engines, following the footsteps of

Korg Kronos The Kronos is a music workstation manufactured by Korg that combines nine different synthesizer sound engines with a sequencer, digital recorder, effects, a color touchscreen display and a keyboard. Korg's latest flagship synthesizer series at ...

and Yamaha Montage.

References

External links

Fantom-X on Roland's website

Fantom-X on Synth.marketFantom-Xa review at SoundonSound

Fantom-X The Fantom-X (Xa/X6/X7/X8/XR) is a music workstation/ synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation. It was introduced in 2004 as an upgrade from the Fantom S series. The Fantom-X competes with the Korg Triton/Triton Extreme, the Yamaha Motif ES a ...

Music workstations Polyphonic synthesizers Digital synthesizers {{Electronic-musical-instrument-stub