{"id":217,"date":"2021-08-13T02:41:10","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T02:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/?page_id=217"},"modified":"2023-08-30T03:27:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T03:27:09","slug":"fantom-xr","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/fantom-xr\/","title":{"rendered":"Roland Fantom XR \ud83e\uddfb\ud83e\uddfb\ud83e\uddfb"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"u493-2\">Granddaughter of Yacht<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"313\" height=\"188\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1959-sleeping-beauty-008.jpg?resize=313%2C188&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1959-sleeping-beauty-008.jpg?w=313&amp;ssl=1 313w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1959-sleeping-beauty-008.jpg?resize=300%2C180&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 313px) 100vw, 313px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-7\">Many world events took place in the years 2000 \u2013 2004, some wars for example. Over at Roland it seems an evil witch cast a spell over the company and for four full years they slept in their little white coats. When they woke (to a kiss?) it was to discover that everyone else had moved on. USB had been invented, Zip disks were gone, as was SCSI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-10\">\u201cHoly Fuck! What can we do?\u201d asked White Lab Coat #2.<br>\u201cWhat we always do\u201d, said White Lab Coat #1.<br>\u201cJust repackage our shit with some new dumb name.\u201d And they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-18\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.soundonsound.com\/sos\/aug05\/articles\/rolandfantomxr.htm\">Sensible review.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"74\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Fantom.jpg?resize=640%2C74&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Fantom.jpg?w=920&amp;ssl=1 920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Fantom.jpg?resize=300%2C35&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Fantom.jpg?resize=768%2C88&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Fantom.jpg?resize=640%2C74&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Fantom.jpg?resize=400%2C46&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-24\">That\u2019s how the Roland Luxury Yacht <a href=\"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/xv5080\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"264\">XV5080<\/a> got \u2018revised\u2019 into the Fantom XR. There were some changes, but really they\u2019re in the parts they could get from their suppliers. SCSI to USB, Smart Card to PC Card, bigger DIMMS. Actual changes to the instrument? Not much. If you think I am being harsh, I\u2019ve skipped over the fact that they made two Fantom models before this which were somehow WORSE than the XV5080.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-27\">It\u2019s been hard to find a list of changes, so let me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" id=\"u493-55\">\n<li>Single rack unit, as no one uses the LCD screen any more. Less hernias.\u2665<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only takes new SRX voices cards that cost buckets on eBay,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But most of the good Oberheim \/ Moog \/ Roland waveforms are included anyway.\u2665<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MIDI over USB \u2026 which <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/forums.rolandclan.com\/viewtopic.php?f=3&amp;t=50840\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"http:\/\/forums.rolandclan.com\/viewtopic.php?f=3&amp;t=50840\" target=\"_blank\">I can\u2019t get to work<\/a> after hours of trying. Likewise using the unit as an audio interface. Doesn\u2019t seem to work. Shit drivers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Up to 512Mb of RAM for samples,\u2665<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But sample loading isn\u2019t that much faster from PC card than SCSI Zip so you\u2019ll not want to use it much anyway.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weird sample numbering system is still there.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can sample on the machine. You never will, but you CAN.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roland finally worked out that maybe you want to chain the three effects units together YES \u2665\u2665\u2665\u2665\u2665<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And you could re-sample that.\u2665<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They\u2019ve given you modulation control of the sample playback speed \u2665\u2665\u2665<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s not a spectacular haul for four years work. But there\u2019s a few things that they\u2019d not addressed in the Yacht that were finally fixed here, and damn, I wanted to see them. For my <a href=\"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/?page_id=203\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"203\">Sword And Sandals Studies<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"u493-58\">Good Shit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-61\">What was the point of having three COSM effects units that can only be used one at a time? None. Who wants to run a modulated delay through a ring modulator through a pitch shifter? Everyone. Is it worth buying a sampler\/effects rack that can do this? What do you think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-67\">Now the samples can be time modulated. Seems that you can play any sample over the whole keyboard at the same duration. Seems also that you can modulate a sample speed down to the point where it\u2019s frozen on one grain. There\u2019s 10 different grain sizes, so it\u2019s not the same varispeed process as the <a href=\"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/v-synth-xt\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"261\">V-Synth<\/a>. Some horrible noises are likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-73\">Infinite Phaser. \u201cHQ waveforms\u201d (I guess these are 44.1KHz). Step sequencer in the LFO. That PC card is going to last a lot longer than the Zip Drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"u493-76\">Bad Shit from time spent with it.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-79\">For some reason the editing software no longer has the next\/previous patch and a write button. So every single time you want to select the next patch it\u2019s knee deep in menus \u2013 I have no idea why you would remove that. I also have no idea why a write now has to be done on the box and takes FIVE frikk\u2019n button presses \u2013 SHIFT, RIGHT, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER \u2013 what is this, a cheat code? At least now your own samples are named in the editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-85\">The box has more storage and that seems to have troubled the Roland White Coats. If you load up a sample from the card to RAM, that\u2019s now found in \u2018card RAM\u2019, but if it came from the internal storage it\u2019s in \u2018user RAM\u2019 \u2013 which is a symptom of how the machine stores samples in a non dynamic numbered table. <a href=\"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/v-synth-xt\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"261\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The V-Synth<\/a> will at least renumber the samples on request. This really is a XV5080 with some extra plumbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-90\">Your card might be 1Gb, but as samples have to be converted over from the card to memory and saved out again <em>en masse<\/em>, the effective storage is the RAM in the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u493-93\">It really doesn\u2019t sound that different to the Yacht, being basically the same guts. That&#8217;s not a bad thing &#8211; both are very luscious sounding machines with lots of space and movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Update for 2022 &#8211; is the Fantom still worth it?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_5825.jpg?resize=576%2C303&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1018\" style=\"width:576px;height:303px\" width=\"576\" height=\"303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_5825.jpg?resize=1024%2C539&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_5825.jpg?resize=300%2C158&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_5825.jpg?resize=768%2C404&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_5825.jpg?resize=640%2C337&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_5825.jpg?resize=400%2C211&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_5825.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Fantom XR owners are now experiencing a temperature fault in the LCD which can lead to a blank or intermittent screen &#8211; the good news is a replacement screen is now available. All this reminds you that the machine is about 16 years old and not getting any younger. Is it worth the trouble now that <em><a href=\"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/zen-core\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"455\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zenology<\/a><\/em> has replaced the old Sample and Synthesis workstations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many cases <em>ZenCore<\/em> is a better system, as it has virtual analogue waveforms, sync, ring and cross modulation. But the old S+S system has more ways that two tones can interact. The first sound I have on my XR uses two filters in sequence to create a wonderfully vowel like sound. No amount of work with basic <em>Zenology<\/em> can make that sound &#8211; there&#8217;s no way to combine the filters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"132\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/type2.jpg?resize=340%2C132&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/type2.jpg?w=340&amp;ssl=1 340w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/type2.jpg?resize=300%2C116&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u1800-9\">You <em>can<\/em> use the <em>xv5080<\/em> model available in some Zen machines (unfortunately not <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/roland-mc-707-groovebox\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1003\" target=\"_blank\">the MC-700<\/a>) to reproduce this patch. But then you <em>don&#8217;t<\/em> get to use your own samples. Now is probably the point to remind you &#8211; your own samples take a very <strong>very<\/strong> <strong><em>v e r y<\/em><\/strong> long time to load on this old machine. Make a cup of tea. The 707 is quicker but not able to replace the XR completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u1800-9\">Both the Fantom and the XV5080 are capable of interesting and complex sounds just with standard saws and squares. The bible in this case is the <em>Fantom Tweakbook<\/em> by Artemiy Pavlov. It&#8217;s a commercial book, and out of print, two things that don&#8217;t work well together. But you can find a copy and buy something from his company Sinevibes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u1800-17\">For example the booster, which seems to be just an overdrive, is actually a means by which two tones can be made to create a kind of synch sweep. Create a resonant band pass filter sweep in one tone and combine it with another through the booster &#8211; the effect is convincing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u1800-20\">The book also handles time stretching and freezing, complexes of LFOs and making a 108dB &#8216;superfilter&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-vivid-red-color has-text-color\">It is now SOLD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hear It In Action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=26885020\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/track=1999859987\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/severedheads.bandcamp.com\/album\/rhine-2\">Rhine by Tom Ellard<\/a><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>The &#8216;guitar&#8217; part is the Fantom XR &#8211; the rest is a mix of Fantom and <a href=\"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/ultraproteus\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"396\">UltraProteus<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Granddaughter of Yacht Many world events took place in the years 2000 \u2013 2004, some wars for example. Over at Roland it seems an evil witch cast a spell over the company and for four full years they slept in their little white coats. When they woke (to a kiss?) it was to discover that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[9,7,18],"class_list":["post-217","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-roland-ss","tag-sampler","tag-sold"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nilamox.com\/mancave21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}