Roland Fantom-S: The Complete Music Production Solution

The Roland Fantom-S series represents the perfect marriage of sampling and synthesis technology, offering professional musicians and producers a complete solution for music production. Available in two models — the 61-note Fantom-S and the 88-note Fantom-S88 —these workstation keyboards seamlessly integrate audio and MIDI capabilities to take your music from concept to completion.

At the heart of the Fantom-S is an entirely new 64MB wave ROM featuring pristine stereo samples recorded in world-class studios globally. These high-quality building blocks form the foundation for a fresh collection of inspiring Patches and Rhythm Sets designed for contemporary and future music styles.

What truly sets the Fantom-S apart is its advanced sampling capabilities. With 32MB of sample RAM (expandable to an impressive 288MB), the system offers realtime timestretch functionality and compatibility with standard .WAV/AIFF files. The innovative "Skip Back Sampling" feature continuously records your performances, ensuring no creative idea is ever lost. Sample organization is simplified through the Dynamic Pad Bank, featuring 16 velocity-sensitive pads for intuitive triggering of audio samples.

The Fantom-S transforms into a complete studio environment with its comprehensive mixing capabilities. The Mixer View screen provides an intuitive digital mixer interface for adjusting track levels, panning, and effects. The professional effects section includes three multi-effects processors, dedicated 24-bit reverb and chorus processors, plus a mastering processor with multi-band compression for final mixdown.

File exchange between the Fantom-S and computers is streamlined via USB connectivity. The keyboard appears as a hard drive on your PC or Mac, allowing simple drag-and-drop transfers of .WAV and AIFF files. Completed projects can be exported to your computer for CD burning or online distribution.

For multimedia artists, the Fantom-S offers V-LINK functionality, enabling integration of video clips with musical performances when used with the optional Edirol DV-7PR Digital Video Workstation. This powerful feature allows video clips to be triggered from the sequencer or Dynamic Pad Bank, creating compelling audio-visual presentations.

The Roland Fantom-S workstation combines powerful synthesis capabilities with advanced sampling features in a comprehensive music production environment. With its extensive sound library, flexible audio processing, and intuitive interface, it provides everything needed for contemporary music creation—from initial inspiration to final mastered track.

The system's 32MB of expandable sample memory (up to 288MB) gives producers ample space for creating and manipulating audio, while the 16MB flash RAM ensures your favorite sounds remain available. The workstation's sequencer offers 16 phrase tracks, a pattern track, tempo track and beat track—providing a complete arrangement solution with up to 9,998 measures per song.

Professional-quality effects processing includes three multi-effects systems, dedicated reverb and chorus processors, plus a mastering effect featuring 3-band compression. Both digital and analog connectivity options provide flexibility in studio and live performance situations.

The keyboard's Dynamic Pad Bank with 16 velocity and aftertouch sensitive pads makes triggering samples and patterns intuitive, while comprehensive controller options including pitch/modulation lever, assignable knobs, switches, and D-Beam controller provide expressive control over all sound parameters.

Technical Specifications

Sound Generator Section

• Maximum Polyphony: 64 voices (shared with sampling section)
• Parts: 16
• Wave Memory: 64MB (16-bit linear equivalent)
• Waveforms: 1,228

Memory

• Preset Memory:
  • Patches: 640 + 256 (GM2)
  • Rhythm Sets: 32 + 9 (GM2)
  • Performances: 64
• User Memory:
  • Patches: 256
  • Rhythm Sets: 32
  • Performances: 64
• Card Memory (SmartMedia):
  • Patches: 256
  • Rhythm Sets: 32
  • Performances: 64

Sampling Section

• Data Format: 16-bit linear (File Type: .WAV/AIFF)
• Sampling Frequency: 44.1kHz (fixed)
• Maximum Sampling Time:
  • Internal memory (32MB only):
    • Mono: 360 seconds approximately
    • Stereo: 180 seconds approximately
  • Expanded with DIMM (288MB):
    • Mono: 54 minutes approximately
    • Stereo: 27 minutes approximately
• Number of Samples:
  • User memory: 2,000 (maximum total approximately 16MB)
  • Card memory: 7,000 (128MB SmartMedia)
• "Skip Back Sampling" for continuous sampling

Sequencer Section

• Tracks:
  • 16 Phrase tracks (16 MIDI channels per track)
  • 1 Pattern track (16 MIDI channels per track, can hold up to 100 patterns)
  • 1 Tempo track
  • 1 Beat track
• Resolution: 480 TPQN
• Tempo: 5 to 300 BPM
• Song Length: 9,998 measures
• Recording Methods: Realtime, Step

Additional Songwriting Features

• Arpeggiator: 128 Preset, 128 User
• Rhythm Pattern: 256 Preset (32 groups), 256 User (32 groups)
• Chord Memory: 64 Preset, 64 User

Effects

• Multi-Effects: 3 systems, 77 types (S) / 78 types (S88)
• Chorus: 3 types
• Reverb: 5 types
• Input Effect: 6 types
• Mastering Effect: 3-band Compressor

Keyboard&Controllers

• 61 keys with velocity and channel aftertouch
• Pitch Bend/Modulation Lever
• 4 Control Knobs
• 2 Assignable Switches
• D Beam Controller
• 16 velocity and aftertouch sensitive pads

Display

• 320 x 240 dots, four-shade graphic LCD (QVGA)

Connectivity

• Outputs: 4 Line outputs (2 stereo or 4 mono)
• Inputs: Stereo Line input
• Digital Output: 24-bit S/PDIF (coaxial/optical)
• USB port for .WAV/AIFF file exchange with PC/Mac

Storage

• 16MB flash RAM for favorite sounds retention
• optional SmartMedia storage

Integration

• Seamless audio and MIDI integration with realtime timestretch capability

Expansion Options

• SRX Expansion Slots: 4 slots (if maximum DIMM expansion is installed, only two SRX slots will be available)
• DIMM SDRAM: 1 slot (supports 128/256MB, 3.3V)
• SmartMedia Card: 1 slot (supports 8/16/32/64/128MB, 3.3V)

Connectors

• Headphones
• A (MIX) Output (L/Mono, R) (1/4" TRS phone type)
• B Output (L, R) (1/4" phone type)
• Input (L/Mono (MIC), R) (1/4" phone type)
• Hold Pedal (Half Pedal possible)
• Control Pedal (assignable)
• MIDI (In, Out, Thru)
• USB Connector (supports file transfer - mass storage class)
• Digital Audio Interface (COAXIAL/OPTICAL OUTPUT only)
• AC Inlet

Physical Specifications

• Width: 1,050 mm (41-3/8 inches)
• Depth: 358 mm (14-1/8 inches)
• Height: 109 mm (4-5/16 inches)
• Weight: 12.5 kg (27 lbs. 9 oz.)
• Power Consumption: 17W (AC 117/230/240 V, autosensing)

Factory Included Accessories

• Sound/Parameter List Sheet
• Sample Data (Audio) CD
• CD-ROM (Editor)

Optional Accessories

• Wave Expansion Board (SRX Series)
• Keyboard Stand (KS-12 for S model / KS-17 for S88 model)
• Pedal Switch (DP Series)
• Foot Switch (FS-5U)
• Expression Pedal (EV-5)

Tags: digital synthesizer