The Fantom X series workstation, the X8

keys please

The Fantom X series was at one point the flagship of the Roland workstation family. It is a workstation, synthesizer that was brought to market back in 2004 as an upgrade from the Fantom S series. The Fantom X8 received some of its highest ratings for the quality of its sounds. The expanded memory capability allowed Roland to take the highest quality recording and create some of the realistic sounds possible at that time. A reviewer Willie Stearn writes, " incredibly, its piano patch is made up of over 700 separate samples-multi samples for every key and every velocity. Through all the patches there is a wonderful level of musicality. I found all the sounds-from string sections to drum kits-to be fat, rich, and wonderfully expressive." I had an opportunity to work with this particular workstation and I would agree that the quality of sound it produces were quite exceptional for that time. Here are some of the specs for the Fantom X8:

• 128-voice workstations with 61-note keyboard (Fantom-X6), 76-note keyboard (Fantom-X7), or 88-note (Fantom-X8) Progressive Hammer-Action Keyboard
• Seamless integration of audio and MIDI using gorgeous new ROM waves and sampling with realtime timestretch capability
• 8 stereo audio tracks integrated with internal MIDI sequencer
• 128MB wave ROM includes quality-focused sounds like 88-key split piano and more
• 32MB sample RAM expandable to 544MB with optional DIMMs
• Color LCD screen - a first in a workstation keyboard!
• Innovative features such as Skip Back Sampling, Dynamic Pad Bank and V-LINK
• 3 MFX processors, plus dedicated reverb, chorus and mastering processor
• USB port for MIDI and .WAV/AIFF file exchange
• 4x SRX expansion
• PC card slot for backing up samples and data with up to 1GB capacity
• 4 Line outputs (2 stereo or 4 mono), stereo Line input and 24-bit S/PDIF I/O