paulmapp8306

Completely depends. I your playing synth lines or chords - then 49 keys isnt a problem really. Its very rare youll play over more than 4 octaves, and actually the majority of synths have 4 or less octaves - a minority have 61 and non more than that. If on the other hand your a 2 handed player, chords and melody, be that piano or organ.... your going to need a LEAST 61 notes is not more. Organs (twin maual ones) tend to have 4 octaves PER manual - but from a single board that means splitting those two sounds up - hence needing more.

Yamaha MGx if stereo master USB audio is fine. If you want multi channels out over USB, Soundcraft Signature MTK (MUST be MTK - thats the multitrack bit). There both traditional desktop hardware. Behringer Air if your OK with PC/Laptop control - offers more (FX per channel, more routing etc) but does require that extra hardware.

It is yes. The 18810/20s lowest height is 62cm t the base of the board (I believe) which is lower than most go, and pretty much perfect fo me seated. It then has multiple heights that raise in approx 5cm increments to its maximum. The Spider Pro goes as low as you want - as low as about 30cm - and is infinately adustable over its whole height. So yeh, the 18810/20 is probably more adaptable than most other stands, but the spider is pretty mm adjutstable. On the "bounce" issue - the further out the arms come, the more bounce (because its end mounted), so the further you can push tehm in the better. That obviouslyy depends on the depth of each board your mounting, and the vertical gap you want between each set of arms.

Yep. As a comparison, the 18810/20 is more solid. Twin legs/feet are better than a centre collumn. The arms on the Spider are "bouncy" as there attacked at one end - the 18810/20 are much more ridgid. The down side, is that the 18820 folds nicely, but doesnt if the tiers are attached, so for transport you have to take them off, which is a black bolt, nut and washer and ....not great if you drop then on a dark stage. the spider just folds up and fits in its bag (JUST with the 3rd tier). So - it kind of depends. For a static set up (music room, studio) the 18810/20 is a better stand. for travel/gigging its a toss up. The bounce is off putting to start with but it is stable. Just be aware, there are a LOT of boards that wouldnt fir on the 18810/20 with a 3rd tier. The legs for the the form a stop, and limits the max depth to 365mm. The Fantom 7 is 403mm - Jupiter x is 410mm. Both Kronos and Montage are also too deep. Its fine for an FA, Jupiter XM, most midi control boards. Wouldnt get most propper synths on either - Summit or DSI board, though a Hydrasynth would fit. Its worth thinking about what you MAY do int he future before committing. both stands are very Pro though, and build quality it top notch actually.

Thas is A Sppider Pro yes. Its was a K&M 18820 I have (still have) previously. It would fit if your 18810 is a single or twin tier - but if its got the third tier arns its not deep enough.

OK - Problems worked around. New stand in as the Fantom was too deep for my old ones middle tier. FW updated, Expansion Packs loaded. Control Scheme and Midi plan done and cabled. Template patch created, timne spend getting to know her a little. First 10 scenes donme (mostly from scratch in the synth engine)..... LONG first 24 hours (well 30 ) what with work, food and sleep as well.

Anyone have an RD2000 AND a Fantom 6/7/8? (preferably 7). I have a weird compatability issue (over Midi) id like someone to independantly test. Might be FW or my kit.

Fantoms workflow is great BUT its real strengths are its synth engine - however the Jupiter is seven better, and its control ability (ie running a rig) but unless you have lots of modules and/or run a soft system thats going to be lost on you as well. Id say Fantom OR Jupiter is your top board but not both - then either a weight board for piano playing (and yes you COULD Go Fantom 8 and Jupiter to perform that if the cost isnt an issue), OR another synth action of whatever size from another manufacturer.

A read through the manual(s) seems to suggest I can route a aone (though not a partial) through the Analogue FX - but Id have to pass it through one of the other filters first. It also seems theres no way to apply a filter envelope to the analogue filter. do I have this right? If so I think we need to add Analogue Filter Cutoff as a destination in the matrix - at least then you could apply the filter envelope from the partial to the analogue filter. Not ideal, its not what Id thought it would be (and there not really been any youtube or forum information on the analogue filter from what I could find in advance). It will still have a use of course, but not the use Id wanted. Having said that the "modeled" filter types do seem pretty good actually, certainly a step up from the FA its replacing, so thats good. Anyone confirm this is the case, and Im not missing something.

OK, my turn to ask a question. Fantom 7 arrived today, and I had 20 mins or so just to check it was all functional ( couriers you know) - and my immediate thought is about the analogue filter....id assumed (yeh - dont do that) it would be an option in the tone design filter section - that is using it as the main/only filter for a partial (say a saw wave), but selecting it in place of the MG/P5/LPF1 etc. It appears not - and its an effect. So - can I not use it as the sole filter (with associated filter/pitch/amp envelopes) as I would an analogue synth? Is it aimed at being used in another way - external inputs for instance? I did get it to sound - basically I could here the resonance peak only and couldnt here any of the actual filtering. over the core sound of the regular filter. it may be in the routing, ie wet/dry mix or something else, or it may not actually be what I thought it was. So - any help here would be great. Im not going to get to play until tomorrow, and TBH I need to crack on replicating my FA SNS patches for the bands, and this would be key information to do that. Thanks.

Lol - I didnt actually give my choice..... Well not MY choice, but if I was in the OPs shoes. Id go with you for a general cover all bases thing and Take option 3 with the Nord. Fantom 8 and Nord electro. You have access to Nords Piano sounds with the Roland PH5 keybed, the best organs outside of a dedicated tonewheel (VR730 is on par here maybe, and Fantom is getting the VR Organ engine at some point), Fantom is a very capable synth in its own right, plus more SNA sounds regularly. When you need a light pick up and go, just take the Nord. Its a good enough keybed to play piano on at a push, a has enough other sounds to get by with. If it was me... I already have the RD2000 and Fantom 7 (tomorrow). If I didnt have the RD already Id have a Grand stage to pair with the Fantom instead - so option 1 from my original list.

My view here - being the owner of an RD2000, and an FA07 - and with a Fantom 7 incomming..... Depends on how important weight is for you. The Fantom 8 is a BEAST of a board weight wise. also depends what sounds your looking for. Is it synth heavy or is it general sounds? finally - your not going to utilise a "master controller" centrepiece in a twin board rig (which I WILL as I have 2 synth modules and an organ module as well to drive) which takes away some of Fantoms useage for you. - which will change the best all round option. So with those in mind, Ill give 3 senarios. Scenario 1. Weight IS important, and your after great all round sounds. Nord Grand Stage (keybed isnt QUITE RD2000/Kawai standards, but its close, Nord Piano keybeds are awful) - with a Fantom 7 for everything else. Senario 2. Weight is important to you , and your synth focussed in sounds. Nord Grand Stage (same reasons as senario 1) - with a Jupiter X, its a better all round synth than Fantom but looses strings, Orchestral, Drums etc. Senario 3 - weight isnt an issue. Fantom 8, with something else - EITHER a Roland VR730/Nord ElectroD if organs are important, or a proper synth (if your more that way inclined) but probably not Jupiter X as its too close to Fantom. Choose a DM12 (low cost), or DSi Rev 2, or Hydrasynth, or Summit. Probably the latter for me. Caveat here - if you intend to add modules later on, then the Fantom is about the best live "centrepiece" you can get. Aftertouch is heavy on the 8 though - in which case Id Go Grand Stage and Fantom 7 even if your use is synth heavy - add the bits Fantom cant do in a module later.

I have a bit of a big problem with Fantom at present as the centrepiece of a live rig..... Any Zone set to "external2 does just that - controls an external bit of gear over a midi channel. Great. Now comes the problem. If you want to split or layer the keybed across multiple bits of external gear, you may well need to change the pitch of that gear right? so you want a synth lead line played in the top octave of the board, and another bass line in the bottom octave, and a couple of Fantom pads and brass stuff in the middle. Not uncommon at all. Well - Roland in their wisdom have made the hit and miss. To do a change, you have to set up a course (semittone) and/or fine (cent) pitch setting in the zone. OK no problem so far. However its not real time for starters. You have to save that Scene and the info is sent to the external unit when you then select that scene. Bit of a pain, but OK. then it gets worse. The pitch info is sent over NRP 05 for semitones and 06 for cent. There is no standard for NRPs. Peak for instance only takes octave shifts over NRPs... on 06. It needs a 61-67 range (64 being 0 and the others being +/- 3 octaves, The Fantom sends fine info in a different range. Peak handles semitone pitch info as CCs - one for each Osc, not NRPs..... I cant find any info at all on my Virus and how it responds to NRPs. On the other hand an Integra, being Roland, is mapped correctly and works fine. Why they didnt use the RD2000s system, where pitch offsets are the same BUT theres a keyboard tab - where you put in the range forr the zone, and apityc offset (in semitones) that is applied to the note data from the key press then the adjusted note ifo is sent over Midi. Works in real time and regardless of the external gears Midi implementation. The Fantom has an "offset" page already, that has filter cutoff, resonance, attack, decay and sustain (same as the FA series). Unless there is a function I cant find it the manual, they really need to add a pitch offset here or you just cant be sure if it will work with your external sound sources or not....

The RD2000 came first - and its a hammer action. The Fantom is synth action. I didnt want a Fantom 8 and replace the RD because the RD is already at the upper end of my weight limit. The Fantom 8 is another 10kg - just too heavy. Suire in an ideal works I wouldnt need both as the RD was bought pretty much for piano (and the control function again) but as I had that already and the Fantom extra weight was a no go - made sense to replace the FA instead with the F7. The Jupiter X was also on my mind - and as a pure synth would have made more sense BUT its not a controller.... its VERY limited there (- and I need both my weighted and synth action boards to offer control over multiple midi channels as well to drive my desktop synths and organ module. Again in an "ideal" world....but in reality there are more than just sound driving choices. Peak is the odd one out now - hence the question. I bought it before I got the Virus (with its own sonic stuff happening, and great mod matrix AND 16 part multi-timrality). Its a different flavour of course, and Peak has the analogue filer so kept a place. Now the Fantom has an analogue filter, and does classic stuff well..... Peak is looking less and less "unique". Hence the question. Will i ultimately regret letting Peak go, either because its better than I realise at this point (I do keep getting dragged back into it when I play with it) or because the Hydrasynth isnat as capable of the sounds I want as it looks in some vids. I need to sell Peak to fund the Hydrasynth so cant really get that first, and obviously cant go try one at present (not many have them and no shops open here).

I agree - FA and ModX arew the compatable models not the Fantom. Personally I still thin the FA wins - because of the VA synth engine which the ModX doesnt have - but thats because I WANT a VA engine. On the other hand I have no use for an FM engine with the FA doesnt have but ModX does, so it will suit others better.