Anyone heard of a new model Roland Fantom being released?

[miden]

Was just chatting to my dealer , and he said a new model was coming? I've not read of one, or even if it is only the Roland Fantom series or both? (IE and the "0" series).

 

Anyone here heard anything?

[AnotherScott]

I saw something elsewhere indicating a likelihood that the Fantom will be re-badged Fantom EX and come with the EX upgrade pre-installed. No idea how/if that would affect its selling price.

[Mighty Motif Max]

I would expect they might do what Scott mentioned above, but I would be surprised if they abandoned the current Fantom platform since they did just make that upgrade available not long ago.

[zephonic]

It’s all but guaranteed, since I just bought a Nautilus last week.

 

[AUSSIEKEYS]

4 hours ago, zephonic said:

It’s all but guaranteed, since I just bought a Nautilus last week.

 

 

Yeah you'll be all under water with that Nautilus now.

[Stokely]

Well, that is interesting.  I'm trying to sell some gear to (probably) fund a Fantom, and would definitely be wanting the EX upgrade if I did.

I did see one odd thing, I think at Sweetwater--the other day, the Fantom 6 showed up as "unavailable".  Not "out of stock" as I'd expect.   That said, just now I checked and it seems available again so probably not related.

The way my gear selling is going--meaning it isn't--I'll be ready to buy in 2028, so it's hardly a hurry.  

 

[Fleer]

Bax are doing an EOL sale on Fantom. 

[jason88]

Hmm, the Fantom 6 didn't even come up on my search on Sweetwater just now, only the 7 and 8. And the "-0" series units. Same on Thomann site, only -06 but no 6...

[EscapeRocks]

Yeah. The only place I found that said available is Kraft

 

Zzounds/American Musical  only show a blemished and a factory resealed ad available. 
 

of course we know Sweetwater says none. 
 

Guitar Center/Musicians Friend say they have a couple new in stock. 

[nursers]

News incoming in 4 hours 

[zephonic]

On the Gearslutz thread someone posted screenshots of a retailer’s site that had since been taken down, it was Fantom EX indeed.

[Dockeys]

Seems to be live now on the Roland site. 
 

https://www.roland.com/us/categories/synthesizers/performance_workstation/

[Paul Woodward]

So a simple rebadge and the same keyboard with the EX already installed. Thought they might have taken the opportunity to bring Poly AT to compete with other brands.

I do wonder if grabbing a used Fantom and adding the £199 EX yourself might work out to be more cost effective. As one site asked, why not just give a coupon for the upgrade with new boards rather than make this?

[Dockeys]

Is it just repackaged with the EX upgrade? Looks identical from the outside….a little lighter colour wise but don’t see any big differences?

[J.F.N.]

" The Fantom EX comes 61- 76- and 88-note versions, known as Fantom EX 6, 7 and 8 respectively. These are priced at $3,200, $3,700, $4,200. The smaller models have a semi-weighted keyboard, while the larger one has a hammer action. "

 

https://www.musicradar.com/news/roland-fantom-ex-hardware

[Dockeys]

The Fantom is already a very competent board….its very deep tho isn’t it? I could never imagine gigging with the 88 note version. At that weight and size and price it’s hardly within the realm of your typical gigging musician. Showing my age a lot lately as when looking at the spec I bypass everything and go straight to the weight!

[J.F.N.]

47 minutes ago, Dockeys said:

Is it just repackaged with the EX upgrade? Looks identical from the outside….a little lighter colour wise but don’t see any big differences?

 

Seems to be exactly like that:

 

"Released in November 2023, the $199 EX upgrade for Roland’s Fantom added a handy collection of sound expansions and workflow enhancements to the company’s flagship workstation synth, but was only available as an add-on for existing owners. That’s now changed, as it’s just been announced that new purchasers can now buy the full Fantom EX experience as a complete package."

 

[J.F.N.]

More details here:

 

https://www.gearnews.com/roland-fantom-ex-synths-new-flagships-with-jx-3p-expansion/

[Stokely]

5 hours ago, Dockeys said:

The Fantom is already a very competent board….its very deep tho isn’t it? I could never imagine gigging with the 88 note version. At that weight and size and price it’s hardly within the realm of your typical gigging musician. Showing my age a lot lately as when looking at the spec I bypass everything and go straight to the weight!

Weight, and size.  Equally a factor IMO.  My old large Moxf8 was not that heavy (less than 30 pounds) yet it was cumbersome to move around.  And to make it worse, the angles of the chassis were such that it was easy to lose your grip on it.

That said, yeah--over 60 pounds.   And humongous, when I first saw one in a music store I could not believe how huge it was.   Even a semi-rigid 88 case like I own (the rolling Gator one) adds more that 20 pounds to that, and just think of a flight case...

Starsky Carr has a comparison with a few tones between Zencore and ACB, and unless you get to the extremes (high resonance etc) they sounded very close.   That said, options aren't a bad thing.  

I compared the Fantom-0 to my Modx a while back, and it was interesting.  The Modx had more clarity and "depth" if that makes sense, while the Fantom was more forward and had more color/presence to the sound.   That color sounded good to my ear and I felt it would work well as a live keyboard, where subtlety can get lost.   The Modx has really nice non-keyboard instruments (guitars, orchestral etc) but I rarely use those.

 

[dalpozlead]

Will never understand the choice for red color in the back… they’ve missed the chance to have a brushed metal or other detail to differentiate from older models…

[AnotherScott]

6 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

As one site asked, why not just give a coupon for the upgrade with new boards rather than make this?

 

Not everyone wants to deal with downloading and installing stuff. And I think people would complain more about paying hundreds of dollars more than before merely for a coupon and a DIY process. Also, if it were not pre-installed. the features would not necessarily be available in demo units on showroom floors (for the few lucky enough to have well stocked physical keyboard showrooms to visit these days!). They would also create less buzz with a "free coupon offer" than a "new model." As it is, some people were probably starting to get hesitant about buying a Fantom because it was a relatively "old" model (pre-dating Nautilus, Montage M, and newer Kurzweil and Nords), which can also make people think that maybe it will be replaced soon. This rebadging re-establishes it as a new/current model, that would now be expected to be around for a while. And I think nobody would benefit from the coupon approach... it presumably costs Roland the same to manufacture the board whether they pre-install the new software or have you do it yourself.

 

 

[Paul Woodward]

Another point of view, from consumers aware of the previous model, is that they have just installed the software for you and screenprinted an EX on, which can feel equally disappointing after all these years. "Hey, we have had 5 years to improve our flagship workstation....so we have installed the EX software for you and added the cost to the retail price. You are welcome"

Still, Korg adding a feature (AT) back into their flagship workstation and charging for a physical upgrade was a puzzling move.

It was someone else who said about the voucher, but I get what they were implying. This does not 'rejunevate' an older model as there is absolutely no improvements in hardware at all. Feels a bit lazy given they could have made some other improvements in the 5+ years they have had.

Aside from the actual size and scope of the software expansion (and the fact it costs), it's a bit like installing a major firmware update and rebranding it as a new model.

 

[Paul Woodward]

As an example from Korg's website....those not up to date with the new tech might well think they are looking at the 'new'  Grandstage there on the left, if they didnt see the X version. That was just a firmware update that added in new sample sets. Deceptive bit of photoshopping maybe? 

 

 

[Haem]

Slightly off topic, but does anyone think the Roland Fantom 0 might get a revamp? All focus from Roland seems to have been on its bigger brother! Yamaha MODX+ appears to receive better reviews than Fantom 0. Any chance Roland might improve Fantom 0, especially accoustic pianos which have received lots of criticism? 

 

 

 

[J.F.N.]

1 hour ago, Paul Woodward said:

As an example from Korg's website....those not up to date with the new tech might well think they are looking at the 'new'  Grandstage there on the left, if they didnt see the X version. That was just a firmware update that added in new sample sets. Deceptive bit of photoshopping maybe? 

 

 

 

Nothing surprises me with Korg these days, looking at the last 2 years of product chaos it seems they've fired the entire marketing dept. and left the keys in the hand of some rigid bean counters not understanding yota about anything...

 

 

 

[David Emm]

I just pored over the specs and that's one hell of a central behemoth. I'd be reluctant to take it on the road without roadies. Its just too pricey and vital to haul around unless you can get a tax write-off, should a drunken patron fall on it. I don't think Roland left anything off this time. Its everything in their history plus n/zyme. Yeesh, Godzilla much? 😛 Its just my view, but its so big, it undermines squawking about a one-company sound. You might have a software piano or specialty instrument you like, but this thing feels a bit like my brain got turned into a workstation. 🤓 Impressive.

[ProfD]

This release reminds me of a fireworks display where everything fires at once resulting in a dud.  There wasn't much of a display or show. 🤣

 

Another example of a manufacturer feeding their customer base bread crumbs.😎

[CyberGene]

15kg for the smallest Fantom-6 EX, that’s too heavy for me…

[Stokely]

8 hours ago, David Emm said:

I just pored over the specs and that's one hell of a central behemoth. I'd be reluctant to take it on the road without roadies. Its just too pricey and vital to haul around unless you can get a tax write-off, should a drunken patron fall on it. I don't think Roland left anything off this time. Its everything in their history plus n/zyme. Yeesh, Godzilla much? 😛 Its just my view, but its so big, it undermines squawking about a one-company sound. You might have a software piano or specialty instrument you like, but this thing feels a bit like my brain got turned into a workstation. 🤓 Impressive.

It's funny I was thinking along those lines earlier today.  I used to own a JX10 and there is a nostalgia factor....what's nuts that I (with parents' help to be sure) paid close to the same amount as the Fantom 6 for that Jx10 + pg800 programmer way back in the mid 80s.   This has that keyboard in it (or close) plus so, so much more.   

I thought this was a pretty cool vid about the Fantom but for anyone interested in vintage Rolands.  Sounds great to me.
 

 

[Fleer]

Pretty bland upgrade otherwise as far as hardware is concerned. 
I’ll wait for the next one.