Fantom X questions

[mildbill]

i just downloade the manual for the fantom x and i have a couple questions for owners.

 

1) the midi implementation chart says it can send/recieve poyphonic aftertouch. can the keyboard do this? or only the sequencer?

 

2) generates release velocity?

 

3) it states there is an oscillator sync function - is there some type of VA in this board

 

4) PWM function - same question as 3

 

thanks in advance for any further info on these questions.

[keyman_sam]

no type of VA in this board. OSc sync function - not quite sure but i think they're referring to the fact that the LFO's can be synced. also, you have TMT which lets you trigger a tone in a cyclic manner.

 

did i mention the 16-step LFO??

 

4). what is PWM? (pulse-width modulation i understand, but what IS IT actually? )

[Prague]

Sending polyphonic aftertouch should mean that it can be generated by the keyboard. Perhaps it does.

 

Many units do respond to this without it being generated by the keybed.

 

Any sequencer can send it. It's just a matter of how it got there in the first place. For sequencers, it's simply another MIDI event.

[Bill H.]

PWM can be accomplished with any Roland that features structures, but it's not done in the traditional analog-like way and probably shouldn't have been mentioned as a "feature" in the manual (if it was) because it involves advanced programming techniques. There's a great tutorial on it in the JV-1080 manual btw...the most easy to understand Roland rompler manual they've ever done in my opinion...and it works the same on my Fantom S.

 

There is no way to slave the start cycle of one audio wave to another though but you can get sounds that resemble sync-sweep with structure 7, but this is not oscillator sync.

 

edit...I just looked in the Fantom manual, and maybe what you're referring to is wave tempo sync, which syncs some of the waves that have a repeated pattern to a clock source.

[mildbill]

for anyone who has downloaded the manual:

 

(i can't cut/paste it, so i'll paraphrase it)

 

on P.123, it says

 

OSC 1 Sync Switch:

 

turning this switch on produces a complex sound with many harmonics. This is effective when the OSC 1 pitch is higher than the OSC 2 pitch.

Value: OFF,ON

 

 

sounds like sync to me.

 

 

also, P.331 - i just noticed that the midi implementation chart says (Sound Generation Section)

and it show 0 and 0 (yes) and that it's selectable for on/off for both key and channel aftertouch, transmitted and recognized.

 

i know a lot of people don't know their gear too

well, but i'm sure someone must have explored their fantom deep enough to have discovered this.

[Tusker]

Hmmh, Interesting. I assumed the same as Bill. But perhaps some of the earlier capability has come back into the Roland architecture. (The JDs did sync on waveforms,and Roland has offered sync on the sample-based SH32 IIRC)

 

I assume the "PWM" is the clipping based manipulation that was always possible in structures 3 and 4. Essentially, when you clip a saw wave it tends toward a square, and that movement can be done with an LFO to make sound a bit like PWM on a classic analog. But it's not even close to as lush. Though it does move the timbre.

 

Best,

 

Jerry

[mildbill]

damn: you guys are making me work.

 

P.115 under 'D Beam' (solo synth)

 

osc. waveform, you can choose saw or sqr.

 

if you choose sqr, pwm is activated and 'By cyclically modifying the pulse width you can create subtle changes in the tone.'

i just noticed that the sync function is in this section also.

 

it sounds to me like you have access to some type of VA thru the D beam.

 

also, on P.113 in 'creating a performance', you can specify for each midi channel whether 'MIDI polyphonic key pressure' messages will be recieved (ON), or not (OFF).

 

sure sounds like it's the keyboard that's generating the PP messages.

i'm starting to get impressed with this thing.

i've never really check it out, but plan on doing so soon.

[Bill H.]

Originally posted by mildbill:

damn: you guys are making me work.

 

P.115 under 'D Beam' (solo synth)

Oh, that! Sorry, I thought you were referring to the main synth. Yeah, there is a little VA associated with the D-beam, and it really rips in an aggressive way. But I couldn't get any control over it so I really haven't used it. Maybe others have with practice...I kind of wish you could assign it to the keyboard.

 

I've pulled out my manual, and you're right. There is a MIDI filter for poly pressure in performance mode. Never noticed it before. There is no poly aftertouch in patch mode, but I'm going to try running a patch through a performance part with the switch engaged to see what happens. But since it's a poly pressure receive switch, I think the Fantom would have to be played from a keyboard that sends poly aftertouch.

[mildbill]

hey bill: if you get back to this thread, i'm just curious - if you can't control the pitch of the D-beam synth from the keyboard, how do you do it?

is it like a theremin?

[Red Winger]

It is similar to a theremin, but not quite the same. The synth has limited programmability, and you control pitch and volume in a manner similar to that used by a theremin (moving your hand closer to/farther from the D-Beam source). You don't have the fine control you do with a theremin.

 

I also have found it very hard to control the D-Beam synth (on my FS, not FX), but am considering trying to use it for a cover of Good Vibrations that one of my bands is contemplating.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Bill H.]

Yeah that's how it works. You can get held evolving drones out of it too with editing. I messed around with it a little when I first got my Fantom S, but haven't since because it's not something I can use.