An onboard USB port makes MIDI connections easy, as well asimporting or exporting audio in. Onboard effects include COSM® GuitarAmp Modeling, lo-fi processing, slicer and a dedicated masteringprocessor. Other features include the dynamic pad bank (with improved gelpads), Roland’s Skip Back Sampling feature and V-LINK technologyto integrate audio and video. (A new PC card slot lets users store samples on cardswith up to 1GB capacity.) Between this “linear” recordingcapability and the real-time time stretch, users get total integrationof audio and MIDI using the Fantom-X Series’ high-resolutionsequencer.

The sampling section is also beefed up with capacity for up to 544MB of RAM using optional DIMMs, allowing users to record long samplesin the fashion of a digital recorder with full wave editingcapabilities. Theinternal 128MB wave ROM is loaded with brand-new sounds recorded in topstudios and mixed by talented engineers like Dan Blessinger(Martinsound). Powered by Roland’s new sound generator chip, the Fantom-XSeries allows the user to play expressive 4-tone patches with 128-voicepolyphony, and can be expanded to nearly 1 GB of wave data. Each model boasts abrand-new wave ROM with new sounds, room for four SRX expansions, up to544 MB of sample RAM and a color LCD screen. These 128-note workstations offer a capacity fornearly 1 GB of wave data when fully expanded. Roland’s new line of workstation keyboards, the Fantom-XSeries, is available with a 61-note keyboard (Fantom-X6, pictured),76-note keyboard (Fantom-X7) or 88-note Progressive Hammer-ActionKeyboard (Fantom-X8).

Fantom x roland fantom x6