Roland FXWS02 User Manual

The Sounds of the Fantom-X

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Workshop

any form without the written permission of Roland Corporation U.S.

FXWS02

About the Fantom Workshop Booklets

About This Booklet

The Fantom-X Workshop booklets explain some of the exciting features of Roland’s Fantom-X family of products. Each Workshop booklet covers a single topic, and is intended as a companion to the Fantom-X manuals.

This booklet requires Fantom-X O.S. Version 2 or higher. To learn about the latest Fantom-X software, visit www.RolandUS.

com, or call Roland U.S. Product Support at 323-890-3745.

Other Fantom Workshop Booklets

• The Fantom-X Experience—A quick tour of how the major Fantom-X creative tools interact.

• The Rhythms of the Fantom-X—Exploring the pads, drum sounds, and rhythms of the Fantom-X.

• The Fantom-X Effects—This booklet helps you get the most out the powerful effects processing in the Fantom-X.

• Sequencing on the Fantom-X—Learn how to record using the Fantom-X sounds and its full-featured sequencer.

• Sampling on the Fantom-X—Capture loops, vocals, or any other sound with the Fantom-X’s built-in sampler.

• Smart Storage in the Fantom-X—Learn all about the Fantom-X’s storage options for samples and other data.

• Performing with the Fantom-X—Splits, layers, realtime controllers, and more make the Fantom-X hot onstage.

• Making a CD of Your Fantom-X Music—Learn how to turn your Fantom-X music into a final audio CD.

• Advanced Fantom-X Sequencing Techniques—Learn how to use time-based effects, create arpeggios, work with mastering effects, and record realtime patch tweaks.

• Audio Tracks—This booklet explains how to record live vocals and instruments in your Fantom-X songs.

In this booklet, we’ll discuss the sounds, or “patches,” of the Fantom-X. We’ll explain how a patch works, and how to quickly get to the patches you want. We’ll also check out some of the exciting built-in Fantom-X sounds, and visit Piano mode.

You’ll learn how to play patches expressively using realtime controls. We’ll talk about editing patches so you can tweak factory patches or create new sounds of your own. Finally, we’ll explore the remote selection of Fantom-X patches via MIDI.

This booklet discusses things that happen in Patch mode. To enter Patch mode, press the PATCH/RHYTHM button.

In this booklet, we’re talking about standard Fantom-X patches, which play the same sound up and down the keyboard at different pitches. The Fantom-X also offers a special category of patch called “rhythm sets,” which are usually played on the Fantom-X pads. Rhythm sets are discussed in The Rhythms of the Fantom-X Workshop booklet.

Using patches in Performance mode is discussed in the Sequencing on the Fantom-X and Performing with the Fantom-X Workshop booklets.

Understanding the Symbols in This Booklet

Throughout this booklet, you’ll come across information that deserves special attention—that’s the reason it’s labeled with one of the following symbols.

A note is something that adds information about the topic at hand.

A tip offers suggestions for using the feature being discussed.

Warnings contain important information that can help you avoid possible damage to your equipment, your data, or yourself.

Selecting Patches on the Fantom-X

Looking for Patches

In this section, we’ll talk about selecting a patch for the Fantom-X keyboard. While there are a few ways to locate a patch you want, the first step is to let the Fantom-X know that it’s a keyboard patch you’re after.

Normally you select a patch for the keyboard and a rhythm set for the pads. However, you can turn this around if you like. If you select a rhythm set for the keyboard, each key plays a different drum/percussion sound. If you select a patch for the pads, each pad plays the patch at a different pitch. For now, though, we’ll presume you want to play a patch on the keyboard.

Press PATCH/RHYTHM to display the Patch Play screen, and then press F7 (Kbd) to select the keyboard.

To search for a patch to use, press F1 (Patch List)—a screen like the one shown here appears.

Search by Category

The Patch List screen is configured by default to present you the available patches arranged by musical category, as you can see along the left side of the screen. Most of the time, this provides a sensible, easy way to locate a patch.

If you don’t see category names listed at the left, press F4 (Patch Categ).

You can select patches on the Patch Play screen by highlighting the patch number—as shown above—or bank name, and then turning the VALUE dial. (We’ll explain banks in a few pages).

More typically, though, you’ll either be:

• looking for a patch you want to use, or

• selecting a known, favorite patch.

We’ll discuss these two different operations separately. In the next sections, we’ll assume you’re on the Patch Play screen.

Here’s how to select patches by category from the patch list:

• Press F2 (↓) or F1 (↑) to select the category you want.

• Once the desired category is selected, press 5 or 6 or turn the VALUE dial to select a patch.

• You can try out the patch by playing the keyboard, or by pressing and holding F7 (Preview) to hear a brief passage that demonstrates the selected patch.

• When you’ve got the patch you want, press F8 (Select) to confirm your choice and exit the patch list.

Search by Location

Press F5 (Patch) to view your patches sorted according to their locations in the Fantom-X’s memory.

Fantom-X patches are actually stored in groups, or “banks.” You can see the banks listed along the left side of the screen:

• USER—This bank contains 256 memory locations in which you can store your own patches, or edits of the factory patches.

• Preset-A through Preset-I—Preset Banks A-I hold the 1,152 Fantom-X factory patches.

• GM—These two banks appear as one continuous bank holding the 256 General MIDI and General MIDI 2 sounds.

• CARD—This bank contains any Fantom-X patches you’ve saved to an installed PC memory card.

• User Sample, Card Sample—These banks allow you to directly select and play samples in user or card memory using the Auto Patch feature described in the Sampling on the Fantom-X Workshop booklet.

• XP-A through XP-D—When you’ve installed an SRX Series wave expansion board, its patches show up in the XP (for “expansion”) memory area corresponding to the SRX slot in which you’ve installed the board.

Viewing patches in banks is handy when a patch’s location— on a memory card or expansion board, for example— makes it easy to find. It’s also a great way to quickly play your samples.

Select the desired patch as we described on Page 4.

Selecting Favorite Patches

The Fantom-X has an even faster way of selecting patches you use over and over. You can designate 64 patches as “favorites” that can be selected using the eight F buttons. Each bank of favorites puts another eight patches at your fingertips.

Adding a Patch to Your Favorites List

There are two ways to add—or “register”—a Favorite patch.

Quickly Add a Patch from the Patch Play Screen

1. After selecting the patch on the Patch Play screen, press F2 (Favorite) to display the Favorite Patch window.

2. Turn VALUE to select the desired Favorites bank.

3. Hold down SHIFT and press the F1-F8 button you’d like to use for selecting the patch in the future.

4. Press EXIT to return to the Patch Play screen.

Add a Patch Directly from the Patch List

Exploring the Fantom-X Patches

1. On the Patch List screen, press F3 (Favorite) to display the Favorite Patch window.

2. Press F2 (↓) or F1 (↑) to select the desired Favorites bank.

3. Press 6 or 5 to select the desired location for the patch within the selected Favorites bank.

4. Press F6 (Regist) to add the patch as a new favorite.

Removing a Patch from the Favorites List

In the Favorite Patch window, select the patch you want to remove from the list, and press F5 (Remove).

Selecting a Patch from Your Favorites List

Now that we’ve discussed the ways in which you can easily get to any of the many patches, we thought we’d point out a few patches that show off the Fantom-X’s range.

We recommend finding these patches by category from the Patch List screen for now. Make sure to press F4 (Patch Categ) on the Patch List screen to display patches by musical category.

Patch Category Take a moment to...

UltimatGrand AC. Piano play up and down the keyboard,

var ying your touch to hear the patch’s expressiveness.

The VorteX Synth FX listen to the sheer complexity of

this patch.

X StrSection Strings check out the rich realism of this

string patch by playing lines and chords. (Keep your foot off the Hold pedal for best results.)

FlamencoGt X AC. Guitar play some tender guitar licks. Slap

hard for a quick hammer-on.

HimalayaPipe Flute play this haunting, ethereal patch

slowly, letting the sound unfold.

Strobot Pulsating throb in time with this rave patch.

Press PATCH/RHYTHM if you’re not already on the Patch Play screen, and then press F2 (Favorite)—your first bank of Favorite patches appears. To select a different Favorites bank, turn the VALUE dial.

You can see that each of the Favorite patches has an F button name printed to its left—press the desired patch’s F button to select the patch.

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