Roland Fantom-X, User Manual

Page 1: ...1 Recording Music on the Fantom X ÂØÒňΠNo 5 in the Fantom X Workshop Series Workshop ...

Page 2: ... 2004 Roland Corporation U S All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Roland Corporation U S 2 ...

Page 3: ...m 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 Recording Techniques Learn how to use time based effects record arpeggios work with mastering effects and record realtime patch tweaks About This Booklet In the Fantom X you can easily record anything from the simplest melody or rhythm idea to a full blown musical arrang...

Page 4: ...ntom X s sound generator resulting in the sounds you hear There s a MIDI message for each of your physical actions Recorder Sequencer When you play the Fantom X s keyboard and pads manipulate its realtime controllers or use rhythms or arpeggios during recording the resulting MIDI messages are sent to the Fantom X s sequencer in addition to being sent to the sound generator The Fantom X sequencer c...

Page 5: ...ate pathways called MIDI channels These pathways allow individual streams of MIDI data to flow to the same place without bumping into each other When the MIDI channels destination is a multitimbral sound generator such as the one in the Fantom X each channel s data can play its own individual patch or rhythm set Performance Mode Parts and Performances Songs and Performance Mode When the Fantom X i...

Page 6: ...That s also where you can learn how to save a performance all by itself Getting Into Performance Mode Enter Performance mode in either of two ways Press LAYER SPLIT to display the Performance Layer screen on which you can select stored performances The screen is optimized for the creation of splits and layers when you re playing the Fantom X onstage The Performance Layer screen is discussed in det...

Page 7: ... enter notes from a written score To learn about step recording see Page 174 of the Fantom X Owner s Manual The Elements of a Fantom X Song When you record a musical composition on the Fantom X you do so in a song which contains 16 tracks for recording and playback Each track runs from the beginning of the song to the end a tempo track that controls the song s tempo If you want the song to speed u...

Page 8: ...as often as you like A pattern is recorded and edited the same way as a track Once you ve created a pattern a track can trigger it anywhere in the song sparing you lots of repetitive sequencing And every pattern edit you make automatically applies to each use of the pattern in the song a real time saver We ll explain how to program a pattern trigger referred to as a pattern call later on Though a ...

Page 9: ...etail later on Starting a New Song Where Inspiration Strikes You re likely to begin the process of creating a song in the Fantom X in one of two ways You ll start recording a song in Patch mode when you come up with a new song idea while playing the keyboard or the pads or jamming along with a rhythm or arpeggio Performance mode when you re deliberately setting out to record a new song You can set...

Page 10: ...ettings as they are and we ll use the current tempo for now 2 Press PLAY or F8 Start your choice to display the Realtime Recording window and begin the one bar countoff before recording actually starts At the countoff s first beat you hear the ding of a bell During recording a bell sound plays at the first beat of each measure to help you know where you are in the measure 3 At the end of the count...

Page 11: ...nds on your current operating mode In Patch mode Rec Track is set to TRK 1 for Track 1 Performance mode Rec Track is set to the track that matches the number of the currently selected part AUTO appears after the track number to show that the Fantom X s Rec Track Select feature is guessing that this is the track you want to use To learn how to disable the Rec Track Select feature see Page 234 of th...

Page 12: ...s is called quantizing Set the Input Quantize parameters to Off for no timing correction or to the note value that matches the feel of what you ll be playing You can quantize a recording later on if you prefer This allows you to try different quantization values at your leisure a good idea if you re not sure of the Input Quantize note value to select About Loop Recording You can record a selected ...

Page 13: ...tempo setting is temporary if you load another song or select a new performance the current basic tempo setting is lost We ll decribe saving a song later Setting aTempo in theTempoWindow Press TEMPO to display the Tempo window You can select the song s basic tempo by turning the VALUE dial to set the tempo numerically tapping out quarter notes on the F6 Tap button to set the tempo by feel The Fant...

Page 14: ... to signify that you re now in Rehearsal mode To exit Rehearsal mode press F7 Rehearsal again Using the REC button When REC s red indicator is lit and not blinking recording is underway To enter Rehearsal mode press REC once so its indicator flashes To exit Rehearsal mode press REC again so its indicator stops flashing You can also enter Rehearsal mode by pressing REC during a count in before reco...

Page 15: ...ater in this booklet Recording a Rhythm The sequencer can capture the Fantom X s rhythms on a track or in a pattern allowing you to record a rhythm pattern s notes into a song Create a new rhythm from pieces of multiple rhythm patterns by striking their pads at the desired locations during recording You can record your keyboard playing along with the rhythm and add additional drum notes by playing...

Page 16: ... up for a punch takes place in the Realtime Rec Standby window Using Auto Punch To set up and perform an auto punch 1 Press REC to display the Realtime Rec Standby window 2 Set the Loop Punch parameter to AUTO PUNCH When AUTO PUNCH is selected the Start Point and End Point parameters become active 3 Use 6 4 and the VALUE dial to highlight the Start Point value and select the measure and beat at wh...

Page 17: ...ACE your pattern calls replace any other data recorded on the track 6 Set Start Point to the measure beat and tick at which you want to place your first pattern A tick is 1 480th of a beat 7 Press F7 Ptn Call to display the Step Rec Pattern screen Pattern call list area Current location The next pattern call goes here 8 Turn the VALUE dial to set the Pattern parameter to the desired pattern for th...

Page 18: ...e of the song Current measure shows your current location in the song by measure number Sequencer status shows the current state of the sequencer STOP when the song is not playing PLAY when the song is playing STBY when the Realtime Rec Standby screen is displayed WAIT when the sequencer is awaiting the end of a countoff to begin recording REC when the sequencer is recording Unsaved Edit indicator...

Page 19: ... is the default setting Track Status switch to set the status of the track to PLAY so the track s data plays back MUTE so the track s data is silenced When no data s been recorded on a track the Track Status switch is replaced by Recorded Data boxes indicate the presence of data in the corresponding measure When there s any recorded MIDI data in a measure it s signified by the presence of a blue R...

Page 20: ...he Song Edit screen press F2 Ptn again If you ever become confused as to whether you re viewing tracks or patterns check out the F2 Ptn button onscreen when it s red you re looking a patterns and when it s not you re looking at tracks Naming a Song The Fantom X allows you to provide an onboard name for a song You ll see this name when you display the Song List screen to load the song from user or ...

Page 21: ...Press F2 Locate to display the Locate window The four Locate points The bar at the top of the Locate window graphically shows the placement of your locate positions once they ve been set Setting Locate Positions Using the VALUE Dial 1 In the Locate window use 3 and or 4 to highlight the bar and beat value for each locate position you want to set and turn the VALUE dial to select the desired bar an...

Page 22: ... play back from INF for Infinite or 0 times to 99 times We recommend setting Repeat Times to INF since you can always halt playback by pressing the STOP button You can set the start and end of the looped section called the loop points by dialing them in or by placing them at the desired song locations Dialing In Loop Points 1 In the Loop window highlight the Start Point measure and beat values and...

Page 23: ...the operation Setting Up a Song s Performance Whether you ve quickly recorded an idea in Patch mode or you re deliberately setting out to record a song serious work on a song begins with the gathering together of its sounds effects and more in a performance Its setup is merely your performance s starting point You can tweak its settings as your song progresses Selecting a Stored Performance Select...

Page 24: ... To toggle between the Performance Mixer1 and Performance Mixer2 screen press F6 Navigation and Selection on the Mixer Screens Though they look like real world mixing consoles the Performance Mixer1 and 2 screens just like so many other Fantom X screens contain parameters whose values you can adjust by turning the VALUE dial Each part s parameters are arranged in a vertical part strip that looks l...

Page 25: ...s assigned to one of the performance s parts this part is referred to as the pad part The pads can always play the pad part s sound whether the part is selected or not In fact when the pad part is the currently selected part its sound can be played by both the keyboard and pads simultaneously To assign the pads to a part turn on the part s Pad Part switch on the Performance Mixer1 screen we ll sho...

Page 26: ...s desired You can set each part to respond to or ignore the following realtime controllers P B Pitch Bend Aft Aftertouch Mod Modulation Hold Hold pedal Ctrl Control pedal Beam D Beam Knob 1 4 the four REALTIME CONTROL knobs When a box is checked its part responds to the corresponding controller The Part View Screens The Part View screens present the performance s part parameters in an easy to read...

Page 27: ...h List to display the list and selecting the patch or rhythm set On the Patch List screen press F3 Favorite to display your favorite patches as described in the Workshop series booklet The Sounds of the Fantom X by dialing it in using the Patch Type Patch Bank and Patch Number parameters at the top of the screen PatchType Patch Number To select a rhythm set set PatchType to R Patch Bank Selecting ...

Page 28: ...e data from the keyboard or pads while the part s selected Directly beneath the indicator the category of the part s currently selected sound in displayed To learn about the Output Assign parameter see the Workshop series booklet The Fantom X Effects The following tables list the part parameters on the Part View screens along with a key to their onscreen abbreviations Part View Level Pan Screen Fu...

Page 29: ...rogramming the tuning of each note in an octave Part View External Screen Full Parameter Name Shown As Receive Switch RX Receive Channel Ch External Bank Select MSB under BankSel External Bank Select LSB under BankSel External Program Change Number Prog External Level ExtLevel External Pan ExtPan The Part View External screen s Receive Channel parameter sets the MIDI channel for each part whether ...

Page 30: ... a Song s Effects Effects are a critical element in most modern songs arrangements and the Fantom X is an effect processing powerhouse To learn about the Fantom X effects and how to set them up for a song s performance see the Workshop series booklet The Fantom X Effects Moving from Patch to Performance Mode Songs often begin in Patch mode To ensure that a recorded idea sounds the same in Performa...

Page 31: ... s performance your current song related System settings Since a song file contains the song s performance there s no need to store the performance separately though you can if you like as described in the Workshop series booklet Performing with the Fantom X For a list of the System settings stored in a song file see Page 198 in the Fantom X Owner s Manual The primary advantage of a song file is t...

Page 32: ...nished naming the song file press F8 Write the Save Song window appears 7 Press F1 User or F2 Card to select the memory area in which the song file is to be saved 8 Press F8 Save 9 The Fantom X asks if you re sure you want to proceed Press F8 Exec to finish storing the song file Songs and Standard MIDI Files Save a song as a Standard MIDI File or SMF if you d like to work on the song in a MIDI seq...

Page 33: ...e first character position is underlined so turn theVALUE dial to select the first character of the desired name 4 Press 4 to move the underline to the next character s position and then turn the VALUE dial to select the name s second character 5 Repeat Step 4 to enter the characters of the SMF s name As you name the song you can press F1 Change Type repeatedly to jump between letters and numbers ...

Page 34: ...IDI data in a track or pattern to preserve space in work RAM Exchange swaps data between tracks and or patterns Time Fit changes the length of the entire song as desired Truncate removes silent measures from the front of a track or pattern moving the first note to top of the song Change Duration changes the lengths of selected notes as desired Merge combines one track s or pattern s data with anot...

Page 35: ...in the selected track or pattern You can target all MIDI channels data or a single specific MIDI channel s data Measure targets the measures you want to edit within the track or pattern The first box sets the measure at which the edit is to begin and the second box sets the number of measures to be included in the edit To go from the first box s measure to the end of the song select All for the se...

Page 36: ...r pattern you want to quantize Ch Part to the desired MIDI channel data in the selected track or pattern Measure to the desired range of measures in the selected track or pattern Range Min and Range Max to the lowest and highest notes respectively youwanttoquantizeintheselected track or pattern Correcting Notes Timing In the classic grid form of quantizing each note is moved to the nearest occurre...

Page 37: ...le higher values push them apart A value of 50 sets the upbeat exactly halfway between the downbeat before it and the one after no shuffle feel is therefore applied 5 Press F8 Exec to perform the quantization and F8 Exec again to confirm that you wish to proceed Applying a GrooveTemplate The Fantom X contains 71 built in groove templates that can nudge your recorded notes into style based feels 1 ...

Page 38: ...transposition and F8 Exec again to confirm that you wish to proceed Extracting MIDI Channel Data The Extract tool allows you to separate the data from multiple MIDI channels recorded in a single track or pattern by moving selected channels data to other tracks or patterns When you record a keyboard and rhythm idea in Patch mode the keyboard s data on MIDI Channel 1 and the rhythm s data on MIDI Ch...

Page 39: ...gests the Fantom X s Microscope editing takes you down to the finest level of detail allowing you to work with individual MIDI events Microscope editing is a tool of considerable power Here s how it works 1 On the Song Edit screen select the desired track or pattern 2 Press F8 Micro Edit to display the Microscope screen On the Microscope screen the selected track or pattern s data is presented in ...

Page 40: ...ke any additional changes to the event The Microscope screen s F buttons offer additional editing tools Press F1 Create to add a new event at the current song location When you press F1 Create the Create Event window opens where you can select the desired type of event to be added to the song F2 Erase to delete the currently selected event F3 Move to move the currently highlighted event to the loc...

Page 41: ... the patches and rhythm sets the performance uses The patches and rhythm sets in a svq file are loaded into the Fantom X s temporary performance memory in work RAM You can steal a patch or rhythm set from a song performance and save it permanently to user or card memory Select the part that plays the patch or rhythm set and then press WRITE to save the sound an SMF file that contains a song s reco...

Page 42: ...Channel Data earlier in this booklet to learn how to separate the data from MIDI Channels 1 16 onto Tracks 1 16 respectively Set your Extract parameters as shown in that section s illustration Loading an Individual Track or Pattern You can load an individual track or pattern from the song list placing the track into the Fantom X s currently loaded song 1 On the Song List screen highlight the song ...

Page 43: ... you can set the MIDI behavior and STATUS parameter for any track in the Quick Play song using 3 4 5 and or 6 and the VALUE dial pressF8 Load toloadtheQuickPlaysongforrecording or editing 4 To return to the currently loaded song s Song Edit screen press F7 Temp Song The Fantom X s Chain Play feature can play the song list s songs in order without loading them see the Fantom X Owner s Manual for de...