Roland Fantom-X User Manual page 10

Each tone has its own set of about 90 parameters that
determine how its waveforms or samples play. Tones can be
set to play together in different ways, resulting in a variety of
different sounds from the same basic sonic materials.
In addition, there are parameters that control the behavior of
the combined sound of the patch's active tones.
Creating Your Own Patches
After you've read the following sections and are ready to get started, see
Page 56 in the Owner's Manual for some helpful patch-programming tips.
In this booklet, we discuss editing and creating patches on the
Fantom-X itself. If you prefer, you can accomplish the same thing on your
computer using the Fantom-X Editor (and Librarian) software found on the
Fantom-X Editor CD-ROM that came with your Fantom-X.
To get to a patch's parameters, go to the Patch Play screen, and
press PATCH EDIT.
The Fantom-X makes it easy for you to compare your edits against any
other patch—or against the last-saved version of the current patch—to
help you get your bearings. See Page 60 in the Owner's Manual.
Getting the Right Tones
Since a patch is made up of its tones, most of patch programming
is about selecting the right waves or samples for the tones and
adjusting the tones' parameters to taste.
A patch's effect plays a large role in its final sound, too. To learn more about
effects, check out the Workshop series' The Fantom-X Effects booklet.
If you're merely tweaking an existing patch, your tones are
most likely already in place. When you're creating your own
patches, however, the first thing you'll want to do is figure out
how many tones you really want to use. Many of the factory
patches sound great with just one or two tones. There's no
need to use all four available tones unless each one really
contributes to the sound you want—there's no point in doing
programming work for no reason, after all. There's another
reason, too, as discussed in the following section.
About Tones and Polyphony
Every synth or sampler has a maximum number of waves or
samples it can play at a single time. This limit is referred to
as the instrument's "available polyphony, " and each wave or
sample in use is called a "voice" in this context.
Each stereo wave or sample a tone plays uses two voices, one
for its left side, and one for the right. Likewise, a tone uses two
voices when it plays two mono waves or tones. The more tones
a patch uses, the more voices of polyphony it eats up. With
four tones active, a patch can use eight voices of polyphony
for each note you play. If you play a three-note chord, you'd be
using 24 voices—if you play two chords with the sustain pedal
down, you'd be using 48 voices for one little chord!
10