Main Features - Roland Fantom-Xa Owner's Manual

Main Features

The Fantom-Xa is a high-quality workstation synthesizer that makes
pro-quality sound, playability, and compositional power available to
everyone. The latest sound generator, versatile effects, a powerful
sequencer, and a sampler that lets you record, process and play
vocals or audio phrases—all brought together in a user-friendly
system. The features listed below make the Fantom-Xa a great choice
for any style of music, in applications ranging from stage
performance to composition and arranging.
The latest sound engine with 128-
voice polyphony
The Fantom-Xa provides 128 voices of polyphony—the standard for
the new era. You'll have plenty of power for multitrack sequencer
recording and for layering complex sounds. The sound engine melds
the latest synthesizer technology with a sampler. Sampled
waveforms imported from your computer or other external device
can be synthesized just like the internal waveforms.
Highly expandable waveform
memory
To supplement the Fantom-Xa's numerous new patches created
from the carefully selected high-quality built-in waveforms, you can
install one wave expansion board. Depending on your needs and
your favorite musical styles, you can choose one board from the
wide variety of professionally acclaimed Roland SRX series boards
now available.
The sampler section provides 4 MB (approximately 47 seconds in
monaural) of memory as standard, letting you sample immediately
without having to install any options. You can install optional
DIMM memory (up to 512 MB) to expand the sampling time to up to
one and a half hours (monaural).
A full-fledged sampler section with
Skip Back Sampling
The Fantom-Xa provides serious sampler functionality that rivals
dedicated units, with sampling, resampling, and waveform editing
in a graphic display.
Roland's proprietary Skip Back Sampling function lets you
"retrospectively" capture a cool phrase that just played and would
like to keep. Your inspired moments need never be lost again!
There's also an Auto Sync function, which matches a phrase sample
to the measure length at the current tempo, and a Solo Sampling
function, which lets you sample only an external vocal or guitar
performance while listening to an accompaniment played by the
internal sequencer. Both WAV and AIFF are supported as external
wave formats, making it easy to transfer waveform data to and from
PC or Mac.
Plenty of external interfacing
The rear panel USB connector supports both file transfer and USB-
MIDI, and can be switched as desired. There's also a PC card slot
that can accommodate SmartMedia or CompactFlash via a
commercially available adaptor. You can use a card to store as much
as 1 GB of data (when using CompactFlash).
Built-in high-resolution 16-track
sequencer
The internal 16-track sequencer lets you record as soon as inspiration
strikes—no need to think about entering any complex sequencer
modes. Loop Recording lets you record each part without stopping,
and you can use the Part Track buttons to quickly select each part
and switch it on/off. The Fantom-Xa is designed to let your creative
imagination flow freely into songs. In addition, songs you created on
your computer-based sequencer (SMF format) can be transferred via
PC card or USB into the Fantom-Xa, and used to play backing tracks
while you play live on stage.
Trigger/Category pads
The Trigger/Category pads are a convenient feature that can also be
used as a numeric key pad. You can use them to play percussion
sounds or hits during a live performance, to trigger Realtime Phrase
Sequences (RPS), or you can assign the pads to play skipback-
sampled audio phrases.
Powerful effects including
mastering functionality
The Fantom-Xa provides three multi-effects processors (78 types),
plus independent chorus and reverb processors. There's a mastering
effect, indispensable for adding the final touch to your production,
bringing your sound CD-master level impact and audio quality.
Versatile sound control
functionality
The versatile array of controllers includes a D Beam controller as
well as realtime control knobs and assignable switches to which you
can freely assign functions. There's also a hold pedal jack that can
detect half-damper operation. The Fantom-Xa gives you complete
control over your on-stage sound.
Fantom-X Editor/Librarian is
included
Dedicated editor/librarian software is included, letting you edit and
manage Fantom-Xa sounds from the large screen of your computer.
V-LINK functionality
V-LINK allows you to synchronize music and video, opening up
completely new performance possibilities.
When used in combination with a V-LINK capable video device
(such as the Edirol DV-7PR, PR-50, or V-4), you can use the realtime
controllers and pads of the Fantom-Xa to control video as part of the
act of playing music.
GM/GM2 compatibility
The Fantom-Xa is compatible with GM/GM2, and is able to play
back music data that complies with the GM/GM2 standard (GM
scores).
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