Roland's Fantom-0 Series Is All You Need to Make Music GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Opinion News > Smart & Connected Life 22 22 people found this article helpful
Roland's Fantom-0 Series Is All You Need to Make Music
Unless you hate knobs
By Charlie Sorrel Charlie Sorrel Senior Tech Reporter Charlie Sorrel has been writing about technology, and its effects on society and the planet, for 13 years. lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on March 21, 2022 10:24AM EDT Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Smart & Connected Life Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming The Fantom-0 is a new series of compelling all-in-one music workstations.They’re the cheaper version of the $3.5k+ Fantom series. You get a keyboard, sampler, synth, sequencer, everything, all in one box. Roland Roland's new Fantom-0 looks like the perfect workstation for someone serious about music, but who doesn't want to buy a zillion different boxes to make it. There are two ways of making and recording music: hardware and software. Hardware might be as simple as a guitar, but for electronic musicians, it usually ends in an endless rabbit hole of drum machines, samplers, synths, groove boxes, plus the midi controllers and cable that bring it all together. Roland's Fantom-0 puts all that into one box, so you get the benefits of hardware, without the headaches—or the wallet-stripping addiction. "The sequencer looks pretty nice with the clip launching. Mix in the pads, Audio Over USB, and [digital Audio Workstation software] control you could set up, and this is a pretty compelling package that Roland has put together," said Chicago-based musician Hold My Beer in a music forum frequented by Lifewire. In the Box
Modern music software is an utter marvel. You can do pretty much anything you can imagine, with a laptop or iPad, or even a phone. And yet the limitless possibilities of computer software can lead to a kind of option paralysis, or long hours just scrolling through various presets, trying to find the perfect sound. br/<"Personally, I feel that if the software and hardware integration is done well, it is a much better experience than an iPad with a controller."> Hardware, on the other hand, is limited. And unlike software, which generally follows app design paradigms we're all familiar with by now, hardware usually requires learning a new way to work. But the benefits are that it's laser-focused on doing one thing well. And—most important—it has knobs. Let's resort to a good old car metaphor to see how people prefer hands-on controls over a mouse and keyboard. Imagine driving and steering the car by moving a little on a screen with a mouse. Braking might be available from a drop-down menu, and the gear shift is in the preferences panel. That's what it's like to use Ableton or Logic to create music. Many musicians will plug in a MIDI keyboard or other controller to make the experience more physical. Others will buy custom-built drum machines, sequencers, and so on, which have buttons and knobs that always do the same thing—like a steering wheel or gearshift—so you can concentrate on the music, not a screen. "Personally, I feel that if the software and hardware integration is done well, it is a much better experience than an iPad with a controller," said electronic musician Droussel in the Elektronauts forum. "The reason is that every button is there for a reason, the UI/UX of the software is optimized for the controller and for the job. [The Fantom-0 workstations] also have audio and midi interfaces built-in, which if using an iPad, it quickly becomes a rats nest of wires, USB Hubs, etc." Roland The Big 0
The Fantom-0 is a range of three budget-priced workstations—06, 07, and 08—cheaper than Roland's plain Fantom (no 0) series. The cheaper models get plain velocity-sensitive keyboards, whereas the 08 gets a full 88 weighted keys for a piano feel. You also get a 4x4 drum (or sample) pad, a sampler, built-in synthesizers, a whole load of knobs and sliders, plus a screen with a neat, Ableton Live-style clip-launching grid. This lets you record snippets of sound and launch them so that they play together in time. And that's not it. The Fantom-0 is also a USB audio interface, so you can plug it into your computer and record it, and it has a microphone input on the back for either plain recording or processing your voice (or any other sound) with onboard effects. So, you're starting to see how capable this is. It offers a range of software but puts it all together in a single box. And Roland's publicity materials emphasize its straightforward UI, saying that there are no "confusing modes," for example. What you see is what you get, and that's a very good feature. Roland The Fantom-0 series costs $1,500 - $2,000, which doesn't sound cheap, but that's a steal compared to the cheapest non-0 Fantom, which goes for $3,400. And remember, it can work entirely without a computer or software, neither of which are cheap. Speaking of which, the Fantom-0 can also be used as a hardware controller for Ableton, Logic Pro, and MainStage. Unless you have specific hardware needs or are totally into the fly-by-wire experience of making music on a laptop, these workstations look very appealing. And no, you can't do your email on the Fantom-0, but that's a major bonus and definitely not a lacking feature. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire 1010 Music's Razzmatazz, a Tiny Pink Groovebox, Looks Like a Perfect Pocket Plaything The 7 Best Beat-Making Softwares to Buy in 2022 Running Audio Effects on Your GPU Might Not Be Worth It—Here's Why How to Use the iPad Control Panel 8 Best Piano/Keyboards/MIDI iPad Accessories of 2022 What Is a MIDI File? The 8 Best Music Production Software of 2022 How to Use Your iPad as a Wireless MIDI Controller Everything You Need to Know About Apple HomePod Using Direct iPod Control in Your Car The 8 Best Alternatives to GarageBand for Your PC Everything You Need to Know About Apple Music How to Make Your Headphones Louder The 5 Best Speaker Booster Apps of 2022 The 5 Best Nintendo Switch Apps of 2022 Best Free DJ Mixing Software Programs Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies