Great review in Sep Issue of Keyboard Mag

Stephen Fortner who is the Technical Editor of Keyboard Mag is an unbiased fair reviewer in my opinion and he tries to give readers an honest evaluation on the gear he reviews. If the only cons he mentions are functions not being able to be accessed from the main screen menu's and/or SMF won't be available until OS firmware 1.20 all I can say is whiners beware. Stephen Fortner is an expert in his field and he says the Fantom G sounds are AWESOME!! plus an "extremely powerful sequencer" (with OS update 1.20 most likely even more so) and of course the great multitrack audio recorder.
Oh, and the LARGE LCD screen is a pleasure to work with.

Hey if Jordan Rudess, who is a highly skilled world renowned keyboard artist, calls his Fantom G8 his "beloved G8" do you think for one minute if he didn't like it a WHOLE LOT he would refer to a "keyboard" like that? >> Let alone maybe even his own wife? Me thinks not.

Nice you hear the G gets what it really deserves in the press!

I agree, the G deserves good press and I am sure the 1.20 OS update will make the Fantom G a much better experience for the user.

It's really sad that because of competition, so many products, not just musical intruments, need to be rushed out on the market with half-baked operating systems nowadays.

I can admit than I have myself been whining about the Fantom G just like many other users on various forums, about the lack of this and that just because of the OS immaturity. Those things all add up, often also hyper-escalating as a web phenomena, to a 'bad press' and a overall bad vibe about gear.. globally.

I really love the G. I am happy I got it and I want the update soon!

For the record, what Keyboard Mag issue # are we talking about?

- jessej -

September 2008

these all review works like that: "hey man - write a nice review about it and we'll give you free keyboard in question"


p.s.
I'm not saying though G doesn't deserve positive review.

Yeah ... IT'S ABOUT DOES TIME ... I was starting to actually believe some of the ongoing criticism ...

Wait a sec, the Fantom G is a GOOD INSTRUMENT?

When the hell did this happen? Nobody tells me anything anymore!!!

I am really starting to understand and like the work flow of the FG. The only thing preventing me from using it over Reason 4 at the moment is exporting to SMF which should be available in version 1.20 I hope. I like to finish my projects in Sonar because editing is still easier and faster for me. However, I seem to be more productive on the FG when starting a new project. Detailed microscope editing is still similar to the traditional workstation way of editing. I think the mouse feature could be refined more for detailed editing. If this ever happens, I would probably only use Sonar for vocals and live instruments.

Regarding:
these all review works like that: "hey man - write a nice review about it and we'll give you free keyboard in question"

Actually it doens't work like that all. There has never been a case of "get free equipment for a good review" in the entire history of Keyboard Magazine ... never, not once.

If you are going to insult people and call their integrity into question, please get your facts straight. Just spouting falsehoods like this is lying.

I've done my fair share of reviews in the video editing world, including some nationally syndicated magazines. Usually the product a reviewer is reviewing is sent to them directly from the manufacturer (often times tweaked and made to look its best in my experience), who then keeps it for a month or so to really put it through its paces. After that time period, the reviewer writes their review, submits it to their editor, then repacks the item back in its original packaging and returns it to the manufacturer.

So the above-mentioned comment of "write a good review and enjoy a free keyboard" is not only ridiculous and downright false, but it's not how things work in the real-world at all. I only got to keep ONE expensive item that I reviewed, and that's because the manufacturer never set a date for return, nor provided me with shipping info, nor responded to my emails asking them when and where I should return it to.

Reviewers buy products just like everyone else...often times for the same amount of money that everyone else pays. All they get to do is demo the product unhindered in their home/studio for free for a limited time, and then get to freely voice their opinion of the product when they're done.

"freely voice?"

In general, that's quite optimistic ... I work in the publishing industry as well and I can tell you advertisers won't tolerate bad reviews for long (if at all) ... And the writer who insists on their "free voice" won't have a job for long ...

Exceptions exist, naturally ...

But how many highly critical reviews have you read in publications that review the products that get advertised in its pages ... ???

how possible is it that the reviewer (Steve Fortner) actually gave an honest review??? It sounds like certain people will only believe a review if its negative. there are no conspiracy theories or side deals being made with manufacturers nor am I naive to how the real world works. while there are problems with the board, it's a step forward in the evolution of keyboards... I also believe the people at keyboard mag think the same too... There are a few LOUD people who crap on this board at every turn when the truth is that most people like this keyboard while acknowledging/ become frustrated with the flaws that it obviously has... If the FG didn't live up to what Roland's marketing said it would (with words like "perfect" and "revolution") that's one thing, but to suggest manufacturers have publications in their back pocket is a ploy to get others to agree with your point of view... I'm not falling for it

I have exaggerated a little of course with that free keyboard just to mess things up, but almost always you can keep this item for which you do review for a VERY, VERY good price, and that I know for fact.

Noways it's very hard to find objective review and that's not only my opinion. Usually you get reprint from factory specifications plus some some general comments. e.g. in recent RD700GX review in KB magazine I didn't find any note about weak EP's and problems with Expressive Grand (phasing, noises, out of tune issues etc) which do exist because I played this board already and I knew that.
So don't tell me reviews are objective and informative, because they are NOT.

Because of all these factors I prefer to evaluate keyboard first on regular users forums from which I take median and then check it by myself.

p.s.
musicians DO get free gear for endorsing, so I wonder how objective is that...

The review was written by Ken Hughes, not Steven Fortner. It is very short, comprising of only a couple of pages of text.

As he is a gigging musician who used it on a couple of jobs in the course of the review, I was surprised that he didn't mention seamless switching. Nor is it anywhere in the review or specs. Nor did he mention it's biggest shortfall at present, the fact that right now it's essentially a closed system waveform-wise, until multisampling is implemented or SRX style ARX boards are available.

His biggest gripes were actually the weight of the G8 and it's high price, which he didn't say specifically but we all know is at a premium to a Motif XS or M3.