daw or fantom

I use the G's sequencer mostly as a sketch pad when composing new stuff. I would never record anything serious on it. I do use it for playbacks in live shows, though.

Ditto what Gil said. The G sequencer is good to capture ideas down or make short little sequenced parts, but for me there are too many annoying barricades to doing a full song production on it. Once I started using Reaper for all my midi recording I haven't looked back

Would double and triple what the guys said - G is great as an inspirational tool and as a sound / sound design source, but making a big production on it can be much more time-consuming than on a computer DAW.

As my main workhorse, I use GarageBand on a Mac. Might sound strange, as in why I wouldn't use the more powerful Logic? The answer is, GB still has the same sound engine as Logic, but in an attractively minimalist package - very clean and unobtrusive workflow, but still with 44.1 kHz 24 bit processing, up to 500 audio/instrument tracks with graphic EQ and 4 effect plugins on each of them... that's quite enough for me.

Same here...And I also get a plenty of power out of the minimum version of Samplitude...an excellent German DAW Program...and since the power version is $1000.00 or even as high as $2500.00 for the Sequioa version!!!

I am feeling ready for a new Roland Workstation, however...

That’s the question I’ve posted here.

http://forums.rolandclan.com/?p=show&action=show_thread...

The bad news is that the FG’s 44.1khz and 16bit isn’t enough if you think to make a mastering with it later on elsewhere.

i use a masterlink.

personal i think it all comes down to how you want to work.
i have made complete masters using nothing but the g. sonicaly i feel the g is quite capable.
how flexabe or time consuming the g makes it depends on forward planing and how much time was put in to learning the g before hand.
if your not willing to master the g and time is a priority, use a daw.

DAW for me. I love skip back sampling on the Fantom for preservation of ideas but overall I mostly use it as a master controller and sampler, everything gets done in Cubase. I'm set up for full on guitar, bass, vocal, drum recording so there's no way to get all that to work the same way within the Fantom, even if the sequencer was more capable the sheer size of the projects makes it impossible.

I have a lot of money in my studio. I play all instruments and have a DAW, Mac, PC, Alesis Fusion Workstation and the Fantom G.

Alesis Fusion 6HD: Truthfully, I recorded one song using the Alesis Fusion exclusively... and while it sounds good, it doesnt have the functionality of a DAW. I was able to get a great sounding recording out of it, though. Used Audacity(free, open-source mixing/mastering software) to sum it up.

Roland VS2400CD: I recorded quite a few songs with my DAW, which is a Roland VS2400CD. That unit is loaded with features and power. It is basically a PC with Cakewalk installed(The internal software reminds me of Cakewalk). You can hook up an external monitor, as well as mouse and keyboard and it functions just like a PC. It gives you a plethora of options for inputs and outputs, even 5.1 surround mixing. Lots of effects built in, including guitar amp/effects modeling. Once you are done recording, it has its own mastering tools to allow you to get the most out of your recording. On top of that, it has a built in CD/DVD recorder to record your master... which also allows you to piece together an entire album. This is the most feature-rich DAW ever created and an awesome all-in-one solution for recording/mastering/production. It is out of production now and very hard to find used or new, anywhere. People who have them, arent selling them. This unit is very hard to master all of its functionality(there are multiple how-to DVD's on the market), but once you do... you wont need any other recording solution.

Mac/PC: Both of these have been used extensively with their respective software. The PC, I tend to use Audacity for everything. I have Steinberg's Sequel on my Slate touchpad(Fujitsu Stylistic ST6012 with 8GB's ram, 250GB hybrid drive, etc...). Sequel kicks all kinds of ass, when it comes to putting down ideas without a keyboard or anything else. It comes with thousands of drum loops and allows you to throw together a song within minutes(again, without any outside instrument). I love being able to take my Fujitsu machine anywhere with me(its battery lasts 12 hours on a full charge), with my Altec in-ear earphones and punch out my rhythm section with keys and even guitars(if I want, the instrument section is limitless). I can then, take it home... hook it up via midi and send the rhythm section out to my Roland TD-20 drum brain, the keys to my Fantom G and press record. It is that easy! The Mac, I tend to use here and there, but not nearly as much as my Fujitsu tablet.

Fantom G: This is my new go to device for all of my recording needs. As others have said, it makes everything easy and sounds as good as any DAW I've ever used. Vocals are clear and precise, little need for compression if you turn velocity off on any of your internal instruments. It is just a breeze to work with. The G even has its own mastering tools(albeit a bit primitive, though they still work). There are a few things I would change to make things easier with recording with the G, but overall... they did a knock out job giving users a feature rich device that can act as an all-in-one studio... and, at a price that makes it accessible to anyone.

My studio could record and master with the best of them, learning everything has almost become a job in itself. Though, with everything I have accumulated over the years to make my recordings the best that they can be... I think the G is hands-down, the best piece of equipment in my studio. It allows a freedom of recording, that keeps everything simple... while offering a ton of options to make every recording you do... the best you ever made. I am always learning new tricks to accomplish more than I thought I ever could...

That is the sign of a great piece of equipment. Thank you Roland.

Fantom-G: scratch-pad sequencer and live instrument
DAW (mostly Cubase): Fully-blown compositions

Daw and use the Fantom for my main workstation


using live mode in the studio is a fantastic way of adding depth to a rock song or cheesy pop song.