Fantom S or X or Xa PolyPhony and Memory

The 64 polyphony isnt really an issue, becuase you can always sample parts of your song (e.g. the drums) and then you free up some polyphony again.
I always do this like that.

Now I was in the same situation you are now not so long ago (not even a month . And I choose for the FS.
But mainly becuase I am used to working with limitations (I dont really *need* the extra polyphony), and since I always work alongside the computer I don't need the extra memory as well.
At the moment there is a 256 MB dimm in the machine and thats more than enough for me.

On this site I found this with the specs of the FS:

" *1 If the maximum 256 M byte DIMM expansion is installed, only two SRX slots will be available"

So I guess thats only a problem once you are going to use more than two SRX boards. In my case that is not likely to happen very soon .

But the extra polyphony and a few new sounds were not enough to pursuade me to spent the extra cash on a FX.
No, the extra cash will go to a SRX board. Thats a much better choice for me.
Although now I'm not sure what SRX to get , the complete orchestra or symphonic strings.. hmmmm (Becuase I compose lot's of "orchestra movie music" type of stuff). Even with the 64 polyphony

You can use up to 4 srx boards with 256 megs of memory.

However if you use more than 2 srx boards, you'll only have 192 megs available instead of the full 256.

Personally I don't think polyphony is an issue. Maybe if you made a thick soundscape type song you might use them all or if happen to put only the thickest sounds in your mix. But you'll notice you can't have too many "thick" sounds playing at once, it doesn't sound good. I usually go for 1 or 2 good sounds with effects and the rest are simple sounds that do not take much polyphony. And you can always have many thick sounds but that don't play at the same time. And like Raptor said, you can always sample your sounds. It's easy to get it done on the Fantom.

is the memory in question,will that just affect my sample time available? or will it play a role in my sequences as well?

oh btw can you export midi files of your sequences/songs from the fantom workstation?

so say you can import em and open em in a sequencer on your pc?

The RAM is just the temporary onboard memory.
If you use 4 SRX boards for example you only have
192 megs + 32 megs total. That's the memory you use to load sequences and samples. That's a whole lot of samples loaded at once trust me. Unless you use very long samples on every track of many songs, your not going to fill it up.
You can back them up on your PC via the USB cable.

But you can't store anything permanently on the ram. You have to get a 128 megs SM card to store your samples.
So you have 128+16 megs of total storage memory.

For your second question, yes you can export to .mid format. However it does not save all performance data so I don't recommend it if your planning on loading it back in the Fantom. I'm staying with the onboard sequencer. I love how all my little settings are saved in every performance so my songs sound the same everytime I reload them.

so the fantom s is definately a better buy than the Xa?

can you save songs/sequences/patches and or samples to external storage devices?

thank you for the replys i appreciate the help.

I would say so.

The biggest issue with the XA is the small screen
Then the non sensitive pads.
But it's got 128 voices and some more sounds.
On top of that, I like the looks of the Fantom S or X anytime over the XA.

Xa better than the FS.
Hard choice I guess. When I bought my FS there was no Xa and no announcement of it as well.

Xa has more polyphony. But internal it's pretty much the same as the FS. No sensitive pads and smaller display. (as Lancer already said).
So you wont get better sounds from it as far as I know/hear.

But there were some questions about the quality of the Xa, like the DAC etc. Havent heared much about that yet...

Difficult choice. When you buy the FS you might keep asking yourself "shouldnt I have bought the newer Xa" and when you buy the Xa you might keep asking yourself "shouldnt I have bought the FS cheaper which at least has the same quality or perhaps even better quality than the FS".

Best to take them both for a test drive! .
The Xa does have some new features you might like.

But I like the sensitive pads with aftertouch, even I dont use them lol

Xa is of course a downgraded FX.
Just that is scary. They took out a whole lot to get a lower price tag. I wouldnt be surprised to find lower end hardware components inside the Xa (apart from the sound generator chip of course). If they out the sensitive pads and screen what do you think they took out and replaced with cheaper version inside that you can't see ? I may be wrong since I never opened up a XA and FS and compare them.

Dude save your bread and get a used Fantom S. Once you learn how to use it you will be happy. The X is great but like Homey said earlier if you also use computer memory is not an issue.
The Xa is like a triton le.... Don't go middle of the road. I got my FS 61 for $800 and it is fine.
Do you really need a color screen? Don't get caught up in the newest model crap, Don't believe the hype...just make the music.
cheers
Ian

"All you cool Republicans make some noise!"

where did you get an fs at for $800?

Hi 7,
I got it at 8th Street Music in Philadelphia PA in August 04. It is the 61 key. It was sitting in a corner of the show room and the employee kept trying to push me away from it (obviously wanted the bigger commission) as I initially went in there thinking I wanted the X6.
The seller kept saying the X has more polyphony. Something sounded wrong in his reasoning and then I realized he couldn't even explain what polyphony does or means. He originally was trying to sell it for $900 and went down $50 after I pointed out it had scratches on it.
I always remind myself when people start hyping new stuff...The Beatles recorded Sgt Pep on a 4 track. Is your music gonna stand the test of time like the Beatles?
Half the fun is making the music on the cheap with lots of creativity and your friends saying in the end "that sound, I never heard that before. How did you think of that"
cheers,
Ian


"All you cool Republicans make some noise!"