Fantom x8 Rhythms
Fantom x8 Rhythms
Fantom x8 Rhythms
Workshop
About The Fantom-X Rhythm Sets Selecting Rhythm Sets in Patch Mode
A Fantom-X rhythm set is a special kind of patch that allows In Patch mode, you can play a rhythm set on the pads or on the
each drum pad—or key on the keyboard—to play its own keyboard. Most often, you’ll play a rhythm set on the pads.
instrument. This puts lots of percussion sounds at your
fingertips, ready for banging out rhythms or fills. Selecting a Rhythm Set for the Pads
Each of the instruments in a rhythm set is played by what 1. Press PATCH/RHYTHM so it lights.
we’ll call a “drum key.” The drum keys in a typical rhythm set 2. Press F8 (Part Pad) so “Pad” lights in blue on
play instruments that a real drummer or percussionist would the display.
have at his or her disposal. These include the individual
components of a real drum set—such as a bass drum, snare
drum, or hi-hat—and various percussion instruments—such
as a tambourine, shaker, or conga drum.
The Fantom-X’s drum pads now play the selected rhythm set. Selecting a Rhythm Set for the Keyboard
A rhythm set can be designated as a “favorite” for quick selection. See The 1. Press PATCH/RHYTHM so it lights.
Sounds of the Fantom-X Workshop booklet for instructions on adding a
2. Press F7 (Part Kbd) so “Kbd” lights blue on the display.
sound to the Favorites list.
3. Press F1 (Patch List)—the Patch List screen appears.
Playing Rhythm Sets: The Pads vs. The Keyboard 4. Press F6 (Rhythm).
5. Press F2 (↓) and/or F1 (↑) to display the desired rhythm
The Fantom-X’s drum pads obviously provide the most intuitive
set bank.
way to play a rhythm set: The pads’ size and layout make it
easy to tap out rhythms or play fills. And with 16 pads, you 6. Turn the VALUE dial to select the desired rhythm set.
can have all of the sounds in a standard drum set—as well 7. Press F8 (Select) to confirm your selection.
a few percussion instruments—available at one time. That
You can now play the selected rhythm set on the
said, why would you ever want to play a rhythm set using the
Fantom-X’s keyboard.
keyboard?
Well, the answer is in the numbers—numbers of sounds, that Exploring the Fantom-X Rhythm Sets
is. A Fantom-X rhythm set can contain far more instruments
than can be addressed by the 16 drum pads. When you select Now that we’ve discussed how to select rhythm sets, let’s
a rhythm set for the keyboard, you have more of its drum try out some preset rhythm sets that demonstrate the large
keys—61, 76, or all 88, depending on which Fantom-X model variety of rhythm sounds available in the Fantom-X.
you own—at your fingertips, ready to play. And you can easily Take time to select the following rhythm sets for both the pads
get to any drum keys outside the keyboard’s range by using and the keyboard. Play up and down the keyboard’s keys to
the -OCT and +OCT buttons. hear all the sounds in each rhythm set. Compare the feeling
For more info on using the -OCT and +OCT buttons, see Page 24 of the of playing a rhythm set on the pads versus playing it on the
Fantom-X Owner’s Manual. keyboard.
So, if 16 sounds are enough, use the pads. If you need more, Many rhythm set sounds are programmed to be “velocity-sensitive”—
use the keyboard. Or, if you want, use both. It’s up to you. their sound changes depending on how hard or soft you play. Try playing
the following rhythm sets with varying degrees of force.
Rhythm Set Description Each wave can play:
PRST:033 StudioX Kit1 A great sounding all-around drum set, useful • a stereo waveform or sample, or
for many styles of music. • two mono waveforms or samples.
PRST:008 909 808 Kit Features the sounds of Roland’s classic TR-series A drum key may or may not use all four of its waves, depending on the
drum machines. complexity of the sound the programmer is trying to achieve.
PRST:006 Brush Jz Kit A collection of drums struck with brushes.
PRST:007 Orch Kit A collection of orchestra percussion, including A drum key is a lot like an entire standard patch. The Sounds of the
timpani. Fantom-X Workshop booklet explains how a patch works, if you’re curious.
PRST:031 Percussion An array of Latin percussion instruments. Each wave has its own set of parameters that determine how its
PRST:030 FX/SFX Menu A collection of special effects: wind noise, bird waveforms or samples play. In addition, there are parameters
chirps, glass breaking, etc. that control the behavior of the entire drum key.
PRST:037 Neo-Wrld Kit Percussion sounds with an international flavor.
Editing or Creating Your Own Rhythm Sets
About Rhythm Sets in Performance Mode In this booklet, we discuss making rhythm sets on the Fantom-X itself. If
you prefer, you can do the same thing on your computer with the Fantom-X
When you want to layer sounds, create keyboard splits, Editor (and Librarian) software on the Fantom-X Editor Ver. 2.0 CD-ROM.
or record a full music arrangement, you’ll use the
Fantom-X’s Performance mode. A single Fantom-X Tweaking a rhythm set that’s already close to what you want can be a lot
performance can contain up to 16 different rhythm sets. quicker than constructing a rhythm set from the ground up.
To learn about using rhythm sets in live performance, see the Performing 1. Select a rhythm set for the pads or keyboard.
with the Fantom-X Workshop booklet. Sequencing on the Fantom-X discusses 2. Press PATCH EDIT—the first Zoom edit screen appears.
the use of rhythm sets in recording.
3. While the Zoom edit screens are great for patch editing, Changing a Drum Key’s Sound
the Rhythm Edit screen is best for rhythm set editing, so
press F6 (Pro Edit) to display it. Since a drum key is made up of its waves, you change its sound
by selecting the desired waveforms or samples for each wave
and adjusting the waves’ parameters to taste.
The top-center of the Rhythm Edit screen shows the currently The Drum Key Parameters
selected drum key, identified by both note number and
name. The drum key parameters are arranged in sections from top
to bottom on the Fantom-X display. To move from section to
section, press F2 (↓) and/or F1 (↑). To edit a parameter within
the selected section, press 5 or 6 to highlight it, and then
turn the VALUE dial to adjust its setting.
Copying a Drum Key Advanced Rhythm Set Editing Tips
If you’d like to copy the settings of one drum key to another Tips for Any Rhythm Set
within the same rhythm set—or the settings of a drum key
from another rhythm set—use the Tone Copy feature. • Assign different velocity ranges for each wave in a drum
1. On the Rhythm Edit screen, press F4 (Util Menu) to display key—This lets you trigger different sounds depending
the Utility menu. on how hard you play the drum key, enhancing the
expressiveness of your rhythm sets. Velocity ranges are
2. Select Rhythm Tone Copy to display the Rhythm Tone Copy
set in the WMT parameter section. Check out PRST:034
window in which you can select the drum key you want to
StudioX Kit2—especially the hi-hat drum keys—for an
copy (the Source rhythm set and drum key number) and
example of using velocity ranges to good advantage.
to where you want to copy it (the Destination drum key
number). You can also program a drum key to play completely different sounds at
different velocities.
Saving New or Edited Rhythm Sets To name a rhythm set:
1. The first character position is underlined, so turn the VALUE
Whether you’ve been editing an existing rhythm set or creating
dial to select the first character of the desired name.
a new one, store your work in the Fantom-X’s memory before
selecting another rhythm set or powering off to avoid losing 2. Press 4 to move the underline to the next character’s
your work. To do so, “write” the rhythm set. Here’s how. position, and then dial in the name’s second character.
3. Repeat Step 2 to enter the characters of the rhythm set
Start by pressing WRITE—the Write Menu screen name you want.
appears, ready to store a rhythm set since you’re
coming from a rhythm-set editing screen. As you name the rhythm set, you can:
• Press F1 (Change Type) repeatedly to jump between
upper-case, lower-case and numeric characters.
• Press F2 (Delete) to remove the character at the underline’s
current location.
• Press F3 (Insert) to insert a blank space for selecting a new
character at the underline’s current location.
The Drum Pads • they’re pressure-sensitive—Also known as “aftertouch,”
pressure-sensitivity can let you continuously change a
So far, we’ve discussed selecting, playing, and editing rhythm sound after its pad’s been struck and held down, by
sets using both the pads and the keyboard. Most of the time, varying the amount of finger pressure you apply.
though, the Fantom-X’s drum pads will be your first choice for
playing rhythm sounds. In addition to the 16 drum pads, there are two additional pads
that can further enhance your rhythm performances:
• The ROLL pad—When the ROLL pad is on
(lit orange), striking and holding a drum
pad causes its sound to play repeatedly.
Varying the amount of finger-pressure while holding the
pad affects the dynamics of the roll. See Page 160 of the
Owner’s Manual for more details.
• The HOLD pad—When the HOLD pad
is active (lit or blinking orange), a pad’s
Officially known as the “Dynamic Pad Bank,” the drum pads sound plays continuously after the pad
are the command center for Fantom-X rhythm activities. is struck. This is most useful when you’re
In addition to playing the drum keys in a rhythm set, the playing a sampled beat loop on the pad. See Page 160 of
pads can trigger rhythm patterns and RPS (Realtime Phrase the Owner’s Manual for more on using the HOLD pad.
Sequence) patterns.
Some Not-So-Stupid Pad Tricks
For information on creating and playing RPS patterns, see the Workshop
booklet Performing with the Fantom-X. When you’re not playing them, you can use the drum pads for
some non-musical Fantom-X activities, such as:
Using the Pads • changing the screensaver’s appearance—When the
Fantom-X’s screensaver kicks in, tap a drum pad to change
As you’ve probably discovered, it’s fun to play rhythm sets on its appearance. See Page 233 in the Owner’s Manual for
the Fantom-X’s 16 drum pads since: more on adjusting screensaver parameters.
• they feel good—The pads are made of a semi-soft rubber • entering name characters—When you’re performing a
material that provides a “bounce” when they’re played, naming procedure, you can enter alpha-numeric characters
making them pleasing to percussion-playing fingers. by tapping the pads. See Page 36 in the Owner’s Manual for
• they’re velocity-sensitive—Each pad senses the force with more information.
which you strike it, and its sound responds accordingly. • bookmarking screens—The Bookmark feature lets you use
the pads for storing and recalling 16 of your favorite Fantom-X
screens. See Page 37 in the Fantom-X Owner’s Manual.
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Customizing What the Pads Do The Roll Resolution note value is a subdivision of a single beat. Therefore,
the speed of the roll is also influenced by the current Tempo setting.
Press PAD SETTING to display the Pad Setting screen.
Changing a Pad’s Drum Key and Responsiveness
It’s often handy to swap the drum key settings of two pads:
• Pad Common Velo—sets the velocity response for the pads. 1. On the Pad Setting screen, press F6 (Pad Exchg)—the bottom
If you want them to respond to the force of your touch, of the screen shows the Pad Exchange parameters.
select REAL. If you want them to act as if you’re always
playing at a fixed velocity, select that velocity (1-127).
• Pad Sens—determines the amount of force that’s required
to play a pad’s rhythm set at maximum velocity.
2. Use 3 and 4 and the VALUE dial to select the two pads
• Aftertouch Sens—adjusts the pad’s overall sensitivity to
whose settings you wish to exchange.
finger pressure.
3. Press F8 (Exec) to perform the swap or F7 (Exit) to cancel
• Roll Resolution—sets the musical note value for rolls played
the procedure.
on the ROLL pad.
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Using Quick Setup Using the Fantom-X’s Drum Machine
The Pad Setting screen’s Quick Setup feature allows you to The Fantom-X contains a full-featured drum machine, with
set up all of the pads’ drum keys in one action using a preset built-in beats that are great for jamming, songwriting, and
template. To open the Quick Setup screen, press F7 (Quick creating rhythm arrangements. You can also make your own
Setup) on the Pad Setting screen. beats and store them in the Fantom-X’s user memory.
Rhythm patterns you create or edit can be saved in internal user memory
locations only.
To turn on the drum machine, press RHYTHM so it lights. 1. Hold SHIFT and press RHYTHM.
2. Press F2 (Rhythm) to display the Rhythm Pattern screen.
Look at the drum pads. Notice how some pads are now dark,
while other pads remain lit.
You can press the TEMPO button and turn the VALUE dial to change the
rhythm pattern’s tempo if you like. Press F8 (Close) when you’re done.
2. Strike other unlit pads to hear different rhythm patterns. 6. To stop playback, press F6 (Preview) again.
Note how the Fantom-X switches between rhythm patterns
without losing the beat.
3. To stop rhythm pattern playback, strike a flashing pad.
We’ll show you how to set up the pads to play different rhythm
patterns a little later.
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Rhythm Pattern Playback Parameters It’s All About the Grid. And Little Green Boxes.
The Rhythm Pattern screen has parameters that globally affect The available notes of a rhythm pattern are laid out in a grid in
the playback of all rhythm patterns: which you can turn individual drum keys on and off for each
• Rhythm Accent—adjusts rhythm-pattern dynamics. beat subdivision—or “step”—in the rhythm pattern.
• Arp/Rhythm Grid—adjusts the timing and feel of the The length and number of the steps is set by the Rhythm Pattern screen’s
rhythm patterns. Arp/Rhythm Grid parameter. A rhythm pattern can have up to 32 steps.
Rhythm patterns and arpeggios share Arp/Rhythm parameter values. Each drum key has its own little note box at every step. When
• Arp/Rhythm Duration—sets the duration of the rhythm a drum key is turned on for a step, its note box there becomes
pattern’s notes. outlined in black, and it’s filled with green—the more green,
the higher the note’s velocity, and thus the louder the note
• Rhythm Pattern Velocity—adjusts how rhythm patterns
plays relative to the rhythm pattern’s other notes.
respond to velocity when played from the drum pads.
For more information about the rhythm pattern playback parameters, see
Page 137 in the Owner’s Manual.
No note plays The loudest note A soft note
at this step. possible plays here. plays here.
Understanding How Rhythm Patterns Work
The overall level of the rhythm pattern can be affected by how hard you
You can edit any of the preset rhythm patterns, or create your
strike the pad that plays it, so each note’s velocity value sets the note’s level
own from scratch, storing them in 256 user rhythm pattern
relative to other notes in the pattern—it’s not an absolute level setting.
locations. Let’s explore how rhythm patterns are put together.
From the Rhythm Pattern screen, press F7 (Edit) to display the To create or edit a rhythm pattern, you turn drum key notes on
Rhythm Pattern Edit screen, where rhythm patterns are made. or off for each step as desired.
To select drum
keys, use 5 and
6 to move up and
down the onscreen
keyboard.
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You can press F4 (Zoom In) and/or F5 (Zoom Out) to change the number of Creating or Editing a Rhythm Pattern
drum keys visible at once.
Setting Up the Rhythm Pattern
You can use up to 16 different drum keys in a rhythm pattern, as many
times as you like. On the Rhythm Pattern Edit screen, press F1 (Rhythm Setup) to
open the Rhythm Setup window.
The rhythm pattern’s steps—and the note boxes for each
drum key—run from left to right across the screen.
The note boxes for Drum Key C3
A dotted blue horizontal outline encircles the currently selected drum key’s When you’re finished setting the desired parameters, press F8
note boxes, as shown at the bottom of the grid above. (Close) to return to the Rhythm Pattern Edit screen.
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Don’t be concerned about initializing a rhythm pattern you may want Viewing Already-Entered Notes’ Velocities
to use later on. The rhythm pattern you’re initializing is loaded into the
Fantom-X’s temporary work RAM, so you’re not ruining a rhythm pattern If a drum key note is already turned on at a step, its velocity is
that’s stored in the Fantom-X’s preset or user memory. displayed beneath the grid as a vertical bar. When you select a
note box, its velocity bar is also selected, and a pop-up Velocity
1. From the Rhythm Pattern Edit screen, hold SHIFT and press balloon shows the note’s velocity value as a number.
F1 (Init).
2. The Fantom-X asks you if you want to initialize the rhythm The velocity bars for all
pattern. Press F8 (Exec) to complete the procedure, or F7 of the selected drum
(Cancel) to abort it. key’s notes turn green
when any of the drum
Selecting Drum Key Note Boxes key’s note boxes are
selected.
Before you can turn a drum key note on or off at a step—or
edit its velocity value—you have to move the blue selector to
the drum key’s note box for the desired step, as shown here. Just a reminder: The overall level of the rhythm pattern can be affected by
how hard or soft you hit the pad that plays it, so each note’s velocity setting
sets the note’s volume relative to the rhythm pattern’s other notes—it’s
not an absolute volume setting.
To select a note box, press:
Manually Entering Drum Key Note Box Values
• 3 and/or 4—to move the blue selector forward or back
in time in order to select the desired step. One of the ways you can edit or create a rhythm pattern on the
• 5 and/or 6—to select the desired drum key’s note. Rhythm Pattern Edit screen is by selecting note boxes one-by-
one and setting them as desired.
Each drum key in the currently selected rhythm set plays when
it’s selected, and its name is shown on the display: Once you’ve selected a note box, you can:
• turn the VALUE dial and/or press DEC/INC—to set the note
box as desired. The available values are:
• all the way down—The Velocity balloon disappears and
You can jump directly to a drum key by playing it on the keyboard. the note box is turned off.
• 1-127—Any of these values turns on the drum key
While working with drum key note boxes, you can audition the rhythm
note and set its volume relative to the rhythm pattern’s
pattern at any time by pressing F6 (Preview) so it turns red. To stop
other notes.
playback, press F6 (Preview) again.
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• TIE—You can select this value when the note box 5. When you’re finished, press F8 (Step Rec) so it turns gray to
immediately to the left of the current note box is turn off Step Recording.
turned on. TIE lengthens the earlier note box’s note so
it extends through the current note box’s step. Don’t worry too much about getting drum key velocities just right during
Step Recording—you can always go back and edit them manually as we’ve
TIE works only with sounds that are long enough to last more than a step. already described.
It’s handy for long, sampled sounds such as beat loops, or when a rhythm
pattern is playing a patch instead of rhythm set. Clearing Drum Key Notes
• strike a drum pad—to set the note box’s velocity. Each of There are a two ways you can remove individual drum key
the 16 pads enters one of 16 available velocity values, with notes from a rhythm pattern. You can:
Pad 1 entering the lowest value and Pad 16 the highest. • turn a note box’s velocity off—by selecting the note box
After you strike a pad to enter a note box’s velocity, the next note box for and lowering the Velocity value down to nothing.
the current drum key is automatically selected for your convenience. • change the note to a rest—by selecting the desired note
box and pressing F3 (Rest (Clear)).
Entering Drum Key Notes Using Step Recording
After you press F3 (Rest (Clear)), the next note box for the current drum key
Step Recording allows you to capture the desired drum key is automatically selected for your convenience.
notes as you perform them on the pads or keyboard.
To remove all of a drum key’s notes:
1. On the Rhythm Pattern Edit screen, press F8 (Step Rec) so
1. Use 5 and/or 6 to select the desired drum key.
it lights red to turn on Step Recording.
2. Hold down SHIFT and press F2 (Clear Note).
2. Press 3 and/or 4 to select the step at which you want to
begin entering notes. 3. Press F8 (Exec) when the Fantom-X asks if you’re sure you
want to proceed, or F7 (Cancel) to abort the operation.
3. Strike a drum pad and/or play the keyboard to enter its
drum key note at the current step. After a drum key note is To remove all drum key notes at the selected step:
entered, the next step is automatically selected.
1. Use 3 and/or 4 to select the desired step.
Strike multiple pads and/or keys to enter notes for multiple drum keys at 2. Hold down SHIFT and press F3 (Clear Step).
the same step. 3. Press F8 (Exec) when the Fantom-X asks if you’re sure you
want to proceed, or F7 (Cancel) to abort the operation.
4. Repeat Step 3 to enter additional notes as desired, or:
• press F3 (Rest (Clear))—to enter a rest at the current
step and move to the next step.
• press 3 and/or 4—to move to any step at which you
want to enter additional notes.
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Saving a Rhythm Pattern About Rhythm Groups
To save a rhythm pattern: A rhythm group is a collection of pad settings. You’ll normally
1. From the Rhythm Pattern screen, press F8 (Write). use rhythm groups to play rhythm patterns, since they allow
you to assign rhythm patterns to the drum pads. Stored in a
You can also save a rhythm pattern directly from the Rhythm Pattern Edit rhythm group are:
screen by pressing the WRITE button and performing the following steps.
• Settings for all 16 pads—Within a rhythm group, any pad
2. Using the procedure described on Page 9 of this booklet, can be set to play either a drum key or a rhythm pattern.
name your rhythm pattern. (Click here to jump to Page 9.) Each pad also has its own velocity setting.
3. Press F8 (Write). • A rhythm set—This rhythm set provides the sounds played
by the pads and by the rhythm patterns in the rhythm
group.
Though rhythm groups are primarily used for playing rhythm patterns with
the pads, you don’t have to use them that way. They’re also great for saving
your favorite rhythm set and drum key settings.
If you’re in the Rhythm Pattern screen, you can also get to the Rhythm
Group screen by pressing F1 (Rhythm Group).
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2. Turn the VALUE dial to select the desired rhythm group. Selecting a Pad for Editing
The display shows the name of selected rhythm group’s
rhythm set, as well as the rhythm group’s drum pad Select a pad for editing by:
assignments. Light green signifies that a drum key is • striking the pad.
assigned to a pad, while light blue indicates that a rhythm • using 3, 4, 5, and/or 6 to highlight the Pad value, and
pattern is assigned to a pad. then turning the VALUE dial to select the pad’s number.
The RHYTHM button must be lit for the pads to use the settings in the The currently selected pad is highlighted in orange on the
currently selected rhythm group. display, and its number is displayed next to “Pad.”
The End
We hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction to the rhythms of
the Fantom-X. Check out the other Workshop booklets, as well
your Fantom-X Handbook, Owner’s Manual, and Audio Track
Expansion guide. We’re confident you’ll have a great time with
the exciting, inspiring Fantom-X.
For the latest Fantom-X updates and support tools, visit the Roland U.S.
Web site at www.RolandUS.com. If you need personal assistance, call our
amazing Product Support team at 323-890-3745.
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