Roland FANTOM-08

Owner’s Manual
Contents
USING THE UNIT SAFELY
.......................... 2
IMPORTANT NOTES
............................... 4
PDF Manuals Available for Download
...........
5
Download Instructions
.................................. 5
Placing This Unit on a Stand
......................
6
If You’re Using the FANTOM-06/FANTOM-07
.................. 6
If You’re Using the FANTOM-08
............................ 7
Panel Descriptions
................................
8
Top Panel
............................................. 8
Rear Panel (Connecting the External Equipment)
.............. 10
Turning the Power On/O
................................ 11
Making the Power Automatically Turn o After a Time (Auto O)
. 11
Introduction
......................................
12
Basic Operation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
An Overview of This Unit
................................. 15
Units of Sound
......................................... 16
Eects
............................................... 16
Performing
........................................
17
Selecting a Sound (SCENE/TONE)
.......................... 17
Layering Zones (Layer)
.................................. 17
Dividing the Keyboard into Two Regions (Split)
............... 17
Raising/Lowering the Key Range in Semitones (Transpose)
...... 18
Raising/Lowering the Key Range in Octaves (Octave)
.......... 18
Playing Arpeggios
...................................... 18
Playing Chords (Chord Memory)
........................... 18
Selecting/Playing Rhythm Patterns
........................ 18
Changing the Tempo
.................................... 19
Using the Sliders and Control Knobs
........................ 19
Simultaneously Modifying the Volume of Multiple Zones
(Motional Pad)
......................................... 19
Editing
.............................................
20
Editing a Zone
......................................... 20
Editing a Tone
......................................... 20
Editing the Eects
...................................... 21
Saving a Scene or Tone
.................................. 22
Recalling Scenes in the Order of Songs (Scene Chain)
.......... 22
Sampler
............................................
23
Playing a Sample by Pressing a Pad
........................ 23
Playing a Sample Continuously (Hold)
...................... 23
Switching Banks
....................................... 23
Moving/Copying Samples
................................ 23
Sampling
............................................. 24
Sequencer
.........................................
26
How the Sequencer Is Structured
.......................... 26
Playing the Sequencer
................................... 26
Recording a Pattern
..................................... 27
About the Edit Screen
................................... 30
Creating a Group
....................................... 31
Creating a Song
........................................ 31
Control
............................................
32
Performing Live with a Plug-in Synthesizer
.................. 32
Connecting to Your Computer
............................. 32
USB Driver Settings
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Controlling an External MIDI Device (EXT MIDI OUT)
........... 32
Using USB Audio
....................................... 33
Setting the ZONE INT/EXT Button (Zone Int/Ext Control)
........ 33
Settings
............................................
34
Detailed Function Settings (Menu)
......................... 34
Backing up User Data (Backup/Restore)
..................... 34
Returning to the Factory Settings (Factory Reset)
............. 34
Main Specications
...............................
35
Before using this unit, carefully read “USING THE UNIT SAFELY”
(p. 2) and “IMPORTANT NOTES” (p. 4). After reading,
keep the document(s) where it will be available for immediate
reference.
© 2021 Roland Corporation

Roland FANTOM-08 Specifications

General

Bit rate	24 bit
Pitch wheel	Yes
Product type	Digital synthesizer
Product color	Black
Sound effects	Chorus, Reverberation
Sound effects quantity	16
Chorus effects quantity	9
Keyboard number of keys	88
Preset programs quantity	10
Maximum polyphony (notes)	8
Reverberation effects quantity	7
6.35 mm (1⁄4-inch) input	1
Display type	LCD
Power source type	AC

Weight and Dimensions

Depth	354 mm
Width	1393 mm
Height	138 mm
Weight	14800 g

Summary

Using the Unit Safely

Safety Instructions and Warnings

General instructions and warnings for safe operation, including symbols and precautions.

Placement and Environmental Precautions

Guidelines for proper placement, avoiding extreme temperatures, moisture, and unstable locations.

Electrical and Handling Precautions

Covers precautions related to power plugs, cords, cleaning, lightning, and handling the unit.

Important Notes

Panel Descriptions

Top Panel Controls

Explanation of the main control sections on the top panel, including Controller, Zone, and Common.

Rear Panel Connectivity

Details on rear panel jacks and connecting external equipment.

Performing

Selecting a Scene

How to choose a scene, which contains preset performance states and settings.

Selecting a Tone

How to select individual tones or sounds to be used within a scene.

Layering and Splitting Keyboard Zones

Editing

Editing a Zone

How to adjust zone-specific settings like volume, EQ, and key range.

Editing a Tone

How to modify tone parameters like filter, amp, and effects for custom sounds.

Editing Tone Effects (MFX)

Saving Scenes and Tones

Sampler

Playing Samples via Pads

How to use the pads to trigger and play sampled sounds.

Switching Sample Banks

Sampling Audio Sources

How to record audio from keyboard, mic, or computer to create new samples.

Sequencer

Sequencer Structure Overview

Explanation of how the sequencer is organized into Patterns, Groups, and Songs.

Playing Sequencer Patterns

Playing Sequencer Groups and Songs

Recording Patterns

Methods for recording new patterns using Realtime REC, Step Rec, or TR-REC.

Step Recording (Step REC)

Detailed instructions for recording patterns step-by-step, including parameter settings.

TR-REC Timing and Drum Pattern Recording

How to use TR-REC for precise timing and recording drum patterns.

Sequencer Edit Screens Overview

Creating Sequencer Groups

How to combine patterns into groups to structure songs.

Creating Sequencer Songs

How to arrange groups in sequence to form complete songs.

Control

Live Performance with Plug-in Synthesizers

Connecting to Your Computer and USB Driver Settings

Controlling External MIDI Devices

How to set zones to output MIDI messages to external MIDI devices.

Using USB Audio Input and Output