Fantom Creator™

Fantom Creator™ is a powerful Patch, Performance/LiveSet, Multisample, and Sample creator/editor for Fantom workstations, including the Fantom-S, Fantom-X, Fantom-XR, and Fantom-G.

The Fantom line of workstations are a well established new generation Workstation-style keyboard system that has excellent sounds and advanced functionality, for superior usage in the studio and playing live. The most immediate gratification of the Fantom is playing it’s onboard sounds, which are top- shelf and professional standard. However, the Fantom also allows for playback of user-defined multisampled keymaps (called “Multisamples” on the Fantom) with the same possibilities as the onboard ROM Multisamples. This functionality is entirely under the Sampling button on the Fantom.

Although the Fantom is a little less flexible then the older specialized hardware samplers (e.g. Akai S-5000/Z-Series, Emu Emulator 4, Ensoniq ASR-10, Roland S-7x and so on), and more less so then powerful software samplers such as Kontakt, it is still very powerful, and with the right software platform to assist in creating these sampled Multisamples and Programs, the Fantom can go beyond it’s stock sounds and fly high with your own custom Programs.

That is the goal and stated purpose of Fantom Creator™.

Like most (if not all) hardware musical instruments, the onboard display and provided access do not give access to the Fantom user-sampled area exceptionally well. Some Supermen have used it and worked with it, but among us Mere Mortals it's "in and out", since it is slow and difficult not only to view the total range of information, but also to apply new edits etc. Again, Fantom Creator™ leverages the natural power of your computer to access, display, and arrange information that it's a perfect and powerful bridge to create and edit Fantom user-created content.

You will notice that a significant difference between Chicken System's Fantom Creator™ and Roland's own provided Fantom Editor is that the Fantom Editor communicates via MIDI or USB to the Fantom ITSELF, whereas Fantom Creator™ simply works with Fantom files themselves. This is because of lacking functionality in the Fantom itself; it does not allow user wavedata to be transferred or detected through MIDI or USB. That is a significant ommission in the Fantom Editor; although the immediate Program editing and librarian functions are wonderful, there is no access to the user Multisamples. In fact, on older Fantom models the editor actually crashes when encountering a user Multisample.

Fantom Creator™ takes advantage of only access to user Multisample data - via the files themselves. Fantom Creator™ is practically a virtual Fantom specialized for editing. You can make your own user Multisamples, edit and create your own Samples within those Multisamples, and much more. Fantom Creator™ also allows innovate ways to listen and audition those sounds. Since it's not a Fantom, it can't substitute for it, but with sampled sounds you can come awfully close. Most of the time, we foresee Fantom users to operate Fantom Creator™ to take care of the sampled side, since it more clear, powerful, and effecient then the Fantom itself, but when it comes time to tweak the sounds and do the realtime parameter editing, we expect them to write the files and read them into Fantom, edit away, then resave.

Fantom Creator™ also includes management of ROM data. Renaming objects (Patches, Multisamples, etc.) is a breeze on Fantom Creator™. You can manage your Categories (sometimes the center of most Fantom user's experience!) in new powerful ways beyond what the Fantom itself can do. You can even set up a library of Patches and create your own compilations to be written into a file for particular uses.

Fantom Creator™, while powerful, is still a simple application. It was designed to give you easy and intuitive access to Fantom data, with no funny business or confusing Corvette-looking widgetry.

Some notes regarding the documentation:

In this document, the term “right-click” also refers to “control-click” on a Mac. Only "right-click" will be used. Similarly, "Preferences" is term for different optional parameters that can be set in the program; on the Mac you will see the word “Preferences”, but on Windows you will see "Options". In this document, Preferences will be used. Graphics are all Mac, but look very similar to the Windows version.

Since the Fantom regards the middle C key on a keyboard (MIDI note 60) as C3, by default Fantom Creator™ shows the textual representation of MIDI note 60 as C3. This is the non-US representation. However, if you are more used to seeing C4 as middle C (like GigaStudio or other US models - or even some varied non-US samplers), you can change this in Preferences-General.

If you are a registered owner, you are qualified for free updates for the life of the program. You can download these from your program using the Check for Update feature, or from the Chicken Systems Update Area.

Fantom Creator™ is consistently supported by Chicken Systems, with updates appearing frequently.