My New Roland Fantom G7

[Jor-El]

When I first heard Howard Jones debut the Roland Fantom G series Workstation (G6 – 64 keys/G7 – 76 keys/G8 – 88 weighted keys with ivory feel), I knew that someday I would have to own one. That was way back in 2008 and the prices were pretty hefty.

I met a guy at one of my shows that won a G8 in a contest in 2009. It was the first time I saw one up close.

The G8 is huge and heavy. Not something as portable as I would like. So the G7 was the next best option (http://www.rolandus.com/products/details/919). Sure the G6 was cheaper but I had already experienced the limitations of playing a board with only 64 keys.

I had the G7 on my wish list for several years. Well, I lost a job, sold a bunch of gear, got a job, got married, had a baby, lost a job, got a job, etc… life!

In the early months of 2013 the floppy drive on my Roland XP-60 failed permanently. I was looking for a way to justify replacing the gear I had previously sold and repairing a decade old workstation.

The G7 was discontinued and became a rare thing to find. However, I continued to seek out the G7 online to no avail.

I had recently learned, true or not, that Roland had finally discontinued the entire G series with no successor on the horizon.

Luckily I found a G7 on ebay with an SKB soft flight case. I jumped on it. The rate for the standalone board is/was fetching $2800-$3300. I got my board with case for $2715 from a one owner, rarely used.

I’ve had it for a few months now. With having a small toddler and busy schedule, I haven’t had much time to tinker with it. I have updated the OS and uploaded Roland’s newest sound sets. One of the cool things that Roland is doing is allowing users to download new patches and features for free (http://axial.roland.com)

Here it is. When time allows, I will try to post up some sounds and/or video.

I like titties.

[Jor-El]

Improv piano versions of ‘Standing Firm’ and ‘What’s All This Confusion For?’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12spNat4FDE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4–ytHfFmI

I like titties.

[Version3]

I wish you had an iRig so that you could dump mixer audio into your iPhone for recording these things.

[Jor-El]

It would be cool to get keyboard, good mic, lighting, decent background and video angle. I really need studio space again.

I like titties.

[Ol’ Ben]

I played on a X8 for a while in my old Jazz Band. The piano samples are unbeatable, probably the nearest to a finely tuned grand that I have ever heard.
Glad you could get a good deal on the one you found. I’m sure you will make great use of it.

[Jor-El]

A bit of Genesis and American national anthem. ‘merica! Fug yeah! Hey Uncle Mike! Fug yeah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXOa3mY7qg

I like titties.

[Author]

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