Roland Fantom G6 Specification sheet

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© 2008 Roland Corporation U.S.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the
written permission of Roland Corporation U.S.
FGWS04
Saving Your Work on the Fantom-G
®ÂØÒňήWorkshop
Fantom-G Workstation Keyboard

2
About the Workshop Booklets
Roland’s Fantom G6, G7, and G8—the Fantom-G family—set a new standard
for excellence in workstation keyboards, with spectacular sounds and
incredible built-in effect-processing muscle. A beautiful full-color LCD
display and innovative performance features make getting around a pleasure
and make the G6, G7, and G8 a dream to play. For recording, the Fantom-G
contains a powerful 152 MIDI/audio track sequencer. Each Fantom-G can
also host two Roland ARX SuperNATURAL™ cards whose breakthrough
modeling technology provides sounds with amazing sonic detail, expressive
possibilities, and sound-design opportunities.
Each Fantom-G Workshop Series booklet focuses on one Fantom-G topic,
and is intended as a companion to the Fantom G6/G7/G8 Owner’s Manual.
This booklet requires Fantom-G Operating System v1.20 or higher. You can
download the latest Fantom-G O.S. for free from www.RolandUS.com.
About This Booklet
To get the most from your Fantom-G, it’s worth taking some time to
understand how the Fantom-G organizes your patches, songs, samples, and
so on. And it’s absolutely critical to know how, when, and where you can
store all of your precious musical materials for safekeeping.
Understanding the Symbols in This Booklet
Throughout this booklet, you’ll come across information that deserves
special attention—that’s the reason it’s labeled with one of the following
symbols.
A note is something that adds information about the topic at hand.
A tip offers suggestions for using the feature being discussed.
Warnings contain important information that can help you avoid
possible damage to your equipment, your data, or yourself.
Simply Flexible
As explained in the Power User Control Fantom-G Workshop booklet, you
can perform most operations on the Fantom-G using either a connected
mouse—sold separately—or the Fantom-G’s own front-panel controls.
If you’re using a mouse: If you’re using the Fantom-G’s controls:
You select parameters and objects with
a left click. You change the selected
parameter’s value by turning the scroll
wheel. You can often display a menu by
right-clicking an object.
You select parameters and objects with the
3, 4, 5, and 6buttons. Change a
selected parameter’s setting by turning the
Value dial or by pressing DEC and INC.
Left click Right click
Scroll
wheel
Value dial
In any situation, the best method to use is always simply the one that feels
most natural to you.
Going forward, when we want you to click an onscreen button or its
physical counterpart—your choice, of course—we’ll simply tell you to “click”
the button. The same mouse-centric logic will apply to any other virtual
versus physical control issues we encounter. If there’s only one way to do
something, we’ll tell you so. Beyond that, remember that whether you use a
mouse of the Fantom-G’s built-in controls is entirely up to you.
Hot Links
Each Workshop booklet is meant to be read in order from beginning
to end. However, if we mention an upcoming section—and you see
this arrow—you can click the arrow to jump there immediately.

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Got Something to Save? Right Now?
Though this booklet starts by explaining how the Fantom-G handles
and stores your work, it may be that you just need to know right now
how to save something to keep from losing it. If that’s why you’re
here, you can click the button at the right to jump to the section
you’re looking for. Do come on back later on if you can, though, for
a deeper understanding of what’s going on.
Making Memories
This section explains the Fantom-G’s “memory,” a geeky term for “the place
it puts things.” It’s helpful to understand how its memory operates as you
develop your own way of working on the Fantom-G.
The Fantom-G has quite a lot of stuff to hold onto, from its built-in waveforms
on up to the songs you record. There are:
things the Fantom-G needs to do its job—
• such as the:
PCM waveforms from which patches and rhythm sets are built
•
factory patches, rhythm sets, live sets, and studio sets•
Fantom-G demos, their phrases, and their samples.•
your own materials—• such as your patches, rhythm sets, live sets, studio
sets, phrases, songs, samples and sample sets, project settings, system
settings and other things.
Since these materials are used in different ways, the Fantom-G utilizes three
different types of memory, each of which has its own benefits. The three
types of memory are:
ROM• • RAM •Flash
We’ll explain what each type of memory is and what it’s for in a moment, but
first, an important detour...
How Memories are Measured
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
In this booklet, we’ll occasionally be talking about the sizes of certain things
such as memory sizes and sample sizes. You’ll see things described as being
so many “K,“ “KB,” “MB,” or “GB” in size. If you know what these abbreviations
mean, you can skip this section and head straight to the next one. If not, take
a moment and read on.
The Fantom-G measures objects by their size in bytes, just as any computer-
based device does. Even the smallest samples and songs are thousands of
bytes in size, so their sizes are counted in thousands of bytes to make life
easier: A thousand bytes is a kilobyte, abbreviated as “K” or “KB.” But those
are smaller samples and songs. Bigger ones are thousands of kilobytes in
size—yes, that’s a million bytes—and they’re measured in megabytes, or
“MB.” Even that’s not the biggest chunk of memory you may see used in the
Fantom-G. How about something one billion bytes in size? That’s 1 GB, or
“gigabyte.”
Okay? Moving on...
•
ROM
“ROM” is an acronym for “Read-Only Memory.” It’s
called “read-only” because you can use what it holds,
but you can’t change, or “re-write” it, yourself.

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ROM’s where the Fantom-G keeps things such as its:
PCM waveforms—
• The built-in sound recordings that the Fantom-G
patches and rhythm sets play when they aren’t playing samples you’ve
captured or imported.
presets—
• The preset factory patches, rhythm sets, live sets, studio sets.
RAM
“RAM” stands for“Random Access Memory.”RAM is lightning fast. Because of
this, it’s an ideal place for holding things you’re working with, or working on.
When you play, sequence, record, sample or edit most anything on the
Fantom-G, it’s in RAM. The charm of RAM is that it’s so fast you can’t even tell
it’s at work: You select something, and it’s just there, loaded into RAM
instantaneously.
While RAM makes a great workspace, it’s temporary—
each time you turn off the Fantom-G, its RAM is cleared
of its contents. As a result, you can’t actually store
anything there. There’s a different sort of memory in
the Fantom-G for permanent storage, as we’ll see.
We’re sorry to repeat ourselves, but we can’t say this enough: Anything
in RAM is there only temporarily. It’s critical that you store your work
in one of the Fantom-G’s permanent storage areas to avoid losing it.
Whenever you edit something you’ve already saved, you’re actually
working on a copy of it that’s been loaded into RAM. This is a good
thing since it means you’re free to experiment with it, secure in the
knowledge that the original is safe and sound in permanent storage.
Most Fantom-G activities take place in a general-use RAM area we’ll call
“work RAM.” Sampling has its own expandable 32 MB workspace we’ll call
“sample RAM.”
Your Fantom-G owner’s manual combines both of these two areas into
a single “temporary area.” We’ll keep things separate in the Workshop
booklets, though. You’ll thank us later.
What You Need to Know About Work RAM
What Goes On in Work RAM
With the exception of samples, most everything you select, play, sequence,
record, and edit in the Fantom-G is in work RAM while you’re using it. When
you:
select—
• patches, rhythm sets, sample sets, live sets, studio sets, phrases,
and songs, they’re instantly loaded into work RAM.
edit—
• all of the above stuff, plus arpeggio styles, or chord memory
forms or a host of other things, you do so in work RAM.
sequence or record—
• MIDI or audio tracks in a song, you do it in work
RAM.
Things that play samples—such as sample sets and audio tracks—deserve
special mention because they utilize both work RAM and sample RAM.
The samples they play are held in sample RAM. The sample sets—which
are containers for samples—operate out of work RAM. Likewise, though
audio tracks that play samples are in work RAM, the samples they play
are held in sample RAM.
We haven’t mentioned effects because, effects are elements within a
patch, rhythm set, live set, studio set, or belong to system settings.
Still, when you edit effects, that, too, takes place in work RAM.
Work RAM has a pre-designated area for each of the items it holds. The
currently selected patch is loaded into its own area, the current song goes
into its own area, and so on. You have all the room you need in work RAM for
most anything you might want to do there.
Keeping Your Work RAM Work Safe
Each time you select—and therefore load—a patch, rhythm set, sample set,
live set, studio set, phrase, or song in work RAM, it replaces the last one you
had selected. Therefore, If you’ve been sequencing, recording, or editing, be
sure to save your work to a permanent storage area before you replace what
you’ve been working on with something new in work RAM.

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It can be hard to remember if your last-selected patch, live set,
or whatever has any changes you’ve made and would like to
preserve. Fortunately, the Fantom-G provides a visual cue that tells
you at a glance if something you’re viewing hasn’t yet been saved
in its current state: When something’s been edited and hasn’t yet
been saved, it has a red checkmark. If you see something with this
checkmark and would like to preserve it in its current state, be sure
to store in into one of the Fantom-G’s permanent storage areas.
Later in this booklet, we’ll explain how to save all of your work in the
Fantom-G.
What You Need to Know About Sample RAM
What Goes On In Sample RAM
Sample RAM, logically enough, is where you work with samples in the
Fantom-G. In fact, a sample has to be in sample RAM to be played or edited.
All new samples go straight to sample RAM when they’re first captured.
When you record an audio track, its samples also go into sample RAM.
You can load samples manually into sample RAM, and the Fantom-G loads
a project’s samples when you load a project. You can also import samples
into sample RAM.
As shipped from the factory, the Fantom-G sample RAM is 32 MB in size, a
good size for getting you started.
For more involved sampling work—and for
recording more audio tracks—you can expand
sample RAM up to 1 GB by installing a DIMM
memory chip as explained on Page 308 of the
Fantom-G Owner’s Manual. This provides ample
room for even the largest samples and longest
audio tracks.
The Sampling Fantom-G Workshop booklet discusses the use of sample
RAM in detail, and explains how to capture, edit, play, load, and
import samples. The Sequencing and Recording booklet details the
recording of audio tracks.
Keeping Your RAM Samples Safe
Since sample RAM is cleared each time you power-off, it’s absolutely
vital that you save all of the new samples and audio tracks you want to
preserve—as well as any sample you’ve been editing—to a permanent
storage area before turning off the Fantom-G. Otherwise, they’ll be lost. Yes,
this is the third time we’ve said this—it’s that important.
About Samples in Patches, Rhythm Sets, and Sample Sets
Sample-playing patches and rhythm sets—and sample sets—identify their
samples by their storage locations, so you’ll want to store a sample
somewhere permanently before using it in a patch/rhythm set/sample set.
Samples that are played by a song’s audio tracks are saved when you
write the song to permanent memory. The Fantom-G takes care of the
necessary housekeeping for you.
Flash
Probably the most interesting form of memory in the Fantom-G is “flash”
memory. Flash memory’s far too slow to use as a working area—it’s not
instantaneous, like RAM—but it’s permanent. While there are a few ways to
preserve your Fantom-G work, depending on what that work is, they all have
one thing in common: They store your data in flash.
There are two areas of flash memory you can have in a Fantom-G:
internal memory—
• The Fantom-G has 51.2 MB of built-in
flash memory, referred to as its “internal” memory. Every
Fantom-G has internal flash.
USB memory—
• You can install a USB memory stick (purchased
separately) into the Fantom-G’s rear-panel USB MEMORY
slot.

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Internal or USB Flash?
Here’s why you might want to choose a particular form of flash memory as
you work on your Fantom-G:
Internal memory—
• is handy since it’s built into the Fantom-G. It doesn’t
cost any extra money, and it frees you from having to remember where
you put your stuff. On the other hand, depending on how you use the
Fantom-G, the amount of data it can hold may not be enough for you.
USB memory—
• requires an additional expenditure, but it provides some
definite benefits:
It’s removable—
• When you fill up a USB stick, you can just pop in
another one. This provides you as much Fantom-G storage space
as you can afford.
It can hold the contents of expanded sample RAM—
• If your samples
are going to require more space than 32 MB, they won’t fit in
user memory. You’ll simply need a USB stick.
You can keep data for different projects on different USB sticks—
•
Simply pop in a stick and have access to all the materials you
need in any given situation.
It makes a convenient place to store a project backup—
• You can
perform a Backup Project operation onto a USB stick. We’ll
discuss this procedure later on.
We’ll get into the details of using a USB memory stick later in this
booklet, in the section called “USB Memory.”
Projects
In the first Fantom-G Workshop booklet, we introduced you to projects. Now
it’s time to explain them.
The stuff you store permanently in flash memory is organized into a group of
directories, or folders, that together are called a “project.” These folders hold
all of the data associated with a particular set of songs, including the songs
themselves and the global Fantom-G settings you want to use when you’re
working with the songs. Inside a project’s outer folder are SEQ, SMPL and
SND folders. The following illustration shows what these hold.
SND
SMPL
SEQ
RHY
RPS
SMF
PHS
SNG
The project’s samples go in here.
The project’s phrases
go in here.
The project’s
songs go in here.
The project’s patches, rhythm sets, and sample sets go in here.
All of the patches, rhythm sets, and sample sets for a project are
stored in a single library file that can be read by the Fantom-G, of
course, and by the Librarian software that ships with the Fantom-G.
A project can hold up to:
50 songs• • 2000 phrases •1,000,000 notes
512 patches• • 64 rhythm sets •512 live sets
128 studio sets• • 2000 samples •global settings
We’re using the term “global settings” here for the sake of simplicity.
Included in this catch-all term are your system settings, favorites, user
groups, arpeggio styles, chord sets, sample sets, rhythm mode pad
settings, RPS sets, multisamples, bookmarks, and wallpaper.
The Fantom-G’s internal memory holds a single project. A USB stick can
hold as many projects as it has room for. Some users can work forever in the
Fantom-G’s internal project, though most find USB storage is the way to go.
The size of each project depends mostly on how many samples and
phrases it contains and how long they are.

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The Power of the Project
You can’t work on the Fantom-G without being in a project. Even if you’ve
never saved a project, when you powered up your Fantom-G, it automatically
loaded the project stored in its internal memory, and there you are. (At
power-up, the Fantom-G always loads the last project you were working on.)
The Fantom-G is always in some project. There’s a good reason for this.
The designers of the Fantom-G knew that as you worked, you’d be constantly
creating things you wanted to preserve. They knew that—sooner or later—
you’d want to save something you were working on, and they wanted to
make sure that the Fantom-G would be ready at that moment to quickly put
your work in some sensible location from which it could be easily retrieved
later.
The project is the solution. A project’s fixed folder structure allows the
Fantom-G to know just where to put everything. And it makes it just as
simple to reload your data later on.
If you store something when the current project is from:
the Fantom-G’s internal memory—
• the Fantom-G puts what you’re storing
in the appropriate project folder in its flash internal memory.
on a USB stick—
• the Fantom-G puts what you’re storing in the appropriate
project folder on the USB stick.
So, whenever you’re working on something, that thing exists only in RAM
until you save it, at which point the Fantom-G copies it into one of the
current project’s folders for safekeeping.
We’ll talk more about working with projects in the section called
“Creating and Managing Projects.”
Managing Your Sample Memory
As you work, you’ll want to make sure your Fantom-G has sufficient memory
available for what you want to do. While every type of data you generate
takes up some space, the only things that really require a significant amount
of elbow room are your samples. As a result, all you really need to keep an
eye on is how your samples are using memory.
Samples require
sample RAM—
• for being captured, for playback, and for editing. Once
your sample RAM is full, you can’t load or capture any more samples.
Sample RAM’s expandable, as we noted earlier.
flash—
• for storage. Your internal sample storage capacity is 32 MB. USB
storage capacity is limited only by the size of the USB stick.
If you expand your sample RAM to 64 MB or more, you can have samples
in sample RAM that won’t fit in internal memory—you’ll have to store
them on a USB stick that can hold that much data. Therefore, if you
think you may go beyond 32 MBs of samples in a project, the project
will need to reside on a USB memory stick of sufficient size. Before you
get to work, start by creating a new project on your memory stick, as
described in the “Create Project” section later in this booklet.
Checking the Amount of Available Memory
You can see how much room you have left for samples, or how much space
you’ve already used up. Heres’s how:
Press the MENU button.
1
Click F2 (System).2
Click F4 (Info).3
Click F2 (4 ↓Group/Down) to select the Memory Info screen.

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The three types of memory shown are:
SAMPLE—
• shows you what’s going on in sample RAM.
USER—
• shows you the amount of available storage space in internal
flash.
USB Memory—
• shows you the amount of storage space available on
your USB stick.
Each type of memory appears as a bar graph, with relevant information
shown underneath:
The SAMPLE bar graph shows that there’s 30 MB, or 94.3 percent, of sample RAM still
available.The text beneath it explains that you have 32 MB of sample RAM from the 32 MB of
factory memory with no extra DIMM memory installed. Beneath the USER and USB Memory
bar graphs are the sizes of each memory area.
How Much Space Do I Need?
Each minute of a stereo sample requires 10 MB of sample RAM and storage
space. A mono sample requires 5 MB per minute. The Fantom-G allows you
to check out the size of your samples before saving them. To learn the size
of:
any currently loaded sample—
• press the LIST/EDIT
area’s SAMPLE button once or twice to display a list
of all of the current project’s samples. The size of each
currently loaded sample is displayed to its right.
If a sample’s already been saved in the project, it has a little page icon
to its right. If it hasn’t, it has the red checkmark that any edited-but-
not-saved item has in the Fantom-G. (Sample 0003 in the screenshot
above hasn’t been written into the project yet.)
the entire contents of sample RAM—• consult the Memory Information
display’s Sample readout described above.
If space is tight in the memory area to which you’re saving your
data, it’s possible you’ll have room for your samples, but not quite
enough for your song—if so, the Fantom-G will display a “Memory Full”
message.
USB Memory
What Kind of Memory Stick Works
The Fantom-G officially supports the use of the Roland M-UF1G
USB memory stick, which can hold 1 GB of data. Any standard
USB memory stick should work, though Roland obviously can’t
guarantee that quality of other manufacturers’ products.

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Before Installing a USB Stick in the Fantom-G
Before you can use a USB stick in the Fantom-G, it must be formatted as a FAT
or FAT32 storage device. If you’re using:
Windows—
• format the stick as FAT or FAT32.
Mac OS X—
• format the stick as MS-DOS file system (FAT32)
We’re presuming you know how to operate your computer, and how to
format a removable drive such as a USB memory stick. If you don’t,
consult your computer’s documentation.
Installing a USB Stick in the Fantom-G
To install a USB stick in the Fantom-G:
Insert the metallic end of the USB stick
1
into the Fantom-G’s rear-panel USB
MEMORY jack.
Preparing the USB Stick for Use
Before you can store data on the USB stick, it
has to be re-formatted for use in the Fantom-G.
Here’s how to do this:
Press the MENU button to display the Menu screen.
1
Click the Format USB Memory button.2
Click F8 (Select)—the Fantom-G asks if you’re sure you want to3
proceed.
When you format a memory stick, any data it contains is permanently
erased. Make sure you’re okay with this before proceeding.
Click F7 (OK) to format the USB stick.4
Once the Fantom-G finishes formatting the stick, it’s ready for use.
Creating and Managing Projects
The Project Menu Screen
The Fantom-G’s Project Menu screen provides tools for creating, loading,
copying, backing up, and restoring projects. To get there:
Press the MENU button.
1
In the Menu window, click F1 (Project).2
To perform one of the operations on this screen, you can:3
click the operation’s picture with your mouse, then F8 (Select), or•
click the operation’s F button, and then F8 (Select).•
Load Project
Load Project loads the data from the folders of a project stored in internal or
USB memory. When you load a project, a couple of things happen:
The new project’s data is copied into work RAM and sample RAM.
•
The Fantom-G is pointed at the new project’s folders—• where it will put
any data you need to store as you work on the newly loaded project.
Fantom-G
work and sample RAM
Project folders
in USB or internal ash
New project data will be stored
Stored project data is loaded
Make sure your current project doesn’t contain anything you haven’t
stored before you load another project—otherwise, that material will
be lost when the new project is loaded into work and sample RAM.

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Performing a Load Project Operation
To load a project:
On the Project menu screen, click F1 (Load).
1
If the project you want to load is stored in:2
internal memory—• click F1 (Internal).
USB memory—
• click F2 (USB Memory).
In the picture above, we’ve clicked F2 (USB Memory) and are looking
at the projects stored on our USB stick.
The Fantom-G shows a checkmark to the left of the name of the
currently loaded project.
Select the project you want to load.3
Click F8 (Load).4
When the Fantom-G asks if you’re sure you want to load the project,5
click F7 (OK) to continue, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the operation.
When the project’s data’s finished loading the Fantom-G displays,
“Load Project Completed!”
Press F7 (OK) to continue.
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Save Project
You may want to use Save Project frequently as you work, especially when
you’re working with samples and when you’re sequencing or recording
audio tracks. Save Project takes a quick snapshot of your project, grabbing
all of the unsaved or edited samples in sample RAM, as well as all of
your unsaved or edited phrases and songs, and storing everything in the
appropriate folders belonging to the current project.
Unsaved or edited
samples
from sample RAM
Unsaved or edited
phrases
from work RAM
Unsaved or edited
songs
from work RAM
Project folders
in USB or internal ash
A Word About Strategy
While Save Project is a fast and easy way to make sure none of your samples,
phrases, or songs are lost, projects can get big quickly when you use this
operation often, since it saves every last one, even the ones you don’t intend
to use. With USB flash, this isn’t so likely to be a big deal, but with the fixed
51.2 MB of space available in internal flash, it can become an issue.
There a few things you can do to keep your project size down.
Manually delete individual unwanted samples—
• from the Sample List
screen before using Save Project so that unwanted stuff isn’t saved.
Manually delete individual unwanted phrases—
• from the Phrase List
screen before using Save Project.
Manually delete individual unwanted songs—
• from the Song List screen
before using Save Project.

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Actually, since Save Project always grabs the current state of your
sample, phrase, and song lists, you can clean out a project’s folders at
any time by deleting unwanted items from these lists and then using
Save Project again.
Use the Write Menu’s Song operation instead—• storing each song you
want to keep, since writing a song to flash grabs just the samples
and phrases the song uses. When you power the Fantom-G down, or
load another project, all that unwanted stuff goes away, keeping your
project’s folder free of materials you don’t need or want.
Performing a Save Project Operation
To save all of your new and edited samples, phrases, and songs:
On the Project Menu screen, click F2 (Save)—your data is stored in
1
the current project’s folders in flash.
Save As Project
The Save as Project operation allows you to make a copy of the currently
loaded project. You might want to use Save As Project for several reasons:
You can keep different versions of the current project—
• in the event that
you ever want to go back to an earlier version.
You can make a copy of the current project on a different USB stick—
• as a
backup for safekeeping.
You can save the current project with a new name—
• if you change your
mind about what you want to call it.
You can use Save As Project to rename a project stored in internal
memory. With that project loaded, select Internal as the destination
for the Save As Project operation and enter the project’s new name to
replace the original project with the newly named version.
When you use Save As Project, a few things happen:
The current project’s data is copied into a new set of project folders in USB
•
or internal flash.
The copied project’s data is loaded into work RAM and sample RAM—
• so
that it becomes the new current project.
The Fantom-G is pointed at the copied project’s folders—
• where it will put
any new project data you want to store.
Fantom-G
work and sample RAM
New project folders
in USB or internal ash
Copied project’s data is loaded
Current project’s data is copied, and
new project data will be stored
Performing a Save As Project Operation
If you want to save the currently loaded project to a different USB
stick, install the new stick before performing the following steps.
On the Project Menu screen, click F3 (Save As) to display the first Save1
As Project screen.

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To store the copied project in:2
internal flash—• click F1 (Internal).
USB flash—
• click F2 (USB Memory).
Click F8 (Save As) to open the Project Name window.
3
Name the project copy as desired by:4
using QWERTY naming—• as described on Page 4 of the Power
User Control Workshop booklet.
using the Fantom-G’s front panel controls—
• to move the underline
cursor beneath each character in the displayed default project
name, and turning the Value dial to select each desired character.
You can use F5 (Delete) to erase the current character, and
F6 (Insert) to insert a new character location in front of the
currently selected character.
When you’re done, click F8 (OK), or F7 (Cancel) to abort the
5
operation.
The Fantom-G asks “Save As Project—Are you sure?” Click F7 (OK) to
6
continue, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the operation.
When the Fantom-G displays “Save As Project Completed,” click F7
7
(OK).
The new project copy is now stored, and its data is loaded in work
and sample RAM.
Create Project
Create Project creates a new, empty project on an installed USB stick—if
no USB stick is installed, you won’t be able to perform the operation. Once
the new project is created, it’s loaded into work and sample RAM, and the
Fantom-G is set to store new project materials in the project’s folders on
your USB stick.
Fantom-G
work and sample RAM
New project folders
created in USB ash
New project data will be stored
Empty, default project is loaded
When the Create Project operation is performed, only a new outer
project folder, SEQ folder, and SMF folder are created—other folders
will be automatically created for the project’s other elements when
you store them as you work on the project.
Performing a Create Project Operation
Make sure there’s nothing in your current project you haven’t yet
stored in flash. Anything unsaved in work or sample RAM will be lost
when the new project is loaded at the end of the Create Project
operation.
On the Project Menu screen, click F4 (Create)—the Project Name1
window appears.

13
Name the project copy as desired by:2
using QWERTY naming—• as described on Page 4 of the Power
User Control Workshop booklet.
using the Fantom-G’s front panel controls—
• to move the underline
cursor beneath each character in the displayed default project
name, and turning the Value dial to select each desired character.
You can use F5 (Delete) to erase the current character, and
F6 (Insert) to insert a new character location in front of the
currently selected character.
When you’re done, click F8 (OK), or F7 (Cancel) to abort the
3
operation.
The Fantom-G asks “Create Project—Are you sure?” Click F7 (OK) to
4
continue, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the operation.
When the displays “Create Project Completed,” click F7 (OK).
5
The new project is created in USB memory, and is loaded into work
and sample RAM.
You can delete projects from a USB stick when you’re connected to a
computer via USB, as we’ll explain in the Using the Fantom-G with a
Computer Workshop booklet.
Backup Project
Backup Project lets you quickly create a backup copy on a USB stick of the
project that’s currently stored in internal flash. Creating a backup has no
effect on the currently loaded project, so it’s an easy and safe thing to do at
any time when you’re working on a project stored in internal flash.
Backup project folders
in USB ash
Project folders
in internal ash
Data is copied
When the operation’s complete, a FantomG.Bak folder is created on
your USB stick. This folder isn’t visible from the Fantom-G itself, but it
can be viewed on a computer, as explained in the Using the Fantom-G
with a Computer Workshop booklet.
A USB stick can hold a single FantomG.Bak folder at a time. If you’ve
already got one on a USB stick, performing a Backup operation will
replace the that folder with a new one.
Performing a Backup Project Operation
If you’re currently working on the project in internal flash, store any
new or edited work to flash before performing a backup. The Backup
Project operation makes a copy of already-stored project materials—it
doesn’t grab any unsaved data from work or sample RAM.
On the Project Menu screen, click F5 (Backup)—the Fantom-G asks if1
you’re sure you want to proceed.
Click F7 OK) to perform the backup, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the
2
operation.
The backup is created on your USB stick.

14
Restore Project
The Restore Project operation copies the data in a FantomG.Bak folder—
created using the Backup Project operation—into the Fantom-G’s internal
flash memory, and loads the data into work and sample RAM. The Fantom-G
is also set so any new work you store goes into the project’s folders in
internal flash.
Backup project folders
in USB ash
Project folders
in USB or internal ash
Fantom-G
work and sample RAM
New project data will be stored
Backed-up project data is loaded
Project folders
in internal ash
Backed-up
project data
is copied
Performing a Restore Project Operation
Make sure your current project doesn’t contain anything you haven’t
stored before you restore a backup—otherwise, that material will be
lost when the backed-up project is loaded into work and sample RAM.
On the Project Menu screen, click F6 (Restore)—the Fantom-G asks if1
you’re sure you want to proceed.
Click F7 (OK) to perform the restore operation, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel
2
it.
The backed-up project on your USB stick is copied into internal flash,
and its data is loaded into work and sample RAM. The Fantom-G is
pointed at the internal project’s folders for any new work you store.
How to Save Your Work
Here’s a table of the things that are stored in a project, and the methods used
for storing them. After the table, we’ll explain the methods mentioned.
You can store a: By using:
Patch the Write Menu.
Rhythm set the Write Menu.
Sample set the Write Menu, or F7 (Write) on the Pad
Setting screen in the Sample Pad pad mode.
Live set the Write Menu.
Studio set the Write Menu.
Phrase the Write Menu.
Song the Write Menu.
Sample the Write Menu.
Rhythm pad setup F7 (Write) on the Pad Setting screen in the
Rhythm pad mode.
Chord set F7 (Write) on the Pad Setting screen in the
Chord Memory pad mode.
Arpeggio set F7 (Write) on the Pad Setting screen in the
Arpeggio pad mode.
RPS set F7 (Write) on the Pad Setting screen in the
RPS pad mode.
Rhythm pattern set F7 (Write) on the Pad Setting screen in the
Rhythm Pattern pad mode.
Bookmark F8 (Exit) on the Pad Setting screen after
registering the bookmark in Bookmark pad
mode.
User group F5 (Regist) on the Pad Setting screen in the
User Group pad mode.
Favorite F8 (Regist) on the Favorite Edit screen.
Wallpaper choice F7 (Sys Write) after changing the wallpaper.
System setting F7 (Sys Write) on the System Setup screen.

15
About Phrase and Sample Storage
There are a variety of ways to save phrases and samples to flash. You can:
save the song that uses them from the Write Menu—
• Phrases or samples
used in a song are saved with the song when it’s written to flash. This
preserves flash space by keeping it free of phrases and samples you’re
not using in the song. (We’ll describe the Write Menu screen below.)
When you want to save only phrase and samples used in songs, make
sure to store each of your songs from the Write Menu before powering
off to make sure you’ve got all of their phrase and samples stored.
use Save Project—• to save all of your samples, phrase, and songs at once,
as we described on Page 10.
save individual phrases and samples—
• using F2 (Save) on the MIDI Phrase
List and Sample list screens, respectively.
save all of your phrases or all of your samples—
• using the Save All
operation that appears in both the Phrase Utility Menu window and
the Sample Utility Menu window that appear when you press F3 (Util
Menu) on the MIDI Phrase List and Sample list screens, respectively.
About Storing Effects
Effects are stored in various ways. In
Single mode—
• Each patch contains its PFX as well as the global chorus
and reverb. Rhythm sets and sample sets contain their own PFX. MFX 1,
the input effect, and mastering effect are all written as system settings.
Live mode—
• Each live set contains its sounds’ PFX, as well as the global
chorus and reverb. MFX 1, the input effect, and mastering effect are all
written as system settings.
Studio mode—
• Each studio set contains its sounds’PFX, MFX 1 and 2, the
global chorus and reverb, the input effect, and the mastering effect.
Working with the Write Menu Screen
The Write Menu screen allows you to store the most important elements of
a project to the current project’s folders.
The things you can store from the Write Menu screen vary slightly depending
on the mode you’re in:
In: You can store:
Single mode the currently selected patch, rhythm set,•
sample set, sample, song, or phrase.
Live mode the currently selected live set•
the currently selected part’s patch, rhythm•
set, or sample set
the currently selected sample, song, or
•
phrase.
Studio mode the currently selected studio set•
the currently selected part’s patch, rhythm•
set, or sample set
the currently selected sample, song, or
•
phrase.
Remember that when you write a song, the Fantom-G also writes all
of the phrases and samples the song uses. It also saves a copy within
the song of the current patch, live set, or studio set—depending on the
mode you’re in—so it plays correctly when the song’s reloaded.
Using the Write Menu in Single Mode
Press the WRITE button to display the Write Menu screen.1
If it’s not already highlighted, choose what it is that you2
want to store. To write:
the currently selected patch—
• click Patch/Rhythm/Sample Set.
the current rhythm set—
• click Patch/Rhythm/Sample Set.
the current sample set—
• click Patch/Rhythm/Sample Set.
the sample currently selected in the sample list—
• click Sample.
the current song, its phrases, samples, and patch—
• click Song.
the phrase currently selected in the phrase list—
• click Phrase.

16
Click F8 (Select) to display a window in which you can assign a new3
name to what it is you’re writing. (If you don’t want to rename what
you’re writing, skip now to Step 6.)
Create the desired name by:4
using QWERTY naming—• as described on Page 4 of the Power
User Control Workshop booklet.
using the Fantom-G’s front panel controls—
• to move the underline
cursor beneath each character in the current name, and turning
the Value dial to select each desired character. You can use F5
(Delete) to erase the current character, and F6 (Insert) to insert
a new character location in front of the currently selected
character.
When you’re done, click F8 (OK), or F7 (Cancel) to abort the
5
operation.
For:
6
everything except phrases—• turn the Value dial to select the
desired storage location.
phrases—
• skip to Step 7. Phrases are automatically saved to their
original phrase list locations to help your songs keep track of
them.
When the Fantom-G asks if you’re sure you want to proceed, click F7
7
(OK) to proceed, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the operation.
Using the Write Menu in Live or Studio Mode
Press the WRITE button to display the Write Menu screen.1
If it’s not already highlighted, choose what it is that you2
want to write. To write:
the currently selected live set in Live mode—
• click Live Set.
the currently selected studio set in Studio mode—
• click Studio Set.
the currently selected part’s patch—
• click Patch/Rhythm/Sample
Set.
the currently selected part’s rhythm set—
• click Patch/Rhythm/
Sample Set.
the currently selected part’s sample set—
• click Patch/Rhythm/
Sample Set.
the sample currently selected in the sample list—
• click Sample.
the currently loaded song, its phrases, samples, and live set or
•
studio set—click Song.
the phrase currently selected in the phrase list—
• click Phrase.
Click F8 (Select) to display a window in which you can assign a new
3
name to what it is you’re writing. (If you don’t want to rename what
you’re writing, skip now to Step 6.)

17
Create the desired name by:4
using QWERTY naming—• as described on Page 4 of the Power
User Control Workshop booklet.
using the Fantom-G’s front panel controls—
• to move the underline
cursor beneath each character in the current name, and turning
the Value dial to select each desired character. You can use F5
(Delete) to erase the current character, and F6 (Insert) to insert
a new character location in front of the currently selected
character.
When you’re done, click F8 (OK), or F7 (Cancel) to abort the
5
operation.
For:
6
everything except phrases—• turn the Value dial to select the
desired storage location.
phrases—
• skip to Step 7. Phrases are automatically saved to their
original phrase list locations to help your songs keep track of
them.
When the Fantom-G asks if you’re sure you want to proceed, click F7
7
(OK) to proceed, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the operation.
Saving from the MIDI Phrase and Sample List Screens
Both the MIDI Phrase List and Sample List screens offer the
same tools for saving phrases and samples, respectively. As
we noted earlier, on the MIDI Phrase List and Sample List
screens you can tell whether a phrase or sample’s already
been saved by the icon to its right.
To Save a Single Phrase or Sample
Navigate to the desired list screen. To get to the:1
MIDI Phrase List screen—• press the SONG button
to display the Song Play screen, and then click F3
(Phrase List).
Sample List screen—
• press the SAMPLE button
once or twice to display the Sample List screen.
This one’s
been saved.
This one hasn’t
been saved.
Click F2 (Save) to open the Phrase Name or Sample Name window in2
which you can name your phrase or sample.
Create the desired name by:
3
using QWERTY naming—• as described on Page 4 of the Power
User Control Workshop booklet.
using the Fantom-G’s front panel controls—
• to move the underline
cursor beneath each character in the current name, and turning
the Value dial to select each desired character. You can use F5
(Delete) to erase the current character, and F6 (Insert) to insert
a new character location in front of the currently selected
character.
When you’re done, click F8 (OK) to finish saving your phrase or
4
sample.
To Save All Phrases or Samples
Navigate to the desired list screen. To get to the:1
MIDI Phrase List screen—• press the SONG button to display the
Song Play screen, and then click F3 (Phrase List).
Sample List screen—
• press the SAMPLE button once or twice to
display the Sample List screen.
Click F3 (Util Menu) to open the Utility Menu window.
2
Select Save All, and click F8 (Select)—the Fantom-G asks if you’re3
sure.
Click F7 (OK) to continue or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the operation.
4

18
Writing From the Pad Setting Screen
The following steps presume you’re already in the desired pad mode, and
have made the settings you want on the Pad Setting screen.
On the Pad Setting screen, click F7 (Write). If you’re writing:
1
rhythm settings while you’re in Single mode—• the notes the pads
are set to play are written into system flash immediately.
anything else—
• a naming window opens in which you can name
what you’re writing.
Create the desired name by:2
using QWERTY naming—• as described on Page 4 of the Power
User Control Workshop booklet.
using the Fantom-G’s front panel controls—
• to move the underline
cursor beneath each character in the current name, and turning
the Value dial to select each desired character. You can use F5
(Delete) to erase the current character, and F6 (Insert) to insert
a new character location in front of the currently selected
character.
When you’re done, click F8 (OK), or click F7 (Cancel) to abort the
3
operation.
Turn the Value dial to select the desired storage location, unless
4
you’re writing an edited rhythm pattern or RPS set.
Edited rhythm patterns and RPS sets are always written as updates to
their unedited versions.
When the Fantom-G asks if you’re sure you want to proceed, click F75
(OK) to proceed, or F8 (EXIT) to cancel the operation.
Writing System Settings
System settings are the current values for all of the parameters on the
System Menu screen, as well as a number of other global settings.
To write a setting from one of the System screens, click F7 (SysWrite).
The End
We hope you’ve found this workshop helpful. Keep an eye out for other
Fantom-G Workshop booklets available for downloading at www.RolandUS.
com.