This is not a tweak of the Fantom series but no less than a major evolution of electronic keyboards. The hi res large screen presents information in a rich and exciting graphic way, like we are used to on our studio computers but with the bullet proof Roland reliability that you can be confident of on the road.

Technology has been racing away and everyone has forgotten what the instruments are really for. When I used the Fantom-X Series for the first time on a recent tour of Canada, I was impressed with how suitable they were for live performance.

The Fantom-G is so dynamic it leaves you in awe! It is relentless precision! The Fantom-G puts the heart back in music. The Fantom-G is the ideal tool for me. Everything I need is all here. This thing is amazing. Finally…an instrument that handles everything I need. It’s great to have one instrument that does it all. I start and end with the Fantom-G. It does not matter if I’m in the studio or playing to sell-out crowds, my hands are always on the Roland Fantom-G. I’ve played everything in my career…and the Fantom-G is the most expressive and powerful synth in history….by far.

One of the things that gives synthesizers expression is the ability to bend pitch with a controller. On Roland’s new Fantom keyboard, there is a level of player control that far exceeds any existing synthesizer that I have worked with. It opens up new avenues of expression.

When I perform on a keyboard I need to be able to cycle through many layered and split patches. Roland has reached a new musical height with their Live Mode. No matter how complex a Live Mode patch and its effects happen to be, I’m now able to seamlessly change from one big layered or split patch to the next, without any interruption in the sound. This is the first keyboard instrument to make this dream of mine come true.

There are really some amazing effects inside this instrument. One day while listening to John Petrucci fine tune his distorted guitar sound I was experimenting with the new Fantom and realized that with the modeled amplifier effects I could easily achieve incredible rocking organ and guitar tones that used to either not be possible on other equipment, or take multiple processors to make happen.

Perhaps the most important thing to me in a workstation keyboard is having tons of great sounds in the onboard ROM. The new Fantom really delivers the goods here. It has a fantastic and expansive collection of waveforms at its core, that truly represents the next level of keyboard workstation.

The Fantom-G8 Keys feel like I’m playing a real piano, and the key-action has great "spring-back". No matter how much I dig into it, it comes right back. This keyboard feels good.

The screen is huge – and the different modes are clearly laid out. The visual interface shows everything that’s going on – all right in your face – and that makes the job easier. I know where things are mapped, I know what sounds are there, I know what the levels are. Its pretty much all there.

The new Live Mode is great, and now that each patch in Live Mode has it’s own COSM effects, patches used sound exactly the same as they do in single mode. You don’t have to sacrifice effects when using a combination of patches in Live Mode. It sounds amazing!

The seamless switching with this much DSP is incredible. I can hit a pad layer and sustain, go to my next sound without any of the tails getting cut off, and be immediately ready for the next song. I can be more seamless between songs, making things more interesting and expressive during a show.

The Fantom-G does most everything you want to do. You don’t need a laptop, you don’t need a recording interface, or plug-ins. This is a computer and recording system inside a keyboard, but with less confusion. It’s everything, and simple.

My system is starting to look like Paul Shaffer’s, but now with the Fantom-G, I won’t need as much equipment on the road – and less gear means less things can go wrong. I can sample my other keyboards, and do more effects routing inside the Fantom-G rather than using racks of gear.