Creative Hub will help you utilize FANTOM as your studio center. Learn to use FANTOM as an interface, plus how to integrate it with your DAW.
Photos by Oscar Genel
by Brandon Ryan
3 mins read
FANTOM is many things: production station, performance tool, and synthesis hotspot. Above all else, it is a creative hub. To that end, its diverse range of input and output options make it a perfect audio interface. Learn to integrate FANTOM with your DAW.
A Keyboard That’s an Interface
First things first. With a single USB cable connecting FANTOM to your DAW, it becomes a keyboard controller and a 16×3 stereo audio interface. What that means is that all 16 channels and Zones can go directly to the computer multitrack. It can also send six channels out.
As a result, all of FANTOM’s XLR and quarter-inch inputs are now your DAW outputs. They’re heavily isolated, high-end, and well-engineered. The FANTOM inputs become your mic pres and your line inputs. You really don’t need a separate audio interface.
"If the instrument exists in software you can use it through FANTOM. You’re no longer limited by onboard sounds—only by your imagination."
Using FANTOM for Tracking
Let’s say you want FANTOM to be your audio interface. The goal is to have FANTOM, other synthesizers, audio tracks, and any additional instrument inputs all going to the same set of speakers. You want a centralized I/O that sounds nice and quiet. Plus, you’ll benefit from a system that’s simple with as little cabling as possible because that adds noise and complexity.
With a single USB cable from FANTOM, you’ve got software synthesizer integration, audio inputs and outputs, headphones, volume control, keyboard controller, and hardware controls. Because you’ve got XLR and quarter-inch outputs, you can also run a second set of monitors or a click.
There you have it. Track guitars and vocals through FANTOM just as you would through any audio interface. Apple Logic Pro and MainStage are fully supported with other DAWs to come in the future.