Read User Ratings/Reviews of the Roland Fantom X8 Keyboard Workstation
This keyboard has a lot of very satisfied customers. 86 users commenting on the Musicians Friend web site gave the keyboard and average 5 out of 5 in all four categories (features, value, quality, and overall). So I will start with the least positive reviews.
A reviewer named Leesha from Nebraska writes that it is for " experts and weightlifters" . She loves the keyboard, but feels that the physical weight of the unit makes it too difficult for her to use. She also prefers recording on the computer, and thus a lot of the features on the Fantom X8 are unnecessary for her. Another complaint she has is that the keys are not as easy to press as other keyboards. That is the downside of their realistic hammer action feel. Nonetheless, she describes the sounds as being " amazing."
There was some debate as to whether the Roland Fantom X8 is better than its main competitor, the Yamaha Motif
. One reviewer, named The Pianoman from Dallas TX, felt that it wasn't. While agreeing that the Fantom X8 has better quality sounds, he preferred the greater memory capacity and number of sounds of the Yamaha. Another reviewer named ezrabufford from Indiana rates the Fantom above the Yamaha. His main beef was the amount of Windows sometimes needed to find the function you want.
That is a general theme about this keyboard. It is very easy to use on a basic level, but accessing the more advanced features requires some of learning time. This, however, is to be expected for a keyboard as powerful as the Roland Fantom X8.
Reviews on Harmony Central had high praise for the realistic feel of the keys. The touch sensitivity was especially highly rated. Most of the reviews I read gave the Fantom X8 10 points out of 10 for the quality of it sounds and its expressiveness. At the end of the day, making those sounds is what the keyboard is all about, so for that reason this keyboard is so highly regarded. As the first reviewer quoted there says, " I find it is like playing the real thing but better. I still get excited playing this thing a year on and I am a happily married man with a great sex life and wonderful kids."
The surprising category that the Roland Fantom scored highest in is reliability. In the words of one reviewer, " This is one solidly-built hulk! Very reliable as a stand-alone stage instrument." The downside of that solidity is the weight of the keyboard. If you know you have to carry a keyboard to a gig, you may prefer to choose one of the other Roland Fantom keyboards.
On Harmony Central there were only one or two who did not highly rate the Fantom X8. Their main complaint was not about the quality of the keyboard, but that they were looking for even more innovation. This is a highly personal choice, and one reviewer summed it up best: " Some of the (Roland Fantom X8 sounds) are absolutely fantastic--beautiful and realistic acoustic emulations, great classic and new synth sounds...good good good. On the other hand, many of the sounds are 'me-too' rompler sounds that I'd be embarrassed to use. I don't want to sound like everyone else, and I certainly don't want to sound like the background music for an airline safety video. If what you care about is making money or sounding like your music came from an expensive LA studio, you'll love it. If you want to sound unique, you'll have reservations."
In summary, this is a very serious and powerful piece of keyboard synthesizer technology. The keys, the action, and the reliability came in for universal praise. The sounds received many superlatives, and a few reviewers wanted more innovation. The people at Roland made this keyboard to create lushly realistic pianos, guitars, and other sounds. That was a choice, and depending on your emphasis as a musician, this may be exactly what you want.
It certainly is for the following reviewer, who wrote the following, " I have been composing music for the last 8 years and this keyboard is now the main instrument! I could honestly spend the rest of my days quite happily writing music on this board."
And that has been a brief round up of the reviews of the Roland Fantom X8 Keyboard Synthesizer Workstation
