Yamaha MONTAGE vs Roland FANTOM - Deep Dive: Workflow and Design [ REMASTERED ]

[@KierDarby]

This is a long and detailed video - set aside some time to watch it fully, there’s some important info here that isn’t available from the regular sources. I really hope this video is valuable to potential owners and switchers.

[@jk-pl8cl]

Great Job Kier !!! was on the fence , once i had a chance to play both (( new M and EX version )) the decision was simple , you definitely nailed it on the head 2 head comparison , thanks , I am totally a subscriber now for my pea brain to learn as much as I can from someone as skilled as you

[@laserquant]

You have produced the perfect video for me. I watched it from A to Z without skipping. So good and interesting. Thanks man!

[@KierDarby]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mr_floydst]

This is the best video on both synths I've seen so far. Well structured, no filler, all the important information in clear and concise words, plus excellent and helpful screenshots. Thank you very much for doing this. Subscribed.

[@KierDarby]

Thanks for a great comment! Much appreciated.

[@CoderCoronet]

For software developers that, like myself, like synths: The tones are given by reference on the fantom scenes, while in the montage it’s given by value 😊

[@KierDarby]

Yes absolutely - and for the most part that would be my preferred approach for everything, but in the case of sounds on synthesizers, I'd rather have my waveforms passed by reference and their configuration passed by value (Montage) rather than having to maintain separate data structures for scenes and references tones (Fantom). The only time I'd prefer to see the Fantom tones-by-reference approach is in the 'signature sounds' use case, which I detail at 08:22 Or, to summarize: `montage($performance) {}` suits me better than `fantom($scene, ...&$tones) {}` :) (We software engineers have to stick together...)

[@CoderCoronet]

@@KierDarby well said, fellow dev! 😉

[@1masterfader]

I choose the Fantom. have worked with both. As a touring musician the Fantom can carry my set list with each set of sounds for each song. Furthermore the Fantom is way lighter than the montage and the organ is bar none the best i've heard. It's a choice but for me FANTOM. I take my thumb drive to the airport and have 2 Fantoms on my rider. Just did the Long BEACH JAZZ FESTIVAL with my Fantom. OH I forgot. The ADSR are right there with inreach so I can make an attack patch a pad at the turn of a knob. I even have access to reverb the same way without going through menus. Thus, On the fly, I can tweak.

[@KierDarby]

You certainly make a compelling case for Fantom as a live instrument - and I do have to agree about the organ engine, which is great. ADSR settings are also directly available on Montage via the preset functions on the assignable knobs, but it’s not as immediate as the Fantom - until you get control assign involved.

[@AynsleyGreen]

I flew around with the Fantom-06 for about a year, wonderfully portable and versatile, but the 'everyday' sounds just didn't work for my purposes. Have since upgraded to the Nord Stage 4 Compact, which is quite limited but sounds great. Maybe that new Montage M6 will be the holy grail, or maybe I'm just never happy

[@CoderCoronet]

Looks to me like the Montage wipes the floor out with the Fantom. I have both here but never went this deep with knowing these instruments, limiting myself to use presents only, so thank you for this great comparison work you’ve done. The fact that you are also a software engineer, explains the high quality of your work 😉

[@KierDarby]

I hope it didn’t come across that the Montage wipes the floor with Fantom, as that wasn’t my intention. Certainly my preferred system is Montage, but there are plenty of things Fantom does as well if not better. Just not the things that matter to me :)

[@CoderCoronet]

@@KierDarby well, it’s not your video that makes me feel like that. It is actually how I feel when using these two. I will not sell my Fantom because I believe Roland is doing a great job creating expansions to the system and because the sound is really good, but just like you said, If I could afford only one, it would be the Montage.

[@KierDarby]

@@CoderCoronet I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same.

[@awesomereviews1561]

Fantom is better for playing/touring on stage because it’s more streamlined and way lighter. For the other stuff, Montage is better even if more complicated to use. I like Montage more.

[@KierDarby]

@awesomereviews1561 strange that you mention the Fantom being lighter - Fantom 6 is 15.3KG while Montage 6 is 300g lighter at 15.0KG. The only Fantom that is lighter than Montage is the Fantom 8 at 27.7KG against the Montage 8’s 29KG - but at these colossal sizes nobody is going to notice that 1.3KG difference. Of course, the Fantom 0 series is much lighter, but these should be compared to the Yamaha MODX, not the Montage.

[@AynsleyGreen]

Have used both for years, and still learnt some things, very thorough work.

[@KierDarby]

That’s very gratifying to read, thank you :)

[@Bruce.-Wayne]

Very good comparison 👏

[@KierDarby]

Thank you :)

[@robert-wr6md]

4 minutes in I would buy the Montage, 6 minutes in I knew it was the right decision. I just sold Roland Juipter X because the programming was horrible there is something deeply cranky about Rolands Tone architecture. The saving, the handling, the cataloging of sounds. Not new of course, it feels like it's not changed for 40 years. Preset land for most and with good reason. Great video thanks for your work.

[@KierDarby]

The unified performances approach in Montage feels much easier to work with to me. There's nothing fundamentally *wrong* with the Fantom approach, it just looks inferior by comparison with Montage, IMO.

[@mr.c1989]

I very badly need a version of this video that covers the Montage M8x versus the Fantom 8 EX. THEN I'll know which one I can get. Until then, no other video on KZbin even remotely cares to cover the things you cover in this video. I will say, however, that I really need to know more in depth about the sampler and sequencers of these two machines, which happen to be the two aspects that you indicted you don't use natively on these boards. I would like to see how these boards stack up when a person has no other access to any other equipment, including a computer with software like DAWs and VSTs.

[@KierDarby]

It’s worth bearing in mind that Montage has no sampler of any kind on board, so if you must have hardware sampling, Fantom is the only option. That said, I have both a Fantom 8 EX and a Montage M8x here, and IMO the Montage M is a far superior machine.

[@vanessajazp6341]

I think it's unfortunate that you relied on the original Montage, since the Montage M has the ANX virtual synth engine, and significantly improved ROM and other functions (such as Smart Morph for ANX), not to mention a modified panel with an additional screen.

[@KierDarby]

There’s no doubt that the Montage M is superior to the classic Montage in most ways (although not all), but this video was supposed to be more of a comparison of concepts - the Montage as a unified single instrument against the Fantom as a collection of disparate components that happen to live in the same housing. As such, I think it conveys the most important differences - and I do call out the Montage M differences where appropriate.

[@prodrigu7062]

I have both and for me the Montage is lot better. Few sounds in the Fantom are better but I can easily live with the Montage ones too. If you want to have the best sounds of the synths from decades past (barring some FM ones) and do sound design, Fantom is the one you want. Having had mine since week one, as far as features go, Fantom is an unfinished in my opinion; the sequencer is a complete joke.

[@xenobiigaming]

you forget there are cubase and studio one DAW modes as well

[@KierDarby]

Are you referring to Montage or Fantom?

[@xenobiigaming]

@@KierDarby The Fantom. Sorry i didnt specify. Also you can use them under normal mackie controls for any DAW and it will work and let you assign the knobs and sliders while also working with the transport controls.

[@KierDarby]

@xenobiigaming is that new with EX? I only see Logic / MainStage and Live on my Fantom

[@xenobiigaming]

@@KierDarby yes, the EX Upgrade, or the EX versions of the Fantom have this as a new feature for the new OS. there are a few extra highlights and features which include: Exclusive JUPITER-8, SH-101, and JX-3P ACB Expansions German Concert V-Piano Expansion 01, previously only available for the RD-2000 stage piano Newly developed SuperNATURAL Acoustic Piano 3 Expansion JD-800 Model Expansion n/zyme Model Expansion New studio-grade Shimmer Reverb and Modulation Reverb New V-Piano GUI Added DAW control profiles for Cubase and Studio One Mastering EQ and Mastering Comp template functions and new graphical interfaces

[@noitnova]

Montage M is already out. Roland sound like 30 years a go. Yamaha is the boss.

[@kokakolagodcomp-vi2yv]

korg kronos 😂

[@quantumeseboy]

Wow, something makes less sense than Yamaha?!

[@KierDarby]

FWIW it took me a long, LONG time, but the Yamaha system makes perfect sense to me now. And I guess, so does Fantom... I just don't think it's as well integrated.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Roland essentially releasing products to abandon them as soon as the new one hits the shelves should be the first indication as to which product is better.