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How to Play MIDI Files on Roland Fantom

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a standard file format for sharing digital music between synthesizers. A MIDI file contains the notes and different parts of a song, not unlike a classical music score. The synthesizer interprets each part as a separate channel, and you can assign a unique synthesizer sound to each channel. The Roland Fantom series of synthesizers support MIDI file imports so you can play MIDI files directly on the synthesizer. To do this, you must be able to connect the Fantom to a computer that contains the MIDI file so it can download into the instrument.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • USB cable
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Instructions

  1. Connect Fantom to Computer

    • 1

      Press the "Layer/Split" button on the Fantom synthesizer.

    • 2

      Press the "Menu" button. A menu will appear. Select "System" in the menu, and press the "Enter" button.

    • 3

      Press the "F1" button on the Fantom, and click the "F4" button to activate the synth's USB connectivity.

    • 4

      Turn off the Fantom if the screen now shows a USB setting of "Storage." If it does not, turn the synth's value dial counter-clockwise until you see a warning message on its screen, then press the "F6" button twice in succession, and turn off the synthesizer.

    • 5

      Connect a USB cable between the Fantom and the computer that contains the MIDI file you wish to play on the Fantom.

    • 6

      Turn on the Fantom.

    • 7

      Press the "Layer/Split" button, followed by the "Menu" button.

    • 8

      Select "USB Storage," and press the "Enter" button.

    • 9

      Click the "F2" button to select the user memory location on the Fantom. The synthesizer and the computer are now connected.

    Copy MIDI File

    • 10

      Open the Fantom disk drive on your computer after the connection is made. You can find this in the same list as your computer's other hard drives and CD-ROM devices.

    • 11

      Open the "FANX USER" folder on the Fantom, from the computer.

    • 12

      Open its "Roland" folder, click the "SEQ" folder inside and select the "SNG" folder.

    • 13

      Copy the MIDI file on your computer into this "SNG" folder. You can usually just drag the MIDI file (with an extension of ".smf") into the folder with the mouse.

    • 14

      Disconnect the Fantom from the computer in the same way as you would remove any other portable device. In Windows, you click the "Remove Hardware" button in the system tray near the Windows clock to complete this.

    Play MIDI File

    • 15

      Press the "Layer/Split" button.

    • 16

      Press the "left cursor" button on the synth, and click the "INC" button.

    • 17

      Press the "right cursor" button, and turn the value dial until it reads "PRST: 64 GM2 Template."

    • 18

      Press the "Song Edit" button, and turn the value dial to select the MIDI file you imported earlier.

    • 19

      Press "F6" to load the MIDI file.

    • 20

      Press the "Play" button on the Fantom to play the MIDI file.

Digital Music

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