THE Fantom keyboard workstation series, which recently recieved a significant power-boosting "X" upgrade, is Roland's answer to Yamaha's Motif line of ROM/RAM-based keyboards) and Korg's popular and annoyingly ubiquitous Triton.

It's a fairly serious piece of music-making machinery which offers a host of features that should appeal to songwriters, producers, DJs and anyone looking for a one-keyboard-does-all deal.

Competition in this segment of the market is pretty fierce, so Roland has made sure that the Fantom series doesn't become obsolete fast by continually tweaking its ROM/RAM-based expandability.

The 61-key Fantom-S may play little brother to the Fantom-S88 (the 88-note flagship model which has a keyboard offering progressive hammer action) but it doesn't skimp on features.

Inside out

Before we test-drive this wonder machine, let's check out its impressive specs.

The Fantom-S, weighing in at 12.5kg, comes in a sleek chassis that may not be as solid as real steel but seems sturdy enough to withstand small accidental knocks.

The semi-weighted 61 keys offer both velocity and channel aftertouch.

The controls are nicely laid out with the standard pitch bend/modulation lever, the gimmicky D Beam, and four main parameter knobs on the left of the mini-TV-like four-shade graphic LCD (320 x 240 dots) at the top centre.

There's a row of multi-function switches directly below the LCD.

On the right is the Pad Bank with 16 pads offering both velocity and aftertouch sensitivity. A 16-track sequencer (offering step and real-time recording on 16 MIDI channels per track and a total note capacity of 400,000) is also located here.

In addition, there's an arpeggiator that offers 128 presets and a similar amount of memory locations for user-programmed patterns.

The rhythm section has 32 groups with up to 256 presets. These include samples from Roland's popular TR-808 and TR-909 vintage beat boxes as well as genre-spedific drum sets (apparently recorded, like the Fantom-S's other sounds, in world-class studios).

The effects section, based on Roland's lauded COSM formula, includes 77 kinds of multi-effects, three types of chorus, five reverb flavours, six types of input effects and a three-band compressor master effect.

The Fantom-S offers 64-note polyphony and 16 multi-timbral parts. Its 64MB wave ROM offers a whopping 1,228 waveforms.

Out of the box, the machine comes loaded with 254 patches, 32 rhythm sets and 64 performance presets in the User Memory.

There's a SmartMedia card slot which supports up to 128MB of memory expansion.

The sampling section (with a fixed frequency of 44.1kHz) offers 360 seconds of mono and 180 seconds of stereo sampling on the 32MB internal memory.

The User memory can hold up to 2,000 user samples (total of 16MB) while the SmartMedia card stores 7,000.

Rear connections include headphones jack, two sets of stereo outputs, a pair of inputs (stereo), MIDI In, Out and Thru, Hold and Control Pedal jacks, a USB connector, and 24-bit S/PDIF digital out.

Among the supplied accessories are operation manuals, Sample Data (audio) CD and CD-ROM editor.

Orchestra at your fingertips

If you're familiar with standard modern keyboard operation, you'll have no trouble finding your way around the Fantom-S, though dips into the two thick manuals are required if you're thinking of doing some serious editing.

The machine is built to dazzle right from the time you power up, and it does with crisp-sounding emulations of acoustic and electric piano, basses, orchestral pads, choirs, and classic digital and analogue sounds from Roland synths in the patch section.

There's also an array of useful sequenced or arpeggiated patches that cover a broad range of styles (pop, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, rock, world music etc). These include guitar and guitar riffs and interesting multi-instrument phrases.

Of course, the quality of the sounds is uneven but considering the sheer diversity of flavours Roland has cooked up, you can't be too snippy about the samples.

All the sounds can be modified to your requirements (editing parameters include filter cutoff to pitch alteration) with the generously informative screen displaying the changes as you make them.

However, it's when you hit the 'Performance' button that the Fantom really comes alive. This essentially turns the keyboard into a band or an orchestra, depending on what kind of music you want to play.

And with the large LCD and seamless user interface, real-time editing of parameters is a cinch. In fact, you can actually mix what your're playing by dialling up the Mixer View screen that gives the Fantom-X a faux-digital recorder feel.

The 24-bit reverb is excellent, but just in case you want to get down and dirty, Roland has included some cheesy lo-fi effects.

The programmable arpeggiator and rhythm generator are among the most flexible I've come across on a workstation so far. But the rubber pads of the Dynamic Pad Bank are bit on the stiff side (even with their responsiveness maxed out) so real-time phrase or rhythm triggering can be a hit-or-miss affair if you don't get a hang of their feel.

The sequencer is fairly easy to get a handle on and editing what you've input isn't as laborious as it could be on some stand-alone sequencers.

The great thing about the Fantom-S, like most high-end "ROMplers", is its infinite expandability. You can import additional sounds (.WAV and AIFF files) from a PC or Mac via the USB port or through the SmartMedia card slot.

There're also four optional sound boards that let you enjoy entire banks of new sounds.

The USB and SmartMedia facilities also allow you to export a fully mastered song for CD-burning or MP3 file-making on an external source.

Then there's the sampler which lets you add more wallop to your sonic arsenal. And with something called Skip Back Sampling, you can continuously sample your performance in real time.

As for MIDI integration, it's about as comprehensive as you'd expect of a piece of equipment designed to output up to 16 different sounds simultaneously.

There's a lot more, of course, but dealing with the other features might entail a page spillover which might not endear me to the editor.

Is it for you?

Bottom line: This a powerful song-creating/production tool for major moolah.

If you're a traditional synthesist who thrives on generating totally original sounds by manipulating raw waveforms and filters, the Fantom-S will have no kicks for you.

But if you're a songwriter, producer or DJ who can't do without a single machine that will let you realise all your musical ideas in a scramble, the Fantom-S is just up your alley.

It not only offers the facilities (rhythm, bass and lead sounds plus sampling, sequencing and editing features) to let you complete entire songs or song suites whenever or wherever you like, but also comes loaded with some inspiring phrase samples and patterns for those times when your mind is a total blank.

PROS: Classy semi-weighted keyboard; first-rate tune-inspiring soundset; fabulously informative LCD; expandability gives it a long rack-life.

CONS: A tad pricey; finger pads a bit too stiff and erratic in responsiveness; superseded by the souped-up Fantom-X.