I'm having problems with the official conversion tool Roland provided starting with the sample tools expansion. I've read online that the tool does work - it's just a bit janky. I found nearly all of the official Roland sample libraries for the S700 series samplers and the special ones for the XV-5080 (LCD-X) but after mounting them with various tools (Alcohol, Virtual CloneDrive, even DaemonTools I think) I can't get the tools to recognize any of them, just says there's no CD in those drives. CDXtract seems to work just fine however but there's no conversion option that's good enough for the Fantom.

Anyone got any experience with this? Will I have to burn those ISOs to a CD first?

P.S. I do know about the Chickensys translator and unfortunately it's utter garbage when it comes to S700 > Fantom.

 

Anyone?

 

1.) http://llamamusic.com/s50s550/unusual_samples.html

2.) Load your favorite CD-ROMs

For those who want to use existing sample libraries, the 128-voice XV-5080 synthesizer module offers the ability to load Roland S-700 and Akai® S1000/S3000 CD-ROMs via the built-in SCSI port. The XV-5080 is also capable of reading AIFF and WAV files. You can use up to 128MB of additional SIMM memory. Loaded sample data can also be saved via SCSI to external hard drives or to SmartMedia™ cards. With the XV-5080 sample playback function, it is no longer necessary to use a dedicated sampler to access sound libraries on CD-ROM.

3.) Fantom-XR // Easy to work with USB

The built-in USB port serves as a USB-MIDI interface - perfect for combining the Fantom-XR with a computer sequencer. In addition, this USB port can be used to transfer audio data to and from the module - simply plug in the cable and drag and drop the data onto the appropriate icons on your screen. With the ability to use .WAV and AIFF files, the module is compatible with a huge range of sounds.


4.) SVZ SAMPLE CONVERTER VER.1.00 FOR WINDOWS
www.roland.com/de/support/by_product/fantom_6/updates_drivers/27902048-bf43-4f73-9b51-683f3d1970e6/

Roland Fantom #31 | SF2 to SVZ Sample Converter

5.) FANTOM-XR
www.roland.com/de/support/by_product/fantom-xr/

 

1. I talked to the guy from that site and he said he'd experiment with stuff, haven't heard from him in quite a while. Either way, that's not it sadly, those read floppy disks, not CD images.

2: yes, the XV-5080 with a SCSI port would be ideal for this purpose. However, they're 600€ at minimum unexpanded (I paid 400 for a Fantom-XR with the SRX-12 card and the Sample Tools Expansion) and with no drives and I can't justify purchasing one just to act as a sampler. I also don't like how the 5080's outputs sound compared to the Fantom's, I find them to sound way more sterile and dead (which is what people say about the Fantoms, ironically)
That and the sampler's ram tops out at 128mb compared to the XR's 512 (though it supports up to 1GB apparently)

4: I'm using the software bundled with the official editor https://www.roland.com/global/suppo...drivers/b06d2563-c08f-4308-a423-15b701a95d17/ and as the site says " The also contains the sample convert software for use with S-700 series sample libraries."

However, I can't get the software to recognize said CDs when mounted with various tools. CDXtract can recognize them though.

 

Last edited: Apr 4, 2022

I always use Binchunker for extracting wavs from ISO images. I have to read your posts again more clearly, probably.

Is this something you could stick on a free host or link to copy? (if necessary)

 

You can find the link to the editor here https://www.roland.com/global/suppo...drivers/b06d2563-c08f-4308-a423-15b701a95d17/ (exe will extract setup files, after launching the setup you can choose to install just the official converter tool)

The tool converts the S-7XX patches to Fantom-X patches (not flawlessly according to some posts but they did update the tool after those posts so maybe it got better) so it doesn't just extract the wavs. You can find the CDs on archive.org, they're all these https://electronicmusic.fandom.com/...ections#Roland_L-CD_Archive_Series_.281994.29
(L-CD, L-CDC, L-CDP, L-CDX with this last series being made specifically for the XV-5080)

CDXtract reads those CDs just fine but the converter acts as if there's either no CD or the wrong kind of CD in my virtual (virtual clonedrive, alcohol, etc) drives so it's definitely a problem with the virtual drives

Chickensys converter exists but as far as fantom stuff is concerned it's utter garbage

I'd burn them and try them in an actual drive but I can't use one atm.

 

Last edited: Apr 4, 2022

I am downloading L-CDP-11+14 Africa and will check it out if and when it finishes. ChickenSys Translator is what you run when you are having a really bad day and have 0 other options. It is the ultimate last resort.

 

i have a fantom xr but i never could get it to fully work via usb.. right now i have to connect the midi in/out on it to my midi interface on my pc.. What version firmware do you have on your xr?? mine still has 1.03.. unfortunately i cant get mine to update to a more recent version

 

So it is sort of like a Virus TI with USB? yes, by that; I mean a royal pain in the....

Also, not being able to update firmware is very often a symptom of your cable setup. you have to cable the sucker directly to the computer for firmware update via usb in almost every device like this I have ever owned.

You have to use a good usb cable, and no hub. even just a cable adapter from usb->usb C example; and it can cause issues. Audio over usb is picky as hell who it is friends with. Or does it function like a drive, and if so what file system?

It looks like it can take these SD cards though, Have you ever tried using these? Toshiba FlashAir 8GB Class 6 SD Wireless Flash Memory Card

This module takes SmartMedia cards, but the ones mentioned in specs show as obsolete also. and people who eBay them know this apparently $$$. You might find a cheap substitute using something like the wifi ones.

I would definitely want to get that functionality working. if these units are not defective, in which case you are wasting your time.

 

Last edited: Apr 4, 2022

Nope, wrong to both. Let me explain.

Fantom-XR's latest firmware without the Sample Tools Expansion is 1.xx, you can only update to 2.0X via the sample tools kit. It's much easier to buy one that has the kit pre-installed from the factory than getting the upgrade kit itself. The "kit" is just a compact flash card with OS 2.0 on it so if you can find it online you could theoretically upgrade without buying the real deal. The expansion also unlocks an extra bank of presets. As for getting USB to work (usb is only for MIDI and storage/accessing the PC card, not audio) you need to install the driver from Roland's site under the Fantom XR downloads section BUT you have to install it when you have driver signature DISABLED (you can enable it again afterward) otherwise the installation will never complete. This doesn't seem to be a Windows 10 issue entirely as Roland is at fault for NOT SIGNING THEIR DRIVERS. I've done it and both the librarian and editor work just fine under W10.

The XR can take Roland's proprietary card as well as smart media (obsolete and not recommended) and compact flash (recommended) card through the use of a simple PCMCIA adapter, just like the ones for old laptops. There's a Transcend adapter that's 10 to 15 bucks and it works fine in the XR. You can use the Storage mode on the XR (after installing the drivers) to access the card's content from your PC if you don't have a slot.

Not too sure if a PCMCIA to SD adapter would work, same for a compact flash to SD adapter into a PCMCIA CF adapter.

 

I looked for an nfo file from any of these older Roland format ISO files. They also say to burn them.


░▒▓█ Supplier...: TZ7 ██ OS type......: N/A █▓▒░
░▒▓█ Editor.....: Roland ██ Status.......: Sxx/BiN/Cue - 17*15mb █▓▒░
░▒▓█ Typo.......: Sample CD ██

 

For which CD is that? Mine are all .iso, none of them are .bin (no cue file either)

 

Composer Series Jazz. it rips to an iso anyway.

 

Maybe I really do need to burn them. I don't get why the virtual drives are failing.

 

Things that you may want to know (eg:PW for unzipping…)

• CDXtract is likely the best app for converting AKAI/EMU/Roland to other modern formats such as Kontakt/Halion
• .MDX is Daemon Tools’ native format which can be converted to .ISO/burned to CDs
• You will probably be told that those image files are unsupported/unreadable.
  The truth is: Yea…those files are unsupported by current Win/Mac OS.
  Simply dismiss the error message, Daemon Tools should mount them just fine.
• To sum up, You need:
  – Daemon Tools
  – Conversion Software (if you are going to use them on computer)
  (CDXtract/Kontakt/Halion/Extreme Sample Converter(AKAI/EMU)/Chicken Translator/EXS24 mkII(AKAI)) (6 Jan 2018)

 

I'll try with daemon tools again but I doubt it'll work

I don't need to convert it to another format entirely, it's Roland S-7xx to Fantom-X. That official Roland converter is the only one that can do this. S-7xx libraries weren't just audio files, they had actual patch data much like the romplers did.

 

I sent you a PM. Please describe the problem with the editor to the manufacturer Roland, write a mail !

 

Last edited: Apr 4, 2022

Back around the same time as some of these Roland releases, we used to use a program called Isobuster! on windows too. That or Daemon always did the trick for regular ISO. I'm not sure with these still.

 

How to Install Unsigned Drivers in Windows 10
www.maketecheasier.com/install-unsigned-drivers-windows10/
or
How to Install Unsigned Drivers in Windows 10
https://support.viewsonic.com/en/su...how-to-install-unsigned-drivers-in-windows-10

 

Unfortunately that doesn't work.

WHAT DID WORK HOWEVER.. IS DEAMON TOOLS. But not in the normal mode, oh no. You HAVE to specify what kind of virtual drive you want to create - in this case - for these images - you HAVE to select "IDE" as purely virtual drives don't seem to work with the converter.

And it SEEMS to work. I might actually consider buying DT Lite's ad free package for this.