This is a great upgrade, and for a price that isn't insane. However, your competitors have complete upgrade processes for their synthesizers that basically involve a prompt automatically popping up, "hey, firmware and updates available, do you want to install?", you click YES, and that's it as far as your involvement. It just works. No USB keys, no swapping in and out of different ports, no special keypress boot-up processes, no manual copying of files, and certainly no hour-long seven-step installation process. The Fantom is an absolute beast, and I will be installing EX into mine, but the fact that a simple firmware/preset upgrade process requires a detailed 15 minute instructional video while your competitors do the same thing with a single mouse click is a complete and utter FAIL on Roland's part.

Just got the EX upgrade, was absolutely not expecting to be this impressed with it. My Fantom is an entirely different instrument now, well done Roland.

Thanks for the great informative video that works! My update was build 4.12 that had an extra step after turning on after the system update. It came up with an "AUTO UPDATER working...." screen that after it completed said "Completed. Please Power Off" that required a 2nd turn off and turn on before coming up to be able to check the version.

I literally thought when the Montage M was released, I hope Roland just comes out with an upgrade and BAM here we are. We don't need no stinking Montage. Thank you, Roland!

Ed...You are a treasure in all you do for us !!

The absolute best teacher ever! Would be lost without you sir. Much love

With the amount of investment Roland and their customers have made in the Roland Cloud + Fantom (workstation, workflow, time, expansions, $$$) it makes a great deal of sense for Roland to continue supporting the Fantom platform. I am hopeful that they'll continue to invest in this platform for several more years.

Make sure you use a thumb drive bigger than 1 gig as this requires over 1 gig to work. I did everything Ed said, but in the final stage at power up it came up with an error. I thought maybe a bad thumb drive but as I checked the size of the files, they were larger than the 1 gig thumb drive I was using. Anyway, it wouldn't power up, so I got a bigger 2 gig thumb drive, couldn't format it on the Fantom so I initialized it on my Mac, added two folders Samples and Roland, renamed the thumb drive to FANTOM. And then went through the whole procedure for updating that Ed described. My Fantom upon power up went through a 3rd procedure "AUTO UPDATER working...." that lasted quite some time. Now finally I have my new Fantom EX. LOL! Actually I bought this used from Guitar Center for $2,000.00. It works great and I absolutely love it!!!!! Oh one more thing, mine is not Version EX1.00 it is EX 1.01 Build 04.13.

Thanks Ed wouldn’t have got through this without your support

Thank you Ed . Its a Shame Roland has made it another mountain to climb to actually install the new upgrade. If an old version of Roland Cloud manager is stored on your computer already . You can use the update provider insider the manager if you can actually find it . Looks like despite the Great Video you provided I wont be upgrading until I upgrade to a new computer ! Roland for all the good stuff just makes things difficult ( sort of like the sequencer ) in the Fantom Ex another hard to swallow item in the Fantom series . Thanks Ed Glad to see you are doing well. THe One Good thing about being a Roland user , You !

Although I couldn't wait and bought the update at full price, I automatically received an e-mail with a credit note. It was great that it worked out so well and the new extensions are worth every penny. I'm looking forward to the SH101 and hopefully more. Many thanks Roland and keep up the good work.

Thank you Ed Diaz for all your tutorials on my Fantom X! I do not need or want any other keyboard!

Thanks for this, Ed. The install instruction .pdf that is included in the download doesn't cover anything beyond upgrading the system itself, so thanks for the step-by-step to get all of the actual model upgrades, scenes, etc. on board.

Great Upgrade! Splendid and smart video for the upgrade process. The installation for my fantom 6 was little different as given in the video. There was an auto update screen running after the banks were installed. But everything worked fine. Overall it just took 30min for me to install the upgrade. I have no access to the wallpapers, but that is unimportant for me.

Perhaps Roland would consider providing us an EX-Upgraded decal like they did on the old Fantom X's back in the day!

omg.... roland THANK YOU FOR THE UPGRADE!! I JUST BOUGHT mine last week because of this update!!

Thanks! Upgraded no problems while watching the video. Now just waiting for all the free Roland Cloud expansions to install.

Thank you so much for this. I couldn't figure out why none of the new stuff was working after the upgrade. After watching the details here, I was correct - I'm just stupid, and should have followed the instructions.

Merci beaucoup, grâce à vous j’ai pu mettre à jour mon Fantom 8 🙏💐❤

I remember being really angry that this update came with N/zyme, and that I wasn't originally able to get a discount when I bought N/zyme previously. I felt like I was paying a lot of money for essentially 2 model expansions and some general quality of life changes. If you are in the same boat as I was or just unsure about whether to buy this or not; I can assure you that you wont regret it (especially considering you get a discount if you bought N/zyme previously). The ACB synth Modelling is drastically better, it makes the Jupiter model expansions they released previously sound like a kids toy. I don't know what black magic Roland was able to do but it sounds amazing. Another great thing about this new release is that Roland has released the source code for the fantom for free, meaning that when they stop supporting it, the Fantom community can still make changes. Of course the fantom still has it's faults but I am definitely singing a different tune than when this expansion originally came out. There's so much they added this update to go through it all, but it really is great they are still running with it. Keep it up Roland :)

I hope that the EX upgrade or a part of it will be available for the Fantom 0 series. This is a great upgrade.

V4.12 for me. Slight different process. but success. thanks for the step by step.

I love Roland but everytime I see these update videos It makes me think on why the team behind the Fantom doesn't come up with an easier way to update the firmware, I mean this looks way too complicated...

Very excited about this update. Is there a discount for those who already bought n/zyme?

Upgrade tip - don't use a huge USB stick. I tried to use a 32GB stick and step 2 of the main upgrade didn't recognize it when I put it in the external device port. Had to copy the same files onto a 2GB stick and that was recognized when I plugged it in. Step 2 proceeded to run without issue. Also, as others have noted - on the first restart after the main upgrade there is an "AUTO UPDATER" window that takes a good 10 minutes to complete before the Fantom fully fires up.

A lot of bang for the buck in this upgrade. I'm totally buying even though I already paid for n/zyme. Thanks Roland!

very very clear instructions.

What kind of update process is that..!? 😳😳 Roland, do you happen to know that we're living in 2023 soon to be 2024?! 😒 Montage from 2016-2017 with one to two click... let alone Montage M series... And what about 200 bucks for those who already have already purchased the n/zyme...? Very well done Roland...

So after a year and a half of waiting, you give me an update which is essentially a set of new expansions, not much of an upgrade? I can add a wallpaper, but can not chop samples... and you also want more money after this thing cost more than a used car? Dont think I will ever be buying a Roland product again.

FYI for those having problems - When I first tried the update, it sat at "Upgrade Board 1" with the cursor spinning "/ - \ -" for 40 minutes. You didn't see the "===>" progressing across the screen. I didn't know what to do because the instructions say "do not power off". I did eventually power off and back on and the Fantom powered up just fine (still not EX). I was using a SD card in a USB card reader for the update (which works for backups in the Fantom). I tried it again with a USB stick and the upgrade worked fine. Roland should REALLY include in their upgrade instructions (or a video like this) all the possible things that can go wrong during an update and how to recover from them, especially when it seems to be impossible to talk to a human at Roland for tech support.

Hey, Roland...What about a discount for those who already bought the N/zyme model just a couple of weeks ago? Don't you think it's fair?

I really was hoping the vocal designer expansion would be available to use in my new fantom! Maybe one day soon I hope!?

Yo Ed! It's good to seem you again brother! That Roland Fantom is dope! I gotta save up to get it! One day man! One day!

this new EX upgrade sounds amazing. 😎

The update procedure for me was slightly different. First the update to board 1 took about a minute, not the 10 minutes the video claims. The board 2 update did take quite a lot longer. Then when rebooting the Fantom after extracting the USB the FANTOM EX logo appeared as shown but then an unshown "Auto Updater" screen appeared and ran for about 10 minutes with a very slow "percentage complete" progress bar before telling me to power off again. This step was not mentioned at all in the video? Ed just went straight to System Info to show the version number. Seems odd that this was omitted give the detail everywhere else.

*NICE* Great job! Could have used you through school. Thanks a bunch!

Love Ed. Don’t love this roland update process. He makes it better with smiles & good communication. Thanks Ed. 1 additional question, will the features of Fantom 3.02 still work after EX is installed?

I work with integrated AV, and it’s no where near as complicated. But I love Roland gear.. so I’ll put up with it.

Ed, if you’re watching this, PLEASE, PLEASE, AND AGAIN PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE NOiSY KEYBEDS ON THE SYNTH ACTION FANTOMS, ITS BEEN DECADES NOW. THE ACTION IS GREAT,BUT THE CKNTACT NOISE TO THE BASE IS CRAZY. I LOVE THE FANTOM, I I MEAN REALLY LOVE THE FANTOM, BUT I HAVEVYET TO BUY ONE BECAUSE OF THE KEYBED. I HAVE A JUOUTER XM BECAUSE I WANTED THE ROLAND SOUND….JD 800 ESPECIALLY, BUT THE NEW FANTOM IS A BEAST AND I REALLY WANT TO BUY ONE BUT THE KEYBED IS DISTRACTING BROTHER ….PLEASE, ITS TIME

So, the nzyme discount mail procedure is really frustrating, Stoll got no mail- but I bought it now and the Update itself is fantastic. Also your explanation about the procedure is great.

Great Ed, Very clear video, as always!

Thanks Roland, very important update!!! But please increase the number of scenes available

The process is insanely slow for 2023.

That great install guide saved my life lol 👍

Thanks Ed....all done and working! 👍👍👍

Roland...this is by fare the most complicated upgrade process I ever seen. 🎉

Roland work only to make money for what they have developed from the beginnings. E.g. my FP-90X has his last update 2021 and will never get this EX Upgrade. My fortune to be in a money back phase and will now buy a Yamaha instrument where such kinds of upgrade are for free. Well done Roland, well done and -1 client.

Worth. The. Wait. :)

Can you have this upgrade for Fantom 08?

Also, if you already have N/Zyme installed, you cannot select all 3 new engines to install at the same time, it will tell you "already installed" so you need to install them 1 by 1. Not a big deal.

Hip hip Hooray !!! Cheers Maestro Diaz !!! Blessings, and keep up the Good Work

We are lucky that it is only 2 USB ports are involved in this process. Please next time all 4 should be used. Just for fun.

Irresistible quality❤

fantom 6 does not show bpm loop to insert the loop. like fantom g6 . so pls update this feature

Ed your alive!

Really great update!!!

Great video. I wonder if this is the Last update. Possible a “Fantom EX” model to be released. Of clues a higher price. Possible with double the ram for installing more of the expansion sounds. But down the road will be new hardware that will take Roland Zen platform into the next Decade.

What I wanna know is if we paid for the enzyme update149.00,the EX update has enzyme199.00,what is my price if I already have enzyme?

Just to get this straight: We're having 2023 and in a 2020 Top of the range workstation, there is no way to have it all installed at once? Why the thumbdrive and not downlading it from the Roland Cloud or something? Always thought this was a modern computer with sounds and keys, not an analog synth?

After powering back up, I got an Auto Updater progress bar that you don't mention here. I automatically thought I did something wrong. Upon completion, it tells me to Power Off once again. After this everything looked good

Thank you Ed. Cheers

So lets go ahead !!

Can you have the entire Roland Sound synths and all other instruments from their cloud in here on this keyboard?

Ed, I have not "user wallpapers" available in the menù screen, could I've done something wrong during upgrade?

hi, I followed the same steps, I got : program version error message. :( pls advise

Good video although is missing to mention the updates that happen after the first start which take another 15-20min, and that require a second restart after that. Checked the results briefly and don't understand the hype with the EX. I definitely am excited to see the new M8 features and price, and will probably go that direction if I can get a good price on my newly updated EX Fantom 8 (FYI I am not a fan Yamaha and don't advertise them, and I purchased over $20K of Roland and Boss Products during the last 5 years, but had a Montage 8 that I've sold during summer, and it was not bad). Regarding the time and complexity of updating your Fantom, I just did the same thing with my Line 6 Helix yesterday (Doh another one of the other people equipment but don't start swearing, I've got a GT1000), and can say that it was free (nothing to pay), substantial update just like the EX, and involved a push of a button, no memory cards, no hassle. Fantom is 3 times more expensive than a Helix and it is a newer design. Fantom has a USB connection as well, too bad that it is just for sound and MIDI and cannot be used for one click software installation. Just to add to my frustration, had issues with the Cloud after I paid for the EX upgrade. The new presentation is not intuitive unless if you used it recently.

Do I need to have all the other upgrades in order to upgrade for the EX? And yes this is ridiculously complicated. Should be as simple as connecting the Fantom to the computer and click "yes upgrade".

Can anyone tell me, with this upgrade do you keep all your original scenes or do they get wiped?

@Roland: hi, is also an EX Upgrade planned for the FP-90x model? Like for the RD-88 model too. Thx

Hi, I did the update but I can't find the ABC SH101? It's advertised but it wasn't included in the main folder.

I wonder if there cud be a update for poly afterthouch and midi 2.0 the Fantom will be the ULTIMATE workstation for this era

All done :) thanks for this nice walk thru. Are the n/zyme scenes updated since the original release?

Will the Roland Fantom 0 Series at least have the ability to add your own wallpaper soon?

Requesting help to complete the upgrade. I did everything as you said. However, when I tried to load the new wallpaper, I could not find the file or USB under utility/wallpaper for new wallpaper. I am confused, and could you help me? Thanks!

Hi Ed! I wonder what happened to the Fantom-0 tutorial series over at the Support channel. All of a sudden it didn’t continue - even with a kind of cliffhanger. I really hope that you will continue that Fantom-0 tutorial series soon!

Something important is missing here. How did the EX upgrade get on to your thumbdrive? I've tried to download the EX upgrade but the Roland Cloud Manager requires Windows10 and I have Windows 7. I haven't found any links to download the EX upgrade without using the Roland Cloud Manager.

I hope they make such an update for Roland O as well

Will Fantom-0 Series at least be getting the Supernatural Acoustic 3 anytime soon?

Does the Fantom 6/7/8 have an internal SSD Drive bay so I can control how much storage I have? And what is the cost for this upgrade??

Many thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is really cumbersome.....Unbelievable, lol :)...Nice and thorough instructions though, Thanks :)

So I have Nzyme already installed when I purchased it last year, do you still select the nyzme parts that Ed is copying over? Or does it just install over it?

We demand the D-50 expansion, with DCB emulation, please🎹

Just to help anyone that runs across this, at 5:26 in the video, mine came up with a message indicating insert UBS memory for board 1, basically the same message as it had for board 2. Removing and reinserting the USB stick allowed it to see and start the upgrade. But don't pull your stick out unless you are sure you are seeing this message for board 1!

I was close to buying a fantom but after watching this video im thinking stuff that. How complicated does it need to be please. Think il go back to college and study quantum physics, it will be easier.

Thx Ed for this video. Does this upgrade make Jupiter x obsolete? I have been thinking of adding Jupiter x to my fantom.

Hey Ed ……. I don’t found the SH101 is there not in Upgrade ?? Greets marc

One important thing I have not seen in the manuals is to en sure that the USB thumb drive you use is USB 2.0 or higher, not 1.0 -- I have tried a 1.0 drive and it fails at the part where you need to insert it into the ext memory port. The drive is not recognized and the part 2 installation never happens. Thankfully, just repeating the process with a proper USB 2.0 drive works and the Fantom is not stuck.

Does the EX have the 15 exz expansions pre installed on the New Fantom EX?

Phantom EX update removes or updates previously installed 4 Model Expansion - JUPITER8, JUNO106, JX8P, SH101?

This is much more complicated than it should be.

stupid question. Is this update going to be available to Roland Fantom 06/07/08 users eventually?

Question: Will the installation of EX format the instrument? Will the samples, instruments, and user scenes be deleted? And, if that's the case, would restoring from my previously made backup after the EX installation erase the EX update?

Lets Goooo

Literally no Synths beat Yamaha sounds and its Articulattions 😌.... for instance Yamaha Tyros 5 and Genos (Arranger keyboards) AND of course Yamaha Montage 2016 and Now the real beast, literally, without any exaggeration and bias, Montage M series..... takes the win easily and righteously. In case if acoustic sounds, i believe almost everyone agree that Yamaha is/has been number One for many decades Although I personally own Kronos 2 and Fantom O-8..... beside Montage, Tyros 5 and Genos.... they are truly incredible in many aspects... BUT Yamaha sounds is something else....and the most important thing in a keyboard whether it's Synth or Workstation or Arranger... is quality and versatility of the sounds and sound making features such as layering, effects, ( digital or analog or analog emulator) DSP and etc. In case of user interface and the "Flow"... Korg, Roland in some cases do much better.... (not always of course ) But at the end.... Sound quality and the Articulations of Yamaha is incomparable .Period By the way sequencer in Yamaha montage M series is incredible in every aspect... if you don't believe me please try it yourself dears.... I love all the major brands and their innovations but when a product is indeed near perfect, we have to respect it and accepted until the next major product In terms of price, not so much satisfaction 😕😕

so i followed steo by step and verified just like the video...but i do not have a button to select user file for wallpaper. everything else seems good and working. no user wallpaper select button tho

lol, the background music is a chill jazz remix of DJ Tomac - "Emotions"

Another upgrade. Is there any info about the upgrade anywhere? I guess Roland won’t update the Fantom synthesizers then?

after updated bord 1 & 2, removing the usb mem stick, turning power off and on, first there was an auto updater running. Took several minutes and then i had to turn power off and on.

Does this work with the O series?