Whereas many of Roland’s Model Expansions are designed to emulate classic synths from the company’s past, n/zyme - a new wavetable-based instrument for the company’s Fantom keyboard range - is powered by a brand-new engine and looks thoroughly modern.
This combines wavetable oscillator layers, phase and shape modulation, resonant filters and two step LFOs to create an Expansion that’s designed to take the Fantom to sonic places that it was previously incapable of visiting.
Roland claims that, as well as offering a cutting-edge sound, n/zyme is also easy to program thanks to the Fantom’s touchscreen and physical controls. You can jump or morph between waveforms - creating dramatic tonal shifts or evolving soundscapes in the process - and you have the facility to mix two layers with 63 wavetables each and adjust their positions in real-time. As such, n/zyme should be capable of conjuring up some pretty complex sounds.
Sounds can be shaped by drawing custom waveforms on the touchscreen, and these can then be tweaked using the modulation tools. There’s also an X/Y pad on the touchscreen, along with automation support and tempo-synced control over speed, intensity, and more.
As for the two LFOs, these offer 16 tempo-synced steps and 37 shapes per step, while the Step Kick Switch can be used to add some percussive attack. There are eight filter types, including several vintage analogue designs, and you can also mix n/zyme’s sounds with others on your Fantom.
You can purchase n/zyme now as a LIfetime Key via Roland Cloud for $149. It’s compatible with the Fantom 6, 7 and 8, though you’ll need to update to version 3.0 before you install it. This update is free.
Find out more on the Roland website.
