Roland U.S.

Third Day

On Tour with the Fantom-X

by Corey Fournier

Third Day has been on what seems like an endless trajectory of success. Their sound and their songs are certainly key ingredients, but equally important is their commitment to touring.

If you’ve been to one of their shows, you’ve seen keyboardist/vocalist Scotty Wilbanks playing his Roland Fantom-X8. “I don’t even know how long we’ve been out now,” he laughs. “All I know is it’s a lot of shows.”

Scotty chose the Fantom-X8 for many reasons, great sound being the primary factor. “I went and tried out a bunch of keyboards,” he tells us. “I wanted an 88-note weighted action, and it had to have great piano sounds.”

It was the SRX-11 Complete Piano expansion board that really did it for Scotty. “I dig it! I like it! It’s what I use for my acoustic piano sounds. I want to start getting more of those cards. I own Rhodes and Wurlys, so I can’t wait to get the new electric piano board [SRX-12 Classic EPs]. I need one of those on the road.”

Beyond the Fantom-X’s great sounds, Scotty also chose the synth for its live-performance features. “It’s a good piece, it’s really nice for live. I like to use the Favorites page to access the sounds I like.”

When he’s not out with Third Day, Scotty also works on solo projects and with other artists. The Fantom-X is part of his studio rig as well. “I have the Fantom-X6, and use it in the studio. That’s a pretty cool piece, and I use it a lot. It’s just easy. Everything is quick to get to and it’s user friendly. I also like the Tap Tempo feature. I do a lot of record producing, and if we’re just doing pre-production and I want to check out an arpeggiated thing, I can just tap in the tempo.”

You can check out Third Day’s performance at the recent GMA Dove Awards when it airs in national syndication April 15 to May 21, 2006. Find out where they’re playing next at http://www.thirdday.com.