Roland JD Xi

[Stiggolas]

Hi all

Anyone into keyboards / synths?
The little Roland JD Xi is appealing to me as I'm looking for something small and portable with a sequencer built in.
I currently have a Yamaha PSR S770 to play on but its a bit of a pain as I have to pack it away every night to appease wifey hence looking for a little 'toy'.
I love the idea of the vocoder and digital / analogue crossover bits and I can live with small keys.
Any opinions / suggestions for alternatives I should be looking at. I don't want to spend more than £500

Ta

Marcus

[MoggieMinor]

Very impressive little synth. Don't be put off by the mini keys, you soon get used to them, in fact I'm starting to prefer them, presumably because I play my MicroKorg and MicroBrute more than the stuff with the full size keys. Have a play with one in a music shop if you can, get a feel for it. You will probably be impressed.

[Ganglandboss]

I've got one and I think it is great, but please note I know very little about synths.

I play guitar and bass, but I wanted a synth for home recording. Before I bought it, I had a midi/USB controller keyboard and a couple of piano modules.

Initially I went to the music shop with a view to buying either the MiniKorg or the MicroKorg. The guy in the shop asked me if I had considered the JD Xi, and then proceeded to impress me.

The sounds are really fantastic; it is a really powerful little synth, and has the benefit of both digital and analogue synths. There are actually two digital synths, one analogue, and drums, which can be played simultaneously via MIDI.

As above, the keys aren't a problem, but if you do want full size keys, you can simply plug in a MIDI controller.

[Stiggolas]

Thanks for the replies, I've ordered one. I already have a Yamaha PSR S770, a 49 key midi controller and a guitar. Can't play any of em, but love messing around

[Loyly]

If being small and portable are important then it's not a bad buy. I'd probably buy used now, if I wetr shopping for a synth. I bought a Roland SH 201 new and loved it, but at the time I just knew I wanted a decent midrange Roland and I never really stopped to consider the used bargains that were floating about! Due to the trend of always wanting the newest gear, a lot of synths dip into huge depreciation for a long time before they are considered 'classic', which is when values start to rise.

[Stiggolas]

Holy crap, I love the new synth!! On its own its fantastic through the headphones. Next step is MIDI to my other keyboard and both playing via a mixer to some monitors. Can't wait till Christmas when wifey has promised the speakers
It's amazing how excited a 52 year old is getting over this

[MoggieMinor]

Excellent!! Enjoy the fun.

[minimalist]

If I were you, I'd be looking at a sampler next, perhaps the Korg Electribe*. It will play very well with what you currently have and take you in another creative journey. It is also compact and relatively inexpensive. There is a new Akai MPC coming which is also worth looking out for but I expect it to be closer to a €1,000.

• Note there is a non sampling version of the Electribe which I would avoid as sampling is the most fun part.

[Surfr]

Have toyed with production a few times past but got bored very quickly. I think the problem was that I was working completely in the box with Logic and a couple of midi controllers. Recently decided to spend my Christmas/40th presents on some hardware. Have bought in the last month:

Arturia drumbrute
Novation mininova
Behringer 8 port mixer
Korg kaoss pad mini 2
Novation circuit

Just waiting on the Korg monologue release and I think I'll be sorted for a while...

Oh.. and an MPC1000/2500 when my bounty pays out

Edited by Surfr on Saturday 31st December 17:24