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Average rating:
4.3 out of 5
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This was the first synth that I got. It's a nice starting point that is extremely powerful once you get past initial frustrations. The interface is nice, it takes a little getting used to though. The sounds are awesome for a digital keyboard and the ability to patch edit makes it very versatile. The effects are good, for being part of it. Really this is an all in one keyboard. I've produced a couple of tracks with just this keyboard alone, so it's possible. I'd have to say that the only thing that I don't like about it is the way in which it records songs. It lacks a realtime recording ability when it comes to the mixing (at least from what I've tried) but the ability to record the realtime knobs movements after you've recorded your song is great. It became my main controller for quite sometime too. It makes me wonder why Roland discontinued it. Too much competition for the MC505 maybe? But then again, as far as I see it, Roland has a habit of this. Never-the-less we still love 'em.
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$600 will not buy a better dance-oriented keyboard than the JX-305. The quick-start manual and the intuitive twiddly-knobs make it pretty easy to work with right out of the box, and after you muddle through the thicker of the two manuals, you can tweak the sounds endlessly. The sequencer is respectably sized, but somewhat limited by its pattern-based architecture and lack of disk drive.
Roland sells 2 MB and 4 MB memory cards for the JX-305, which were selling for about $50 last time I checked. BUT, I found some SmartMedia 4MB cards on the internet for $15 a piece, and this really takes the edge off of the sequencer limitation. (Storage technology has improved since I bought the cards, and it may be harder to find 2 MB and 4 MB cards now. As far as I know, those are the only sizes the JX-305 will take. Also, be *sure* to get the 5-volt kind, not the 3.3 volt.) Roland doesn't recommend off-brand memory cards, but why would they? My non-Roland cards have worked just fine so far, but if your keyboard blows up, you've been warned.
I haven't gigged with it yet, so I can't really make any judgements about its reliability under different conditions - but it seems to be a good board all around. If it was stolen, I'd buy another one.
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This synth rocks the cradle of Trance, Techno and other house music... Just want You to know there's no other solution if You want the best, and be able to perform live with it. also works very nicely as an input keyboard. Try with Cakewalk for optimum performance.
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WOW, this is my second synth and i love it. The presets are mostly useless, but there are som cool beats you use for starting a pattern. I don;t know much about sequencing but this thing really kicks. the best part about it is the tweakablity. I made some sounds on that thing last night that blew my mind. I haven't figured out hoew to do MIDI yet, but thats cause i'm an idiot. ;0 I can't wait to get it hooked into my XP-30 though, like the other review, i agree that the JX-305 has limited realistic sounds. Any ways it ROCKS, i got mine for $680. the karma, andromeda and all those new GROOVE toys do all of the same shit for 2k more!
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When I first started using the JX-305 I thought that the 7 parts and 1 rhythm part was the synths biggest drawback but this thing rocks despite it. Though I wouldn't use it as my only synth, it can put on an impressive performance if you learn how to use it (which goes for any synth for that matter). The idiots that call it a toy are lazy. No synth makes music for you. You need to use your brain and learn how create the sounds you want becaues it will. If a patch is cheesy, rewrite it - that goes for any synth. In any case, the onboard pattern sequencer is flexible and very useful, though not as editable as using Cakewalk or Cubase but thats no big deal if you're not a weenie who has to be able to step edit everything (the JX-305 has two step edit modes in addition to realtime record). You can assign and create RPS which allows you to play a pattern at the touch of a key which kicks major butt during performance. The eight control knobs are very useful for editing parameters and coming up with phatt sounds during recording or in realtime. The sound presets are diverse though there aren't many variations of traditional instruments. The power of the JX-305 really comes out when you need to create dance music or anything that will get people moving but it is best used in tandem with another synth like the XP-30 which can handle all the other non-dance sounds. I've used it in a film score and it's also a prominent board in my band's rig. If you do dance music, get one - its a great tool.
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