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Average rating:
3.8 out of 5
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this is really a great synth for filling in the gaps in your sound. if your doing jungle or techno or something your not going to want it as your lead synth, but if you allready have a sampler and maybe some other va or analog boxes then it is great to have an xp or jv around for all those "other parts" good points:
sounds sounds and more sounds, with an expansion board or two anything is possible. up to 8 midi syncable lfos per patch!! syncable delay and flange effects.
bad points:
only one fx prosesor other than the delay and reverb ones, only one stereo output.
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I guess Jimmy and myself are the only ones here who really like this synth! Anyone who complains and bitches about "commercial sounds" has never bought an expansion board for it or has never really spent time programming it. Sure it takes time to program, but isn't that the reason you bought a synth and not a sampler or a rack module? If you use nothing but stock sounds, then you are going to sound like all of that other crap on commercial radio. Yeah, the display is too small, but it's not that bad. This is easier to program than most Yamaha gear I've worked with. I can get a wide range of sounds that fit in great w/ my other synths. If you want the fuller warm sounds, you have them; same thing for high-end sparkling stuff as well as acoustic and atmospheric sounds. My main complaints are the sequencer (it's a bitch to learn coming from Ensoniq sequencers) and the smallish display screen. Other than those 2 complaints, I'm very happy with it and don't regret getting it at all. Oh, I forgot.. the manual sucks, but considering it's a Roland manual, that's not suprising.
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Ooh, time for MY in depth review...
Looking over the reviews that are here already, there are plenty of Angry Angry people here..but then again, if i had to pay $1200 for it, id be too. basically a Jv1080 with keys and a sequencer, it has all the same stuff +/- some things. I read about people complainin about the "noise" comin from their Xp50, and i dont see any sign whatsoever of it. Maybe some people try to push all 16 parts out of the 2 outputs at all levels of 127...that could fuck it up tons...tip: keep the levels at half and crank up your mixer/recorder...i loved my Jv1080 to death but found i needed keys..so i traded up for an Xp50 and im lovin it just as much as the 1080..i'll probably never end up using the sequencer as it is small and hard to use. ive got an Mc50 for that stuff..everything sounds great as it always did and the same great presets are there...well..sorta, most of em suck..if anyone wants techno/dance sounds, i suggest downloading the XP/JV acid bank..totally kickass..and also, the key action on the XP50 is great, and it also pisses me off that there's no Arpeggiator..oh well, not a problem i jus use my Jp8000 and arpeggiate the XP50 from that...will always be in my setup..
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my very first synth(actually it's a 80 but they are both pretty much the same) and i am kinda/sorta impressed but there is definately room for improvement. A lot of the patches tend to sound the same, the manual might as well be in Russian and it can't sample sounds. on the plus side, the expansion cards are good whenever you can afford one. oh well, i've spent over $1,800 and i ain't getting it back so i guess i have to make the best of it.
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To respond to the guy below, the xp series is great if you're looking for sample based synthesis. It's not a kurzweil or anything, but for price, I'd take on over a QS any day. If you're making techno, you're not going to want to get one (unless you're doing house and have to have pianos/organs/EPs) and should get an analog or analog modeling synth and a sampler. IF you're into anything besides techno (and need realistic sounds) the XPs are the way to go. They're expandable, so when you want to add new ROM wave forms, you just buy a board. They're sort of expensive, but when you think about it, it's a lot better than buying a whole new synth. I used to really want an XP before I learned about all of the other fabulous non-sample based stuff out there. Waldorf, JoMoX, Access, Clavia, Doepfer, Serge, and some of the Korg stuff (Z1 and Prophecy...) just to name a few. There is a whole world out there beyond sample based stuff, but if you're into making what I would consider to be commercial music, get one. I'm going to add an XP-30 to my setup to give me the sounds that my current gear cannot produce ('real sounds'). They're a good place to start for any budding synthesist, but you're going to want more. and more. Gear lust is a disease, and I have it more than anoyone that I know. If you thought that you newest workstation is going to be the end-all-be-all last-thing-that-you're-ever-going-to-need, you're wrong. It may be for about a month, but you'll need more and more gear to fill the gaps in your sound. That is, of course, unless you're Haujobb and can do 3 albums with 3 pieces of gear. Oh well. I'm off.
http://members.xoom.com/chemvein/ 4.0 browser required.
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