-> The Oberheim sounds are awesome!!

-> The ARPs and Patterns (over 100 of them) can be sent out via Midi to other instrument.

-> 64 Note Polyphony, 16 Parts. T

his thing is a monster!! If you ever thought of getting a Trinity, Triton, CS6x, or anything else along these lines, get the XL-1 instead. At Guitar Center it was $650 which is KILLER!! That means you can play with it before you buy it, but be warned, on the surface it looks like a Rompler with hundreds of presets, but it's forte' is actually PROGRAMMING! YOU CAN GO DEEEEEEP!

I have never been a fan of ROM based sounds, but this box has forced me to open my eyes and develop a new level of appreciation. For $220 more, I added the 32MB Rob Papen "Techno Synth Graveyard" and now this box is being used in everything I do. (check out www.robpapen.com for samples). It lives next to my Virus and Nord.

Here are my two main purposes for this box:

1) When I DJ, I want to set myself apart from the other DJs of the world. There is nothing better than spinning some Vinyl, jump over to my Nord Lead synth and pumping out some Xtreme Lead-1 beat, and layering hi-hats, snares, fills, and other "BTS" elements. There are very few DJs who will even dare to try something semi-live, and most of the time you get tin-can sounding Roland gear. The XL-1 PUMPS OUT THE SOUNDS LIKE NO OTHER! And when the crowd sees you cranking those real-time knobs, it just gets them more pumped! Really, you can't go wrong.

2) In the studio, I've been starting to write my own music when possible. I don't have much time, but I use a Virus b, Nord Lead 2, and the XL-1 as my main synths. I have some other synths, but the three always find their way into any tune. I love some of the Rave/Anthem sounds! I highly suggest adding the Rob Papen Techno Synth Graveyard if you want to get ballsy!

You can also add the Turbo option, which lets you add three expansion ROMs instead of one, adds 6 analog outs on the back, and doubles the polyphony to 128! AMAZING!

TTYL, Mark