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I'd like to make an addendum to my previous review. I just traded the XL for the MC-505 and enough cash to hustle a used Dr-202. While I'm happy with the functions of the 505, I really, really, REALLY miss the sounds of the XL-7. I could go out and by the Xtreme Lead module, but I'd only be paying a few hundred less than the entire Command Station. People: Do NOT become discouraged or angry with the sequencer, lazy programming or even the bugs and the way the beast looks. The XL-7 is an incredible machine...and I've also found that people will pay highly for them, almost to the point of new street price because so few of them are for sale outside of retailers. I tell you what I miss most: The filters. 505 filters are cheesy and step-digital, almost glissando-like. Xl's filter and res are sooo freakin' warm compared to the other 'beatboxes.' And even though the screen size sucks, you get a wealth more information from a small space than, say, any of Roland or Yammie's products. Also, if you don't use a controller, the XL is the mother of all PLAYABLE modules. I mean, I could actually enter entire songs using just the one octave keyset and a lot of creative transpose mojo while away from my rig or waiting to be strip-searched at the airport. I won't even look at the 505 without powering up my Korg controller beforehand. I also miss the modulation knobs. 505 is able to pitch modulate in real-time, but it's more of a b*tch to get those on-the-fly octave slopes that you suddenly find yourself needing at, say, four AM. But really, the whole reason that I wrote this addendum was to express my SERIOUS love for the E-mu soundset. I mean, jesus, even the presets are hard quality. Onboard 'verbs and delays sound like good sex. THIS MACHINE TOTALLY SMOKES ANY OTHER 'GROOVEBOX-TYPE' GEAR. End of story. The 505 has better drums, pattern templates (if you get lazy) and a more intuitive interface, but the XL-7 just humiliates it in terms of audio quality, expandibility, real-time FX, assignable FX, pattern creation, synth engine 'deepness' and even timing. Quantize on the XL is like locking onto a rail, no matter how drunk you were when you laid that multi-part drum track yesterday. All of the FX are great for a non-dedicated module. Even the overall construction feels solid. For you pad-happy cowboys, the XL hits it at 128 polyphony! I've always said that if you really need 128 voices, you really need a computer. But it's good to have it there for the occasional fat layer that makes your teeth rumble.
I have to stop writing before I get a wild hair and try to buy the thing back. PUT UP WITH THE BUGS. DEAL WITH THE BS. I SAY THIS NOW AS CAUTIONARY EXAMPLE...HOLD ON TO YOUR XL-7. At least until E-mu comes out with a Command Station based upon the pro 2500 and newer chip, which may happen next year. At least the XL holds value...the other 'groove' modules sell like used Fiats in Italy, or day-old bagels. It's pretty sad that so many people want to get rid of the 303 and 505 to get their hands on the XL-7 or even the RM1X. But I think it simply illustrates the market, and how competition is something that Roland actually needs to pay attention to these days.
For the record, when I advertised my XL for trade (MC-505 +cash), I received over a dozen Emails in 24 hours. It's a hot unit, people. Be patient with it. But may as well mention some cons on the way out: MIDI channeling is stupid. Bugs require lots of whiskey to deal with. Color is hideous. Knobs purport to but do not always record controller data for internal sounds, much less MIDI'd modules and drum machines. Semi-frequent crashes and freezes foster parnoid data saving (about every seventeen seconds). Manual is like prying teeth loose. Touchstrip is pretty lame and I wish I had a fader-type part mixer rather than the menu-shifting knobs (but I'm just being greedy on that one...the knobs work well as mixers after all but two hits on the selector). Also, real-time 'glide (portamento) timing knob would've been nice, as would've been a sampler (duh). Hell, I could nit-pick all day, but in the end the Command Station is the best all-in-one electronica module on the market. Don't sell it.
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