lol

GOOOOOD PIECE OF GEAR TOUGH, REALLY GOT ME STARTED MAKING MUSIC...ok thats enough...but i think that, even marketed as a "groovebox", this can be a pro piece of gear.

I've owned and played about 30 synths, analog and digital over the past 15 years. Dance and techno are what I generally like to play.

The JX-305 is an odd one. On one hand it does have a basically good sound engine. On the other hand it is cheaply made and tries to give that 'touch of a button, ease of use, automatic groove, fun to use ' impression to those who like that kind of thing (i.e. Deejays).

It is basically an elongated groovebox. It needs better midi implementation , better construction, more outs, and less emphasis on one-touch grooves to be considered a serious synth.

A Korg Z-1. Now there's a synth.

Again, that's my humble opinion.

SOUNDS:A lot of people complain about the cheesy sounds but hey you can edit your patches. Presets are presets...pretty much any preset on any board suck. I actually downloaded a patch editor for the MC505 and it does wonders for my JX305. For a deejay, my main concern was making beats...the drum kits rock (better than say a Dr. Rhythm). Do not under estimate the FX on this board. Besides if you really hate all the sounds that this board has...it runs midi, so hookup a sampler to it with your own sounds!

MC505 VS. JX305:I enjoy the drum kits especially (actually the main reason I wanted this synth versus others). The MC505 as a drum machine is actually better only because of its six outputs versus the JX305's one pair, but you still get the same kits and patches (usually for a lot cheaper). The advantages the JX305 has over the MC505 is that it's velocity sensitive and it has 61 keys.

ADD-ONS:I personally have two footswitches hooked up...one for use as a sustain pedal and the other as a controller for "tapping" tempo. I also use it to control my SP808 sampler (added sounds).

EXTRAS:The "part mute" is cool as hell. I utlize it a lot while playing live. Also, since keeping the beats in sync is of vital importance for a deejay...setting the control pedal to "tap tempo" mode is incredible (the board has a "turntable" mode that allows you to adjust pitch via the modulation lever...but its nowhere near the control you have on the turntables).

BOTTOM LINE:This is markted as a introductory synth for those who aren't expert keyboardists (i.e. the "groovesynth" monicker). If you're a deejay that actually can play the keys and need some remixing done...this is the keyboard for you! If you are a big-time studio musician this board can be useful, but like all midi capable synths...if you don't 100% like what it does...hook up the midi to something you do like!

And I hate it for being called the 'GrooveSynth'. What a load of stupid shit. Roland needs to stop putting out these low quality, over-targeted 'groove' products.

Anyway, all I can say is that unless you just want an introductory synth and something to screw around with, don't buy it. I'm sorry I did.