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XP-30 as second board for JS?

Posted: 13:03, 10 August 2014
by JD Kross
Hi, is the XP30 would be a good 2nd board or as a second option if I don't want to bring JS in small gig. Are the sound qualities close? I really enjoyed XV patches in JS and thought XP30 would sound the same or very close.

Re: XP-30 as second board for JS?

Posted: 21:09, 11 August 2014
by Martijn
Great combination!

So you're considering to buy a used XP-30? I have bought one new in 1999 or 2000 and still use it, now as a second keyboard above my Juno Stage (with SRX-07 board). I think it's a great combination and it really works for me! Also my fellow band members love it. I have the "Keyboards of '60's & '70's-" expansion board because I found it essential for organs and EP's and the Pop expansion because I had it lying around (in my JV-880 which I rarely use). But also without these 2 expansions, you have all sounds of the JV2080 + the Session, Orchestral and Techno Collection SR-JV80 boards. A great collection of patches (over 1400 patches, more than the Juno Stage has). I use this combo now (JS + XP-30) for over 4 years and I can't think of a patch that I don't have or can't create with these two stage 'friends'. I even used the XP-30 for about 5 years as the only source of sounds, having an A-33 midi keyboard (76 keys) to play most of the sounds and the XP-30's keyboard as second keyboard on top. Nowadays I use the Juno Stage instead of the A-33, to have more possibilities, be more flexible and have some fresher sounds (and the A-33 had some broken keys).

Soundquality

As I said, you have all internal patches of the acclaimed JV2080. That's a great start, but it gets better. Because the session-board is onboard, you have a great grand piano (not as vivid and expressive as the 88 stage grand in the JS, but still good enough for any gig in my opinion), acoustic instruments like flute, trumpet, and a wonderful nylon guitar and some nice synth-patches.
The Orchestral board contains some very nice string variations, solo instruments and ensembles as well as typical orchestral percussion.
The Techno Collection has some creative electronic sounds, but nowadays I find them a little outdated. There are some very useful waveforms on that board, though.
Besides the headphones output, the board has only two analogue outputs, just like the Juno Stage, enough for stage use.
Some of the waveforms are (exactly) the same in the XP-30 and the Juno Stage, so you could say they sound alike, still the Juno Stage has a great deal of better waveforms over the XP-30 (acoustic pianos, EP's, acoustic guitars, bass, drums).

Structure

You have basically the same sound structure as in the Juno Stage: 16 parts multitimbral performances, patches contain 4 tones (no 'stereo'-tones like JS), MFX (only 1, 40 different effects), reverb and chorus. You can create any splits and/or layers spread over the whole keyboard. You will find almost the same parameters for editing tones, patches and performances (WG, TVA, TVF, LFO, FX), although the Juno Stage has a few more, especially in the performances.

Controls

The keybed has almost the same response as the one in the Juno Stage (semi-weighted synth action) and I find it really expressive. What I like most about the XP-30 over my Juno Stage is the 4 sliders. These sliders can be used for either tone level (to control the level of each tone in a patch), attack/decay/cutoff/resonance (similar to JS control knobs), or they can be assigned to any control you like (which I find great and is a function the JS lacks). Also it has (channel) aftertouch (not on JS!) which I like to use a lot on certain sounds (synth lead, brass). Of course you can also add an expression pedal which can be assigned to almost anything you want.

It has an extensive arpeggiator (derived from XP-60) which has user programmable presets and can be very handy and easy to use.

If I still have not convinced you, please have a look here: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug99/a ... ndxp30.htm

I would not use it as an 'only'-keyboard, not even on smaller gigs, because I really need the 76 keys for piano sounds, but that's my opinion. I would use the Juno Stage if I had to choose one.

Re: XP-30 as second board for JS?

Posted: 21:28, 11 August 2014
by Martijn
Just some extra information: I think you should not pay more than US$ 350,- for a used model. Make sure you play it before you buy it and check all keys, buttons, sliders, knobs and the display. I have never had a smart media card and I think you don't need it either. It's not a user memory expansion, it's just to save everything in the internal user memory to a single file on the card and when you load it, it overwrites all user-data. You can do the same thing when you connect it via MIDI to your computer using SoundDiver or MidiQuest.

Re: XP-30 as second board for JS?

Posted: 07:29, 14 August 2014
by JD Kross
Hi Martijn,

Much appreciated, thanks for information. Now I'm totally convinced since the comments came from the one who actually uses both.

Also thanks for reminding me to check keys, buttons and sliders since it's one of the reasons I'm hesitant to buy aside from the sound quality.

Wish me luck, hopefully I'll win the bid.

Re: XP-30 as second board for JS?

Posted: 07:52, 17 August 2014
by Martijn
Good luck! If you need any more info, let me know.

Re: XP-30 as second board for JS?

Posted: 22:49, 23 February 2015
by oliv928
Hello
Happy to read that. I actually own a XP30 to play in my rock band, and I expect to buy a JS soon.
I think hope sounds are better on the JS which is younger than the XP30. XP30 is not bad but I expect better sounds with the JS. I own also a Fantom FA76, which I think as better sounds and better sound quality, more presence... But weight is too high to bring to sessions. That is why I am expecting a JS now. Jupiter50 looks good too, but price is high, and not expandable