JDXA still sounds beautiful like no other synthesizer.

[DWareham02]

Jamie, I agree with the text being above the knobs. It's hard to see. I have my JD-XA on the second tier and it's hard to see the text with the knob blocking it when I'm on a stool. Standing over it is okay, but that's not fun when one is practicing, experimenting, learning the XA, especially hours at a time.

[richardbates1]

I went to SynthGraphics web site http://synthgraphics.com/ and really like his work! great quality synth image panels. I really like what he did with this particular version of the KIWI Juno 106 design!!! Has a Jupiter look.
I am hoping that SynthGraphics comes up with something soon for the JDXA?
Let us know what the status is periodically and when we can purchase the panels???

I hope he doesn't mind me stealing an image off his web site and placing it here?
If he does, I will remove this post, if not this is a great example of his work.

Image below
Product designed and produced by "SynthGraphics"...Jamie

SynthGraphicsKiwi.jpg (292.03 KiB) Viewed 1271 times

[SynthGraphics]

I went to SynthGraphics web site http://synthgraphics.com/ and really like his work! great quality synth image panels. I really like what he did with this particular version of the KIWI Juno 106 design!!! Has a Jupiter look.
I am hoping that SynthGraphics comes up with something soon for the JDXA?
Let us know what the status is periodically and when we can purchase the panels???

I hope he doesn't mind me stealing an image off his web site and placing it here?
If he does, I will remove this post, if not this is a great example of his work.

Image below
Product designed and produced by "SynthGraphics"...Jamie

SynthGraphicsKiwi.jpg

Thanks!

I will be making a panel overlay for the JD-XA, I think my plan is to make one prototype and share the photos, everyone who wants one can pre-order the overlay and will ship in 3-4 weeks afterwards. Most likely a one-time thing at this point.

[richardbates1]

I went to SynthGraphics web site http://synthgraphics.com/ and really like his work! great quality synth image panels. I really like what he did with this particular version of the KIWI Juno 106 design!!! Has a Jupiter look.
I am hoping that SynthGraphics comes up with something soon for the JDXA?
Let us know what the status is periodically and when we can purchase the panels???

I hope he doesn't mind me stealing an image off his web site and placing it here?
If he does, I will remove this post, if not this is a great example of his work.

Image below
Product designed and produced by "SynthGraphics"...Jamie

SynthGraphicsKiwi.jpg

Thanks!

I will be making a panel overlay for the JD-XA, I think my plan is to make one prototype and share the photos, everyone who wants one can pre-order the overlay and will ship in 3-4 weeks afterwards. Most likely a one-time thing at this point.

Definitely put me in for an order.

[JDBoy]

Unless you own this little beast you have no idea how beautiful it sounds.

Agreed.

I'm writing this while I've got the strangest evolving spacey pad going on the sequencer with a pitch bend up an octave every 2 bars, the slicer going with pattern 16, mild flanger on TFX2, Analog/Digital layer with pulsing filter sweeps and res increases from mod... that's the background for an entire track there, justt needs drums, bass, guitar... (real ones).

Such a great machine.

p.s no problems at all with the looks or the shine or the text labels. I honestly never looked at them again after the first day, it's so self explanatory if you've been around a few synths over the years. Nothing too esoteric on the panel. I program it in complete dark (with leds on) fine. Not saying I'm some kind of synth-hero btw, just that in time everyone should be able to remember what the buttons and knobs do without problem. Did the same with my JD-800 in the dark and that didn't even have lit sliders, it's just muscle memory, actual memory and time.

[synthguy99]

I have not had the pleasure of playing it yet. I may add a JD-XA in the next year or so. I only wish it had a couple more analog voices for 6 Note polyphony like my Juno-60 and 106 for playing pads.

I thought I would paste in here something I posted at that Roland loving GS forum. ;-)

Programming was a pleasant surprise, and in short order I had a nice plucky synth tone, mixing a saw and rectangle wave through the first filter (Jupiter-type I believe). It had kind of a Vangelis CS-80 sound to it. I had no manual but the programming using the panel controls was totally old school ease.

Now something I had wondered was, if I could blend the analog and SN synth together more or less seamlessly to give the illusion of much more polyphony than the skimpy four of the analog section. And without disabling an analog voice to send the digital section through a filter paraphonically, reducing it to even skimpier three analog notes. So off I went to the SN synth part to make a similar sound as close as possible, muting the analog section so I could focus. Having programmed a JP-50 before, it was a breeze with that well endowed control panel, even if some functions were off in menu/shortcut limbo. Holding two Select buttons down, it was a quick job to make two identical partials (layers in Rolandese) as they were both programmed together by that panel. Then select one to detune up a few cents, select the other to tune down and shape a rectangle wave, and it sounded pretty much like the other.

Now to see if the hypothesis was correct. Selecting each section and tone to balance them with the AMP level control, tweak filters here and there, and... yeah! Playing big chords, laying down the notes one by one, it sounded amazingly like the analog section had suddenly gained all kinds of voices. Very, very nice. Add some chorus to make it even richer, and I had a nice plucky Vangelis patch, sounding quite reminiscent of his CS-80s.

Yes, the analog filters have a certain juice and bounce that the SN filters don't quite match, but the SN voice sounds just great on its own, and harmonizes very well with the analog voice. So now I don't fret about only having four analog notes to play with. One is not the icing and the other the cake. It's more like two similar flavors of cake layered together to make a whole dessert. Obviously some patches, like hard sync, won't blend so much as layer, and the same for audio rate modulation. But for just about everything else, it seems like the hybrid concept will work outstandingly well, and I can see that just about all of the patches I'll make on my own XA when it becomes mine, will be hybrid patches like this one. Each synth engine complimenting and supporting the other in near seamless harmony.

So I was pleasantly surprised that for most synth sounds, the digital SN synth works almost perfectly with the analog to create the illusion of something like a 24 voice (or so) polyanalog. You guys might try this because this is what most of my patches are going to be, and it sounds great.

[JDBoy]

Echo all that's being said here, wonderful unique and beautiful sounds abound with this machine, if you dig in and program it.

Similar to the guy above, I'll often leave a held pad/sequence running while I browse the net and it sounds so nice I don't get tired of it. Only a few synths have been like that for me, XA creates such interesting sound but not just 'clever' but great sounding too. Large sweet spot.

Jamie, I agree with the text being above the knobs. It's hard to see.

Honestly does anyone really need to even read the text after the first week? I know I don't. There's not that many knobs and buttons and their position makes it kinda clear what they are for, the lesser used ones are second nature after a while. I like that it's dark text because the synth LOOKS better for it. As you don't need that text after using it a while it just melts away visually and you are left with your hands and the controls - perfect! to me it's a step backwards putting the text in hard hitting WHITE and esp BELOW the knobs/buttons (esp those that are stacked vertically) whenever text is below a button or knob I have to recheck if it's for the below or above knob, but when they are all above it's more natural to have it above. Most rolands have it above (if not all as far as I recall) so I think that breaks with their, and popular, convention. Text above, and dark red is fine for me, maybe I'm weird.

Leave it as it is, it is what it is and mine still looks beautiful and clean, don't just use any old rag to clean it, get a lens cleaning cloth (the very small/fine microfibre ones not the large MF rags) and wipe gently couple times a week, I find I rarely get my fingers on the flat surface anyway, maybe a bit around the menu button area. No scratches, zero dust ( I keep mine covered when not being used, in a self made and kinda cool bubblewrap cover that shows the lights through when in attract mode) so, really, I can't fault it. It looks unique and different and while I think the synthgraphics overlay also looks nice I'd prefer an option to have it closer to the original (no white text, possibly no 'jupiter style' bars etc). Either way, it's fine for me.