JD-Xa - 4 times the value of the JD-Xi?!

[JDsb7]

An impossible question perhaps. I already have an Xi and have found it to be a really intuitive instrument that readily matches my approach and chosen style of music. It seems great value for such little money and whilst obviously cut back to maintain low cost it delivers a great deal. So naturally I want more ! I see a far more comprehensive analogue engine but a not disilmalar digital section and no drum track ( but not a big deal for me as I would keep the Xi).
I love the immediacy and accessibility of the key sound design controls and the overall sounds are really musical.
Would take a week of ownership before I could answer my own question....
Any thoughts?

[richardbates1]

I am lucky enough to have both the JDXi and the JDXA, even though there are some similarities the 2 synths are totally different beasts. I think that they do compliment each other very well though.
Just keep in mind that they are totally different synths.

The JDXi is very intuitive and very easy to use....it also kind of creates a certain approach to sound creation that is unique to the JDXi.

The JDXA is more complicated synth with a different sound even though it has the same digital sound engine.
The sequencer on it is different than the JDXi's and not as easy to create sequences on the fly.

To me the JDXA is a sound design synth, great for creating complex pad sounds to really great analog leads.
The one thing about the JDXA which is great in creating your own sounds is the blend of the 4 voice analog combined with the digital. It adds a nice warmth and thickness to the digital.

All and all the 2 synths do work very well together and the JDXA can run the JDXi on one or many of it's external tracks.

One note of interest:
If one of the reasons you are buying the JDXA is for the sequencer it has limitations at this point.
1. No transpose ability
2. No chain/song mode
3. No ability to go from one sequence to another with out the sequencer stopping....
that's a head scratcher as how they incorporated that limitation?

Pretty hard to believe I know but those are serious limitations to the sequencer.
Also read the thread by RonF on the sequencer primer, that will be enlightening.

Let's hope that Roland becomes aware pretty quickly if not already.....
of how limited the JDXA sequencer is and somehow updates this inferior aspect of their sequencer,
and to incorporate these basic 3 qualities that the majority of sequencers out there on the market already have?

But a working knowledge of the basic functions of the JDXA could take a few weeks of reading the support documents and experimentation with the synth.

I hope that helps?

[JDsb7]

Thanks Richard for your considered response - helpful most definitely.
I could well believe Roland will update the sequencer to at least equal the Xi - incredible how it can be inferior.
To be honest I am still unsure. The Xi was a very pleasant surprise and any backward steps on something 4 x the cost may be unbearable!
Might wait and see if Roland update and maybe a price drop.....

Thanks again.

[Venn Diagram]

An impossible question perhaps. I already have an Xi and have found it to be a really intuitive instrument that readily matches my approach and chosen style of music. It seems great value for such little money and whilst obviously cut back to maintain low cost it delivers a great deal. So naturally I want more ! I see a far more comprehensive analogue engine but a not disilmalar digital section and no drum track ( but not a big deal for me as I would keep the Xi).
I love the immediacy and accessibility of the key sound design controls and the overall sounds are really musical.
Would take a week of ownership before I could answer my own question....
Any thoughts?

It is easily more than 4 times the synth.

Each analog voice is true dual oscillator with, ring mod, cross mod, sync, pwm and it's own MFX independently with the ability to use a voice from the digital engine as a cross mod source a slew of multimode filters, poly stack mode and the ability to layer any combination of separate digital and/or analog voices in combination.
Once you ad on the digital engine the fact that you get 8 EQ's, 8 MFX, 2 TFX, 4 Mono Analog, 4 Poly Digital Parts, Looping EG's per digital partial, Poly Stack Mode with the ability to layer and analog filter the digital parts, full multi-timbral operation with a complex programmable midi arpeggiator, with extensive midi control capabilities and huge knob laden interface thrown in (it makes for a great controller for soft synths also). I am also overlooking the Vocoder possibilities here too the direct line analog engine out + stereo out, audio & midi over usb etc also.
The sequencer is great for parameter modulations embedded within a track and is also superb for creating very complex and custom arp patterns which can be played / transposed etc via the keyboard. i prefer using either Logic or one of my Monomachine's for complex sequencing duties.
That said you would by this thing for its huge sound design potential (which it has in spades).
Part Juno, part JX, part Jupiter, part D50, part JD990/800 with the sort of cross modulation facilities you'd see in the V-Synth.
Personally it's a winner for me.

[Synthtron]

I am curious is the JD-XA made in China or Japan?

[cello]

I am curious is the JD-XA made in China or Japan?

China

[Synthtron]

Really??? Thanks Cello.

[PauloF]

Really??? Thanks Cello.

Did you notice that almost all high tech devices are made in China these days... sign of the "new economic order"

[Synthtron]

I think Roland will have something Big come out of Japan at some point.

[brambos]

Given sufficient supervision during manufacturing there is no reason to prefer Japanese-made over Chinese-made these days. That's a rather 80s mindset.

[cello]

I believe that Roland's most recent Japanese-made keyboard was the Jupiter 80.

[korgmi]

Hi JDsb7,

I don't own a JD-Xi but have play around with one in store and found it really easy and fun to use. Ive had my new JD-XA for just over week now and Im very frustrated with some of the workflow, this in turn is really stopping enjoying it.

To be honest I do think it is over priced and the frustration of using it is making consider taking it back.

I don't want to bash Roland to much, as I think the concept is a great idea and it does sound good but I seem to spend to much time trying to get to do what I want it to do. Which stops me making music.

Just my thoughts,

Antony

[DWareham02]

Hi JDsb7,

I don't own a JD-Xi but have play around with one in store and found it really easy and fun to use. Ive had my new JD-XA for just over week now and Im very frustrated with some of the workflow, this in turn is really stopping enjoying it.

To be honest I do think it is over priced and the frustration of using it is making consider taking it back.

I don't want to bash Roland to much, as I think the concept is a great idea and it does sound good but I seem to spend to much time trying to get to do what I want it to do. Which stops me making music.

Just my thoughts,

Antony

Anthony:

I thought the same thing the first couple of days, but I keep at it. The more I use it, the more I learn and figure things out. I thought maybe at first that this was too complex, but now I'm getting the hang of it and I'll keep it. I did have an option to send it back within 30 days. I'm on day 10 now... It's mine. I'll keep it. It's so much fun. My recommendation: Stick with it. Just keep forging ahead.... it's worth it.

BTW... I have a Korg Triton Exteme too and with both, it's really awesome blending the sounds through a mixer. I'm really a guitar player, but dabble in keyboards, so this is making me better and more educated too.

Don

[realtrance]

It doesn't have the sampling depth nor architectural flexibility of V-Synth GT; nor does it have the number of layers and extent of PCM sound set of the JP-80, or Integra-7.

What it does have is the knob/slider/direct controller interface missing from all of the above, as well as, basically, eight separate synths (each of which you select with a blue Part button, each with its own, dedicated interface of controllers, highlighted by the controllers that are illuminated when you select the part.

I think that's brilliant design.

Plus: it allows layering of digital with analogue, for very distinct tonalities.

Imagine this: layer one analogue, two-osc, Roland filtered Part with another, ring-modulated, Moog-type filtered analogue voice, with another, Cross-modulated (using either analogue osc or any of the 500 digital osc waveforms) analogue voice, filtered with the LP3 multimode analogue filter. Keep in mind these are just the four analogue parts. And you can sequence/arpeggiate/MFX each of those parts independently, as well.

You then have, still, basically, four more digital parts to go, each with three digital synths/aka partials beneath them. So, twelve, two-osc, VA or PCM-waveform-based digital synths, split among four more parts! Each of which has a wide variety of digital filters, or can be run through the analogue filter of its associated Analogue part (a restriction is that Analogue Part 1 and Digital Part one, etc., are related -- i. e. you can only analogue-filter Digital Part 1 with Analogue Part 1's analogue filter -- which is not really a limitation). And these four digital parts, too, have their own separate sequencers, fx, arpeggiators, etc.

You can see how making a Patch (more like a Performance, really, in Roland-speak) can be quite an effort.

This is one monster of a performance synth, basically. As with V-Synth and JP-80, it's different enough that, like most Roland innovations, it is likely to be misunderstood for years after launch. :)

If you like the JD-Xi, I'd say stick with that; JD-XA is far more complex, and thus more likely to cause initial frustration for most.

[DWareham02]

It doesn't have the sampling depth nor architectural flexibility of V-Synth GT; nor does it have the number of layers and extent of PCM sound set of the JP-80, or Integra-7.

What it does have is the knob/slider/direct controller interface missing from all of the above, as well as, basically, eight separate synths (each of which you select with a blue Part button, each with its own, dedicated interface of controllers, highlighted by the controllers that are illuminated when you select the part.

I think that's brilliant design.

Plus: it allows layering of digital with analogue, for very distinct tonalities.

Imagine this: layer one analogue, two-osc, Roland filtered Part with another, ring-modulated, Moog-type filtered analogue voice, with another, Cross-modulated (using either analogue osc or any of the 500 digital osc waveforms) analogue voice, filtered with the LP3 multimode analogue filter. Keep in mind these are just the four analogue parts. And you can sequence/arpeggiate/MFX each of those parts independently, as well.

You then have, still, basically, four more digital parts to go, each with three digital synths/aka partials beneath them. So, twelve, two-osc, VA or PCM-waveform-based digital synths, split among four more parts! Each of which has a wide variety of digital filters, or can be run through the analogue filter of its associated Analogue part (a restriction is that Analogue Part 1 and Digital Part one, etc., are related -- i. e. you can only analogue-filter Digital Part 1 with Analogue Part 1's analogue filter -- which is not really a limitation). And these four digital parts, too, have their own separate sequencers, fx, arpeggiators, etc.

You can see how making a Patch (more like a Performance, really, in Roland-speak) can be quite an effort.

This is one monster of a performance synth, basically. As with V-Synth and JP-80, it's different enough that, like most Roland innovations, it is likely to be misunderstood for years after launch. :)

If you like the JD-Xi, I'd say stick with that; JD-XA is far more complex, and thus more likely to cause initial frustration for most.

-------------------------------------------
I have no desire for the JD-XI. The XA is much more robust and capable.

Outstanding description of the XA... You've opened my mind and eyes a bit more with that. Now my mind is saying, " okay.... what to tackle next." LOL I love playing with this box....I'm trying to build up an entire performance with the sequencer that I can play along with. One of my own creations. This is going to be fun, but take a bit of time, while learning. Best way to understand the XA is to dive in and swim with the sharks.... LOL Thanks.

Don