Why should I get a JD-XA?

[Rodan]

Have I been seduced by all the lights and knobs and sliders? Can anyone record just one chord that they made with their JD-XA that they couldn't have done with their other gear? Does it offer the same feast for the ear that it does for the eye? Help!

[runningman67]

Have I been seduced by all the lights and knobs and sliders? Can anyone record just one chord that they made with their JD-XA that they couldn't have done with their other gear? Does it offer the same feast for the ear that it does for the eye? Help!

Ok. My take on this. Having sold my Blofeld, Kronos and Waldorf 'butter fat' module and bought a jdxa jdxi and mx1.

Forget the lights. You will get a free matt overlay off Roland and I bought the white sliders. Looks really Pro.

1.The chord thing. Chords are chords, so if you mean sound. There is a sweet spot which I hear, especially combining analogue and digital. It happens when the analogue sound is fairly flat and the digital is a wave pad. Lets say D bass and Aminor chord. It gives me goose bumps.

I can then live tweak the effects, tweak what ever I want. Its a synth.

2. Forget the Factory sounds. You will become a sound designer. You will learn it quickly if you really want to.

3. Do you like pads? You will never run out of layering options. Infact you will over do it probably and then return and return again and one day you'll turn it on and think 'wow did I do that'.

4. It's not a workstation. It's a Swiss army knife. You will use all of it, it's all good.

5. Niggles. No pattern chaining (it may happen with updates) Small screen I'm used to it.

6. It now links to the Aira system. In other words, it is part of the family, not some crazy lab experiment gone wrong. Hence me buying the MX 1.

7. Yes I sold some amazing gear. Do I miss it. No. I have never had so much fun. Not since being a spotty teenager with my original ARP odyssey and Hammond.

Conclusion.

I'm 49. Played organ and synths for 40 years as a pro and Home studio work. I have owned more or less every wonderful Korg Workstation.

If you want a synth that is deep. Will be your friend eventually. Give you goose bump moments and I feel, will improve with Roland updates. Go for it.

[Rodan]

Thanks, RunningMan. Just the kind of information I was looking for.

As for chords: Once many years ago, I walked into a dimly lit music store that specialized in synths and keyboards, totally intimidated by all the gear that I thought I could never afford. When no one was looking I walked up to a keyboard that was turned on and played a chord. It was the most amazing sound I had ever heard. I have no idea what keyboard it was, but I am still haunted by that sound. So I keep searching for that lost chord.

[runningman67]

Depends on your needs. If, when you play, you just like to go with the flow and be creative and expressive the JD XA is perfect.

It does require patience. The ability to tweak your sounds is right in front of you. The sounds, patches and tones seem hidden away at first. It's not a preset clone, monster. You will make your own soundscapes within a bit of time. You can save your favourites easily and organise your own banks. You will end up with a bespoke machine. Not a factory, patch clone.

[bigmuz7]

Whilst I agree with almost everything from runningmans analysis ... including sharing his age ;) the synth still pisses me off with its pathetically small display because of whats going on under the hood .. but .... now that Ive learned how to sync it with my DAW (because the JDXA has some USB quirks, not copied in MIDI) it has opened up some great new beat creation sounds for me. Every time I switch it on and concentrate on just it... theres a patch that has a creative rhythm or sequence or sound I want to work with. I love strings and pads too and as an 80's teenager it has a wealth of replications available from that era and others easy to make. Unlike FM programming .. most of it is up there on the dash .. but .. thats why I want a display 8 times the size of the one it has for the digital side.. gettin' too old to stab buttons and recall menu sets , because we live in a world of GUI's being the way forward .. That said .. you cant get better than the one it has on the top with the knobs and sliders, but, thats what we were used to on the analog side anyway ... but the digital side, one of its most arguably important parts...well is more of a dirty bitch you will have to go looking for .. you can find it, and it gives pleasure .. but sometimes you feel a more honest approach would be easier and it wouldn't tire you out so much !

Also don't be deceived by the toy looks .. apart from the sounds .. Roland now provide matt overlays that sharpen things up a lot !

Yeah its a good tool ... your individual circumstances will depend on what you get out of it though

[runningman67]

but the digital side, one of its most arguably important parts...well is more of a dirty bitch you will have to go looking for ..

Nice one !
That has to be the best quote about the JD XA, even at my age haha.

Roland should use it in its marketing.

[Rodan]

LOL Well Bigmuz, that has to be one of the best endorsements I have ever seen, pleasure and pain. It's always been my view that nothing can give as much pleasure as something you have to work for. And both of you are telling me this is a great board, but that greatness is not free, you have to work for it. Hmm...analog plus digital, somewhere in there has to be my lost chord. Time to get to work.

[zombietactics]

... Will be your friend eventually. Give you goose bump moments and I feel, will improve with Roland updates. Go for it.

I'll echo runningman67's post almost in it's entirety, and add a few comments of my own ...

Understand that the simplest level of organization on the JD-XA is the "partial" in the digital section, which should not be confused with the way Roland has used that term for most of its history. On the JD-XA, a partial is a complete synthesizer with one digital VA/PCM oscillator, a filter (with many filter types), and Amplifier section and 3 Envelope generators (2 ADSR and 1 AD) ... lots of modulation possibilities. A single partial - all by itself - a bit like having a very super-charged VA version of a Juno106 or Alpha Juno.

There are THREE "Partials" for each of FOUR "Parts" ... which is the next level of organization. Each "Part" combines/mixes up to 3 "Partials", and then adds the effect section. So, a single digital "Part" gives you the ability to essentially stack 3 synth patches on top of each other, along with effects ... it's the equivalent of 3 keyboards, plus a mixer and effects.

You have FOUR Parts ... some of the effects are assigned/configured per Part, so you can have a different set of effects on Parts 1,2,3 & 4.

Sooooo ... you have the potential of stacking the equivalent of 12 synthesizers - each with a different patch/sound - and lots of effect, modulation and controller options.

That's huge ... the JD-XA can replace a whole rack of keyboards and effects.

[HaveIt]

JD-XA is

4 x separate Dual DCO analog mono synths with a pattern sequencer for each
4 x separate 3 Osc digital poly synths with pattern sequencer for each
8 x midi controller parts with pattern sequencer for each

All in one keyboard.

Might take a bit of time for that to sink in.

[OneOfManyPauls]

JD-XA is

4 x separate Dual DCO analog mono synths with a pattern sequencer for each
4 x separate 3 Osc digital poly synths with pattern sequencer for each
8 x midi controller parts with pattern sequencer for each

All in one keyboard.

Might take a bit of time for that to sink in.

yep, and we get to harness all that power through a 2 line x 16 character display.

[bigmuz7]

JD-XA is

4 x separate Dual DCO analog mono synths with a pattern sequencer for each
4 x separate 3 Osc digital poly synths with pattern sequencer for each
8 x midi controller parts with pattern sequencer for each

All in one keyboard.

Might take a bit of time for that to sink in.

yep, and we get to harness all that power through a 2 line x 16 character display.

Yep... who designs this sort of stuff and leaves the finished article like that ? they should get sacked .. Its like designing a monster V12 supercharged petrol engine and fitting it with a half inch wide exhaust pipe .... where hardly anything can get out. Maybe Roland didn't realise what they created ? Another analogy .. Its like looking into a massive greenhouse that's full of beautiful plants that you want to smell and touch, they are lush, bounteous , fragrant,... beguiling ... and you have paid much money to enjoy this ... but you only have a letterbox to look through and do all your dealings .... if only you had the keys to the front door ....

[runningman67]

But you have access to 49 keys, lots of knobs buttons and slider. Two wheels and a stick bender.

So its like having full access to Marilyn Monroe naked in bed but shes got sunglasses on ;)

Its still worth it.

[bigmuz7]

Its still worth it.

Oh yeah .. for sure ... but the devs need to know what users at the sharp end would feel inspires them to write music, and how easier interfacing would facilitate that !

[runningman67]

Its still worth it.

Oh yeah .. for sure ... but the devs need to know what users at the sharp end would feel inspires them to write music, and how easier interfacing would facilitate that !

True.

It's an interesting, eccentric, keyboard in so many ways. The weaknesses are even a curiosity.

I still think it's a keeper though.

[Myrk-]

Ironically I find the post about how someone hated the JD-XA, and how they are selling it, to be actually one of the best pro-threads for buying, with the added benefit of having some realistic feedback on the synth that gives a further peer into the annoyances we experience.

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=52251

That being said the JD-XA is my favourite synth ever - so much power in there, I often feel like I underuse it a bit when I hear what some other people come up with, but that also makes me feel that this synth will live with me for life, not just a few years before I ditch it... unless Roland make a JD-XA2 with all the updates we want (and a bigger screen! hahahaah)