Help - how to split JD-XA keyboard into zones

[robocap]

JD-XA is my first synth and probably this is the reason why I can't succeed in this simple task. On my Casio keyboard I have just a button to press, but on the JD-XA it seems more complex. I can't find any hint in the (terrible) manual, but may be is due to my inexperience of the Roland jargon. Any help will be highly appreciated.

[Silken Path]

Hi. Congrats on the new synth! Have you downloaded the Users, Parameters, and MIDI implementation guides?

https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/jd-xa/

On my DS, the Parameters guide takes off where the (multilingual) user's guide leaves off.

[robocap]

Hi, thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I downloaded the parameter guide even before buying the JD-XA, but there is nothing more than in the manual. Initially I thought I'd never needed to split a 49 keys keyboard, but soon I discovered: at home, the difficulty of balancing the sounds of a hw and a virtual synth played at the same time when improvising, out the cost and the trouble of carrying two sinths. All I need is a quick way to create, save and recall a - let me say - "program" that assigns a preset to a keyboard zone, another preset to a second and so on. In the JD-XA documentation, the only reference to keyboard splitting is related to "part" setting, but for what I know the JD-XA "parts" are the 4 monophonic analog synths and the 4 poliphonic digital synths that may be activated or not in a preset. If this is true, the keyboard splitting would not be a JD-XA viable function.

[Silken Path]

Hmm. Here's a quote from a review.

Parts can be split and layered via key ranges, though one thing I found was that these don't apply to external MIDI input , set up part 1 on C-1 to B1 part 2 on C2 to B2 etc and although this will split via the internal keyboard, via external MIDI it doesn't each part just plays across the entire key range - actually quite frustrating. It is not possible to velocity layer parts or tones.

https://sonicstate.com/news/2015/08/05/ ... ew-part-2/

So I think you're right that the splits are parts-based. Maybe some of the cohort here will have other suggestions.

Did you see that under "Short Cut Keys" -- Press "Part On" 0 to 4 + keyboard twice...? in manual p. 16?

[robocap]

Well, I found in this forum an useful document (JDXA-BKMs.pdf) full of hints and tips. At page 7 I read:

Shortcut for Setting Key Ranges
Another good 'shortcut' for those that need it is setting the ranges for splits, if you use 2 mono analog sounds for ex you can hold down the RED lit button for a part, keep holding it and the screen will flash the keyrange, then press on the actual keybed the lowest key and highest key you want that to play over - done! hold the next part button and do the same. Very simple way to set up key ranges instead of menu diving.

I suppose this closes definitely the investigation, so today I've bought for few € a second-hand Ultranova, 37 standard size keys, sound on usb, spdif, easy sound editing. It will be my other keyboard zone.
Thank you for the support