Roland Clan Forums

Hi all - I'm doing some research and hoping the Clan can help me. I have three questions that give some key indicators to the most important thoughts about the JD-XA. I'd like you to give the following:

Positive - the one thing you think is the best feature of the JD-XA

Improvement - the one thing you think that the JD-XA most needs improvement

Keep - the one thing you would like to see kept in future products (be they related or unrelated to the JD-XA)

An example answer might be;

Positive - nice bright LEDs
Improvement - wish I could make the LEDs brighter
Keep - the bright LEDs

Please note that this is not a bug-chasing exercise!

Many thanks in advance for all responses. I promise there is value to the exercise.

Positive: The analog synth engine sounds good.
Improvement: Glossy surface should be replaced with something proper.
Keep: LED light guides surrounding faders and pots are great, but only if the LED intensity can be reduced.

Positive: Sounds great, lot of options. Best feature for me is Cross modulation.

Improvement: I would prefer standard analog HPF and BPF, or atleast it would be great to have an option to use digital filters on analog engine.

Keep: I like the random LFO wave, rarely I see this on other synths.

I really like : sound and analogue manipulation

I like less : the digital involvement ... because its too vast to get to grips with on a shitty 2 bar LCD

I like even less : The suposed homage to old syths by having a 2 bar LCD ... this board exists in the modern age .. make it the fuck so !

The pits : File management .. I mean really ? you cant copy a bank ? .....lol

Quirk : Through Midi the multiparts can be controlled as one synth but not on USB ? WTF that all about ?

Positives - Great looking, especially with third party decals

Improvements - needs better file handling, ipad editor.

Keeps - the analog/digital mix is great, a little expensive, but fun.

Positives - nice accessible sound creation architecture

Improvements - a proper sequencer & an editor

Keeps - control layout - really intuitive (if not easy to read)

Positives: Great and easy sound creation, great sound quality, love the analog and digital crossover

Improvements: Add sequencer song/chain mode, add ability to go from one sequencer patch to another with out the sequencer stopping, add tranposing ability for sequencer.
Add ability to dim the knobs and slider led lights.
I am also hoping for a JDXA sound module that can be poly chained like the JP-08 so the JDXA could be chained to the module for analog and digital voice expansion.

Keeps: 1.Over all front panel sound creation structure.
Definitely keep the Arpeggiator.

Positive:
-The best of warm sounding from roland with a wonderful panel.
One of the best synth on the market for that.
-versatile,powerful.
-a very funny sequencer.
-knobs and faders are bery good in hands.
-the bonus to have a audio and midi card in it.
-a very beautiful synth with the synthgraphics panels(bye bye glossy..)


Negative:
-like others,a better sequencer implémentation would be great(song/chain mode)
-like the funny(but limited) JD-XI,it would be great to have a rythm part...
With all that the XA will be a kind of marvelous groovebox.

This glossy panel is one of the most stupid thing we ever seen in music gear production.
I don't understand why roland enginner did that.
We are so lucky to have a solution now.

Except all that,the JD-XA is an absolute killer synth,one of the most beautiful and fun synth a had in my life,and an ode to all i love from them!

Love the sound.
Needs an editor.
The sound.

The Pros:

The blending of acoustic tones and analog synth tones. For some reason playing a piano patch or even string patch on a synth with a ton of knobs and buttons on the front reminded me of the old Emulators.

The sounds themselves are good and with the ability to add Integra sounds, makes it even better.

The Negative:

The 4 octave key bed. I don't care that my Prophet 6 or OB6 has only 4 octaves as they only do a single patch at a time but for a synth with layer and split capabilities that extra octave is crucial to have the splits not feel cramped.

The layout is confusing and the actual writing on the front panel is impossible to read without squinting. Would have much preferred a white synth. For the actual layout I think something along the lines of a Prophet 08 layout would have been better. It seems like there's a lot of menu diving you have to do which shouldn't happen in an analog synth.

Pros:

I love pretty much everything about this synth so would be too long to list but - sound, looks (inc the gloss it's fine by me if you keep it clean and clean carefully), the controls, the range of the instrument, the power of the engine, the light weight, the more compact but still decent size, the pitch bender + extra wheels, they keybed (yes I actually really like the keybed now I play it almost exclusively; it doesn't feel small and it plays quietly and smooth), I am ok with 4 octaves on this synth.

I have very little problem with the menus or digital programming either, it's just something to get acquainted with and not half has difficult as people made out, nor as difficult as older digital synths like D-50. To me the synth makes a lot of sense and crams in a lot of power in the best way it could without making it too large/heavy/expensive.

Negatives:

-Slight noise on some analog sounds (sounds like RF interference) can hear it when using the compressor easily, wonder if this can be rectified by better internal shielding or if it's too late, I don't mind it too much esp in music where you don't hear it anyway.

-I've not found it at all a hard synth to come to terms with, even as poweful and useful as it is BUT I do find the manual a touch underwhelming. It would have been nice for such a great powerhouse synth to have a manual more like the JD-800's which is inspiring and has useful tips throughout both volumes 1 & 2 and actively explains why things are as they are.


Add:

-A bit more time available on the decay for the ENVS for SLOWER sweeps. It's not bad as it is but I miss super slow sweeps as the decay time seems quite short.
-Abiility to use patch buttons (A-P 1 -16 + shift combo + another combo) to allow easier patch naming.
-Copy full banks to USB easily
-Allow LED SHOW to have its speed set to slower than current (small thing), and also allow it to kick in while the sequencer is running, maybe linked to the tempo/midi clock (but nothing else being touched) :)
-Possibly allow dimming of LEDS but it's not a problem for me, I'll turn most of them off in normal use, I'll pop sliders and pots back on when it's dark and they are very useful then


Overall its the best synth I've ever had, have had a lot of Rolands (analog and digital) and this has all but replaced them for me. Beautiful synth and vastly under-rated.

Am happy with black, would not swap it for a white one. I'd rather take a scuffed black or fingerprints (not that I have them with a clean now and then and in my lighting) than a "loud" looking white synth. I can see why some would like that but I think it's fine as it is.

there are so many good things about the JD-XA

but the best: the magic sound

disslike: (others mentioned all i would have said so:)
no free overlay from Roland and synthgraphics are sold out and no more email feedback

keep: workflow

Synth graphics are doing preorders now for a 2nd run of the overlays. 4-6 weeks until they're back in stock.

Thanks for all your inputs everyone! Great comments all round. I'm now pulling everything together and so no longer require more data.