I have one of these I bought a few years ago. I was interested in the XD 'Drum synth' concept back when they originally came out but it just couldn't offer the realism and nuance of the Roland R8m. It is a REALLY versatile drum synth. Digital filters, with resonance AND their own envelope, plus lots of interesting sounds to layer, also with an envelope. Very powerful. Nice video. I Love 'The Minds Eye' CG art presentation for your song!
i've wanted a xd-5 for a while now, and while i do have some other drum modules (e-mu procussion, roland r8m with some cards, and my newest acquisition, a yamaha tmx, which is another drum module that has been all but forgotten and would make for a good episode), none of them are as editable as the xd-5 (even though the procussion comes close).
It's hard to tolerate a 16x2 display unless you're working with simple flat menus, and percussion modules always make things weird. They're not very usable without a programmer app and a DAW or something else that can keep your kits straight for you, and for me that takes most of the fun out of outboard gear. But I love that it's a 1989 rack module with filters and sliders on it. I like rack modules that are only about 8.5" deep (like the XV-5050 and everything by E-Mu) because you can actually put them on a desk.
Even with the small display, it's actually quite usable, because there are a ton of buttons too. Basically every segment like filter, waveform, envelopes etc has its own dedicated button so you can toggle between segemts quickly. My biggest downside was that my XD-5 is places all the way down im my rack, so programming is done sitting on the floor 😅
I guess the eprom part is a lot easier than replacing the rom chips, the rom board of the xd5 looks kind of like it has been piggy backed onto the k4r rom chips.
@@rejectedsynths was a while ago I tried it but I think neither of them, with opposite eprom ,would not boot.( same effect as if you don’t have the rom board fully seated in the XD5- I found that out by accident) so my guess is XD5 firmware looks for the rom board, can’t see it in K4 so won’t boot)
The sounds are pretty good but S3 is has maybe the least intuitive OS I think I’ve ever used. The rare expansion cards a excellent but I’ve never personally been able to track them down. If you havnt already looked at one, the Akai XE8 is my personal pick for interesting/ weird & forgotten drum modules😅
Oh wow. That was the first drum machine I ever used (my first synth was a k3). I forgot the manufacturer and model of the korg. My music production partner got one as one of his first music purchases. It was good for percussion layers but it was pretty useless at providing the meaty techno backbone we were looking for for the experimental rave music we were making. Back in the day when there were no online synth reviews and you just bought whatever the music store salesman needed to get rid of
I have one of these I bought a few years ago. I was interested in the XD 'Drum synth' concept back when they originally came out but it just couldn't offer the realism and nuance of the Roland R8m. It is a REALLY versatile drum synth. Digital filters, with resonance AND their own envelope, plus lots of interesting sounds to layer, also with an envelope. Very powerful. Nice video. I Love 'The Minds Eye' CG art presentation for your song!
This has been on my list for years. Your video has made it move up the list considerably. Thanks for this great video.
i've wanted a xd-5 for a while now, and while i do have some other drum modules (e-mu procussion, roland r8m with some cards, and my newest acquisition, a yamaha tmx, which is another drum module that has been all but forgotten and would make for a good episode), none of them are as editable as the xd-5 (even though the procussion comes close).
Sounds interesting
I never realised how I miss front facing power buttons
nice song!
Glad you like it, wasn't sure what to think of it myself, but after a while I like it too 😅
It's hard to tolerate a 16x2 display unless you're working with simple flat menus, and percussion modules always make things weird. They're not very usable without a programmer app and a DAW or something else that can keep your kits straight for you, and for me that takes most of the fun out of outboard gear. But I love that it's a 1989 rack module with filters and sliders on it. I like rack modules that are only about 8.5" deep (like the XV-5050 and everything by E-Mu) because you can actually put them on a desk.
Even with the small display, it's actually quite usable, because there are a ton of buttons too. Basically every segment like filter, waveform, envelopes etc has its own dedicated button so you can toggle between segemts quickly. My biggest downside was that my XD-5 is places all the way down im my rack, so programming is done sitting on the floor 😅
7:36 that shadow looks kinda...
Why turn a decent synth into a percussion maschine?
Before i finish the video, i wonder if a K4R can be turned into a XD-5 🤔
I guess the eprom part is a lot easier than replacing the rom chips, the rom board of the xd5 looks kind of like it has been piggy backed onto the k4r rom chips.
Maybe... but as you note there’s an extra ROM board in the XD5. just changing the EPROM won’t do it, tried it both ways, didn’t work 😢
@@pizzagogo6151 Oh you did? was it just dead then or did it go crazy or something?
@@rejectedsynths was a while ago I tried it but I think neither of them, with opposite eprom ,would not boot.( same effect as if you don’t have the rom board fully seated in the XD5- I found that out by accident) so my guess is XD5 firmware looks for the rom board, can’t see it in K4 so won’t boot)
@pizzagogo6151 ak ok, thank you very much for sharing 👍
The Korg S3 is a similarly weird digital drum machine.
Thanks for the hint, I'll check it out
The sounds are pretty good but S3 is has maybe the least intuitive OS I think I’ve ever used. The rare expansion cards a excellent but I’ve never personally been able to track them down. If you havnt already looked at one, the Akai XE8 is my personal pick for interesting/ weird & forgotten drum modules😅
Thanks I'll have a look at the XE8 too, never heard of it before
Oh wow. That was the first drum machine I ever used (my first synth was a k3). I forgot the manufacturer and model of the korg. My music production partner got one as one of his first music purchases. It was good for percussion layers but it was pretty useless at providing the meaty techno backbone we were looking for for the experimental rave music we were making. Back in the day when there were no online synth reviews and you just bought whatever the music store salesman needed to get rid of
Underrated comment. I am having trouble incorporating it into most songs. I guess if you're playing industrial music, it works @@dyscotopia
gutes Video, Aber bitte nächste Mal keine bewegten Videohintergründe... da wird einem ja schwindelig!
Stolze Heimat von Augenkrebs seit 2020 😜