I think I'm speaking for a majority of your subscribers here when I say that we appreciate the growth and direction the channel has taken. I believe that there can be thoughtful, detailed, and insightful "music gear videos" that rise above the feature set, pros and cons, buy or don't buy. Because we live with these tools, and we hope they'll help us grow - the experience we have with them is a story on it's own.
Well, to me, personally, the JD-XA is one of the finest subtractive synthesizers ever produced. Sure, it could have, say, 8 analog voices, and a five octave keyboard, and could be made in Japan instead of China, but then it would cost as much as the Jupiter-X, which is another excellent synthesizer. But then a Jupiter-XL with a six-octave keyboard would be even better. Going back to the JD-XA, it is only growing on me. The feature set is mind blowing, all the controls transmit MIDI messages, if it only had motorized knobs and sliders, and a morph function to smoothly go from one patch another (like the scenes in the AN1x) with all the knobs turning and sliders moving automatically, that would be the best synthesizer ever produced. But then there's something called marketplace, the bell curve of the population of prospective buyers, regulations, licenses, taxes, supply chain, distributors, and retailers, so that the only option left to have your dream synthesizer is to build your own. John Bowen did it, but his Solaris is $5,000 and I'd chose the JD-XA over it in no time. So, we're back to square one.
Story telling about gear; not gear reviews. That's fantastic man! The whole reason I started going down a hardware set up is because the experience of making music is different when your playing synths vs just programming it into a computer. The feeling of the process is different, programming on a computer feels like office work. Playing with instruments/hardware feels like a adventure.
A computer DAW is just a better tape machine. Nobody has to "program" music. You can just select a VST, select a patch, press sync record and start shredding on the keybed. Then you cut and paste and do whatever you want. Creating a song with a Kronos f.e. is a pain in the ass.
Yes although I ultimately feel differently about the JDxA, this is a great video and helpful to the community as the JDxA is one of the most misunderstood synths out there. Gattobus' 10 80s covers in 10 mins videos were the only examples I could find showing me it had potential before I bought it. I am a sound designer, and though Noir's gripes are 100% valid (and shared), to me it is worth it to keep around and squint at the tiny LCD for what I get out of it. But I get his point, if you're NOT a sound designer how could it possibly be worth the giant cost? At first the 4 note polyphony really bothered me, coming from 6 notes on the JX-8P, but over time I've come to make it work well.
I really appreciate a video like this. Not a simple rundown of features but a clear perspective on interfacing with the hardware. I've been considering this board for a long time because my JD-XI delivered so well but after hearing the points you made, I think I'll be doing further research into other options. Thanks for the perspective!
I got mine for a steal including the matte overlay, and I’ll never let go of it. Menu diving is a sucker, yes - but the PROs outweigh the CONs by far. I know of musicians who sold and rebought the JD-XA over 4 times!
I feel the only people who give this a bad rap are those who were expecting something different (a huge 6+ voice analog synth) than what what Roland intended, and those who simply do not understand it. It is a phenomenal synth for sound design, live performance etc taking you into territories that the analog prophets cannot. Yes the screen is small and there is some menu diving but it is very minimal. This was one of the most underrated synths and now people are actively trying to acquire again. Learn the equipment, it’s a gem.
Bought when years back sold it due to frustration with interface. Missed it desperately and repurchased. To date it is my favorite synth. The learning curve is tedious, but once you get your brain around it, it is amazing.
I agree the JD-XA is a confusing synth, but every time I think of flipping it, I find it has _something_ about it that I love. It certainly helps to work with it as a crossover synth, since 4 analog voices alone is a bit restrictive and the digital engine alone is far from unique. But making patches with an analog base and adding digital gloss works every bit as well as making digital patches and laying serious presence from the analog side, and both can create seriously awesome sounds. For me the weakest point is that the direct modulation options are quite restricted, with some only being available via performance controllers. That's cool for performing I guess, but annoying at other times. The second weak point is the menu diving, all the basics are up top, but once you have to hit the menus it's not fun - there isn't even a data entry wheel for browsing the 400+ waveform selections. Regarding the finish, for a time you could get free matt overlays that significantly impact the visual impression and was well worth annoying your dealer for. It could have and probably should have been just a bit better than it is, but what's there is by no means bad. Roland are a weird company, I have to wonder how they make their design decisions...
I agree with all of this. I honestly don't mind the 4-voice analog polyphony that so many people get hung up on. But sometimes I get so frustrated by it, especially in terms of its MIDI implementation. It's so annoying to change each of the parts to Channel 1 (or whatever) when I want MIDI from Ableton to play the entire patch... why didn't they allow a way to not have to change to "part" channels for every new patch you load?? It's infuriating. But then I actually hear the sounds coming out of it... there's nothing else like it. I've considered selling it and getting the JD-08, but I think it will disappoint me.
This is the real truth & experience of living with & loving the JDxA. I don't think I could give it up either no matter how many frustrations there are.
I've had mine since 2015, and it's an usual one. It's an essential main component of playing live as it is great at copying other synths when you really dig deep. At home I tend not to use it so much when jamming out as it is really deep, and needs a lot of setup to get it to where you want it. Kebu has like 4 or 5 of these for live as backups to his real analogue synths, so you know it's totally capable. A great trick is to pass digital parts through the analogue filter sections. Should be noted the JD-XA is also a very powerful controller for your DAW or other synths/devices, with 16 channels of control easily accessible! Best paired up with a Synthstrom Deluge - the 2 paired together for live can achieve anything!
1. The Vocoder also doubles as an input envelope follower to modulation source in the analog engine and it can control things like LFO rates, depths, cut-off, resonance etc as well as act like a standard Vocoder. 2. The Digital engine has looping EG's + LFO + Mod LFO per partial with after touch for amp/filter per partial - it can be used to crossmod and/or ring mod the analog oscillators. Digital voices can use a proper digital polyphonic filter per voice however you can either a) paraphonically filter the digital poly voice with an analog multimode filter. If you use the digital filter two you get filters in series as well. The digital oscillator can also act as a modulator for the analog oscillator without having it be heard. For example you can create a melodic step sequence on a digi-osc that is not audible but ring mods and or cross mods the analog part in question. The pedal inputs can be controlled via CV, it has dual CV/GATE outputs for controlling other modular gear and in controller mode the entire panel can be remapped from Midi channels 1-16 so that is pitch/mod, 2 wheels and 20 faders + knobs can be easily assigned to control other midi modules or act as a controller for your virtual synths. Its a 2 in and 2 out audio interface as well. To put it simply don't view it as separate parts. I tend to use it as a pad/atmosphere/drone/texture and poly synth. Voices can play on 1 midi channel, any configuration of midi channels or as I prefer separate channels where by poly parts can have their own midi channels and vector modulations per digital/analog part. Processing of the digital voices into the analog engine is post MFX too which yields some truly unique cross mod sounds and lends a certain grit and movement not too dissimilar to an Ensoniq Fizmo. It's still my favourite synth for pure inspiration and it take a while to learn to navigate the interface well but reductive to state it is just 4 voice analog + SN-S engine without focusing on the interactions of the two is something of a misnomer. Still sounds like no other Roland and not a lot like anything else I own but what do I know. Not inserting link to sound bank demos as it seems you delete posts that can at the very least back up their assumptions with real world sound examples.
All great points! Like I said, it sounds amazing and is deep as heck, but that’s why I stated this isn’t a review...while yes I believe people should be subjective, the reasons I liked and disliked it were super based on personal reasons as a musician who has produced and toured for years. (Hence, why I pointed out weight as a positive) FYI: UA-cam blocks links a lot, but also in the past malicious sites have been dropped as links on videos before with the guise of being music links, so if they get through I don’t even click them and remove them for viewer’s safety just in case. Sorry if that bothers you, but bad apples ruin the bunch when it comes to sharing links.
@@NoirEtBlancVie I am not disagreeing with you on things regarding the interface etc. If it was layed out like a V2.0 V-Synth OS with a similar interface it would be much ARP's only and that the note sequencer was removed and replaced with a 4 lane modulation sequencer per part add MPE control and offer a visual editor. Its flawed and quirky but for some reason the JD-XA and my Monomachne (equally as odd in it own way) are the two most inspiring things I use hardware wise. The RADIAS is in that basket too which I adore and is another odd duck that rewards if you dig deep. Quite frankly I don't like the presets the XA ships with. I deleted all mine within the first week of owning it, but at 5+ years down the track I can zip around on it as fast as I can anything else I own.
You have nailed it. Best synth of its generation & who cares if it's plasticy. I worked out it has 802 settings, so how can they present that at a glance, even on a computer? You missed one point: Those LED buttons show the edit state AT A GLANCE and the knobs and sliders take you to the Menu, then page left or right for the more obscure settings. Great synth!!
Amazing "not review" ! Not siding with pros nor againsts, this is beyond what I need or can use, but I really liked the way you talked about it. Good stuff
I recently got one of these and I must say it is a great synth. What let's it down is the manual. I am still finding new stuff 6 months in because it just isn't documented, like the selection keys becoming trigger pads. The way you split the keyboard into multiple sections. What this synth really needs is a software editor that gives you full access on large screen to all the amazing features. The sound of this synth makes up for the nagging menu diving as it sounds awesome both analog and digital.
I totally agree. Is not the more comfortable way, if you need use software but you could save a lot of time and could dig very deep with the synth, because i believe that JDXA is very very capable and powerful
i've got the little brother one-voice analog jd-xi. They go for a bargain used and they are a ton of fun. By no means a "premium" product, it's good stuff.
I too own a jd-xa. Second hw synth after mpc. Personally I think it is amazing value, even the menu diving isn’t that bad. Touch any knob and the display can be scrolled through that knobs params. Only down side is the mod matrix which is confusing. To see it in action check my vids- just kidding but do watch gattobus jd-xa vid. I don’t think I have ever seen a synth that can stand alone no additional track recordings and put out an entire production.
I'm one of those people who loves it, for the inverse of the reason you didn't - it vibed with me right away. When I first sat down with it in the store, I got carried away just playing variations of a very simple patch I made with the triangle wave for like 40 minutes. My main board was a Virus KC for years and I grew up sorting through menus in sports, strategy & role playing video games, so the screen and menu structure isn't something that would particularly bother me. I really like the weird possibilities in it with the two engines and the modulation it has. It makes hybrid pads I can just get lost in. It also has a surprisingly vast sonic palette, I hear tracks and demos from others that sound nothing like what I get out of it. I think that does highlight one factor that you raise - people into sound design will get a lot more out of it that people who aren't.
I got one early on. It seemed buggy, with possible electrical issues. I figured some of that would get ironed out in firmware, but I was disappointed and returned it. I hope others had better experiences with it.
EXCELLENT quote: "kinda goes over-the-top with its feature set while at the same time literally letting me down when I step back and look at the big picture." Yeah - cool to have a XLR Mic input with gate, its own dedicated reverb. Yeah, cool to have dual CV/Gate outputs. Yeah, cool to have a vocoder ablity. BUT its a flagship synth with the most frusratingly tiny 2-line LCD which is required for all tweaks except the knobbage you can see (main stuff you'd want to fiddle with accessible for analog parts via knobs but the digital side of JDxA almost entirely accessible only via the rabbit hole menus). The dry analog output is nice, but why can't we have an output for each of the four parts? Moreover, why on this digital synth are all the digital parts also summed together for the USB audio output? Obviously in any professional setting it would be required to have them individually. If you see my channel is dominated by videos Ive made of the JDxA doing wonderful sounds, but it's equally frustrating.
Wait - what - the vocoder is analog? all this time I assumed it was another tack-on digital vocodoer like microkorg, alesis micron, arturia microfreak, etc
Having spent a bit of time with one I'd have much the same conclusions. So much potential but Roland's bizarre design decisions killed a lot of the joy in using this. I was offered one a few months back for 900 euro and I still passed it up. Even at that price there's better options that are actually enjoyable to use. For what its worth it somebody was a gigging musicians and needed a one stop synth that could cover most of the classic sounds it could be a decent option... but then again its still more expensive than the System 8 which does that all rounder job nicely too.
I second this - flawless recreation of the Roland original and very good build quality. Can't really fault Behringer on the VC340, even though I had a bad experience with their Odyssey clone (a weird fault in the envelopes just as it went out of warranty).
Hellllo 😇 I tried the VC340 and honestly, I think it’s Behringers BEST recreation. It sounds 10x better than this vocoder to my heads. Super crisp plus, the thing is built like I couldn’t believe. NOW, the reason I don’t get one is because I’d like to keep hate comments and tribalism to a minimum. Dammit I’ll say it’s great here, but I made that Model D video like 2 or 3 years back, and after the reception I knew I could really never do Behringer here until people became less emotionally charged about a damn inanimate object. 😁 Me more than anyone would love to do an ultimate vocoder shootout!
@@NoirEtBlancVie I actually owned a real Roland VP-330 and have also owned Roland's Boutique version. Sound wise, all three units sound identical to me. The keyboard, with full size keys, on the Behringer win out over the Boutique model for me, and it's still far more portable than the original machine! As for the Behringer hate, they've done some wince inducing things but I don't see anyone else recreating niche classics like the Octave Cat or EDP Wasp.
@@chriswareham no hate on Behringer from me, what I’m saying is that I’m extremely cautious of doing videos about their gear because I know first hand how toxic their supporters and haters can be. So personally, rather than inviting either of those communities in, I’d rather not. (Plus, Behringer has offered me free gear and I politely say I’m not really interested because well, they don’t have any pieces I personally feel I need (plus, I’m not super nostalgic about things like the Monopoly or 303, never have been...) and it’s not just them, any company that offers me stuff, if I don’t need or want it at all I don’t accept it just for the purpose of filling space, hence why I borrow gear so often or buy it myself, so yeah, they are singled out. I hope that bring clarity to my response. They make great stuff, but I just don’t care for the drama over musical instruments. (Though, when they complete the CS-80 I’ll get one and try it out, whether or not it inspires me enough to make a video, only time will tell😊.)
I like your honest reviews, music is about how you feel - not just the hardware, but how you FEEL with the hardware, it needs to integrate with us as musicians. Already have one of the most advanced synthesizers in the world, I grew up in the 80s and skipped 30 years of synthesizer evolution too (kinda like Roland), and dove into a very advanced one (top of the line, wasn't the JD-XA I can reveal), but I won't shill it here. But I can say this much, even though I like it, and it can do every sound on the planet, pretty much unlimited both on Voices and creativity, what kills it a bit for me is that it's just too darn advanced, even with 100s of menues and colour screen. There's something said for keeping things simple.
Great to hear your opinion on this. Was good to hear. I know I got the system-8 because of the whole 4 analog/symernatural thing. It's really nice (but also, pretty different from this in a lot of ways, and not analogue, so ...). :)
This thing is crazy good and crazy bad. The 12dB anaolg filter is a chaotic noise signal circuit. If you want to make OB-X like sounds thjs is a waste of money, but if you want to make astonishing noise and bleeding bleeps this may be the best thing in the world.
i had one of these for a month or so, and I've had a modal skulpt for the same amount of time, and I've ued the skulpt probably 10 times as much as the roland, once you get your head around a UI that can only be explained if you know that the guy who designed it was just 6 ferrets in a person suite and a fedora on.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, I really can see where your coming from....had a JD-XA for a few years. I like it but it is disappointing in a lot of ways, it’s not really “analogue enough” to do that really well. Nor does it do digital well enough as doesn’t seem to have the classic digital magic of a JD800/990. I have no interest in vocoders so it’s Build quality, short keybed & lack of screen means it’s not even a replacement for my V-synth....I keep,it cause I think I ultimately get better at using it 🤔.
Very impressive. I have yet to fully explore my jdxa but I did do a video called outer space synthesizer askcase jdxa as a rescore of my fav Northern lights video
When they were first released I had a pair of JD-Xi that I used for psytrance; they were painful to edit, and set-up MIDI control with my KMI SoftStep 2. Once I got it all working, it worked great for a compact portable rig. Roland should have offered a software editor for the JD-Xi and JD-XA; Boss provides Boss Tone Studio editors for all of their advanced guitar processors, and have for years. I heard there are third-party software editors, but I haven't tried them. I eventually sold one of my JD-Xi and kept one.
Wow I really hope people have walked away from this video, with a more open minded opinion of this synth. Thanks for dropping this N.E.B.V. great production as always 👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾
I had heard a rumor a couple of years ago that Roland stopped production on the JD-XA, but they still had pallets loaded with new product of their last production run sitting in a warehouse (could it be the same warehouse storing all the "D-Beam's"?). Anyway, Roland is amazing in that they can release classics and clunkers almost simultaneously. If they release a clunker, they just shrug it off and move on to the next thing on their product development list. As an aside, I agree with you that if one can live with the weak build quality, the JD-Xi might be one of the best bargain synths on the market.
The JDXA would be a bargain for $800. Fingers-crossed that Roland discontinues and slashes prices by 60% so it can become a modern classic like the original 303, 808, or 909 ;)
It has been my understanding too that Roland has just been selling off legacy built units for years. I love mine to bits (mostly due to the much maligned analog LP3F and using external midi to route individual chord notes digital>analog rather than each digital part sending the full chord), but with modern competition and the lack of support in terms of firmware updates/editor, it has seemed overpriced for quite some time now.
Love my JD-XI! Quick and fun to dial in sounds with. I can’t quite say the same with the JD-XA. Still I haven’t let it go. It definitely rewards patience but that’s something that I sometimes lack. Still it’s very capable and it’s effects section is great. They both are stand outs in my rig along with my SP-555. I still wish I had a V Synth too. Roland gets in the blood for me like a marriage of for better or worse…
This synth is still being made, you can still buy one. There must be a market for these, and 1000s must be sitting in people's homes (on stage?). I'm going to search YT for a highly skilled artist using this board....
Here is an interesting thought exercise to ponder, even with four analog voices (and everything else being the same): Had the Roland JD-XA featured a large intuitive multi-touch screen and been priced at $1,400 - many of us would without a doubt be calling it the "synth of the decade". Agree or disagree?
Well, I have a massive preference for physical controls over touchscreen, so I absolutely disagree. Not saying it's the synth of the decade now, but it certainly wouldn't be made much more appealing with a touchscreen even if that had made it cheaper.
@@SyncdAlien There isn’t a lot of menu diving after you learn the shift+”something” shortcuts. My only complaint about the JD-XA is that the aftertouch is too stiff.
Good upload, I love the sound of the XA, but it only having 4 voices on the analogue instead of 8 is what breaks the deal, lost opportunity. Not that it would be a problem for me, since I am mostly interested in it for the digital part.
It's almost like Roland have someone from one of their competitors working in their engineering team, sabotaging potentially great instruments. They've been that way for at least 25 years though - I remember buying the MC-303 when it was released, and being shocked at how pathetic it was. All they had to do in the case of the MC-303 was have a squelchy bass synth, some TR samples and a vaguely decent multi-timbral polysynth. That would have been within the capabilities of the hardware they used, but what they gave us was a terrible ROMpler that seemed to satisfy no one.
Hey guys I just got my first eurorack setup. It works great. There appears to be no problems with it as far as I can see. However I noticed that after about 3 hours of usage, the modules began to get pretty hot. Almost all of them. Since I am very new to Euroracks I have no idea if this is a very normal thing. I am using a Tiptop Mantis case. The modules felt hot enough that I wondered why tiptop did not include a fan in the case. It felt hotter than my PS4 console and the PS4 HAS a built in fan. This was my very first time using a eurorack for at least 3 hours straight. But again, I have no idea if modules getting hot after about 3 hours of usage is a normal thing. Can someone tell me if this is normal or not. I don't want my modules to burn out. Thanks a lot.
Agree. Also love vocoders :-) Sooooo disappointing that the company that helped pioneer one-knob-per-function analogue synths that users seem to be clamouring for, has fallen back into the digital menu-diving system, and with tiny screens to boot. Never mind the quality - try the user-interface!
The menu diving is minimal. Honestly once you turn the knob its settings appear on the menu. If needed you can tweak from there to get special features. All the knob per function is already there.
I’m a Roland guy, however I currently have only one Roland piece, made after the the year 2000, the System8. I have bought and sold a lot of them though. As somebody that does their own sound design, the JD-Xa is very capable, but no I did not find it fun to program, when compared to other poly synths. For me, when the System8 came out, it was like oh.....this is what they should have done to begin with. Its a nice sounding digital synth, a slightly vintage Roland-esque tone, mostly knob per function, and I tend to reach for it more than a Virus or Blofeld. I’ll probably replace it at some point if I find a Novation Summit locally for a good price, but it is a really nice instrument to play when I have 20 minutes to sit and jam. I’m not a huge fan of synthesizers that require extensive manual reading to figure everything out. For samplers, sequencers, or drum machines, it is understandable. The JDXa required a lot of manual for me, in order to explore all of its features. Had it a few months. It sounds fine, but not really remarkable, and since it wasn’t fun for me to use, I moved on. So basically, an awkward design and the System8 came out only a year later, which kind of crushed the JDXa, and probably any future development on its firmware or other potential products that were of similar design. Thanks for the video. An interesting product that missed the mark IMO, as there were beginning to be A LOT of poly synth options suddenly, around this time. It just couldn’t compete.
Their system line is a modern classic, people just don't know it yet. They all went out and bought boutiques that don't hold a candle to what the system synths can do.
@@alexwestconsulting I'd say people know it, since now that the System 1 is discontinued people are asking stupid prices for it on eBay/Reverb (what do you expect). Roland still makes the JD-XA but not the System 1, madness, really grinded my gears when I finally had the money for a System 1 only to find out it was discontinued and overpriced secondhand...
@@JohnDoeWasntTaken sure but there aren't that many system 1's around, not relative to some other ubiquitous synths anyway (like the circuit, or the microkorg, or even minibrute). So when I say "people", I mean "most people". people bought the boutique's like hotcakes for whatever reason, while the system 1 sat in the corner even though it's the same technology under the hood. the local used market here in Vancouver, Canada has routine listings for all the synths I just mentioned but next to never a system 1 (I know because I get alerts). Anyway, I have a System 1 and a System 1m and I far prefer the 1m. but agreed, looking at reverb prices I wouldn't pay that much in face of the competition that's out there, not for a digital synth, no matter how good it sounds.
@@JohnDoeWasntTaken ...ohhh, and I have a JD-Xi too. It's more like a fun toy. And supernatural does NOT sound as good as acb (nor does the analog synth engine on it).
@@alexwestconsulting I have a JD-Xi as well and agree. The System 1 was around the same price range and the JD-Xi made it feel like it was a "real" synth compared to, well, the JD-Xi. I know most prefer the 1m but I dislike having the keyboard separate from the synth so I always wanted to get the System 1. It's unfortunate that the System 1 never sold a whole lot, leading to the scarcity we deal with now. I remember it as the first synth I ever wanted to buy, and now sadly I probably never will because I'm not paying $800USD for a synth as limited as it is. Shame on Roland for discontinuing it while still selling the overpriced disappointment that is the JD-XA, it's crazy that the MSRP on that thing used to be over $2k, even $2k is quite a lot for what it is.
I agree with your take. Always thought it was a weird combination of a supernatural synth and 4 voice analog. They could have made two separate synths: one just supernatural synth with more hands on controls, and a separate 8 voice analog synth. Roland seems to throw in too many features on a lot of their synths which can muddy the water.
A Jupiter 10 feels like a no brainer. Take the "partial" concept and do a 10 voice analog synth. Like it's literally RIGHT THERE! Hell, even do a digital synth and expand on the partial LA synthesis concept from the D50.
Love your end-statement and think you're right. Music is about emotion and not about gear. So if a certain instrument does nothing for you, there's nothing to say about it. Or maybe a UA-cam short 😂 But passion will prevail and just make videos what you're passionate about! I bet it will be awesome!
Noir always keeps it real! Thanks for this not-a-review review. The irony of this piece is who is it for? It's too complex and expensive for beginners, and too menu-divey and limited for experts. This review actually sort of explains why something like the Jupiter X ended up getting made, at least to me. Half the price and much more intuitive. Even though it is not analog they take a real run at spot on imitation of the original units' sound and provide plenty of polyphony.
and here i am happy as shit with my microfreak and still managing a dizzying range of sounds out of a synth that's technically only monophonic (paraphonic? fake-phonic?)
Roland has bizarre track record of late. They make amazingly powerful pieces of gear with rather unique feature sets but absolutely kneecap the implementation by not keeping up with their contemporaries. At one point I got a System-8, and after a few weeks I started to wonder why I bothered. The screen was tiny and it only had 1 LFO for reasons unknown. Meanwhile, the Rev2 had multiple LFOs and the ability to upgrade to 16 voices down the line. The system-8 is all digital, so why NOT have those extra voices? And if they can’t, why have the price at the level of a full analog synth? Genuinely baffled.
Also a system 8 owner and I think it is my least liked synth, even though i still kind of like it. The shoot outs online show the S8 cleary being ultra similar to the synths it emulates. But there is something in the video record that is not quite getting all the details because when I fire it up and esp. in listening to recordings latter; there is something undeniably digital about the "perfect emulations". this is very disapointing if you think you are getting an S8 so you dont have to lust after jupiter 8s anymore. So that sucks! but also I will say as a digital synth i am still overall glad to have it. When I put it against a Virus TI though I dont think it really is all that..
I personally like my JD_XA quite a lot, it's interface is substancial and there are a lot of buried parameters, but you can stack plenty of digital voices and create very nice soundscapes with it on the digital side, I treat the analog side as a mono-synth with that Roland flavoured filter & effects. It holds it's place in my studio and has strengths to keep it here, where it's less fun to use I have other synths to go to. I would not recommend it as your first hardware synth, thee are many better synths out there but if you want Roland flavour I'd pick the System 8, and if it's gotta be analogue then the Sequential Pro 3 is my top choice for a mono synth, as for analogue poly's I'd say the Deepmind 12 for that Roland flavour.
i felt the same, get a used XI for sure, not the XA! tbh your review of the XA being so-so mirrors my feeling about the System 8 in build quality and "special feeling" I don't get, although I wouldn't give it a bad review either. Owning old Roland gear and having bought newer stuff from them seriously makes me worried about the future output of this company..
My problem with Roland is how they deal with their customers and products. For example, I have Roland AX-Edge. The released it with a piss poor phone editor, missing features, and spent several years actually making the editor, then charging you a subscription to use it. The same thing with my TR-8. They added 707 drums to it. Guess how much? 100$. For basically a sample pack of 707. Then, they released the TR-8S which just has that already, more or less the same price as TR-8 on it's release. Just damn man. Here I am with stuff like Elektron, they're updating my firmware and synths 10 years later to make it better for no extra money at all. With Moog, you pay a premium but they GET things RIGHT the first time. Roland is always so convoluted feeling to program. I got that feeling from the TR-8S when I had it, and most synths I've used from them. Only roland box I've ever been truly happy with is TB3.
I just can't get past the design language of the JD-XA, JD-XI, and System-1 'Plugout'. I'm sure they have a very detailed style guide which specifies the glossy finish and backlit controls. It just looks like a plasticky consumer electronics thing that you impulse buy, but which ends up being sold at a garage sale years later. Sure maybe it has real analog voices in there, but I have a hard time wanting to find out if they sound good. There are a mad amount of analog, digital and hybrid synths out there right now. And most of them (except for the Mopho and Sledge) don't hurt my eyes as much. I know it sounds kind of petty to be hung up on looks. But would you buy a car if you hated the color?
Oh I absolutely have bought cars whose colours I hated, several times in the past. Needs must and all that. The great thing about a lime green car is nobody will steal it, its too ugly.
system-1 is awesome, the desktop module in particular. VA/modular highbrid that has a ton of patching options. I've got the jd-xi too and it's great for the price if you get it at a good price. The jdxi I do consider something of a toy (even the analog is rather substandard in a relative sense), but the system-1m is just truly good.
The biggest issue for me is in the digital part : to select the pcm samples (waveforms) you just have to use the plus & minus button and step to all of them. There is no knob for this function. Something like this drives me insane. The jd 800 already had a knob for this. So why Roland? And the sequencer is without option to transpose the sequence. Sometimes I'm asking myself: aren't the instrument manufacturers testing their products?
I was looking at a used JP-08 (yes yes, I know, digital not analog) but aside from it's tiny size making some of the controls annoying, I read that it only had 4 voices so I would need to buy 2 to get semi authentic Jupiter 8 sound. For that kind of money I'm going to stick with Arturia's VST. Not sure what's going on with Roland these days but its not selling me anything.
If I already have a deepmind 13 and monologue XD do you think it's worth picking up the JD-XA for $900 ? It seems to have lots of cool presets to tweak as well as a darker sound for cyberpunk and synthwave.
i get the price comparison that the JDXA is NOT worth 5 JDXIs...but ive been seeing the JDXA go for around 16-1700 now...so im wondering if it might be worth 3 JDXIs just for the expanded patch selection and more analog options? and since they added some drum patches since?
Great vid. Nice when you can say what you want. I agree. I remember when this thing came out. For years it's felt like roland is merely patronizing their old analog fans. Since the 90s people wanted new and amazing analog synths from this company but roland continually turns their noses up at us. It's been pretty obvious they only care about pushing their new digital tech. This would be fine, if they weren't pretending to be the old analog roland, while trying to sell us on more digital stuff we didn't exactly ask for. Stuff that, frankly, doesn't need to come in a multi-thousand dollar box.
"Most subjective video ever made"-setting the bar high right off the bat! 😅 Similar experience with my first real synth, the Nord Lead A1. UI is terribly confusing, at least for a beginner. I still have it and grew to like it, but don't think I would have if I had started with the JD-XA. Lead A1 at least has more polyphony and 4-part multi-timbral. Plenty of filter types, great effects section, lots of oscillators. Its biggest missing feature is no built-in sequencer. Rambling, but in any case, anyone looking for a synth that covers similar ground, unless you're a collector or find one on a killer deal, it would be difficult to justify over something like the ASM Hydrasynth.
Interestingly though, the Lead A1 does just enough that I'm not enticed to the point of selling it and replacing with something like the Hydrasynth. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Curious if owners of the JD-XA feel similarly.
@@lumer2b But are you a collector, do you own other polysynths with keys already, do you play it often, what role, etc.? I'm more interested in the context of those who do or don't want to replace theirs, but thanks for the data point!
@@0VRLNDR I'm a hobbyist, I don't remember exactly why I chose the JD-XA when I did, but now I got attached to it. My main complaints are the keybed aftertouch and that you only have one pattern per program, and you must stop playback to change programs.
3 роки тому
Could you compare this one with Fantom 8 or Jupiter X?
If I had experience with the 8 or the X I definitely would, but I unfortunately don’t, so yeah...maybe if there’s a compelling story behind those two I’ll check them out someday.
Love and hate here. But it's that special surprise synth. You can make such a weird sounds with it. You cannot type this synth somewhere. That little bit of everything, sometimes I don't look at it, then suddenly for hours in crazy sound world...
For anyone who loves vocoders, you should at least try the Waldorf STVC. Straightforward simple string machine, great vocoder (after a bit of practice).
I find myself very inspired by the JD-XA when I play it in music stores and never have any problems programming it given I used to be an avid user of the JD-800 and JD-990 synthesizers. That said, I always feel like the JD-XA is way overpriced. I'd love to have one and have no doubt that I'd put it to good use but I don't think a $2000 price tag on it is justified. I still lobby (complain) to Roland about making a JD-Xi rack-mountable module.
I have 2 Jdxi synths. I can't figure out how to sequence them both at the same time or it's not possible. If that unit came with 2 or 3 analog parts and 8 or 10 digital parts it would be a beast. Fun toy though.
If the JD-XA was $1000 instead of $2500, it would be a lot more appealing. But TBH, it still wouldn't be on my shopping list... and it's largely because of the interface. Roland has a great sound engine, but could really stand to redesign the UI and workflow. Korg had the same problem for a long time, and only recently started to move past it. Waiting for Roland to do the same.
how is it that Roland manages to always make some incredible core ideas, and mess it up with perplexing design choices and basically abandoning them within a few years?
To me, personally, something like the Modal 002, something like the DSI Poly Evolver, Acces Viruses. In a sense it’s about the quality of the product, but also about the value of the synth increasing over time after it’s out of production.
I'd suggest the Waldorf Blofeld. It got a (deservedly) bad reputation on release because of the buggy firmware, but since they fixed that I consider it to be the finest digital synth out there.
Señores, con todo mi respeto por sus opiniones.Roland JDXA, es simplemente genial, Roland sabe lo que hace como siempre , y en el futuro , esta bestia, sera dificil de conseguir y muy caro.
Foooooooour voooooooices
LOL
Same as the OB-X8 when layered and that’s $5000.
I think I'm speaking for a majority of your subscribers here when I say that we appreciate the growth and direction the channel has taken. I believe that there can be thoughtful, detailed, and insightful "music gear videos" that rise above the feature set, pros and cons, buy or don't buy. Because we live with these tools, and we hope they'll help us grow - the experience we have with them is a story on it's own.
Well, to me, personally, the JD-XA is one of the finest subtractive synthesizers ever produced. Sure, it could have, say, 8 analog voices, and a five octave keyboard, and could be made in Japan instead of China, but then it would cost as much as the Jupiter-X, which is another excellent synthesizer. But then a Jupiter-XL with a six-octave keyboard would be even better. Going back to the JD-XA, it is only growing on me. The feature set is mind blowing, all the controls transmit MIDI messages, if it only had motorized knobs and sliders, and a morph function to smoothly go from one patch another (like the scenes in the AN1x) with all the knobs turning and sliders moving automatically, that would be the best synthesizer ever produced. But then there's something called marketplace, the bell curve of the population of prospective buyers, regulations, licenses, taxes, supply chain, distributors, and retailers, so that the only option left to have your dream synthesizer is to build your own. John Bowen did it, but his Solaris is $5,000 and I'd chose the JD-XA over it in no time. So, we're back to square one.
Story telling about gear; not gear reviews. That's fantastic man! The whole reason I started going down a hardware set up is because the experience of making music is different when your playing synths vs just programming it into a computer. The feeling of the process is different, programming on a computer feels like office work. Playing with instruments/hardware feels like a adventure.
A computer DAW is just a better tape machine. Nobody has to "program" music. You can just select a VST, select a patch, press sync record and start shredding on the keybed. Then you cut and paste and do whatever you want. Creating a song with a Kronos f.e. is a pain in the ass.
Yes although I ultimately feel differently about the JDxA, this is a great video and helpful to the community as the JDxA is one of the most misunderstood synths out there. Gattobus' 10 80s covers in 10 mins videos were the only examples I could find showing me it had potential before I bought it. I am a sound designer, and though Noir's gripes are 100% valid (and shared), to me it is worth it to keep around and squint at the tiny LCD for what I get out of it. But I get his point, if you're NOT a sound designer how could it possibly be worth the giant cost? At first the 4 note polyphony really bothered me, coming from 6 notes on the JX-8P, but over time I've come to make it work well.
Totally . That’s how I feel too
The most underated synth ever made in my opinion...this old fella is born for industrial and driving techno
For real. In 15 or 20 years people will finally realize how good this thing is.
@@t.n.3819exactly my thoughts, I got one at a good price, creates amazing sounds.
the bokeh shots 00:13 08:04 are so stunning, gotta love your'e 100mm 2.8 lens 😍
I really appreciate a video like this. Not a simple rundown of features but a clear perspective on interfacing with the hardware. I've been considering this board for a long time because my JD-XI delivered so well but after hearing the points you made, I think I'll be doing further research into other options. Thanks for the perspective!
I love your content man. It’s so refreshing to watch a “synth-fluencer” not trying to sell me something or activate my GAS.
Well thank you, I’m just a working producer, if it doesn’t work for me how can I sell it to anyone else 🤷🏾♂️
I especially liked the text on the end-screen. I still like gear, but I can appreciate where you're at and see myself heading that direction as well.
I got mine for a steal including the matte overlay, and I’ll never let go of it. Menu diving is a sucker, yes - but the PROs outweigh the CONs by far. I know of musicians who sold and rebought the JD-XA over 4 times!
I love the sound quality of the sawtoothy waveforms - very crispy :)
I feel the only people who give this a bad rap are those who were expecting something different (a huge 6+ voice analog synth) than what what Roland intended, and those who simply do not understand it. It is a phenomenal synth for sound design, live performance etc taking you into territories that the analog prophets cannot. Yes the screen is small and there is some menu diving but it is very minimal. This was one of the most underrated synths and now people are actively trying to acquire again. Learn the equipment, it’s a gem.
Bought when years back sold it due to frustration with interface.
Missed it desperately and repurchased. To date it is my favorite synth.
The learning curve is tedious, but once you get your brain around it, it is amazing.
I agree the JD-XA is a confusing synth, but every time I think of flipping it, I find it has _something_ about it that I love. It certainly helps to work with it as a crossover synth, since 4 analog voices alone is a bit restrictive and the digital engine alone is far from unique. But making patches with an analog base and adding digital gloss works every bit as well as making digital patches and laying serious presence from the analog side, and both can create seriously awesome sounds. For me the weakest point is that the direct modulation options are quite restricted, with some only being available via performance controllers. That's cool for performing I guess, but annoying at other times. The second weak point is the menu diving, all the basics are up top, but once you have to hit the menus it's not fun - there isn't even a data entry wheel for browsing the 400+ waveform selections. Regarding the finish, for a time you could get free matt overlays that significantly impact the visual impression and was well worth annoying your dealer for. It could have and probably should have been just a bit better than it is, but what's there is by no means bad. Roland are a weird company, I have to wonder how they make their design decisions...
totally agree! in addiction i would mention the totally frustrating sequencer and the crazy midi setup via daw, but same i can't sell it!
I agree with all of this. I honestly don't mind the 4-voice analog polyphony that so many people get hung up on. But sometimes I get so frustrated by it, especially in terms of its MIDI implementation. It's so annoying to change each of the parts to Channel 1 (or whatever) when I want MIDI from Ableton to play the entire patch... why didn't they allow a way to not have to change to "part" channels for every new patch you load?? It's infuriating. But then I actually hear the sounds coming out of it... there's nothing else like it. I've considered selling it and getting the JD-08, but I think it will disappoint me.
This is the real truth & experience of living with & loving the JDxA. I don't think I could give it up either no matter how many frustrations there are.
I can genuinely say I really appreciated your honest opinion. As well as some serious kudos to Perfect Circuit too!
I've had mine since 2015, and it's an usual one. It's an essential main component of playing live as it is great at copying other synths when you really dig deep. At home I tend not to use it so much when jamming out as it is really deep, and needs a lot of setup to get it to where you want it. Kebu has like 4 or 5 of these for live as backups to his real analogue synths, so you know it's totally capable. A great trick is to pass digital parts through the analogue filter sections. Should be noted the JD-XA is also a very powerful controller for your DAW or other synths/devices, with 16 channels of control easily accessible!
Best paired up with a Synthstrom Deluge - the 2 paired together for live can achieve anything!
1. The Vocoder also doubles as an input envelope follower to modulation source in the analog engine and it can control things like LFO rates, depths, cut-off, resonance etc as well as act like a standard Vocoder. 2. The Digital engine has looping EG's + LFO + Mod LFO per partial with after touch for amp/filter per partial - it can be used to crossmod and/or ring mod the analog oscillators. Digital voices can use a proper digital polyphonic filter per voice however you can either a) paraphonically filter the digital poly voice with an analog multimode filter. If you use the digital filter two you get filters in series as well. The digital oscillator can also act as a modulator for the analog oscillator without having it be heard. For example you can create a melodic step sequence on a digi-osc that is not audible but ring mods and or cross mods the analog part in question. The pedal inputs can be controlled via CV, it has dual CV/GATE outputs for controlling other modular gear and in controller mode the entire panel can be remapped from Midi channels 1-16 so that is pitch/mod, 2 wheels and 20 faders + knobs can be easily assigned to control other midi modules or act as a controller for your virtual synths. Its a 2 in and 2 out audio interface as well. To put it simply don't view it as separate parts. I tend to use it as a pad/atmosphere/drone/texture and poly synth. Voices can play on 1 midi channel, any configuration of midi channels or as I prefer separate channels where by poly parts can have their own midi channels and vector modulations per digital/analog part. Processing of the digital voices into the analog engine is post MFX too which yields some truly unique cross mod sounds and lends a certain grit and movement not too dissimilar to an Ensoniq Fizmo. It's still my favourite synth for pure inspiration and it take a while to learn to navigate the interface well but reductive to state it is just 4 voice analog + SN-S engine without focusing on the interactions of the two is something of a misnomer. Still sounds like no other Roland and not a lot like anything else I own but what do I know. Not inserting link to sound bank demos as it seems you delete posts that can at the very least back up their assumptions with real world sound examples.
All great points! Like I said, it sounds amazing and is deep as heck, but that’s why I stated this isn’t a review...while yes I believe people should be subjective, the reasons I liked and disliked it were super based on personal reasons as a musician who has produced and toured for years. (Hence, why I pointed out weight as a positive)
FYI: UA-cam blocks links a lot, but also in the past malicious sites have been dropped as links on videos before with the guise of being music links, so if they get through I don’t even click them and remove them for viewer’s safety just in case. Sorry if that bothers you, but bad apples ruin the bunch when it comes to sharing links.
@@NoirEtBlancVie I am not disagreeing with you on things regarding the interface etc. If it was layed out like a V2.0 V-Synth OS with a similar interface it would be much ARP's only and that the note sequencer was removed and replaced with a 4 lane modulation sequencer per part add MPE control and offer a visual editor. Its flawed and quirky but for some reason the JD-XA and my Monomachne (equally as odd in it own way) are the two most inspiring things I use hardware wise. The RADIAS is in that basket too which I adore and is another odd duck that rewards if you dig deep. Quite frankly I don't like the presets the XA ships with. I deleted all mine within the first week of owning it, but at 5+ years down the track I can zip around on it as fast as I can anything else I own.
You have nailed it. Best synth of its generation & who cares if it's plasticy. I worked out it has 802 settings, so how can they present that at a glance, even on a computer? You missed one point: Those LED buttons show the edit state AT A GLANCE and the knobs and sliders take you to the Menu, then page left or right for the more obscure settings. Great synth!!
Amazing "not review" ! Not siding with pros nor againsts, this is beyond what I need or can use, but I really liked the way you talked about it. Good stuff
I recently got one of these and I must say it is a great synth. What let's it down is the manual. I am still finding new stuff 6 months in because it just isn't documented, like the selection keys becoming trigger pads. The way you split the keyboard into multiple sections.
What this synth really needs is a software editor that gives you full access on large screen to all the amazing features.
The sound of this synth makes up for the nagging menu diving as it sounds awesome both analog and digital.
I totally agree. Is not the more comfortable way, if you need use software but you could save a lot of time and could dig very deep with the synth, because i believe that JDXA is very very capable and powerful
It goes around for ~USD 1000 in the used market these days, great value indeed.
i've got the little brother one-voice analog jd-xi. They go for a bargain used and they are a ton of fun. By no means a "premium" product, it's good stuff.
I too own a jd-xa. Second hw synth after mpc. Personally I think it is amazing value, even the menu diving isn’t that bad. Touch any knob and the display can be scrolled through that knobs params. Only down side is the mod matrix which is confusing. To see it in action check my vids- just kidding but do watch gattobus jd-xa vid. I don’t think I have ever seen a synth that can stand alone no additional track recordings and put out an entire production.
I'm one of those people who loves it, for the inverse of the reason you didn't - it vibed with me right away. When I first sat down with it in the store, I got carried away just playing variations of a very simple patch I made with the triangle wave for like 40 minutes. My main board was a Virus KC for years and I grew up sorting through menus in sports, strategy & role playing video games, so the screen and menu structure isn't something that would particularly bother me.
I really like the weird possibilities in it with the two engines and the modulation it has. It makes hybrid pads I can just get lost in. It also has a surprisingly vast sonic palette, I hear tracks and demos from others that sound nothing like what I get out of it. I think that does highlight one factor that you raise - people into sound design will get a lot more out of it that people who aren't.
That phantom power bit had me dying. My exact thoughts. Honestly that is the most impressive/unexpected feature on this lil guy
It sounded amazing so I bought it. The little bitty screen was terribly annoying until I got a tilted keyboard stand.
I got one early on. It seemed buggy, with possible electrical issues. I figured some of that would get ironed out in firmware, but I was disappointed and returned it. I hope others had better experiences with it.
That analog vocoder with phantom power might make up for the JD-Xi price difference. :)
EXCELLENT quote: "kinda goes over-the-top with its feature set while at the same time literally letting me down when I step back and look at the big picture." Yeah - cool to have a XLR Mic input with gate, its own dedicated reverb. Yeah, cool to have dual CV/Gate outputs. Yeah, cool to have a vocoder ablity. BUT its a flagship synth with the most frusratingly tiny 2-line LCD which is required for all tweaks except the knobbage you can see (main stuff you'd want to fiddle with accessible for analog parts via knobs but the digital side of JDxA almost entirely accessible only via the rabbit hole menus). The dry analog output is nice, but why can't we have an output for each of the four parts? Moreover, why on this digital synth are all the digital parts also summed together for the USB audio output? Obviously in any professional setting it would be required to have them individually. If you see my channel is dominated by videos Ive made of the JDxA doing wonderful sounds, but it's equally frustrating.
Wait - what - the vocoder is analog? all this time I assumed it was another tack-on digital vocodoer like microkorg, alesis micron, arturia microfreak, etc
Having spent a bit of time with one I'd have much the same conclusions. So much potential but Roland's bizarre design decisions killed a lot of the joy in using this. I was offered one a few months back for 900 euro and I still passed it up. Even at that price there's better options that are actually enjoyable to use. For what its worth it somebody was a gigging musicians and needed a one stop synth that could cover most of the classic sounds it could be a decent option... but then again its still more expensive than the System 8 which does that all rounder job nicely too.
And it looks really nice right next to the system 8 and it will give you that Christmas type feeling.
I love vocoders too! I'm not a clone defender but the VC340 is everything it's cracked up to be if you ever try it out.
I second this - flawless recreation of the Roland original and very good build quality. Can't really fault Behringer on the VC340, even though I had a bad experience with their Odyssey clone (a weird fault in the envelopes just as it went out of warranty).
Hellllo 😇 I tried the VC340 and honestly, I think it’s Behringers BEST recreation. It sounds 10x better than this vocoder to my heads. Super crisp plus, the thing is built like I couldn’t believe. NOW, the reason I don’t get one is because I’d like to keep hate comments and tribalism to a minimum. Dammit I’ll say it’s great here, but I made that Model D video like 2 or 3 years back, and after the reception I knew I could really never do Behringer here until people became less emotionally charged about a damn inanimate object. 😁
Me more than anyone would love to do an ultimate vocoder shootout!
@@NoirEtBlancVie I actually owned a real Roland VP-330 and have also owned Roland's Boutique version. Sound wise, all three units sound identical to me. The keyboard, with full size keys, on the Behringer win out over the Boutique model for me, and it's still far more portable than the original machine! As for the Behringer hate, they've done some wince inducing things but I don't see anyone else recreating niche classics like the Octave Cat or EDP Wasp.
@@chriswareham no hate on Behringer from me, what I’m saying is that I’m extremely cautious of doing videos about their gear because I know first hand how toxic their supporters and haters can be. So personally, rather than inviting either of those communities in, I’d rather not. (Plus, Behringer has offered me free gear and I politely say I’m not really interested because well, they don’t have any pieces I personally feel I need (plus, I’m not super nostalgic about things like the Monopoly or 303, never have been...) and it’s not just them, any company that offers me stuff, if I don’t need or want it at all I don’t accept it just for the purpose of filling space, hence why I borrow gear so often or buy it myself, so yeah, they are singled out.
I hope that bring clarity to my response. They make great stuff, but I just don’t care for the drama over musical instruments.
(Though, when they complete the CS-80 I’ll get one and try it out, whether or not it inspires me enough to make a video, only time will tell😊.)
That jdxi unboxing really felt like when Unboxed my own some years ago 😊
I like your honest reviews, music is about how you feel - not just the hardware, but how you FEEL with the hardware, it needs to integrate with us as musicians.
Already have one of the most advanced synthesizers in the world, I grew up in the 80s and skipped 30 years of synthesizer evolution too (kinda like Roland), and dove into a very advanced one (top of the line, wasn't the JD-XA I can reveal), but I won't shill it here. But I can say this much, even though I like it, and it can do every sound on the planet, pretty much unlimited both on Voices and creativity, what kills it a bit for me is that it's just too darn advanced, even with 100s of menues and colour screen.
There's something said for keeping things simple.
Great to hear your opinion on this. Was good to hear. I know I got the system-8 because of the whole 4 analog/symernatural thing. It's really nice (but also, pretty different from this in a lot of ways, and not analogue, so ...). :)
This thing is crazy good and crazy bad. The 12dB anaolg filter is a chaotic noise signal circuit. If you want to make OB-X like sounds thjs is a waste of money, but if you want to make astonishing noise and bleeding bleeps this may be the best thing in the world.
man that vocoder jam is SICK
i had one of these for a month or so, and I've had a modal skulpt for the same amount of time, and I've ued the skulpt probably 10 times as much as the roland, once you get your head around a UI that can only be explained if you know that the guy who designed it was just 6 ferrets in a person suite and a fedora on.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, I really can see where your coming from....had a JD-XA for a few years. I like it but it is disappointing in a lot of ways, it’s not really “analogue enough” to do that really well. Nor does it do digital well enough as doesn’t seem to have the classic digital magic of a JD800/990. I have no interest in vocoders so it’s Build quality, short keybed & lack of screen means it’s not even a replacement for my V-synth....I keep,it cause I think I ultimately get better at using it 🤔.
Very impressive. I have yet to fully explore my jdxa but I did do a video called outer space synthesizer askcase jdxa as a rescore of my fav Northern lights video
When they were first released I had a pair of JD-Xi that I used for psytrance; they were painful to edit, and set-up MIDI control with my KMI SoftStep 2.
Once I got it all working, it worked great for a compact portable rig.
Roland should have offered a software editor for the JD-Xi and JD-XA; Boss provides Boss Tone Studio editors for all of their advanced guitar processors, and have for years. I heard there are third-party software editors, but I haven't tried them.
I eventually sold one of my JD-Xi and kept one.
Wow I really hope people have walked away from this video, with a more open minded opinion of this synth.
Thanks for dropping this N.E.B.V. great production as always 👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾
I got the Jdxi and with it's 127 voice polyphony,I am very pleased with it. Nice vocoder use. Good review
very cool "review" !! Thanks, love all your uploads :)
I had heard a rumor a couple of years ago that Roland stopped production on the JD-XA, but they still had pallets loaded with new product of their last production run sitting in a warehouse (could it be the same warehouse storing all the "D-Beam's"?). Anyway, Roland is amazing in that they can release classics and clunkers almost simultaneously. If they release a clunker, they just shrug it off and move on to the next thing on their product development list. As an aside, I agree with you that if one can live with the weak build quality, the JD-Xi might be one of the best bargain synths on the market.
The JDXA would be a bargain for $800.
Fingers-crossed that Roland discontinues and slashes prices by 60% so it can become a modern classic like the original 303, 808, or 909 ;)
@@DanielHuman1996 Sometimes a clunker is a clunker at any price, though...
It has been my understanding too that Roland has just been selling off legacy built units for years. I love mine to bits (mostly due to the much maligned analog LP3F and using external midi to route individual chord notes digital>analog rather than each digital part sending the full chord), but with modern competition and the lack of support in terms of firmware updates/editor, it has seemed overpriced for quite some time now.
The JD-Xi has the worst minikey keybed for a product of that price. I wish I could replace it with Korg or Yamaha keys.
Love my JD-XI! Quick and fun to dial in sounds with. I can’t quite say the same with the JD-XA. Still I haven’t let it go. It definitely rewards patience but that’s something that I sometimes lack. Still it’s very capable and it’s effects section is great. They both are stand outs in my rig along with my SP-555. I still wish I had a V Synth too. Roland gets in the blood for me like a marriage of for better or worse…
This synth is still being made, you can still buy one. There must be a market for these, and 1000s must be sitting in people's homes (on stage?). I'm going to search YT for a highly skilled artist using this board....
Here is an interesting thought exercise to ponder, even with four analog voices (and everything else being the same): Had the Roland JD-XA featured a large intuitive multi-touch screen and been priced at $1,400 - many of us would without a doubt be calling it the "synth of the decade". Agree or disagree?
Totally, switch that crap LCD for something like on the quantum, OMFG, Roland takes its crown back 🤩
Well, I have a massive preference for physical controls over touchscreen, so I absolutely disagree. Not saying it's the synth of the decade now, but it certainly wouldn't be made much more appealing with a touchscreen even if that had made it cheaper.
@@SyncdAlien Ah, yeah, fair enough. In that case I agree.
@@SyncdAlien There isn’t a lot of menu diving after you learn the shift+”something” shortcuts. My only complaint about the JD-XA is that the aftertouch is too stiff.
@@lumer2b You'd think for $2500 you'd get the nicest Italian made Fatar keybed with just the right aftertouch.
Didn’t Nick Rhodes use two of these with Duran Duran fairly recently?
Good upload, I love the sound of the XA, but it only having 4 voices on the analogue instead of 8 is what breaks the deal, lost opportunity. Not that it would be a problem for me, since I am mostly interested in it for the digital part.
Nice surprise to hear a truly honest review..
It's almost like Roland have someone from one of their competitors working in their engineering team, sabotaging potentially great instruments. They've been that way for at least 25 years though - I remember buying the MC-303 when it was released, and being shocked at how pathetic it was. All they had to do in the case of the MC-303 was have a squelchy bass synth, some TR samples and a vaguely decent multi-timbral polysynth. That would have been within the capabilities of the hardware they used, but what they gave us was a terrible ROMpler that seemed to satisfy no one.
The vocoder jam was my fav piece of your music to feature in one of your vids
Hey guys I just got my first eurorack setup. It works great. There appears to be no problems with it as far as I can see. However I noticed that after about 3 hours of usage, the modules began to get pretty hot. Almost all of them. Since I am very new to Euroracks I have no idea if this is a very normal thing. I am using a Tiptop Mantis case. The modules felt hot enough that I wondered why tiptop did not include a fan in the case. It felt hotter than my PS4 console and the PS4 HAS a built in fan. This was my very first time using a eurorack for at least 3 hours straight. But again, I have no idea if modules getting hot after about 3 hours of usage is a normal thing. Can someone tell me if this is normal or not. I don't want my modules to burn out. Thanks a lot.
Agree. Also love vocoders :-) Sooooo disappointing that the company that helped pioneer one-knob-per-function analogue synths that users seem to be clamouring for, has fallen back into the digital menu-diving system, and with tiny screens to boot. Never mind the quality - try the user-interface!
The menu diving is minimal. Honestly once you turn the knob its settings appear on the menu. If needed you can tweak from there to get special features. All the knob per function is already there.
I wanted to like this board so much...almost bought a rather beat up one for it's age at a super steal boxing day sale but didn't
Very good points!
I’m a Roland guy, however I currently have only one Roland piece, made after the the year 2000, the System8. I have bought and sold a lot of them though.
As somebody that does their own sound design, the JD-Xa is very capable, but no I did not find it fun to program, when compared to other poly synths. For me, when the System8 came out, it was like oh.....this is what they should have done to begin with. Its a nice sounding digital synth, a slightly vintage Roland-esque tone, mostly knob per function, and I tend to reach for it more than a Virus or Blofeld. I’ll probably replace it at some point if I find a Novation Summit locally for a good price, but it is a really nice instrument to play when I have 20 minutes to sit and jam.
I’m not a huge fan of synthesizers that require extensive manual reading to figure everything out. For samplers, sequencers, or drum machines, it is understandable. The JDXa required a lot of manual for me, in order to explore all of its features. Had it a few months. It sounds fine, but not really remarkable, and since it wasn’t fun for me to use, I moved on.
So basically, an awkward design and the System8 came out only a year later, which kind of crushed the JDXa, and probably any future development on its firmware or other potential products that were of similar design.
Thanks for the video. An interesting product that missed the mark IMO, as there were beginning to be A LOT of poly synth options suddenly, around this time. It just couldn’t compete.
Their system line is a modern classic, people just don't know it yet. They all went out and bought boutiques that don't hold a candle to what the system synths can do.
@@alexwestconsulting I'd say people know it, since now that the System 1 is discontinued people are asking stupid prices for it on eBay/Reverb (what do you expect). Roland still makes the JD-XA but not the System 1, madness, really grinded my gears when I finally had the money for a System 1 only to find out it was discontinued and overpriced secondhand...
@@JohnDoeWasntTaken sure but there aren't that many system 1's around, not relative to some other ubiquitous synths anyway (like the circuit, or the microkorg, or even minibrute). So when I say "people", I mean "most people". people bought the boutique's like hotcakes for whatever reason, while the system 1 sat in the corner even though it's the same technology under the hood. the local used market here in Vancouver, Canada has routine listings for all the synths I just mentioned but next to never a system 1 (I know because I get alerts). Anyway, I have a System 1 and a System 1m and I far prefer the 1m. but agreed, looking at reverb prices I wouldn't pay that much in face of the competition that's out there, not for a digital synth, no matter how good it sounds.
@@JohnDoeWasntTaken ...ohhh, and I have a JD-Xi too. It's more like a fun toy. And supernatural does NOT sound as good as acb (nor does the analog synth engine on it).
@@alexwestconsulting I have a JD-Xi as well and agree. The System 1 was around the same price range and the JD-Xi made it feel like it was a "real" synth compared to, well, the JD-Xi. I know most prefer the 1m but I dislike having the keyboard separate from the synth so I always wanted to get the System 1. It's unfortunate that the System 1 never sold a whole lot, leading to the scarcity we deal with now. I remember it as the first synth I ever wanted to buy, and now sadly I probably never will because I'm not paying $800USD for a synth as limited as it is. Shame on Roland for discontinuing it while still selling the overpriced disappointment that is the JD-XA, it's crazy that the MSRP on that thing used to be over $2k, even $2k is quite a lot for what it is.
Nice, I guess the only competition to this would be the poly evolver.
I agree with your take. Always thought it was a weird combination of a supernatural synth and 4 voice analog. They could have made two separate synths: one just supernatural synth with more hands on controls, and a separate 8 voice analog synth. Roland seems to throw in too many features on a lot of their synths which can muddy the water.
You are spot on ! I have got one.
A Jupiter 10 feels like a no brainer. Take the "partial" concept and do a 10 voice analog synth. Like it's literally RIGHT THERE!
Hell, even do a digital synth and expand on the partial LA synthesis concept from the D50.
Thanks for the info.
What would be in your opinion a worthy opponent that can handle multiple tracks as well in the same price range?
Love your end-statement and think you're right. Music is about emotion and not about gear. So if a certain instrument does nothing for you, there's nothing to say about it. Or maybe a UA-cam short 😂 But passion will prevail and just make videos what you're passionate about! I bet it will be awesome!
It sounds great, but is so funny looking like the AIRA products. It has a million features, but requires an iPad to configure the faders and knobs.
I once considered adding this to my rig, but I really don't like synths with mini displays. Give me full size displays any day.
That screen is clearly too big.
Roland engineers are working hard to solve the problem.
The Roland jdxy will have one inch screen, finally.
Hey, which microphone are you using at 4:40? And thanks for the video!
Rode Procaster. I actually really like it, dynamic mic.
Noir always keeps it real! Thanks for this not-a-review review. The irony of this piece is who is it for? It's too complex and expensive for beginners, and too menu-divey and limited for experts. This review actually sort of explains why something like the Jupiter X ended up getting made, at least to me. Half the price and much more intuitive. Even though it is not analog they take a real run at spot on imitation of the original units' sound and provide plenty of polyphony.
and here i am happy as shit with my microfreak and still managing a dizzying range of sounds out of a synth that's technically only monophonic (paraphonic? fake-phonic?)
Roland has bizarre track record of late. They make amazingly powerful pieces of gear with rather unique feature sets but absolutely kneecap the implementation by not keeping up with their contemporaries. At one point I got a System-8, and after a few weeks I started to wonder why I bothered. The screen was tiny and it only had 1 LFO for reasons unknown. Meanwhile, the Rev2 had multiple LFOs and the ability to upgrade to 16 voices down the line. The system-8 is all digital, so why NOT have those extra voices? And if they can’t, why have the price at the level of a full analog synth? Genuinely baffled.
Also a system 8 owner and I think it is my least liked synth, even though i still kind of like it. The shoot outs online show the S8 cleary being ultra similar to the synths it emulates. But there is something in the video record that is not quite getting all the details because when I fire it up and esp. in listening to recordings latter; there is something undeniably digital about the "perfect emulations". this is very disapointing if you think you are getting an S8 so you dont have to lust after jupiter 8s anymore. So that sucks! but also I will say as a digital synth i am still overall glad to have it. When I put it against a Virus TI though I dont think it really is all that..
I agree, but having said that: OB6 has only got 6 voices, and 1 general lfo for the complete synth.
I personally like my JD_XA quite a lot, it's interface is substancial and there are a lot of buried parameters, but you can stack plenty of digital voices and create very nice soundscapes with it on the digital side, I treat the analog side as a mono-synth with that Roland flavoured filter & effects. It holds it's place in my studio and has strengths to keep it here, where it's less fun to use I have other synths to go to.
I would not recommend it as your first hardware synth, thee are many better synths out there but if you want Roland flavour I'd pick the System 8, and if it's gotta be analogue then the Sequential Pro 3 is my top choice for a mono synth, as for analogue poly's I'd say the Deepmind 12 for that Roland flavour.
i felt the same, get a used XI for sure, not the XA! tbh your review of the XA being so-so mirrors my feeling about the System 8 in build quality and "special feeling" I don't get, although I wouldn't give it a bad review either. Owning old Roland gear and having bought newer stuff from them seriously makes me worried about the future output of this company..
My problem with Roland is how they deal with their customers and products. For example, I have Roland AX-Edge. The released it with a piss poor phone editor, missing features, and spent several years actually making the editor, then charging you a subscription to use it. The same thing with my TR-8. They added 707 drums to it. Guess how much? 100$. For basically a sample pack of 707. Then, they released the TR-8S which just has that already, more or less the same price as TR-8 on it's release. Just damn man. Here I am with stuff like Elektron, they're updating my firmware and synths 10 years later to make it better for no extra money at all. With Moog, you pay a premium but they GET things RIGHT the first time. Roland is always so convoluted feeling to program. I got that feeling from the TR-8S when I had it, and most synths I've used from them. Only roland box I've ever been truly happy with is TB3.
I just picked up a nearly brand new JDXI for $250 in 2024. Almost seems criminal.
Top 10 modern synths in history in my book
I just can't get past the design language of the JD-XA, JD-XI, and System-1 'Plugout'.
I'm sure they have a very detailed style guide which specifies the glossy finish and backlit controls.
It just looks like a plasticky consumer electronics thing that you impulse buy, but which ends up being sold at a garage sale years later.
Sure maybe it has real analog voices in there, but I have a hard time wanting to find out if they sound good.
There are a mad amount of analog, digital and hybrid synths out there right now.
And most of them (except for the Mopho and Sledge) don't hurt my eyes as much.
I know it sounds kind of petty to be hung up on looks. But would you buy a car if you hated the color?
Oh I absolutely have bought cars whose colours I hated, several times in the past. Needs must and all that. The great thing about a lime green car is nobody will steal it, its too ugly.
system-1 is awesome, the desktop module in particular. VA/modular highbrid that has a ton of patching options. I've got the jd-xi too and it's great for the price if you get it at a good price. The jdxi I do consider something of a toy (even the analog is rather substandard in a relative sense), but the system-1m is just truly good.
what do you think about the system 8
The biggest issue for me is in the digital part : to select the pcm samples (waveforms) you just have to use the plus & minus button and step to all of them. There is no knob for this function. Something like this drives me insane. The jd 800 already had a knob for this. So why Roland?
And the sequencer is without option to transpose the sequence.
Sometimes I'm asking myself: aren't the instrument manufacturers testing their products?
Great video.
I was looking at a used JP-08 (yes yes, I know, digital not analog) but aside from it's tiny size making some of the controls annoying, I read that it only had 4 voices so I would need to buy 2 to get semi authentic Jupiter 8 sound. For that kind of money I'm going to stick with Arturia's VST.
Not sure what's going on with Roland these days but its not selling me anything.
If I already have a deepmind 13 and monologue XD do you think it's worth picking up the JD-XA for $900 ? It seems to have lots of cool presets to tweak as well as a darker sound for cyberpunk and synthwave.
For $900, 100% worth it
i get the price comparison that the JDXA is NOT worth 5 JDXIs...but ive been seeing the JDXA go for around 16-1700 now...so im wondering if it might be worth 3 JDXIs just for the expanded patch selection and more analog options? and since they added some drum patches since?
Great vid. Nice when you can say what you want. I agree. I remember when this thing came out. For years it's felt like roland is merely patronizing their old analog fans. Since the 90s people wanted new and amazing analog synths from this company but roland continually turns their noses up at us. It's been pretty obvious they only care about pushing their new digital tech. This would be fine, if they weren't pretending to be the old analog roland, while trying to sell us on more digital stuff we didn't exactly ask for. Stuff that, frankly, doesn't need to come in a multi-thousand dollar box.
Well made post
"Most subjective video ever made"-setting the bar high right off the bat! 😅
Similar experience with my first real synth, the Nord Lead A1. UI is terribly confusing, at least for a beginner. I still have it and grew to like it, but don't think I would have if I had started with the JD-XA. Lead A1 at least has more polyphony and 4-part multi-timbral. Plenty of filter types, great effects section, lots of oscillators. Its biggest missing feature is no built-in sequencer.
Rambling, but in any case, anyone looking for a synth that covers similar ground, unless you're a collector or find one on a killer deal, it would be difficult to justify over something like the ASM Hydrasynth.
Interestingly though, the Lead A1 does just enough that I'm not enticed to the point of selling it and replacing with something like the Hydrasynth. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Curious if owners of the JD-XA feel similarly.
@@0VRLNDR JD-XA owner, don’t want to sell mine
@@lumer2b But are you a collector, do you own other polysynths with keys already, do you play it often, what role, etc.? I'm more interested in the context of those who do or don't want to replace theirs, but thanks for the data point!
@@0VRLNDR I'm a hobbyist, I don't remember exactly why I chose the JD-XA when I did, but now I got attached to it. My main complaints are the keybed aftertouch and that you only have one pattern per program, and you must stop playback to change programs.
Could you compare this one with Fantom 8 or Jupiter X?
If I had experience with the 8 or the X I definitely would, but I unfortunately don’t, so yeah...maybe if there’s a compelling story behind those two I’ll check them out someday.
Love and hate here. But it's that special surprise synth. You can make such a weird sounds with it. You cannot type this synth somewhere. That little bit of everything, sometimes I don't look at it, then suddenly for hours in crazy sound world...
A part of me wonders if Roland simply can't find enough analog engineers to make synths
Keep your JDXA... I'll take a System8 thanks!
I got both, they're very different and serve different purposes for me!
For anyone who loves vocoders, you should at least try the Waldorf STVC. Straightforward simple string machine, great vocoder (after a bit of practice).
I find myself very inspired by the JD-XA when I play it in music stores and never have any problems programming it given I used to be an avid user of the JD-800 and JD-990 synthesizers. That said, I always feel like the JD-XA is way overpriced. I'd love to have one and have no doubt that I'd put it to good use but I don't think a $2000 price tag on it is justified. I still lobby (complain) to Roland about making a JD-Xi rack-mountable module.
I have 2 Jdxi synths. I can't figure out how to sequence them both at the same time or it's not possible. If that unit came with 2 or 3 analog parts and 8 or 10 digital parts it would be a beast. Fun toy though.
Just buy a used one dude... they're usually $1100 to $1200.
I posted a video with some experiences on my jd-xa! love this synthesizer!!!!
If the JD-XA was $1000 instead of $2500, it would be a lot more appealing. But TBH, it still wouldn't be on my shopping list... and it's largely because of the interface. Roland has a great sound engine, but could really stand to redesign the UI and workflow. Korg had the same problem for a long time, and only recently started to move past it. Waiting for Roland to do the same.
how is it that Roland manages to always make some incredible core ideas, and mess it up with perplexing design choices and basically abandoning them within a few years?
Yet they have a “new” 808 design every other year...baffling 😁
Heads up: lil title typo 😁
What do you consider a modern classic? I can see why this might not be but what synths are?
To me, personally, something like the Modal 002, something like the DSI Poly Evolver, Acces Viruses. In a sense it’s about the quality of the product, but also about the value of the synth increasing over time after it’s out of production.
I'd suggest the Waldorf Blofeld. It got a (deservedly) bad reputation on release because of the buggy firmware, but since they fixed that I consider it to be the finest digital synth out there.
@@chriswareham I've been waiting for a good price on a used blofeld keys but they're hard to come by up in Canada
What's your favorite synth of all time...OF ALL TIME?
Easy, SUB37
Hola excelente análisis podrías incluir subtítulos en español pleeeeeeeeease
It's a nice keyboard but I will stick with my Jupiter X
🗣4 VOICES of ANALOG polyphony. 😂😂
I love the Roland JD XA but I hate those red goddamn knobs
Señores, con todo mi respeto por sus opiniones.Roland JDXA, es simplemente genial, Roland sabe lo que hace como siempre , y en el futuro , esta bestia, sera dificil de conseguir y muy caro.