The Roland JD-Xi is a fun synth. It's very easy to get four parts going and doesn't take a lot of time or paging through menus. I can erase and record four parts from scratch in less than a minute (not that I would) but it took a little while to figure out what buttons to press and then doing it over and over makes it look simpler than it is. Still...it's not that hard or much to remember.
The JD-Xi fits right on top of the Yamaha MODX-8 in the big open space to the right side of the keyboard. It's a second stage synth. It isn't a Jupiter or Fantom but it isn't used as one either. It's perfect size wise, produces the sounds I need from it and so far has been rugged. I play outside occasionally and It has handled condensation/moisture without a problem. My only complaint is the mini-micro keys. Complaining about that is like complaining about the color of your car; you knew it when you got it and it doesn't make a difference when compared with everything else.
The JD-Xi has MIDI in-out and it triggers the sequencer in a Behringer Poly D without the need to menu dive or adjust anything. I also build patterns on the JD-Xi and then send then to other machines (Arturia DrumBrute, etc.).
6 май 2022
