A monster workstation in its day (mid 90's) the Roland XP50 shows us - without the help of optional JV cards which can be installed - that great synths are really only limited by your imagination.
I bought a used one and recapped it a few years back during the lockdowns. I had originally owned one in the mid 90's. I ended up adding weights the the keybed and re-felted it; now it's lovely to play. The aftroutch strip is kinda toast on mine sadly.
I just came across this video and I can't thank you and everyone else posting XP-50/XP series content enough. It brings back so many great memories...I still have a XP-50 that I bought in 96 or 97, I forget it's been so long ago. It barely works now as the LCD is failing, the lithium battery is probably dust and the disk drive is a bit wonky. I also own a Fantom G6 and FA-08 (listening to a song I wrote on the 08 as I type this, about to work on a new project) and as much as Roland makes quality gear most times, My heart always goes to the XP-50. Even the Demos for that were mind blowing and I can honestly say that the demos in every Roland keyboard I've heard since the XP-50 may be better on a technical level but... The overall quality of the songs of the XP-50 I still prefer over the Fantom G/FA and some of the BOSS stuff. Prince of Peace almost brings me to tears even thinking about it.
Yeah man I agree. The Glynn series were incredibly advanced but I could never get the same 'soul' out of it as i could from my XP era equipment. Great comment - thank you :)
You always manage to find such delicious old keyboards some how. That unit to me still stands out even at it's age. It's like fine wine. I can't get enough of these videos! Always waiting for new ones every day. Stay safe and God bless.
I've owned the xp80 for the last 10 years, brilliant range of workstations and still adaptable to any music, still great on stage and given Roland's flimsy new range of keyboards the xp range is really well built. ( note quite a few xp50s tend to suffer screen problems )
That's due to deteriorating capacitors on the mainboard. Not the most difficult job to fix, but you'll have to find good quality ones that match exactly those you're replacing. After thát: They'll last for *many* more years 😎👍
The XP80 also has the semi-weighted keys, and those weights are fixed with epoxy. Unfortunately thát stuff becomes semi-fluid and extremely sticky over the years... Replacing that epoxy is a somewhat messy job (smells of rotten fish!!) but well worth it! I've refurbished my XP's and they ROCK! 🤘😎🤘
I bought its bigger sibling, the XP-80, new in 1997, and I still use it in studios and live. About 10 years ago I also bought the 50, just to have a backup, plus it was cheap and saved me from unhooking the 80 from my studio every time I needed it live 😉 They still are very useful indeed, but you do need to be careful: On the motherboard there's a bunch of SMD capacitors, which can (and will...) become leaky over time. First thing you'll notice is the dimming of the letters on the display, but also weird noises in one or both outputs... I've had all my old Rolands (both XP's and an XV module from the same era) checked and those caps replaced with newer types - if you buy good quality ones they should last at least another 15-20 years 👍😎 If you're unlucky, then in due time some might pop and cause all kinds of trouble, as they contain acid that'll eat away other components and PCB traces... Same goes for the (absolutely brilliant!) SR-JV expansionboards series - there's one cap per board, and it's an easy fix to do yourself if you're familiar with a soldering iron. Mine will now easily outlast me 😜🤘
Good info! I have a question for you actually - Have you forged a nice, natural piano sound on your XP? I've found them all to be too bright and 'dancy'...
I’ve owned XP-10, the most basic of the XP series, and for me, the XP-10 is pretty great, only drawback is the 28 note polyphony which can really be felt with full on power chords and specially on dual or x-dual mode. If I would be given an opportunity to get an XP series, I would no doubt get one. Very great boards.
Yep, the XP10 is actually my favorite in the series. I like its quick, fun approach. I don't like to feel like things are too 'serious' when I do music :)
@@gearfacts yes for a time it was my go to keyboard, even though it was an entry level board because its easy to use and so light. The really only problem is polyphony
Still using my XP for composing. Immediate, no distractions and no crashes. I transfer finished tunes into DAW layering the XP sounds with modern samples . Sometimes replaced, but always the start point. I have a few template banks I prefer for different genres which never fail to get me started. One or two of the piano sounds do sound of their time, but still useable, certainly to get down the ideas. This in conjunction with several expansions and the JV2080 gives me a huge scope for any challenging commission. I wrote the entire game score for Clive N Wrench on this beast. Like an old friend, I will never abandon it.
Same here. My XP's (and XV 3080 module) are still my first soundsources when writing and arranging in MIDI. Once I'm recording the drums are handled by Toontrack's EZDrummer, the acoustic pianos / Rhodes etc I'll run through Spectrasonics Keyscape, and bas / guitar get replaced with real instruments - that I also play, as well as a *real* Hammond organ 😉 For most other sounds, even strings, I can rely on the XP's with a little tweaking and adding the proper dynamics to each bowed instrument, as I prefer to fully separate them out.
My dad bought this keyboard in 1999. He made beautiful music with it. He also had got a copy of Cubasis AV at the time and I had so much fun with it. My first original song that I produced in 1999 with this keyboard (it was a rave/trance type song) was called "Analectro". I named it at the time after one of the presets that I had used. The Analectro preset sounds a bit like the TR-303 I think. I still have this keyboard but unfortunately it just stopped working two years ago. I was wondering what do people think is a reasonable price to pay to get it fixed? Thanks
Well, the X50 is bordering on classic status now so I think I’d be prepared to put a couple of hundred dollars into it if it’s something you think you’ll continue using into the future. Would be ashamed to see it go into landfill.
Thanks for the demo Gearfacts, very good, I have had one for 3 years now and replaced all smd's capacitor's as they leak electrolyte and cause serious damage to the pcb, I have also purchased 5 expansion cards which are very good, cheers from New Zealand.
I picked one of these up for $50 over the summer because it was non-op. It just needed a recap of the motherboard. It took me $12 in parts and an hour or two of my time. I've been having a blast with it so far. Loads of great sounds on board, even without the JV expansion cards. Now, if I could just get the USB/floppy emulation to work. Ugh.
These JV and XP keyboards are all junk and i will not ever buy any of them not even the XP 30. Roland is Trash garbage keyboard and needs to be out of business..
Well the key boards all have tbe red glue issues sticky keys and the electronics are plauged with tons of corrisponding issues as well. They are great synths of tbeir time but now in 2024 every one is either priced to high and ones that have tons of issues. Computer interfacing. Allthough i do have the XP 10 and VK7 in new mint condition is bc i paid the ultimate price at a true Ex Roland repair man who redone all my JVs and XP keyboards in thousands of dollars and took care of my issues i also still own them and have the original XP-30 and payed a bloody fortune to get it fixed. They dont get used in allways on my stands covered.
