My biggest complaint about the XP-50 was the light, plastic feel of the key bed. Well, Roland has remedied that with the XP-80. In my opinion, this is the best feeling synth since the D-50. The semi-weighted action feels great, and the 76-note keyboard is also a welcome addition. This makes the XP-80 a more useable size for use as a "master controller". The XP-80 also has a really usable arpeggiator. It gives the user 33 arpeggio styles, with up to 34 variations or motifs of each. Additionally, the accent and shuffle rate can be adjusted on each, allowing the user to customize the variations. One of the cool things you can do with the arpeggiator and the sequencer is in record mode. When arpeggio's are recorded, the information is recorded note-for-note. There is no need to assign a certain pattern to a certain track in order for the arpeggiator to work. Once the note information is in the sequence, it can be edited just like any other information. Just assign the LFO to control the filter cutoff and you'll be in techno-heaven!
Another neat feature the XP-80, which was borrowed from the earlier JV line of Roland keyboards, is a set of palette control sliders. These controls are set to edit the filter cutoff and resonance of the filter, or the attack and decay of the envelopes. And with the press of a nearby button, you are able to control the level of the tones that were used in creating patches. These can be used as a quick function or, like the arpeggiator, be recorded into the sequence! One of my concerns with this is the fact that the sequencer is 96ppq (pulses per quarter-note). So, if you are running a multiple-channel sequence with lots of control changes, the sequencer may have a hard time handling everything.
This gives me a perfect opportunity to segue into the MRC-Pro sequencer. There are three different modes of sequencing---song, pattern and RPS (Real-time Phrase Sequencing). Both song and pattern mode offer sixteen tracks of MIDI sequencing with pro-editing capabilities. I've been using the XP-80 to do all of my sequencing for about a year now and have been very happy with it's performance. I've got a set-up where I'm controlling two other keyboards and a couple of sound modules, and after adjusting a few settings, I've got the entire thing under the control of the sequencer! It took a little bit of getting used to, but once I did, it's been a breeze to work with. The MRC-Pro offers individual note editing as well as note and control-change creation and placement. A nice feature is that sequence files from the older Roland "MC"-series of sequencers can be loaded into the XP-80, and so can Standard MIDI files. The sequencer offers enough memory to store 60,000 notes, but you can always save sequences to floppy. And, if necessary, the sequence information can also be saved as an SMF so you can export your sequence files.
With a simple command, the effect configuration of a patch can be copied into the performance location memory. This is a cool feature if you're noodling around with the internal patches and come up with a part you'd like to use in a song, as you can easily set up a performance using that sound with it's same effects settings. Then when you start using other sounds within the same performance, you have three effects busses to choose from---one of forty insert effects (distortion, EQ, rotary speaker, etc.), a chorus and a reverb. Plus, the XP-80 has a set of direct outs that any internal sounds can be routed through.
And finally, the XP-80 has room for four of Roland's ever expanding line of expansion boards. These are easy to install and each will give the XP-80 an additional bank of up to 255 sounds, so full blown, the XP-80 has almost 1700 sounds. (Let's hope for a second Dance board!)
All in all, the XP-80 is a killer workstation! It's expandable, has great sounds and a sequencer that, once you get into, can compete with some of the big, computer based sequencers. Get one!!
Steve Mork, Kraft Music
steve@kraftmusic.com
Kraft Music is a retailer specializing in keyboards, MIDI hardware/software, and recording gear. Their dedication to service and product knowledge matched with competitive pricing has made the company one of the leaders in online mail-order sales. Visit their site at http://www.kraftmusic.com.