Roland XP-10

Depends on one's definition of "Ease of Use'. For playing ROM's right out of the box, its great - straight-forward and concise. As I have only used it with as a stand-alone performance instrument, thus no software or in MIDI implementation, I couldn't judge in this department say either way.

Editing patches is a different story. Parameters are extremely limited, and not very intuitive to access. But the filters do sound pretty good once implemented, I would even dare say they approach analog, particularly the cutoff and resonance. A patch editor, particularly open-source, would be a great fit for this keyboard.

See the 'Expressiveness / sounds' category for my take on the patches.

No sequencing without MIDI hookup, but one bright spot is that there's a pretty solid, and very fun, arpeggiator. No expansion that I'm aware of. Built in effects are also limited, and once again not very intuitive. Another excellent bright spot is X-Dual mode - being able to morph between two patches is quote nice indeed. For my purposes, 28-note polyphony is OK. Keyboard action is average -- this is not a Wurlitzer, nor is it supposed to be.

I have the early run of this synth (95-96), which means no backlit display - absolutely lousy when trying to find a patch while gigging in a dimly lit bar/club. I had to memorize my patches by the number of clicks on the toggling button, and then test with a quick key shot prior to starting every song song. I've heard that the later XP-10s had a green backlit display, and I would love to upgrade.

OK, up to this point I've given a very mediocre rating to this synth, but let me emphasize here that while Roland did limit many of the functions of the XP-10, they preserved the sound quality quite nicely. This synth has an extensive palette of high-quality ROMS that give it the ability to roll with just about any genre - in short, this keyboard will be useful whether your style is anything from Pink Floyd to Rachmaninov to Front Line Assembly to DJ Tiesto. Pianos, organs, and especially Fender Rhodes are superb. The acoustic drum patches are killer. And the OB Strings patch, my favorite of all, is ethereal to the max. You'll find extensive use of it, and other XP-10 patches, by checking out my band's profile (www.myspace.com/technologicalsun).

The only aspect keeping the rating from a ten is the lack of aftertouch.

Well, the garbage non-backlit display partially conked out on me after a gig, which admittedly, was probably at least somewhat due to my not-too-bright strategy of trying to lug two synths around in a single gig-bad. So I can't fault the XP-10 entirely for that. Other than the display, and a couple of weird anomalies when booting up, its been solid.

Though it would be fine as a stand-alone at home, I would not gig with it without juxtaposing it with a more intuitive VA or analog synth. I paired this live with a CS1x -- which was a great combination. THis of course varies depending on your style of music.

never tried, so N/A.

Its a very nice and versatile ROMpler, that will serve well if you want a package of pianos, organs, and some choice classic synth samples. It gets an 8 mainly from the quality of the sounds. More functionality would be very nice though it must be understood that this was Roland's entry-level workstation. As stated very good in a live setting as long as its not your only weapon of choice. They're pretty cheap now, so I'd get one, and I'd probably, though not certainly, replace mine if it was lost or stolen.

XP / Tracktion / You name it

Polyphony is fine for live use. Not a monster 64 polyph board but I don't use it like that anyways. Effects are fine. Midi is midi. NO onboard seq.

Well gents for years using Reason, Kontact, Sonar, blah blah I really prefer the sounds of this synth. Very nice sounding. Basic board but with some creativity you can really unleash some interesting sounds. I use the drum presets to sample into my Tracktion set-up and thats where the tweaking begins. The OB strings are so killer. Just have to watch out how your envelope / volume set-up is so you dont clip out.

Yes I can depend on this synth. More dependable than my W5 POS.

I have a W-5 Yamaha, Korg X5D, and the XP-10. I like the Xp-10 in conjuction with my Korg.

Too bad my Yamaha board is funk

N/A

I'd buy another one is this one dissappeared. Use your imagination to maximize the life out of this board.

Right off the bat this keyboard is very... very..general music type which mean that those 'in your faces' presets are just basics...But if you navigate into the variation tones of a few of those presets they are very nice i liked the pads and the basses and also the electric pianos are ok!Since i am a fan of rhodes piano i think for a basic synth like this one it could do a very good job even the organs too! With the basic editing the xp-10 give me enaugh flexibility to program my own sounds!I especially like that nice x-dual feature because it helped me in many ways...from a slow vibrating organ to a fast one which is cool since there is no built in rotating speaker effects.Beside I had a u-220 that dont have no filter reso/cutoff which i wanted the most for a basic synth. At least not only you should get an envelope it should come with a filter too!One big thing that amazed me the most its the means to express yourself i could control or assign anything between my favorite sliders and the modulation or even my own pedal. I mean thats a serious gear still! for live performance.My disapointments among a few its the effects they are basics and the fact that you need and external editor to change their parameters witout the ability to save them in your own keyboard its very annoying or maybe useless!But despite the basic programming in general the xp-10 gave me enaugh room for live expression and its still at least more flexible than just a preset keyboard!
As for the manual its easy to enderstand all you need depending on your goal is to read everything step by step thats if you can!

Polyphony is 28 and the keybaord action is very light(plasticky!!)
But at least its touch sensitive which also control the filter(very good)!
You get a total of 16 effects 8 chorus& 8 reverbs
If i remember it has a total of 338 preset tones and room for 256 additional tones that you could save.Plus 64 presets performance & 64 more to create your own sets!
So far still very flexible for a cheap synth!

The keyboard respond well to velocity but unfortunately no aftertouch! I could imagine how fragile this could be if it was equipped!
Some of the sounds are bread and butter very rolandish style! basic grand piano! some surprised me like the sax 'brathy tenor' or the variation 'soprano sax' I actually like the electic pianos some of them with some combinations sounded more realistic like sine rhodes+e.piano1. The pads are very nice especially the analogue- style ones.And the basses are from what i think amazing!
I could say that when i heard the electric pianos I say its could fit easily into a black r&b style music And it could also find a room into general electronic music maybe techno or new ages maybe beacuse of the possibilitys to add animation to the sounds .

Well I had few bad experiences with it first it actually hang like a computer for some stranges reasons especially when i use it with a sequencer!Second combining more tones to make thicker sounds reduces my polyphony a lot and makes my quick passages from one chord to the other sluggish!But apart from that... By experience i used it alot without backup!With no breakdowns!

Yes the company actually sent me a free editor software.
Something that you practically dont really need for my opinion!
Never get it fixed or repaired.

If it were lost or stolen by now i would get a juno-d!!!
Which is more up to date!
I had been playing for 16 years and during those time i owned roland jx3p and then roland jx8p,u220 and d-110.
I wanted to try korg at the time it was the x5 but i just did'nt like it for the fact that when you take off effects of a sound its very ugly altough the x5 had more parameters to create sounds i found the quality of the roland sounds without effects and the tools to express yourself was better on the xp-10! And the price was perfect for me!

The XP-10's presets sound pretty good. See "Expressiveness/Sounds" for more of my input.I use sliders to edit resonance and cutoff, but that's about it. I really couldn't give you an accurate response about ease of editing, and I don't think that too many parameters can be changed. It's easier than editing an analog synth with membrane buttons. I found its manual to be quite helpful. It was written well.

The XP-10 has 28 voices of polyphony, which is sufficient for playing live. The 61-key keyboard is springy, and easy to play. It has basic chorus and reverb. I don't know of any expansion capabilities; I've never needed them. I've never tried to do anything with MIDI as of this moment, so I can't truthfully comment on it. I would like to eventually compose music this way, but playing in a band is enough for me right now.

The XP-10 can't transmit Aftertouch messages, but they can be received. There is a sound for every musical genre, although techno musicians might be a little disappointed. I enjoy its leads, pads, strings, and brasses. It has realistic woodwind instruments, some vintage bass sounds and a few decent pianos. If you like ethnic instruments,the XP-10 has a few that don't sound too shabby. It has a great sitar, shamisen, and kalimba. It's not lacking in drum kits, either. Some of the presets have similar timbres, which makes them hard to tell apart from one another. A small number of the sounds are flat and unrealistic. It's an extremely sensitive keyboard, and reacts well to playing.

The XP-10 isn't as reliable as I would like it to be. It freezes up from time to time. If you want to switch to another user or preset tone, there is a small chance of the synth not responding. It also has a problem with squeaking. Every once in a while during play, it will make a loud noise that really hurts my ears. Both of these troubles can be promptly fixed by turning the unit off and on again. Those are the only two problems that I have encountered, but they still keep me from using the synth for live performances. I'm not worried about it dying on me, but I would hate to have to turn my machine off during live play. I don't think I would use it as my master/lead synth. I would use it for backup, though.

I have never had to deal with Roland.

If my XP-10 were lost or stolen, I would mourn for quite a while. I value it very much because it is the first synth I've ever owned. For this reason, I'd get another one. Excluding sentimental value, I would most likely get one of its more advanced cousins, the XP-50, 60, or 80. As a 17 year-old high school student, I doubt that I could afford those models until they got a bit older, so I might have to buy another XP-10 anyway. It was definitely worth the price I paid, $255 USD (plus $30 for shipping costs)was a small price to pay for a clean machine like this. I've had this synthesizer for about a year, and it has driven me to learn about how they function. In addition to the XP-10, I own a Roland JX-8P and an Alpha Juno 2. I love the fact that it has so many diverse instruments, and is easy to use. The only big problem with it is that it freezes from time to time. I'll want to switch to a different patch, but it won't let me. Also, after I turn it on and turn up its volume, it makes an obnoxious squeaking sound. Both of these problems can be fixed by turning the unit off and on again. I wish it had more leads and analog-type sounds, but it gets the job done. It's very helpful for making music. I use it at home to play new wave music. I also compose my own. The main reason that I purchased the XP-10 was its low price. I wanted a digital synthesizer to start with, and I thought that it would be a good for an inexperienced synth player like myself. Some people complain about its body of cheap plastic and lack of features, but you get what you pay for. It's a great synthesizer for a beginner.

Im currently using the roland XP80, one awesome machine, even in 2006. I found it hard to use at the start due to its small screen and also the fact mine was 2nd hand and didnt come with a manual! Anyhow the preset sound are pretty good considering the age etc of the machine. some of them sound really amazing to be quite honest.
Editing is somewhat hard at first, but hey i spose it would be much easier if i had the manual.
The manual? i think that would help alot if had.

The keys are very cool, i like how the are more plastic feeling, not in a cheap way, but it just makes it easier for me to play flying leads etc. The effects are pretty basic etc But it does make a good keyboard if you are in a band and cant be bothered taking mass ammount of keyboards around the place, this one can do a gig with alot of patches no probs. Its light and somewhat thin and small so it fits into anything.

The instruments are pretty realistic, of course you have you signature Roland sounds in there which makes for a good mix. It has some of the best hammond type organ sounds ive heard for a long time on a keyboard of this age and stature. Even better than the XP80.
The onboard effects are pretty good really. Keys take a little getting used to if you used to the heavier keys of modern keyboards.

no worrys, mine was previously owned by a high school, and we all know what went in during music class, most of the instruments got a massive hiding (kiwi slang for a beating). Its done very well.

Have not had any need to and i dont expect to, its a Roland!

If it was stolen, i would probably try find another one if i could with no hassles, i reckon it is well worth it! Its small, compact, sounds good, looks cool, its just a good allround synth. Ive been playing for 10+ years and have used My Roland XP80 as well as other keyboards over time but I have to say my main gig rig is the XP80 and XP10 with expansion boards in the XP80 and hooked up to some sound modules but it is the best gig rig ive had in years.
BUY ONE IF YOU HAVE THE CHANCE, ITS THE BEST LITTLE RIG EVER!

The presets are not quite easy to edit, but that is an option. The manual is a bit long and complicated, at least for me. It's a great beginner's keyboard though.

Polyphony, let's see. it's 28 voices I believe. It has sensitive keys and is GM cmpatible. Unfortunately it is not upgradeable and has no built in sequencer. it does however have split/layer capabilities and an arpeggiator (no user presets though)

SOme of the instruments are jut cheap General midi sound. I was sort of disapointed because I was expecting a bit more than this. It works well I guess for latin music and alternative rock. No good for techno though. some of the sounds do remind me of the cheap casios and yamahas that you find at toy stores.

So far, it is very reliable. It is very light, but that's only because it's plastic and easily breakable.

I have not dealt with them, but Roland has great customer service, That's what people say

If i lost it or if it got stole, i would buy something more advanced instead of buying it. I've playing this keyboard for about a month now. Let's see I also have an ensoniq sq1, which seems to blow my xp10 away even though it's like five years older. i wish it had a metal exterior, more presets that are not midi and a sequencer, but you get what you paid for.

)

very big problem when its pitch bender dies or malfunctions.
there is problem when anybody changes its 3v. internal cell.
can roland company tell me any solution of theese hundreds of this kind of keaboards?
i shall be greatful to company.
prabhjot singh
227, civil street
ghumar mandi chowk
ludhiana (INDIA)

ease of use . . .while I don't edit the sounds very often ,I've found that editing the sounds is usually not too hard , but sometimes figuring out where certain settings are "hidden" requires the manual.the manual seems to do its job . . at least I haven't had any difficulty extracting info from it . the presets are hit and miss, but get the job done in most cases (see expressiveness/sounds below). .

Most of the sounds are not realistic , and you probably won't be blown away , but it does a good enough job.I don't really care for the pianos (though some reviewers here seem to really like them ). as with many lower-end synths ,most of the horns seem to suck . . with some exceptions .. .spid brass seems to sound nice , and some of the synth brass settings sound cool , too . the orchestral strings seem to sound good .as mentioned in reviews before mine , the organ sounds are good . . Personally , I really like the wide selection of bass sounds .some of the synth emulation is cool , too . . (mg (moog?) lead ,p5 poly , gr300 lead)also , as mention earlier , the ability to combine 2 sounds can create some good sounds . . I've come up with some decent synth bass(not meant to sound like a bass guitar) using this feature . the drum sets are okay . . they have an 808 and 909 drum kit , which is nice . . the flutes are decent , too . .some of the guitars are usable as well , and there is probably the widest selection of all the
instruments in this category (if you count the rock and acoustic guitars). . .

I've had no problems with this one . . .been using it my "studio" for about a year

If my memory serves me correctly , roland sent me a manual for free , though it took some time , it was easy to get . .

I would buy something else if it was lost , stolen , or broken.I guess it was worth $300 . . .

I've been playing for 5 years. I also own a yamaha pss 680 (my first synth , it's collecting dust - I'm thinking of selling or hacking it!) ,a roland sh-101 , a redsound dark star , and an alesis metavox(not a synth , but a vocoder effects pedal for synths)

love it / hate it ??? my feelings about this synth aren't that extreme . . the display is a bit hard to read (I've got one of the older , non backlit ones) . I like the fact that it works as a midi controller. . . this makes it a worthwhile piece of equipment regardless of the sounds . . .

I don't remember what other synths they had at the store when I bought this one , but it was the best of the group in the under $300 category . .

I've been using this synth in the studio , to make funk , electronic and industrial music.

As far as a synth goes , it does it's job . . .I've made complete songs using only this synth, and they sounded pretty good ... I would recommend this synth for beginner/intermediate musicians . .

The presets are simply awsome. I read the manual from cover to cover very rapidly and was immediately able to plug in an expression pedal and use it for a variety of tasks. This keyboard has a set of hugely powerful sound creation tools for your money and in a logical order.

only 26 notes of polyphony (the keyboards main drawback) but this polyphony extends to user mixed sounds and other keyboards in the price bracket don't actually offer the same fleibility.

No onboard sequencer (well what do you expect for this kind of money?). the keys are pressure sensitive and react in a very responsive manner which can be controlled by the user on a per preset basis.

It's not really expandable but the XP-60 and XP-80 are bare in mind the cost is low and it's quite old too. But even compared to the yamaha keyboards which were just coming onto the market 4 years later than this it kicks bottoms hard.

It has a single spring loaded pitch wheel which means that doing wacky bends in a great possibility and coupled with a programmable expression pedal (volume, envelope +- cutoff and resonance for wah sounds and even pitch)

On the top right of the keyboard are two simple draw bars which are assignable on a per preset basis.

Onboard effects are fine although the delay is a little short. The reverbs are tastefull and everything on this keyboard (well anything my little mind can think of) is programmable by the user.

Not as good as some but still good. Mine has a habit of making on noises really loudly when switched on.

At the moment the power button needs propping in with a matchstick but that is because one of my housemates friends really hated my keyboard and 18 stone of moron attacked it one night (I think this guy broke nearly everything he touched and set fire to the curtains in my studio at one point).

The user sounds have an annoying habit of wiping which is bloody annoying (but this may be because of the damage my fat friend did to it as some manufacturers use a voltage signal to erase presets in the factory and the multistage switch appears to have broken)

Never contacted them. From what I've heard though the return to base policy with Roland is marvelous. My pal sent back his effects pedal a few times and they always fixed it and got it back to him fast.

I'll try and fix stuff myself when I can be bothered though, I fear no soldering iron.

As you can see I got a bargain here, it even came with a stand. I have gigged and used this keyboard for 6 years. OK the sounds are a little dated when it comes to rhodes and hammond but I like it and find that once programmed with an array of sounds it is a very capable keyboard.

I have played things ranging from herbie hancock (chameleon, thrust, palm grease) to ozric tentacles on this keyboard and have to say I don't think you'll get anything like this good for the price or #300 more. It's a shame that rolands new low end keyboards lack the control of this keyboard. Did I mention I really like this keyboard.

Fairly simple to set the user performance and tones, if you have the documentation manual with you.

Only 28 note polyphony - not enought to do arppegios fully. I like that when you change tones, the old tone still plays if the keys or sustain pedal is held. (However, when you change performances, the old tone stops playing; probably because performances set volume levels also).

Good strings. Piano is ok, but any synth piano at best sounds like a mic'd piano and never very real in my opinion. Chimes and other percussions good. I should mention I use the XP10 for church, so I use softer worship sounds.

Never had any problems with it.

Never had to use the customer support.

This is a good 2nd instrument, perhaps as a 2nd keyboard. 28-note polyphony is not good as a primary keyboard. I actually used this at another church with midi attachment to an Allen organ. This gave me great additional sounds playable from the organ console (swell=ch1, great=ch2, pedal=ch3). I was able to get a 32-foot bombarde (low pitch reed) on the XP10 using a 2-octave shift down. I was able to simulate a high-pitch cymbale mixture using an organ sound with a 1 octave shift up. Plus I got string bass easily on the pedal. So anyone with an electronic church organ with midi might want to by an XP10 to get additional sounds. Note that the organ's volume pedal changes the XP10 "level", so it changes the XP10 volume also.