Roland XP-30

This is gonna be short and sweet. I have never seen a keybaord that claims it has the sounds of another (XV) and sounds so little like it. There were so many disrepancies between this and XV sounds. Did they forget to tranfer the resonance filters or something? The keyboard action is atrocious as well. Why not just get the XV? Being a keyboard player in a legitimate band, I could never in good conscious recommend this to anyone. A good friend told me this was a great board, he must be losing it. If you want all the great sounds from a keybaord, get the Yamaha S90, at least they did it right. Price issues? Save up your money and get something better. Studios are unloading these things as fast as they can because no one uses them and complains about the inferior sounds. After playing this, I can see why. If you ever want to be taken as a seriosu and inteeligent musician, don't ever show up at a tryout, gig, or recording session with an XP 30.

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Everyone and his brother has written a review. I just need to put my $.02 in because this this has become so important to me!

There are a lot of useable patches right out of the gate, especially the pads. Editing patches is very difficult, but according to the manual, can be done. Seriously, I've owned this thing over 2 years, and I just edit small things about patches, because it's a lot of hard work! It'd be nice if I could figure out more of how to do it. The manual is tough reading... which is notable, since it's the same thickness as the one for my TD-8, which reads like a children's story!

I personally like the action a lot on this. This is compared to a Korg N364 which was used in a rig with it, which was like mush. Seriously, I think the keys have a nice snap, and don't feel too plasticky. The aftertouch takes extra force, and you can't inadvertently trigger it (unlike the Korg). There are lots of built-in effects, which I don't touch. I don't ever use reverb or chorus outside of a rack, so if that's on, I turn it off. The patches utilize all sorts of crazy built-in effects, though. I wish I could figure out how to harness them, too! As you have read, it accepts 2 more expansion cards, which I'm DYING to procure. I use the MIDI-in on here like a madman, because I make my bread and butter sequencing on a PC, then having the xp-30 play it back. It's on video game soundtracks. It does not have an onboard sequencer, and even if it did, I wouldn't use it. I prefer the program I'm used to.

The sounds are delicious, I think. At first, I was in love with the orchestral expansion card, and I used that a lot for a chamber orchestra soundtrack to a video game. But I've also written a lot of ambient and jungle music, and it has quite a few inventive pads that were very inspiring. Lately, I've been using it on a driving game soundtrack, and using some totally wicked synth sounds. And it can be deceiving... like if you just play with the patch on its own, you think, "hmm, well, okay." but hearing these sounds in the mix really perks up the ears! Some of these sounds MAKE the song.

I have found it to be very very dependable. I have to carry it every day to work in a gig bag, and there are no signs of road-wear. on stage, it has been very reliable (and has turned a few heads with some bizarre sounds). Knock on wood, absolutely no problems or malfunctions.

If this were lost or stolen, I'd be in big big trouble. When I bought it, I never would have thought I'd use it so damn much! Like I said, I bring it to work with me every day. It paid for itself, and it's still going strong.

I had to write this review because I'm just flabbergasted at how much I depend on it since I've been doing video game music. If I had to get a new keyboard, there's no Yamaha that can hold a candle to it... only a Triton could take its place as far as expansiveness and quality of sounds (and those are just too much money).

When I bought this keyboard it was sort of on a whim. I had extra money, and I'd been using crappy synths up until then, so I'm like, "why not get some better sounds?" I didn't need a built-in sequencer, just lots and lots of sounds and some keys that felt nice to play. There really isn't anything like this out there (eg: a rugged keyboard with a monolithic number of samples right from the factory for a reasonable price).

It certainly makes my job as a composer easier, and the results are pleasing to the ear. It has been my workhorse.

If anyone is good at editing patches, feel free to email me. I can't figure that part out (or I'm sorta too busy).

Owk the manual is very difficult to understand and you have
to be a pro to get it all along... this is one of the worst
manuals i ever get my hands on...

64 polyphony is nice... this synth is fun to play. The expansion abilties are very cool/1500 patches is just awesomeeee!

the sounds are very good.. I guess it works for every type of music around due to the extreme high number of sounds around. then there are these expansion slots to reflects this point.

I would use it on a gig it is reliable

I would buy it again yes... A great synth for almost every type of music (otherwise you'll get your expand to play your type of music)
great synth

The action's keybed is too shallow and there is not enough tension in the springs. There are much better synth actions such as the Korg Triton or the older Roland JV-80 synth actions. You simply cannot play fast bebop piano type licks on this action, it's like playing on feathers.

The presets do not have the clarity, detail or depth of the sound on the Roland JV-80, JV-1080, XP-50 or XP80. It is due to the AD/DA converters. If you select a patch such as "Warm Strings" or "West Coast" with all the effects off and compare it to the same patches in the other Rolands I listed you will hear the difference.

Customer Support is very hard to access with Roland.

The Manual is not for rookies. You have to be an expert to understand it, and experts do not need manuals. What's the point Roland?
It's is not necesarily difficult to use, but it's hard work. The buttons has too many functions. Editing a performance could have bin easy'er. If you whan't to edit a sound, please use the Sound driver, you might get a sound you allready have.

When I edit a patch, and store it in the user memory and choose it in a performance mode, it changes to the values in the Perfomance mode. And I have to do it all over again.

64 voice, 61 keys, 16 part multitimbral, is all good. The Keyboard are nice to touch. Many effects, but if you use distortion, all sounds just get alike. Two expansionslots for JV expansion boards is a very big plus. You can fill this thing with over 2000 patches. The touch sensitive keyboard and the sliders trancieve MIDI. No onboard sequenser, I like the computer.A bigger screen would help.

I must say that, there are many sounds. Greek Power is one of the most wonderfull patch, I've ever heard. And that's it. All the other patches are semi rated. It helped to oppgrade mine with Vintage synth. And I'm very happy with it. This synth is good for Rock Classical and Dance. The sound's would be great to a 80's Pop music style music. You can make good music with this thing.

I'm using a Midisport Midi interface 4x4 box. When I start the computer with the XP-30 turned on and connected, it hangs. I have to reboot the synth. Otherwise, no problemo.

Support? Where? Never heard of. Don'y need it either.

If I've lost it. I would buy a VA synth like, Novation Supernova II, Access Virus, Clavia Nord Lead, Waldorf. The roland was worth the money. Much for less. I've played it for a year. I own midi interface 4x4 box, a home built computer with lot's of softsynths and I't goes well with the XP-30.

I love the sound, I hate to use it.

I choose this synth because it was cheap, looked great, and got alot of sounds.

I wish it had alot more buttons instead of fiew with many functions.

Sorry for my english.
I think is easy to use, not very easy, just easy.
You should be able to use it quickly with a sequencer and a "first sight" check to (at?) the manual.
You should definitly use a patch editor, not because its is hard to do it directly in the keyboard, It's easier to play and tweak the sounds when you are not experienced with sound parameters. I use the menues now, and basicaly, I use the patch editor as a memory expansion and backup tool.
I ussually prefer not to use the manual until a problem arrives, but the only problems i had, were limitations. Manuals (in general) don't tell you limitations explicity. Mine Roland came with an english manual, and the shop where i bought it, gave me an spanish one (xerox copies). But translations use to be confusing...

Polyphony could be larger, in order to use all the deep sounds you can use get, but musically, you dont need to use all the fat sounds at the same time. :-)
And thats the only thing i like to upgrade.
FX are very good, but i would like to have another multifx channel.
It doesn't have a sequencer. But I already had a pc, and thas all I needed. I use it to make demos, and I haven't found anything that can not be done by MIDI. Except turning on and off lights :-)

A very good thing, that make me buy this instrument, were the assignable (?) slide controlers, they are four and glorious.

You have a LOT of patches, sometimes you may think some of them are very similar (the techno collection especially)... and sometimes is true... all of them have a roland signature. you may like it or not. Listen them and taste it before.
There are a lot a drum kits and they are all ok. Piano, strings and guitars sounds unbeliable good. I dont like brasses in general, I mean the actual instrument, therefore i dont like the synth version neither, because they are realistic...
Velocity and aftertouch works fine, but sometimes you may like to turnoff aftertouch, of course you can adjust de "deepness" of aftertouch.
I play rock and I made some clasical/new age experiments, and I am happy with results. If I were a DJ, I should use another tool, i think.

It doesn't weigth too much but its a hard thing.
I don't like to carry to everywhere.
I dont need a backup.

If i lost it, i will cry a lot, when i bought, U$S1700 were 1700 pesos, now currency... U$S1700 are $5610 and i win pesos. But definitly, i would buy the same keyborad.
I bought this keayboard in 2000, and thas all i need. I'm an IT technician since i remember (i had a c64 when i was a child and i had a dream :-) ) and I play keaboards since 1990, and fusion between those two things was only completelly made with the XP30. I had a CT670 casio (child thing) and a piano. I used a Korg, and I prefer roland sounds. But its just my preference.

(The software version hasn't changed since the release of the product, AFAIK.)

Before I mention anything else about Ease of Use, realise that this _is_ a synthesiser - which means that you can change just about every single nuance of every sound.

I've had my XP-30 for exactly one week and I love it. The first night I had it I was determined to get to a stage where the sounds I wanted were being produced by the board. It took about 3 hours, the last of which was very frustrating. The menu system just takes time to understand... as does the Roland Performance/Patch methodology and everything that goes with it. Then everything suddenly "clicked", and I could modify patches, adjust LFOs, TVFs and TVAs and store my new settings.

The manual should be regarded as a reference only. It is not conducive to a cover-to-cover reading. I also felt that it described WHAT could be changed/edited but not WHY one would need to change it. For example, it would describe how to change the timings of a TVF while omitting why a TVF exists.

For me it was important to use the machine for some hours. I find that I got most benefit from simple experimentation. After I mucked around for some hours I reset the unit back to Factory Defaults and then started over for real. It's not too hard to use the menus and buttons, which are well laid out.

The included OEM SoundDiver patch editor is not much better than just editing on the board... I tried to use it at the outset; however, it also uses the terminology of Performance/Patch etc., so it was clumsy and added an unnecessary extra layer of abstraction.

64 Voice polyphony with 4 tones per patch, and 16 patches per performance... Beware! The "St.Concert" patch on the built-in Session expansion uses all 4 tones, thus potentially using 4 voices at once. If each note uses 4 voices, then the max polyphony is 16, which leaves little room for layering, etc. To test this I added XP-A:001 "St.Concert" from the Session board (4 simultaneous voices) to a Performance and then layered PR-C:059 "Warmth" (2 simultaneous voices) in part 2 of the same Performance. I did notice dropouts.

That said, the unit handles dropout very nicely. All the piano patches are set to drop the softest note first, not the oldest - this makes for very realistic play.

The keyboard action is synth-style, which means you don't get weighted keys, but you do get channel aftertouch. The XP-30 can't do individual note aftertouch, but channel aftertouch is good for adding tremolo to organ sounds, for example. Despite the lack of weighted keys, I have found the piano to be very playable - the velocity sensitivity is well implemented.

There are heaps of effect built in, along with the standard Chorus and Reverb, which are reasonable.

It has three SR-JV80 expansion boards built in... Session, Orchestral and Techno. Apparently Roland realised that the XP-30 would sell better if they included the expansion sounds which should have been stock standard. By that I mean Session's "St.Concert" and "LA Session", and Orchestral's "Warm Violins". This was a major influencing factor in my decision to by the XP-30. It can take two extra boards... because I'm heavily into keyboards and organs, I'd probably like to get Keyboards of the 60s and 70s, as well as Vintage Synth. It can also take either a 2MB or 4MB SmartMedia card as extra storage and backup for User presets. I think this was an excellent choice of external media, considering the lack of space for a floppy drive. I rely heavily on the time-consuming edits I've saved in the User bank, so this extra level of backup is superb.

It has a standard MIDI implementation: In, Out and Thru. Most of the parameters for MIDI Tx and Rx can be configured. It can receive note aftertouch from an external sequencer despite the limitation of channel aftertouch from the XP-30's keyboard. The main obstacle to understanding Roland's MIDI is realising that each Part in a Performance maps to a MIDI channel. It's pretty easy after that.

There is no sequencer built in. Perhaps this is the only thing I dislike now that I own this board. On the other hand, the included expansion boards make up for the extra cost (~$1500 Australian) which would have been required had I bought an XP-50.

I do two main types of playing. One is live at my church, with a contemporary-style band. The other is some personal home recording. For the live stuff, where the guitars and drums are the more prominent instrument, I was surprised (pleasantly) to find that the PR-A:001 "64voicePiano" fits better in the mix than the Session board's "St.Concert". I think the "64voicePiano" is quite bright enough compared to the realistic "St.Concert", which negates the use of PR-A:002 "BrightPiano" somewhat.

My first task in building my own User library was layering Pianos with Pads and Strings, and I am very happy with the current result. Many people have said it, but I'll reiterate: the internal and expansion waveforms which Roland has included are excellent building blocks. You must be willing, however, to dive in and modify patches to suit your own needs.

The effects are useable and effective. For live performance I turn off my reverb, but it's excellent for home recording where you don't want to apply it after laying down a track.

I love playing on this board. I can create a sound which I really like and then play out. It is very expressive. The reaction of aftertouch is very detailed: I hooked the XP-30 up to Emagic Logic Audio 5 and watched the aftertouch velocity send as I varied the pressure. It was easy to steadily increase or decrease the pressure, and the sensitivity was excellent.

I believe that the XP-30 could be modified to work well with any kind of music... Rock, Classical, Dance, whatever.

Pianos:
Excellent with the Session board. Short of the new SRX-02 Concert Grand expansion board waveforms, the Session "St.Concert" is, in my opinion, the best sounding acoustic piano in a digital instrument.

Strings:
Excellent, especially from Orchestral expansion.

Pads:
Good and useable. Limited in number, which means detailed editing of patches and filters.

Organs:
Hmm. I would have liked more... <sigh> more expansions needed!

EPs/Rhodes:
Very nice. Some have that characteristic hard edge, while others have the sparkle sound which I like so much. XP-A:007 "LA Session" is wonderful.

Basses:
Good, from what I've tested. I don't use them much.

Brass:
Synthesised brass sounds must always be used in moderation, and they must be incorporated into a mix carefully. I certainly wouldn't use these for soloing!

Rhythm:
Excellent. The Techno expansion has heaps of extra drum sets.

The XP-30 is built with a full metal chassis. The front panel buttons are very tactile and respond with a decisive click. I wouldn't recommend dropping it down a flight of stairs, but short of that it should live to see another gig. Be careful with the pitch bender/mod wheel - it's the only plastic protrusion which might easily be damaged.

It has never frozen, hung or otherwise behaved badly for me.

I only use it without a backup because I used my last penny to buy it. =)

Never talked to Roland, but Allans Music in Adelaide, South Australia were excellent once again. Thanks Paul!

If it were lost or stolen I'd consider buying one again. I might consider buying an XP-50 or XP-80, but only if the price were excellent and I could get the Session and Orchestral expansions at a good price. I'd be lost without those expansion boards. It's well worth the money, when you consider that Session and Orchestral (and Techno, but that's less important to me) still retail in Australia for more than $500 each.

I've been playing for about 10 years, starting on a real piano, not a keyboard. This is my only piece of pro gear... I used to have a Roland EM-10 but I got sick of its bad piano sound and poor quality output.

I love the variety of sounds - there's more than 1500 to choose from. I dislike the lack of an onboard sequencer, but you do get what you pay for. I'll just use my computer for sequencing.

I compared it to Korg's Triton and Trinity, as well as Roland's Fantom. For the price, and for the piano sound on the Session board, I chose the XP-30.

I wish it had more pad sounds, and more organs.

The next things I want... I want a Roland RD-700 Stage Piano to use as a master piano-style controller. Maybe I'll get an XV-2020 module so that I can use the SRX-02 Concert Grand expansion for that superior piano sound. I do want a Korg for their very big synth sounds, as well as getting a bit of a change from Roland. I might even try a Kurzweil PC-something, but all this is far off...

Last word: I'm very happy with this board. It's excellent. If you want good sounds that match your needs, then get an XP-30 and start editing.

First of all, this is my first ever synth-experience. I always worked with software like FT2, ST3 and IT3, wav-editing in Soundforge...before I switched to Cubase VST24 somewhere in the year 2000. Didn't have a clue what MIDI really did untill I found out how the General Midi soundbank of my SBLive! worked. I did this for a year before getting sick of it and walking into a shop for a synthesizer. The XP-30 is my first-ever synth experience. I now have an M-audio Audiophile 2496-card (a baby) and the Midisport 4x4...I found my way in midi.
Now that you know my background, you decide for yourself if you think my info is of any significance.
I use my XP30 as masterkeyboard and as a soundsorce to be triggered by Cubase...so, for studio-owners: try to see the power of the XP30 PER MIDI-CHANNEL! For live-performers: I don't know for sure, but given the possibilities and amount of sounds you buy for your money, the XP-30 can be a beast on stage.
I don't use the software (?).
PRESETS (in general) sounded great to me in the beginning, but now that I had my fingers on more synths, I'm starting to hear a strange behaviour in the higher frequencies of the XP-30...this goes for a lot of the presets.
I'll get into the sound later...in the sound/expression-box below.
Editing the patches is a piece of cake, once you know your way through the device!
The manual is understandable throughout the first few pages...how patches are built etc...that was clear to me. As soon as I arrived at the info for "Professional Use", I ran out of patience quickly and just started trying. I figure they figure everybody just knows it all...
I've reached a point now, where I can find whatever I'm looking for within a minimum amount of pushing buttons. I'm not saying I'm using the Xp-30 to the max!

64-voice polyphony, and in my manual it's clearly stated that this actually means 64 tones...and not 64 patches, cause patches consist of several tones. Shouldn't be a problem, cause I like to record my Midi-track to audio and go ahead with external FX anyway.
It has (besides standard chorus and reverb) around 40 effects inside, and depending on the patch you run through the effect, some are beautiful. If you have external effects, I personally don't see a lot of use for the XP-30 effects...except for creating a certain behaviour on a certain element (a certain midi-channel) in your mix.
There's velocity and aftertouch, you can record you filter etc. movements in your sequencer just by pressing the REC on your sequencer. You get editing software for you computer, but I never used this.
Keyboard action seems fine to me...better than my friend's "expensive as a car" SCHIMMEL-grand piano...
You can put several patches together in a performance (PERFORMANCE MODE) and dedicate every patch to a different channel or bang 'm altogether through your speakers just by playing the keys. Same pussy as always, just a different package..
I write my songs in performance mode, and as soon as the structure is there, I record every channel that breathes the way I like it in PERFORM, and then press PATCH mode and start recording patch per patch for the ones I don't like in perform mode...with some help of my external/software FX and compression etc.
No onboard sequencer as far as I know...

To me, the overall sound is excellent. Especially if you look at the price of this baby. Just select your patch and start using the filters and internal settings to go where you want.
No use in expecting Miles Davis when playing a brass-patch, but in a total mix it can sound acceptabel. At least, if you bother to take your time and listen to real saxophones and try to comprehend how they behave as a result to how they're being played...the velocity-sensitivity does the rest, honestly...this should go for any instrument by the way...a friend of mine tried to play chords on a saxophone-patch and thought it didn't sound realistic. That might be true...but I wonder if he ever heard chords on a real sax...
One tip for the people saying that for instance the brass-family sounds like poop: Experiment more...cause there's more inside this baby then meets the eye...and that's where her power is. Roland gives you realistic guitars, pianos, brass etc...but you're not gonna imitate an instrument if you play the patch like you would play any other KEYBOARD or SYNTH or WHATEVER-sound...but hey, I'm no keyboard-player, I'm just obsessed by music and captured by sound!
What I found out about Roland-products is this: They give you something to start with, and that something might sound superb or it might sound shitty...but they also give you A LOT TO GO WITH...to make something else out of it. And depending on your own creativity & understanding of the machine, there's a whole world of possibilities at your disposal.
The XP-30 is suitable for a lot of styles, old or new, from pop to dance, film-music...whatever. Cause you get so many sounds for your money and a lot of possibilities to change the sounds into something different.
The expandansion-cards add more styles to the list. I make what I call "Underground-round-the-world-Pop" for all kinds of instrumentalists & vocalists (rappers, male and female singers) and there's useable sounds on the XP-30 for EVERY track, for EVERY artist that comes along.
Just play around in Perform mode...use the same patch simultanouesly in different settings (transpose 1 of them up, 1 down etc), put a suitable patch (or more) alongside this, and you'll get a patch in Roseanne Barr-mode. Nothing new to a lot of you for sure...but I've created sounds with the Xp-30 that honestly made people take all their words about this machine back. Mostly people from the lucky few that can afford the "best of the best" ... funny how people judged this machine before ever hearing or feeling it.

Reliable. So Far. Only problem I ever had was the second day that I had my MIDISPORT 4x4 connected. The screen of the XP30 lit up and that's it...no text...nothing but that orange light. It made me scared because I had to finish a track for 2 beautiful lady vocalists to take to the studio the next day. I unplugged the Midisport and installed it all over again and that's it. Everything was back to normal.
So the question is: Was it the XP-30 or the Midisport...or perhaps the enormous amount of That Famous Dutch Smoke produced during the night before that made my machines act "differently"?
I would use it on a gig without a backup, because I would be too busy playing the drums during this gig...our keyboard player uses it together with his own stuff and my EA-1 and AKAI-S2000, hooked up to the Oxygen-keyboard. At least, as soon as we find a keyboard-player with experimental balls that is...

Only experience I ever had was that the specific product-specialist would be back from a meeting in a few minutes...when I called back they told me he was out the whole day (?), but I got reach of him the next day and he cleared my problem in notime...so no complaints here.

If it were lost or stolen, I would definetely buy another one, cause otherwise I would have to find a girl to kiss goodnight everynight...and my XP-30 makes much better sounds...and also doesn't do my laundry.
No, serious: I would check the market for what's out there, but there is a chance that I would buy an Xp30 again.
I don't really play keys, but I have it for around 15 months now. I've been making computer-related music for 6 years now.
Besides the enormous amount of VST instruments and other plug-ins, I have a Spirt F1-mixer, Absolute Zero monitors, Samson Servo 170 studio-amp, Akai S2000 sampler, Samson S-com plus compressor, Digitech 100s-effectsprocessor, Korg EA-1, Rode NT1 stuido condenser mic with a stand, shockmount and popkiller, a Shure SM58, a bosnian handmade acoustic guitar, some percussion, a hughe didgeridoo :-) , a kick-ass Pearl drumkit with kick-ass cymbals, a very special deep maple wood snare that bangs like hell, and some more...hardware, software, electric, acoustic, analogue etc.
I love the versatility of the XP-30. So many sounds, so many possibilities inside, for such a rate. I had also tried the Roland RS5, but went for the XP-30 because of the Barbie-feel & toy-look of the RS5, and the amount of patches the xp-30 offers for the supplement.
I wished it had more outputs and the possibility to have more patches in perform mode go through separate effects, instead of the whole performance through the same effect...that would make my productivity rise up...but I'm saving up money for some more expensive technology!
I think we can't complain for this rate...
It helps me make music and it's fun to jam with...just use the power of equalizing when using it together with others and use the possibilities of your total set-up if it doesn't sound right as a preset...let's be honest: who wants to use recognisable presets anyway?
Good Job Roland...can't wait to have the 5050 next to the Yamaha RS7000 and the Acces Virus...hmmmm...is it a bird, is it a plane...nope...it's my producivity taking a flight.

Feel free to contact me for whatever reason!

Greetings to all from Rotterdam, Holland

Well... As soon as you learn were everything is it is rather easy. I don't like small displays that much and this one has. But there are a lot of buttons and a good explanation chart just below the display describing where to find everything. A + for that.

64 voices is all you need. Kurzweils K2500 only has 48 and Korg Triton I think have 62 or perhaps only 60. About 40 different effects and I say about since half of them is a mix between the other 20... But that is ok since you can apply one effect to each sound (counting out the chorus and reverb. In my oppinion the filters suck but I don't use them that much anyways.

This is the strong point here. With the Session, Orchestral and techno collection you have not only GREAT presets you have a lot to work with. Considering the rest of the on-board sample sounds you can use all the patches avaible from Xp-series and JV-series. Just download from internet and sysex em into you synth. In my oppinion you have more use of this than of a triton (if youre not using the sampler that is).

I have had problem one time and that was that the memory was damaged somehow. I had to take factory reset and all my user sounds vanished. Always keep you pathces saved into your pc. But that on the other hand was once during a 3 year period so don't worry too much about it.

Never dealt with them.

For this price I don't think you can get anything better. If you are buying your first synth and still are a bit of a newbie this IS what you should go for. I have played it for a few years now and I still love it. There is a great PC software which you can use to edit your sounds, that way it'll become easier than anything. ChangeIt it is called. Download it and you'll have GREAT possibilities with this cheap and powerfull machine.

I find the XP-30 quite easy to use. The menu is a bit fiddly, but some patience and logical thinking soon gets you where you want to go. Patch editing isn't too difficult, but then again I'm quite adept at fiddling with buttons. The manual isn't difficult to understand, but make sure you read it all the way through!

I don't really know what the polyphony is to tell you the truth! All i know is that I've never had any dropouts.
The effects are alright, but leave something to be desired. The stereo delay is a bit fiddly and triple and quadruple tap delays aren't really useful. The expansion capabilities are useful; i haven't got any other expansion cards but the sheer number of tones and preset sounds is worth mentioning. But players looking for a 'base' keyboard might do better to consider something else.

Some of the instruments are very realistic, but a few are not. Most are useful, but as with many keyboards you get the "hey look at me" pads and sounds which are just silly. But changing sounds is not difficult.
Expressiveness is something of an issue, when playing piano sounds one might do better with another model. Actual sounds are sufficient, but if you're looking that extra 'oomph' for live playing you'd need another keyboard.

I do use this at a gig without backup simply because it's the only keyboard i have! But one BIG issue with reliability is the modulation wheel. NOT the pitch wheel, but the modulation part of the pitch wheel. It's the regular Roland one where you push the pitch wheel up to turn on modulation. This has broken on my XP30 and i have had many friends who have had the same problem. If i want to change modulation now i have to use a footswitch or assign it to one of the "palette" controllers. Otherwise it is quite reliable, but I am giving it a "5" for reliability primarily based on the flimsy modulation wheel.

If this were lost or stolen I would not rush to get another. That's not to say that I would not get one, but its role is not pivotal enough to warrant me getting a duplicate. I got this keyboard pretty much primarily for the sounds, the sheer number but as for live playing, it's not as impressive. I would recommend this more for the studio where one needs a wide variety of sounds.