JD-XI pros cons

bladuck · Post by **bladuck** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:43 pm

A disclaimer … There is nothing wrong to post about a product that is similar to Electribe 2. I like them both The E2 and JD-XI. In some ways the JD-XI shines for people who prefer keys or do more ambient music.

I’ve had the roland unit for a week now. I’d like to give you a brief comparison.

JD-XI Disadvantages:

1. No battery
2. four tracks only (work arounds available)
3. built is not as good as Electribe2
4. no IFX
5. no LFO on drums
6. Bigger and cheesier look (especially key-bed)
7. Motion control is not as smooth as on tribe
8. No SD slot
9. No convenient mute control (there is work around)

Advantages:

1. No buggy software
2. No clicks / pops when changing patterns
3. 128 voice polyphony (real)
4. 2 MFXs Delay and Reverb with individual send level.
4b. Additional two effect to be chained so four effect simultaneously
5. Full apregiator (only one, but has hold function for any track very convenient )
6. 3 slots per digital voice (you can have 3 parallel voices with any of two digital
tracks) you can have 3 saw oscillators with 3 LFOs for each digital voice.
7. 4(!) slots for each drum note. A drum sound can consist of 4 waves each with it’s own filter/amp envelope etc.
8. Excellent keyboard sounds (pads, bass, electric pianos etc)
9. Excellent velocity control, many curves to choose from, full 3 x ASDR

Some of the old hard core electibe guys (I’m one of them) will be upset by my brining here non electibe product to compare
Even with the Push (ableton) I was not able to play a clean piano chords. The velocity control on regular keys is just much much better for fingers. I tent to hit key pads on electribe or Push (Ableton) with my pinky with a lot less velocity than my thumb and that makes my chord sounds like crap. So velocity sensitive pads for cords … nogo for me.

In my opinion, korg has some serious kid on the block with the JD-XI and street price $100 higher than E2.

get one test it ... it is NOT a toy

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:15 pm

No problem posting about this unit. It's definitely a contender and a competitor. Seems like it has some good features...

Question: Nick Batt's review at Sonic State highlighted the low-res steppy filter control, but said that Roland was going to fix it with firmware.

Does yours still sound like this (skip to 4:50 and watch until 5:24), or did they fix it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI81zS_5IGU

Spheric El · Post by **Spheric El** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:22 pm

Nice.Should be a good combo with just those two machines.
Do you record both into a computer (together,live)?What other gear is important for your system?

Frenzies · Post by **Frenzies** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:39 pm

I would see the two as complimentary, not really as competitors to each other. The JD looks to me to be more of a sketch pad within a synth, rather than a music production unit.

bladuck · Post by **bladuck** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:14 am

Spheric El wrote:Nice.Should be a good combo with just those two machines.
Do you record both into a computer (together,live)?What other gear is important for your system?

that is the thing... I used to get a lot of computers back then. I reduced the computer related stuff to ableton Push. My goal is to be "computer less" and have a mobile thingies, I can power both the E2 or Rolland by batteries and get the output recorded to korg kaoss mini microSD and then do some post processing on iPad/iphone and I'm done

Poumtschak · Post by **Poumtschak** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:56 am

bladuck wrote: 3. 128 voice polyphony (real)
6. 3 slots per digital voice (you can have 3 parallel voices with any of two digital
tracks) you can have 3 saw oscillators with 3 LFOs for each digital voice.
7. 4(!) slots for each drum note. A drum sound can consist of 4 waves each with it’s own filter/amp envelope etc.

No doubt the JD-Xi is boxing in another class than the e2, but just wanted to point out that since their early ROMplers, polyphony and voice counts at Rolands are in partials (tones), not in voices.
So technically, its 128/3 tones per patch max, or 128/4 for drums for the JD-Xi. Not bad either, but 128 real voices well... not really, unless a single tone/TVF/TVA sawtooth patch has enough oomph of course.
And it's only 2+1 digital part + 1 analog part multitimbral, while the e2 is 16 digital.

Then again, it's just plain great for the price.

Does make you wonder what the e2 would have be if Korg had choosen plastic instead of (most likely) more expensive and harder to manufacture die-cast zinc metal case.

The main disadvantage to die casting is the very high capital cost. Both the casting equipment required and the dies and related components are very costly, as compared to most other casting processes. Therefore, to make die casting an economic process, a large production volume is needed.

ghostly606 · Post by **ghostly606** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 9:54 am

Agreed that the Roland unit looks great but I don't see it as a direct competitor, more a sketch pad. Get one and a hardware multitracker and you are all set.

I am not so keen on using the onboard keys on the E2, it comes into it's own with a controller keyboard I reckon. An expended E2 attached to a keyboard (say microKorg form factor even, on batteries) would be terrific.

bladuck · Post by **bladuck** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:25 pm

So technically, its 128/3 tones per patch max, or 128/4 for drums for the JD-Xi. Not bad either, but 128 real voices well... not really, unless a single tone/TVF/TVA sawtooth patch has enough oomph of course.

Yes but most of the built-in patches use one slice max two. Usually the 2,3 are turned off. Also the drums use only one so 2,3,4 is usually off. The cool thing is that you can individually pan it, pitch it etc

brambos · Post by **brambos** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:56 am

I do feel the two are fishing in the same pool, and the JD-Xi definitely is more than just a sketchpad. Unless you also consider the E2 to be a sketchpad.

As much as it pains me to say this, being a big Electribe fan, the JDXi is to me the more appealing of the two.

Especially when they come out with an editor to reduce the need for menu diving the Roland will shine. The editing on this thing is *deep*.

The 'stepping' that many seem to be worried about is not a real-world issue, unless you always use your resonance at extreme-whistle levels. Which I don't. At normal resonance levels there isn't any noticeable stepping as far as I could tell.

Thanks for the comparison!

bladuck · Post by **bladuck** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:13 pm

Steeping ? I posted the "big" issue of analog vs digital (related to stepping) on rolandclan forum. JD-XI is a first machine that you can clearly do A/B very simple on filter and oscillator between analog and digital. The response I seem to get is that the Roland mimics the analog pretty good in their digital domain.

I guess I'm one of the people that just go and explore the good aspects of devices or gizmos I don't care much about specs or shortcomings that people like to talk about . These really don't affect most of the results produced by real artists (pro or semi pro) using these machines. Utube is the proof.

After I did some recording on JD-XI (I had to send it for replacement) I went back to E2 and changed my workflow a bit. I started to use the OSC knob much more and filter resonance lot less. Listening the recording I'm blown away with how good the synth sounds are on the E2 so the cherry-on-top from the korg-king is really in the guts of the E2. The OSC Edit with some Modulations is a godsend from korg

chris1a · Post by **chris1a** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:02 pm

I'm a bit interested in this one. I still can change out my E2 for something else (it's pads are defect etc, and the store still haven't gotten any replacement units). I'm constantly battling...the pads. I just don't seem to be able to grasp how to play melodies, chords whatever on the things. I did a track today that didn't completely suck, the underside on the E2 basically blinking red constantly (which=saturated and crunchy) and it has that punch-u-in-the-face sound, that I'm fairly sure the Roland can't quite do. But on the other hand it doesn't run out of polyphony after 3-4 parts. And it got keys. Those 2 are the major things I'm looking at.

Can you take one of the PCM/supernatural sounds, tweak it with the synthesis engine and save it as a new preset?

bladuck · Post by **bladuck** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:13 pm

chris1a wrote: I'm constantly battling...the pads. I just don't seem to be able to grasp how to play melodies, chords whatever on the things.

Well that was my main issue, I need an external keyboard to get better velocity control .. but that would be two units and as you know the MIDI implementation is very bad on E2. so I got the JD-XI just to test it. JD-XI is very musical, for paddy, ambient stuff

Can you take one of the PCM/supernatural sounds, tweak it with the synthesis engine and save it as a new preset?

The editing capabilities of JD-XI It is crazy for the price and compared to E2. see the parameter guide
http://www.roland.com/support/by_produc ... nuals/8945
each supernatural consist of 3 parts you can combine 3 saws or 3 PCMs where second can modulate the first one (that is bit limited) but individual ADSR for filter and envelope two LFOs on supernatural (one LFO one MOD LFO) for each (!) of 3 layers. ... and drums are crazier they consist of 4 layers no LFO but it is like having 26 tracks of drums. As I know roland they will have a full midi implementation so I will use some BCR2000 midi controller to get better control on mutes, and other real-time-want-to-have drum controls.

chris1a · Post by **chris1a** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:39 pm

Thanks, sounds good! Can you copy a whole pattern (with everything that goes along with it) to a new empty slot, repeat this procedure a few times, make some variations on the copied patterns, switch between them manually to kinda make a complete track (just like on the E2)?

bladuck · Post by **bladuck** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:53 pm

Ups I forgot to mention... no way to save an individual sound.
The concept is called program so you save 4 sounds to a program (in E2 lingo is pattern). These then can be copied across the programs. There are 4 user banks 4x64 So I use one bank for sounds and one for templates. You can copy program/patterns freely as you can do with E2.

Also forgot to mention that you can have only one arp running at the time. However you can record the arp and reuse it for another track. I figured with the key-track on filter and amp I can balance bass + anything else i play on top of the keyboard for each digital channel so it is like to have two tracks per track; 2 + 2 digital parts + 1 analog + 26 drum tracks. I record 2 or 3 kick tracks and then just mute or volume down one of them same with other drums ... so I can mimic the E2 pretty good. I wish the mutes were more handy.

chris1a · Post by **chris1a** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 6:03 pm

Thanks. Well, i certainly have a case of GAS over here. I'll most likely switch to the Roland, and if it just isn't for me, I guess I can always sell it and buy a new E2 lol

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