Small, powerful and available at a great price:
The new JD-XI is based on a modern Analog/Digital Crossover sound generation concept which offers the best of both worlds. A mono Bass and Lead synthesizer with analog oscillators and analog filters ensure for a fat and warm analog sound. On the other side are two blocks of ROLAND'S popular SuperNATURAL sound generators with 128 polyphonic voices in total, producing realistic sounds such as strings, pads, wind and more. These sounds can then be edited with the multi-mode filter - similar to the AIRA System 1.
The package of this super talent is rounded off with its internal drum kits, which are sure to fill the dance floor in typical Roland fashion. Driving beats are produced effortlessly with the integrated, pattern-orientated step-sequencer.
The sequencer shares its functionality between the Drum sequencer and a Bass/Lead sequencer. The drum sequencer works similarly to the legendary TR-Machines and the bass sequencer is basically copied from the TB-303.
The JD-Xi has another ace up its sleeve! Next to the four effect engines, there is also a vocoder, which together with the gooseneck microphone allows you to create those popular robot voices as well as other vocoder effects, including the new Autopitch function. The 37 mini-keys and the compact dimensions of the housing make the JD-Xi very comfortable to transport.
I was very pleased with my new JD-XI and am just getting used to the presets and voicing structure. I think it is a very powerful machine for the money and am looking forward to programming songs with it.