Roland XP-30 Techno Dance Demonstration

[dentunes]

I just picked up a second hand XP30 for $375 AUD! So cheap for such a great keyboard. I remember selling these brand new.

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@dentunes

They are good 2nd hand value. Thanks for selling them, buddy! ;)

[YamahaDigital]

XP-30 is an awesome synth, kind of Korg M1 of 2000s, simplicity, ease of use and wealth of sounds available (1550 patches available right off the box as presets/preloads!). The best synth for live performances, it may well be called the predecessor of Jupiter-80. One little known feature of external memory storage (SmartMedia card) - You CAN store the entire soundbanks there as separate files AND load them as complete banks, or just individual patches or performances.

[Robbinsffxi]

Thank you. Can you recommend any editor for mac or pc for XP-30? :)

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@Robbinsffxi

Yes, Emagic's SoundDiver (JV-XP). This software editor used to come bundled with the XP-30 but I think it has been discontinued now. johannes-emmerling.de provides a link to a download. I've never used SoundDiver so I can't help you with its usage, sorry!

[Robbinsffxi]

I will get a second hand XP-30 next week. And I've allready have the vintage synth expansion waiting for it. What other card should I install in the XP-30? I like to do funky electro music. :)

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@Robbinsffxi

With the Session & Techno boards hardwired into the XP-30 PLUS a Vintage Synth expansion you should be pretty much covered already ;)

But it's a toss-up between the "Hip-hop" board, which actually has a surprisingly diverse & inventive set of waveforms for your grooves and goes quite cheaply these days and then there's the "Dance JV80-06", which really is funky electro territory, but very common-heard sounds. Check the audio demos of said cards around the net before deciding.

[Robbinsffxi]

@TheAdvancedMusic Yeah I think I will be covered already. But I just hate to have a button without a function. :P. What do you think of the House Board? I've been listenin to demos of all boards and I wonder if I should get a board that might add bread and butter in to the music, not just electro stuff.

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@Robbinsffxi

I haven't explored the House board myself, but if you run down to SynthMania-com you can find a page for the house expansion that has a large number of streamable patch demos (if you haven't already). Take note on the number of 'loop' presets on the House/other expansion boards. They can be of very little/limited use:S I'd rather have more waveforms over loops any day ;)

[jcasbos]

One question, can you mix sounds with the xp30? How? Thanks

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@jcasbos

It is possible to stack layers of sounds (tones) on top of each other so that you can have a massive 'stack' patch. To do this you need to be in Performance Mode though, not Patch Mode. Initiate a Performance for use and select 'Layer', not 'Single' in the Performance 'Common' parameters. You can layer up to 16 'tones' for some seriously fat textures. But remember, the more tones in your layered Performance, the less polyphony it has.

[peter47a]

@TheAdvancedMusic a Tone contains up to 4 parts which can already be layered and split. If you create your own sounds, you can get alot out of tones already! Just wanted to add for completeness.

[M3L0D1CM4N]

Sure thanks :)

[M3L0D1CM4N]

Thanks that was a real solution. Thanks for your help, I really appreciate that :)

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

You're always welcome. I will admit that the XP-30 isn't the most instantly intuitive synth :) Another nifty tip that many people overlook: you can use number/category buttons to punch in number values (for palette edit values, for example) rather than use the jogwheel all the time. I find this much quicker for reaching numbers such as 0 and 127 (and reduces overall wear and tear on your jogwheel).

[M0CH4B34R]

Hey man I'm about to buy one of these but before I buy I wanna know if I can make that sweet "Wub Wub Wub" wobble bass sound that you hear in alot of dubstep music?

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M0CH4B34R

Hey boss, I know which sounds you mean :-). There are no exact preset sounds for the sounds you are looking for, sadly. But, since the XP-30 comes with the Techno Expansion Board and there are a few simple DnB bass tone presets, I am confident that with a little synthesis know-how and patience you can fashion a good 'wub' patch from these presets. Best advice would be to construct your wub and then choose one of the onboard distortion effects to give it some extra bad boy!

Regards.

[M3L0D1CM4N]

How can I save settings I have done to a patch ? I tried to save it but setting won't save. Sound does save but the setting I did were gone : /

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

Hey man, what do you mean 'settings'? What functions/buttons are you using to make your 'settings'/what settings are you making? I remember being frustrated by not being able to save the settings to a patch I made using the Palette sliders. - and I believe this is still the case.

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic Exactly :D I changed the attack and release of the patch with pallette sliders and settings didn't save along with the patch. I saved the patch in PERFORM mode to a single putton. That's only way I can pick several patches quickly... Do you have some other way to do that ?

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

It seems incredible that their is no savable Master envelope/filter ability. There appears to be no work-around this except to edit the TVF/TVA in EACH tone in your patch. This requires a bit of patience. :(

My manual says this about using the palette sliders: "Sound variations or volume changes made with the Sound Palette Function affect only the performance. They have no effect on the currently selected Performance, so the Sound Palette settings cannot be saved."

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@TheAdvancedMusic

In response to a previous question - I neglected to mention that you can EASILY assign patches to a Performance by selecting Perform (of course), choose a Part button. Hold Perform down again and press Patch(part) at the same time. You'll be able to simply scroll through to find a patch. Press Exit button when you've found the patch you want and your patch has been assigned to that Part button :)

You may have figured this out already, but it's great in a live situation.

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic No I haven't, thanks alot :D Do you have any advice how to save the changes ?

And patches that I assigned as you said are gone when I boot my xp-30 :S

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

Hey, thanks for your question. Unfortunately, the XP-30 will not 'remember' the patches in your performance unless you save it as a Performance before you switch the synth off.

Also, bad news - I've combed my manual and I really cannot find a way to save the changes made by the palette. It is a limitation, for sure, but the manual states that you can't save the changes made via the palette sliders. This is irritating, I know - but there really doesn't appear to be a workaround :(

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic Such a shame : / There's for example one awesome pad called dream voices ( XP-A: 023) wich have way too much release. That would be nice to have in saved with less release and little bit more attack. But np, there's few more cool pads that I can use. Great keyboard indeed...

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

You can always make those alterations by editing the TVA. To do this you can press "edit", "TVA" and then "palette edit" (near the jog wheel), so that it lights up. With palette mode on you will be able to see and compare the values of each tone in the patch. XP-A: 023 uses tone 2&3. Scroll down the pages until you see TVA ENV TIME 1 (which is attack) and TVA ENV TIME 4 (which is release) and make your changes for tone 2 and 3. Save patch into a User slot when happy :)

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic Hehe, thanks, I'll try that :P

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic Yep, so what do you recommend to do ? I should need to pick up pathces fastly and be able to save those changes to patches...

[musicroman]

Excellent demo, I like these sounds

[MrRicksym]

Should I buy a Roland fantom x8 or a midi keyboard to produce trance music on?!! Can anyone help me please

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@MrRicksym

Hey Rick, thanks for your question. It's a tricky question to answer because all producers work differently. So long as you have a PC/mac rig with an audio sequencing package, you can download many great soft synths capable of great trance sounds. I feel (personally) It's probably best in the long run to use software (and MIDI controllers if you want) as a computer environment is incredibly flexible and potentially limitless.

Many regards and best of luck with your productions!

[M3L0D1CM4N]

I can't find a setup for attack. I mean that I could adjust the attack of a particular patch/sound ? Can you help ?

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

Hello, you can do this a quick way by moving the 'Palette' sliders on the left-hand side. If you press the 'Filter/Env' to activate the Pallette sliders and tweak the 3rd slider 'Attack', then the attack time adjusts for the whole patch.

Setting the attack for each tone of the patch requires going into Patch and then Edit mode and pressing the last button on the row 'TVA' (Time Variant Amplifier) this is just a fancy term for 'envelope' attack, decay ect.

Part II

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic Ok, thanks a lot... I was wondering because I was looking for word '' attack '' :D

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

Part II...

Scroll down the pages until you reach Envelope with the T1, T2, T3 ect variables. T1 sets the Attack length of the tone in the patch you're working on. 127 is slowest attack, 1 is instant.

[M3L0D1CM4N]

Is it possible to layer sounds ?

[TheAdvancedMusic]

Each 'patch' is a combination of one to four 'mini-sounds' or 'tones'. You CAN set up a Performance in Perfomance Mode to layer up to 16 patches for real phattage. So, it is possible, if you wanted, to create a super-patch comprising of 64 'tones' if you wanted (but you'd only be able to play one key at a time, of course, because all 64 tones will occupy the 64 note polyphony count of the XP-30) :)

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic Ok, I learned it my self before I'd read this :D thanks anyway

[Italian77721]

how do you preset the sound underneath the LCD?

[TheAdvancedMusic]

Sorry for my slow reply.

You have to put the synth into 'Perform' mode and make the arrangements from there. In Perform mode you will have a few 'User Perform' sets (i think 32 user sets on the XP-30) that you can over-write with your own preset arrangements.

When setting up a User Performance to accommodate single patches, you must select SINGLE mode from the Performance Options. Otherwise, select LAYER if you want to be able to stack/layer patches together. :)

[M3L0D1CM4N]

Do you know how to add sounds on those numbered puttons to pick them up fastly ?

[TheAdvancedMusic]

@M3L0D1CM4N

I've had a look through the manual and I'm not convinced you can 'assign' presets to the number bank on the right hand side. You can however create a 'Performance' of 16 presets/parts to a row of buttons underneath the LCD panel) which is closer to your aim, although admittedly not as quick.

Hope this helps!

[M3L0D1CM4N]

@TheAdvancedMusic Yea it did thanks

[subtexthiphop]

3:30 is butter mang! I'm looking at buying this keyboard. Thanks for the demo.

[nick4uuk]

schlbesht.