Roland JD-XA - Programming a Custom Patch

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Having a tinker with the Roland JD-XA showing how to program a custom patch. This patch is made up of four parts, three digital, and one analog. This video shows some basic programming techniques for each part of this patch.

[@purveyor9971]

I would highly recommend this as one of the first three videos anyone who has just purchased a JD-XA watch. Brilliant!

[@ozcandurmusoglu]

Please make another video like this for JDXA. We learned alot from this video!!!

[@Shadowbait]

Thank you! This is one of the best sound creation videos I've seen, and it really helps while I'm trying to decide what synth to buy next.

[@kingtrance6826]

Really beautiful shimmer. 👍 Well done! Such a deep synth. You could spend an eternity programming and just tinkering around with the JD-XA.

[@patrickey5552]

Very helpful and a beautiful layered patch. very nice patch. The JD-XA really is an impressive, and often overlooked, hybrid synth combining 4 voices of analog with 64 voices of digital. 8 parts with effects. The analog side is really nice if only 4 voices. compared to the Oberheim OB-6 or Prophet 6 which cost 3k each you get 4 analog voices with the JD-XA plus all of those digital voices. The synth requires some manual reading and woodshedding (practice reverse engineering the patches), but once you learn it, it becomes easy to program and rather intuitive.

[@Amanet13]

Great tutorial,I almost gave up on my xa coz not knowing how to program.And not too many of them explain how to.Great job very educational,,,Thx mate

[@OMNS777]

Very cool! Adding your video to my playlist of JD XA stuff as I will be getting one tomorrow :). Cheers!

[@jacka55penguin]

Awesome! I wish I could see the edits better. Nice work.

[@markwelsh9068]

This was exceptionally useful. Thank you very much.

[@xahrfbkhdad]

Really great. Not near enough init to full patch videos for any synth, especially the mighty JD-XA.

[@audienceimaginary]

Well said, my thoughts exactly!

[@ElectronicazMusic]

Beautiful, and helpful.

[@MrDubstep09]

Gosh this synth is gloriously beautiful. Owning the JDXi and Nord Stage machines, the JDXa would add sounds so lush and warm and expansive. I want one! But do I need one 😍

[@josevelasco1287]

Dejes engañar ese sinte esta conectado a un programa de compuadora y a una base de pads

[@ozcandurmusoglu]

We are awaiting JD-XA patch creation videos ; )

[@user-be3mh5zx5l]

Awesome!! Very nice. I have so much to learn

[@cougarman8]

Amazing video!! So helpful and sounds fantastic. Thank you!

[@TheOrganist007]

very useful - showing the strengths of this synth

[@TheOrganist007]

I only wish this synth had 5 octaves !

[@alan-nf4qx]

Magical sound JDXA really shines. Entertaining and educational video. Are you selling this patch and any others? Thanks.

[@kusheater86]

Sounds really good!!! more please

[@xenobiigaming]

amazing

[@antonostrovskii9167]

Thank you very much for this neat and useful tutorial.

[@mariaedwards1190]

Just beautiful.

[@georgepalilismusic]

Nice One! the sine bell tone rules :) simplicity

[@vicub1]

Great tutorial!!

[@IvanBrain]

У меня есть Fantom, но так-же очень интересен jd-xa ❤️

[@breako]

extra tips for new people 1. Reset a patch: Shift + Prog select to initialise patch + enter + enter 2. Add in part effect: Part FX, then right arrow, then + or shift + to gup on tens

[@digitaldiezel5870]

Beautiful! I love the way this synth sounds.

[@audienceimaginary]

Many thanks, you kindly gave me the idea for this video.

[@digitaldiezel5870]

@@audienceimaginary The programming appears to be pretty straight forward! Its like layering sounds in an Ableton Instrument Rack and modifying the layers to create an overall awesomeness! 😎👍 I did not even realize the process on this machine was so simple. I thought it was more complicated but never saw anyone doing complicated things...so I thought I was missing something. Your video helped me realize just how much of a win this board really is. Thank you so much for doing this video!

[@audienceimaginary]

Yeah I would say it’s definetely an underrated instrument. Keep in mind too that this is quite a basic patch, the JD-XA is designed in such a way that you can create patches with 16 parts. Each of the four digital parts has three partials, so I could actually have programmed those three digital parts as just one part utilising the three partials (to be more efficient), if I really wanted to stack it up. It’s also got a very effective Low Frequency Oscillator section which I didn’t touch here, as well as pitch envelope etc. I think I will certainly do more of these type videos.

[@ozcandurmusoglu]

@@audienceimaginary any videos from your side will be appreciated for XA. I learned dividing keyboard into splits and amp volume is for partials. I didnt know these two. Thanks

[@audienceimaginary]

Thanks for the feedback. Just to clarify, the amp is for adjusting the volume of all parts including the partials.

[@trueddy9030]

Awesome Video diz👍

[@laszlocsikos189]

Nice! May i ask what was your audio chain or did u use any processing at the end because mine jdxa doesn't sounds like yours. Mine sounds like toyish compare to your video here. Thanks

[@audienceimaginary]

It's the raw sound of the xa, although there is a chain worth mentioning. Here I was running two guitar cables (one from each of the xa's stereo outputs) into an audio interface (Steinberg UR44). From here the audio interface is connected via USB into a PC. On the PC I was using Cubase 9 Pro at the time, and within that I simply used a stereo in channel. It's a very clean path, I actually had some issues soon after this with a groundloop hum/buzz (due to several other instruments being connected into the path), and it turns out that balanced cables fixed the issue. From what I've experienced, the xa could sound worse than this with lower quality cables (mine are Klotz), a USB directly into PC or laptop, a poor soundcard (if not using an audio interface), the wrong settings in a DAW, a computer with lower processing speed (I found upgrading to an i78700 significantly improved the sound of all my instruments when they are running into the PC), poor headphones, poor speakers etc.

[@buibuibuiestudio5561]

You played the JD-XA better then Jexus

[@patrickellis1981]

6eodude FACTS!!!!!!!

[@jh-jy6ib]

Agree

[@raven-jz6cv]

What if he is jexus🤷‍♂️🤣

[@lfomelody756]

I have a conflictual relationship with JD-XA! The problem is the interface, very cheap, made of light plastic! Why Roland? The digital part is very good and I love the Roland Legacy Waveforms of the JV series, but the analog, well, sometimes it compares with some classic analog synthesizers, but it usually sounds thinner, you can always do a little bit of equalization and compensate ... well ... most of the time I love this synthesizer just for its flexibility, and also for some alien patches I made !!!

[@keplerfinn]

how come digital part 3 keeps ringing while the release is zero? Are you using a foot pedal?

[@audienceimaginary]

It sounds like that because there is some decay dialled in. Decay will make the signal ring regardless of release. I was also using a hold pedal, but the effect happened regardless of that.

[@TheOrganist007]

what common effects are you using ? reverb/delay ?

[@audienceimaginary]

Been a while since I did the patch, but from memory there is some standard reverb (on certain parts not all), and a form of delay (one of several within the xa) in the part effects section (again, only on select parts, just the analogue pad and the shimmer pad not even the strings).

[@dazdavison1]

I’ve just bought this used with factory reset I’m going to update to 1.5 is there that much of a difference as I found it quite long winded to combine sounds ???

[@audienceimaginary]

I would say it comes down to personal preference. I installed all 256 1.5 patches then reverted to the original 64. Though the original patches have been controversial or sometimes hated, I feel that (while not a well rounded batch) they provide a glimpse into each of the far flung corners of JD-XAs possibilities. What I would certainly recommend is installing some of the Axial sound sets such as Modulations 1 and 2, as well as Celestial Spheres.

[@dazdavison1]

Imaginary Audience thanks for reply I subscribed to you, what I was hoping was to be able to combing presets so say a pad preset with a lead preset . Also how do you split the keyboard with differing sounds I can’t find it anywhere?? Thanks for replying

[@audienceimaginary]

@@dazdavison1 Splitting the keyboard I show in this video at 10:28. With your other question, yes this is possible but a little hard to explain. There are functions to copy a whole patch and insert or save the whole thing onto a new init patch. Now, you can't do this with two whole patches inclusive of all their parts and partials. So the solution is that there is another function where you can copy individual parts and transfer these into other inits or patches that you are working on (probably best to refer to the manual for this, if you have trouble I might show it in another video at some stage). To merge a preset pad with a preset lead you would have to transfer several of the parts from the pad patch (to another new init patch, then save 'write' that patch), then transfer individual parts from the lead patch acorss to that new patch. Depending how many parts these two presets used, you might not be able to merge the entirety of both patches (for example if the lead used all analog and digital parts, and the pad did the same you couldnt fit 32 parts on 1 new patch). But presuming you wanted to transfer a manageable number of individual parts from both preset patches, this could be done. The structure and polyphony should easily allow for a solid 4 parts for a lead to be merged with at least four parts for a pad sound. I hope this makes some sense.

[@dazdavison1]

Imaginary Audience Thankyou buddy, video would be great I do love this synth

[@dazdavison1]

When you create a fresh sound from in it patch can you at same time go through preset sounds and poach parts that you like to create a hybrid of a preset plus your own sounds ?

[@RLoupe]

do you sell patches for this model?

[@audienceimaginary]

I have sold a few yes, I've got all patches that I've designed stashed away somewhere, plus some great banks of all my favourite pads and atmospheres from all the Axial sound sets.

[@RLoupe]

@@audienceimaginary I am a producer of urban music and I am interested in some for genres such as Trap, Drill, Hiphop and R&B, I am interested. let's do business.

[@audienceimaginary]

@@RLoupe yep can do. email me what sorts of sounds you require [e-mail]

[@andyanderson6455]

Do you have a video showing partial section? I am still trying to wrap my head around this part of the synth. Not a ton of info on it in the manual...

[@audienceimaginary]

I haven't got a video on it yet, but feel free to email me im happy to explain it [e-mail]

[@josevelasco1287]

Lo q no m gusta d ese sinte esque no puedes guardar tus sonidos, solo tocas lo q en el momento estas creando

[@audienceimaginary]

You can save them. Hold down ‘write’ and it can save to whatever slot you want

[@krisdavidoff181]

I hate you... :P I was not sure to buy this... now I have to make some debts

[@audienceimaginary]

Yes indeed synths just beg us to spend money! I'm afraid a video I'm posting this afternoon will make you want this more.

[@krisdavidoff181]

@@audienceimaginary I'll wait for it! :P