Roland JD-Xi In Depth Demo - Is There a Better Compact Synth?

[@esmailkhalili7149]

Kudos to what you said about "professional" keyboards. Thats all rubbish. Like you said, the microkorg or other similar "low" to "mid" range keyboards sometimes have fantastic sounds if you know what to do with them. At the end of the day its all about the artist behind the keyboard and what they do with it.

[@Hairibar]

OK I like this guy I want him in more demos, I love how casual he is about it

[@andertons]

We hope to do more of these videos... What products would you like to see?

[@alliefdxproductionservices5856]

Andertons Music Co Every decent synth you stock, please :)

[@JayTheLane]

Yours was a prophecy 😉

[@trevhowarth7216]

Until now, as a newbie to synth purchase, I've been finding my slog through video reviews really, really taxing - they're all sooooo boring and technical, presuming I already know what they're short handing. BUT this one is so accessible, and entertaining to boot, that I might buy one of these just for the watching experience. It looks great, and the demo was exactly what I needed to see - a clear scoping of what it does, how it does it and what you can do with the noodling you'll get. Great job, thanks.

[@Psychlist1972]

Easily one of the best synth demo presentations I've seen. Loved it. Funny as hell too.

[@andertons]

Thanks... Its hard to know how long people are prepared to watch something for whilst getting a full review in.

[@andertons]

***** YOU LEFT CAPS LOCK ON!

[@Psychlist1972]

***** Whenever I see stuff in all caps, I read it in a DP Gumby voice. YOU ARE CRAZY. OH! MY BRAIN HURTS!. :) Makes the Internet a much more amusing place.

[@MIDERA]

I agree. Very nicely presented. Wish I could be that nonchalant when I was in front of a camera, or people.

[@Psychlist1972]

***** Really? I didn't notice a single poop joke.

[@aevoss]

7:24 A tiny duck just at the level of the water gasping for air. I was looking for that the other day.

[@CyanBlackflower]

I just purchased one of these. And I must say I am VERY pleased with it. - I tried many others that were on display at Long & McQuade in Canada. This one is probably the most versatile, and best bang for buck. Or pretty close to it. It can be interfaced with most music Comp programs - Ableton Live - And can therefore do almost ANYTHING, that one can expect from devices costing much more. This device is quite user friendly.

[@ILaxative]

Cyan Blackflower is it possible to have let’s say a compressor on digital Synth 1 but distortion on digital synth 2? Every time I change the effect on part 1 it changes to part 2 and analog..I want to control both separately. Any help would be appreciated.

[@DrDavis77]

Brilliant - even for a guitar nerd! This guy needs his own show.

[@andertons]

Love doing vids with Jack... No idea where he will end up creatively!

[@SPAZZOID100]

Matt Davis huhh??

[@snuppssynthchannel]

Who said that synthesis is only for keys, waveforms are for everyone! :)

[@scottenosh4548]

Im a guitarist trying to learn more about synths....there's a lot to learn in this department. This is the synth I got though and Im as lost as a breast feeding baby in a titty bar.

[@JayTheLane]

@@andertons Haha look at Jack now 🎂

[@vaspers]

Fantastic demo. I like my MicroKorg and MicroBrute, but this JD-Xi blows them away. I bought it a few weeks ago and am having a lot of fun with it.

[@DJWOLFLIVE]

The sounds that come out of this synth will blow your mind! I just got one over the weekend and it’s fun af to play on!!!

[@jittisoolt5927]

I believe I can fly... This is by far one of the most entertaining yet perfectly relevant gear reviews I have ever seen. I actually rewatched it several times for the entertainment value alone. Jack - brilliant is you.

[@marike1100]

Nice jazzy blowing, probably the best demo so far of the analogue mono synth section. Pity that we have to wait until March 30 here in the US to buy it, but that's what they call a "first world problem".

[@gurtana]

The expression, i.e. the "widdling" around the 20 minute mark was epic. Well done, great skill and good demo.

[@john-mg3ex]

Just fun to watch.. so many of these synth demos are unbearably over technical and boring this guy just enjoying the synth ...great!

[@efmusic9815]

creamy, some might say

[@DielectricFailure]

I’ve been watching you guys for years about guitar demos but now I am seeing a lot of yours synthesize demos and I love it.

[@JackTheDeergal]

That man loves that minor blues scale, lol. I love it to, it's funky

[@natioffline]

Thank you very much for your review, testing the vocoder at: 23:46 and the various examples for this synth 16:20

[@xkidmidnightx]

This guy is the best synth demoer on youtube.

[@NeZversSounds]

If you are into actual synthesis basics than you'd know that with filter resonance cranked on saw wave it's impossible to get non-stepped sound, because cutoff accent each saw wave harmonic and get that harmonic jump. If you want to hear if it can do smooth filtering than you need to filter white or purple noise. Also if you want to hear what distortions do than you need less than full spectrum laid with harmonics, because it's hard to hear distortion introduced harmonics. I'd suggest to use filtering with some resonance.

[@luizfepe]

Hey, amazing exaplanation. I was right now thinking if the steps means it is a digital filter, but now I understand. Thanks!

[@rufusstewart762]

This guy is the Jamie Oliver of music tech demos...

[@MeetDoctorLove]

hahaha

[@BackToEarth]

Haha you nailed it!!!!!

[@mandatorial]

"and then you just add a squeeze of filter"

[@Mkjackary]

Always love when jack does these videos, keep it up

[@macktheinterloper]

Fantastic video, a very comprehensive and detailed presentation. Jack's certainly got a knack for it and I hope he does more videos in the future. He's an absolute blast to watch and only when the vid ended did I realise that it was nearly half an hour long. I now have an unexplained urge to buy a synth. If I only knew someone in my family that played one ;) Kudos mate, you're a natural.

[@sirjellybeans1st19]

By keeping your finger pressed on the Shift Button while playing a pattern it enables it to play single key Progression. Also you can change the Bar length by going into the Menu Set up

[@proagg]

7:17 "Sounds like a tiny duck" lol, great sound description.

best part xD

[@SunnyBear]

Love this guy, not a lot of playing but I thoroughly enjoyed the talking, which is a first on synth demos. Great job!

[@phataton8206]

“Today I’ll be demoing the .......” (duh I see it in the description) “ here’s the on/off button...” (don’t care) here’s the outputs and MIDI in” “here’s the MIDI OUT” where’s the exit button. Yeah this guy does it right.

[@rhysbutler8423]

I know nothing about the synth, I just like this guy lol. He's hilarious

[@hyretech]

I love the random camera work that appears when the sound starts to repeat itself. 16:15 especially

[@tuomastalvi9470]

Good to see an synth review with a actually good player in it! Funky

[@555ontario]

LOL... totally agree, this is a great demo. If Jack is a salesman at that store, I would not be surprised if he wasn't the store's top sales person with that kinda' personality. Unless I missed it, I might have stressed that the analog synth section is monophonic but one might not expect it to be otherwise at that price. Well done, sir!

[@warp9988]

This is classic. Much respect from Canada. Keep being insane.

[@craigdaubbeats-rapinstrume9185]

Saying any instrument used to produce music is a toy doesn't make sense. You can make anything sound professional with the right equipment and techniques.

[@ThesisOfSyn]

BEST....VIDEO ......EVER!!! I go to andertons for most if not all my major studio purchases mostly because of the staff!! Great place

[@MattGreerMusic]

Oh, widdly widdly widdleeee!!

[@andertons]

Anyway... Enough of your widdling!

[@KingKoss]

this video came across as comical to me. thanks for the laugh and a good demonstration of a the synth, accurate description on different noises was brilliant.

[@fullconsciousness1448]

Finally someone with the exact spontaneous sexy touch in the synth review area, I guess in Anderton's all do it right, but you just became the killer one. It was like watching two videos in one, retaining information from both, very clever and interesting. Good luck!

[@Bradonomous]

Roland should have had you do the demo at NAMM - this is WAY better....

[@Joe-mz6dc]

He's very Bri - ish :)

[@derrickmcnew615]

This is still the best demo I've ever seen. And I watch a lot of demos

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

I've never been a huge Roland fan. This might just change my mind.

[@alien_brain]

this fuckin guy

[@westeringsun7342]

JACK!!! That was one of the most entertaining and still informative vids I've ever seen on YT! Thanks and please start your own channel. Woody is much-loved on Woody's Piano Shack channel (had to clarify due to your opening comment about your slacks) as a personality and I'm sure you'd do well if you went solo. Thanks for making me smile. My JD-Xi should be here in a week or so.

[@woodswalker88]

I have the JDxi and it's a great li'l box, there are very few sequencers with keys that you can play along...but it has one HUGE problem...if you put it in MIDI slave mode, it will not play its sequences!! I use a Synthstrom Deluge as a master clock, and everything else has to sync to it. I wonder if anyone else cares about this problem & if Roland would ever fix it?

[@jurisritausma221]

The steps with filter part in octave shifting are digital - you can hear digital bits jump... so first part are not totally analog...

[@justmick3858]

Good to see a synth demo that the demonstrator plays it instead of just hitting "play" or pushing buttons

[@ForcedRejection]

the old JD-800 (not the demos people make, not the presets) can make amazing sounds. Is this the first one with the JD letters since that 1991 synth? (that is my fav vintage besides the CS-80)

[@kalebwaterman7371]

Best review in the history of gear reviews. Uncontested

[@gleannmhuire]

Best demo ever. Where is he now, I want to know?

[@ogasi1798]

Radically funny, love his solo and his performers face, Tibbs take note lolololoololllll Great demo Andertons give this guy a beer, oh and a haircut ;-)

[@standardissue69]

Great demo!! (Love the "Aquatic" statement.) Nice presentation with humor. Love it. Might buy it.

[@vampr71]

This guy's brilliant. Would love to see him doing more videos! 👍🏻

[@karlhenrikarendt]

I want it, and I have never played a Synth before! Loved the review :D

[@vibratehigh89]

this guys reviews are always fun. thanks for making it entertaining

[@thomas3463]

I am looking for a compact hardware synth to bring to college. I currently have a Novation mininova, but it doesn't have many knobs which kind of defeats the purpose of hardware. Tell me more about the digital section, does it have wavetables, FM?

[@ShawnFarrell427]

This guy is Hilarious and telented...truly a master entertainer. Baaaaa! YES!

[@JeezVince]

The jd-xi is a beast despite its limitations. Great sound, many PCM with ultra classic sounds, ok FXs, the drums (!), the sequencer, the analog mono synth, the guitar input (!!!), the great vocoder. Its a lot of fun. The cons are: -a joke of a keyboard, way too small even for mini-keys standards and very breakable, so its a bit a waste of space in a normal studio. -stupidly hidden options (needs an editor and thats not a roland one indeed, shame!) -no proper ADSR on the panel! -Dark af panel! They should have done a desktop/rack version, it would have been a massive winner. I bought it to plug a 303 and my guitars in, to use it with my talkbox, and over the mininova & microkorg for its analog part. Its a really cool piece of gear for its price.

[@alectopete8463]

I playd this thing at guitar center and I was sold definitely switching to this synth from my micro korg

[@minisynthmaniac]

I bought it on impulse and still discovering more ways to use it, it's a real powerhouse, especially with the pc editor. It makes an excellent drum machine and sequencer for other synths, and the vocoder and pitch tracking features are really good. The analog synth part is a joke though.

[@Jason75913]

My sentiments about it as well.

[@mitchellross6357]

That was more informative than Roland's employs.

[@XAVR_]

Salad Fingers references, good grief this is the best keyboard demo I've ever seen

[@hafstrat]

Excellent demo. Loved your style!! The chappers of keyboards 👍👀😍

[@d_s_ctube]

This guy should have his own channel.

[@SoCaldiamond89]

Just bought this today. Absolutely love it.

[@zealforhumnity]

Dood, at 22 minutes in, you started killing it, I was ordering something online and I was like hang on, wtf just happened? Sounds like a Rick James cover but whatever it was it was half prince half Rick James and sound pretty dope!

[@echurchofindy179]

Gary Numan Cars patch on JDXi - (Seq228 - Saw Poly with mod wheel at 30%). OMG!!!!! When I cranked this up and recognized that sound, the same sound Gary gets on his Polymoogs, then I REALLY loved this baby Roland!!!!

[@EarmonkeyMusic]

More reviews from Jack please. More.

[@gydur]

So...conclusion...what is the best small analog synth?

[@VJFranzK]

The Osc are analog, but they go into digital FX, correct? Is there anyway to get a straight analog out like Microbrute? The fact that drums are included is cool, most mini keyboards have none, or terrible drums ; - )

[@Matt-bo7kb]

The Absolute BEST synth review video I have EVER had the pleasure to see!!!! Thank you SOOOOO much !!!!! Hands up down and all around!!!! Its what the hell I'm talking about AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! Hell to the YI-ZAH!!!

[@theorgandude]

another good review from the soul man. must be something wrong with that vocoder or the settings, sounded crap on your demo but other youtube vids sounded very good.

[@EricMetalhead]

This guy is really entertaining

[@ZiadSidawi]

After I played Jupiter 4, and Korg Polyphonic Ensemble and Oberheim synths... this JD-XI "Analog" sound looks like it is castrated and STEPPING when sweeping!!!! what kind of Analog is this.

[@tommychappell6359]

I love this a lot!! the JD-XI is brilliant, not just that its so much fun!! particularly when you compare it to the JD XA (which is still great) but this is much better. the price is right, the amount of sounds you can play with, the vocoder. i mean I think thats what a synth should be built on, versatility and fun!!

[@oldirtyjosh]

I wanna party with this dude!

[@aevoss]

Lostboy Lopez me too please amen

[@CHolz-nd1wn]

This guy is so good :D please more !!

[@andertons]

There is plenty of Jack on our channel... Enjoy..

[@Lainer1]

Are you not allowed to bash the synths about their lack of features? The keys suck on it, but I still love using this as a sketch pad.

[@dominicmcmahon4798]

If the captain ever reads this shit for God's sake give this guy a promotion and put him in charge of all future synth and effects products. He is absolutely brilliant. 5 stars

[@mikevee522]

First class presentation. Synth looks good too.

[@SamSarmento]

"That's almost aquatic in nature..." YEAH!

[@saintnicholas5507]

Are the 909 drum sounds as good as the tr09 boutique?

[@TripleBProduktionz]

does this machine have its own interface? suppose I wanted to edit my already recorded sequence how can I go back and tweak or add on sweeps from the hardware to my DAW?

[@Zsilu3]

Hello guys ! Great and hilarious demo ! thanks a lot ! I have a question about Quantization for rythm recording, is there anyway to turn it off? Or is it a parameter we cannot change? Thanks

[@craigbaumber]

I watched this video last week, and found myself accidentally using the phrase "widdly widdly widdly" in normal conversation today...

[@bstorm66]

You're hilarious and sweet playing on top of it!! I love that this instrument has some elec piano sounds unlike other synths.

[@grantcoffman2698]

Hello mates! I have a question that you guys can help me with, especially you jack. I'm still somewhat new to piano and keyboards, But ive been wanting to buy a synth keyboard to have to create stuff with and semi continue to learn how to play. Im torn between this synth from roland or perhaps i should get the microkorg xl which has the semi weighted keys, I guess my ultimate question is, are weighted keys something really important to have for learning? the capabilites of the jd-xi are really what have me, but i dont know if the mini keys are that much of a drawback. thank you in advance! great video!

[@Gergely5000]

Nice review, made me get one of this thing. It works with mx-1unlike Gaia and many other Roland staff. And you look like Balazs Dzsudzsak.

[@AuldHammer]

Just bought a jackson js22 from you guys. Can't wait to get it. :)

[@jazzsax357]

since it is portable, what about battery power? Since there were so many things that can be done on it, what about saving to an SD card?

[@jpkelly09]

Awesome vid! Loved the video effects and commentary! Extremely entertaining and informationial.

[@jonesy2111]

Now this is a good demo... exceeds my expectations and the dude is cool.

[@Pulsonar]

He's like a cross between Ollie Murs and Jamie Oliver, superb demo with perhaps more pitch than the synth in question.

[@fnersch]

Great demo. Please do one on the Roland JD-XA. I just ordered one yesterday and will need training. Presently using an old Prophet 10 (which is fun to play).

[@fnersch]

***** I plan to add a Prophet 6 in due time. It will be interesting to try out the crossover features in the JD-XA in a single box configuration. Being an unusual instrument, I was attracted to it.

[@karljanus8308]

Does it provide individual outs for different "sections"? i.e. drums, analogue synth, digital synth? or is it all coming from ONE output? that would def decide if I'd buy it or not. Thanks for any advise!

[@H4NDCRAFTED]

Would it of hurt to use a higher rez encoder on the filter ? I don't know maybe it is smoother on the mod wheel. Never lliked the TR kits on the old 'groove approved' stuff from the 90s/00s, but the kits on this sound pretty nice. I wonder if they are PCM or modelled from the Aira series.

[@lesbrady4931]

Hi bud im after a small synth,but whats best to go for Roland jdxi Novation take 5 or Novation pro 3 Thank you

[@HashGray]

Do I get more sounds with a midi keyboard / massive combo, or with an analog synth like this one ?

[@avrilcadabra]

the digital aspects sound really good and it has nice features but the analogue sounds so refined, it's like putting a modern 4cyl car engine next to a dirt old v8 and saying they are the same. My 81 moog cough's and splutters and is so organic sounding, that was the reason people sought out vintage analogue sounds, because they dont sound digital.. Are the filters on stepping rotary encoders?

[@dgkstl1421]

Great Job. Very entertaining and informative demo. I have one of these and I love it!

[@twzstudio139]

This is one of the better demos of this unit, to my ears it sounds something like the Bass Station II, but like most of Roland's current line, it sounds somewhat sterile to my ears.

[@mauricioossa1125]

Great vid! Just one quick question. Can you store sequences?

[@rmg222]

This guy is awesome!