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Possible change from Roland XP-80


Bootsy

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First post so please be kind....

 

I've had an XP-80 for about 10 years. I love the feel of the instrument and the sounds. I've purchased a couple of expansion boards as well.

 

Currently, I'm playing in a live band. While I love the sound of my XP-80, some of the displays are going, the floppy drive doesn't work and I'm realizing I only use about 5% of the features. So, I'm considering a new keyboard.

 

What I like about the XP-80

- Choice of Preset Sounds

 

What I don't use (or see myself using)

- Workstation

- Creating sounds

 

What I'd like to see in the next keyboard

- Ease of splitting keyboard

- Ease of switching from one patch to another quickly

 

Any advice or recommendations?

 

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A Kurzweil PC1SE is the first non-workstation board that comes to mind.

 

However, within the same price range, there are boards which do have workstation capabilities:

 

Korg TR76

Yamaha ES7

 

These boards have the same number of keys as the XP80.

 

If the number of keys and manufacturer are not a concern, there are several possibilities. The bottom line is a trip to the music store is in order.

 

What's a telephone bill? ;)

 

Good luck in upgrading your board and welcome to the forum. :cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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Since your familiar with the Roland sound and action, maybe a Roland Juno G would fit the bill. Only 61 keys though and if you really get into it and start using other features, you'll probably wish you'd gotten a Fantom X instead, which by the way can be purchased used for a couple hundred more than a new Juno G.

Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion, unobtrusive

- Rush

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SDS, good call on the Roland Juno G for the similar sound. I forgot about it thinking along the lines of a 76 note board and figured the Fantom X7 might be too much. :cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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If you are looking for a professional board with 76 keys that aren't total crap, your only choices really are the workstations from the Big 3. Even if you will never use the workstation part. It's a sad situation we all lament.

 

And good luck finding 76 key versions of a Fantom X, Triton Extreme, of Motif ES or EX (the brand new one) in your local venue. But you can try out the 61 or 88 key versions and see which one you like best.

 

A used Fantom FA-76 is also an option because you have those SRJV expansion boards and it's sound is quite close to an XP.

 

I went through the same thing a few years ago. My XP-60 just wore out from relentless gigging. I ended up picking up a used Fantom S (which I got for cheap because the X had just come out). But I still missed my XP because of it's sound and real-time sliders (knobs just don't cut it), and scored a very lightly used XP-80 for $400 over the local craigslist. I use them together a lot because there are things I like about the Fantom too.

 

But there is really no good total replacement for those Roland XPs. They're really classic. I'd suggest fixing yours up or getting another one as well as getting something more contemporary. The Fantom may go soon... I'm going to take a hard look at the new Motif XS... but the XP-80 stays.

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Thanks folks for all of your help. I appreciate your taking the time to help me out.

 

Looks like I'll be keeping the XP-80 but try out some other keyboards. I think this may be a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush notion...

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