Anyne else had this problem with the xp-60?
On the Pianos and other soft sounds , there is a noticeable distroting static RIGHt at the end of the note. It sounds like radio static or a cheap soundcard. It is especially noticeable with the reverb on.

It is VERY annoying. It makes the xp-60 virtually useless for soft studio recording.
I called rolands customer support, and they guy was a complete jerk. He even began to raise his voice.

Needless to say, it was the worst customer service experience I have had with any product by any manufacturer I have ever witnessed. Roland needs to wake up and realize they are not selling toasters here, but expensive musical instruments that SHOULd have better customer support.

I have 12 days to take the synth back to the sotre and get a refund. I REALLY like the xp-60, but these sounds just kill it for me. A professionly priced sytnh SHOUld have professional sound quality, but sadly, the xp-60 does not.

I figured I would give roland the benefit of the doubt and see if they would fix the problem so I could keep their PRODUCt, but they have been a total hassle.

Looks like I will be exammining the Triton again or wait for the new Roland synth this winter.

Congratulations on being another poor owner of a substandard Roland product, mine is a JV2080, but is the same problem.

All I can say is everyone out there who owns a JV2080, XP80/60 or whatever who experiences this problem should write to Sound on Sound/ Future music etc. It is the only way this will reach a larger audience and embarrass Roland to get off their lazy and unhelpful backsides and sort this.

Cheers

I have the same noise on my xp-60, but I don't think it is that much of a problem.

I recently bought new loudspeakers, and that appears to have reduced it quite a bit. The noise is much less obvious, and it is much shorter than before. Could the speakers/amplifier have something to say? I don't know, but it could be worth checking out....

Stig F

Arvon45,

Have you tried lowering the master volume slider on the XP60 to about the middle of the slider and pump up your mixer/amp's volume? XPs seem to have some noise when the master volume slider is close to the max.

Paul Ip

Yeah I tried that. But I listen to my xp-60 mostly on headphones, so I dont have that choice. When using my amp, I never have the V-slider above half, and I can still hear the tearing noise on the accoustic patches.

If anyone has one of these, try 12 string accoustic guitar, max out the chorus and set it to hall 2, then turn up the volume and get ready to be annoyed.

Hey Guys, Max out the chorus and hall2, that would annoy me on any instrument,let alone pegging the master volume..Your problems may not be the fault of the XP....Fran

Fran, I wish that were the case. The truth is, you can hear it with the effects off
on alot of the patches, especially the accoustic guitar patches.

I've tried to here this on an XP-30 and a JV-2080. I did turn all the FX off because I agree with Fran about that. I just don't hear anything that I dont think is part of the sound. I'm listening on AKG K240DFs and Event BAS 20/20s. (If Roland XG/JV synths have so much noise, so many horrendous timing problems, etc... I'm amazed by the number of Pros that use them. Me - I'm just a hobbyist - and I love my Roland gear in blissful ignorance). Peace. RJ

Hey Guys,I have a XP80 and after reading the posts, I tried to duplicate the problems mentioned, all my factory patches are pretty clear,although the factory after touch settings on the guitars are not what I would use. ......Fran

Arvon,

That's a good point that Fran brought up. Could the grungy decay be due to the aftertouch kicking in? Have you tried turning the aftertouch off to get rid of that static? I know it takes a bit of conditioning to play a keyboard with aftertouch to keep it from throwing in unwanted effects.

I've been another player who has been holding off purchasing an XP-80 due to all the complaints about timing and now this noisy decay.

Well, good luck with whatever you choose to do and whatever synth you end up with.

DonaldS, TheXP80 is a great keyboard, Anyone who has programmed patches and performances,Know's that the keyboard is better than the competition[Korg , Yamaha, Kurzwiel,Alesis etc.] And as a controller[routings,up to 16 per patch] and 16 external midi channels,with their own parameters as well as the 16 parts internal. The RISC 32 bit processor can handle these ,more efficiently then the others. The actual pcm samples are cleaner and acurate[ compare with no effects to the Korg]..The instrument , probally not suited for novice in programming, but there are great patches in the presets..The exspansion boards offer the best sounds barring no one....As for buying a XP80, the only drawback ,the rumor of a new model, which I have no verification at the present[Most likely a June-Sept release , if there is a new model]....Fran

Donald, I would hold off on the xp-80.
I think Roland is asking a bit too much for it, and alot of the sounds are dated sounding.

Granted, it does have an excellent synth engine, but it is inferior compared to the Kurzweils V.A.S.T. engine.

The xp's are supposed to be quality, affordable professional instruments. Well, with the apparent sound decay defect(yes, many people in other groups mention this harmony central reviews www.harmony-central.com(synth reviews)
Thats cuts out the main reason for purchasing a roland, the sounds.

Rolands built in effects for the xp's arent anything special either.

roland could always rely on GOOd SOUND. But when you put cheap parts into your synths that cause distortion and tearing, you take yourself right out of the market.

Like I said, people buy Rolands mostly for the sound. Take that away, and Roland has zero pluses.


After listening to the Korg Triton, I realized that is sounds much better and more "up to date" than the Roland. Plus, the Triton has a 200 note sequencer, a built in sampler, ribbon controller, better effects, upgrade able pcm cards, 6 outputs.

The sampler will keep the Triton "up to date" for many, many years to come.

YOu can also upgarde the Triton with the MOSS card, which ,makes the Triton a virtual analogue synth. Pretty sweet.


The Roland xp-80 is going for 1700 U.S., while the Triton is going for 1995 U.S.

The extra 300$ is WELL worth it. YOu get a sytnh with ALOT more features, and no decay bug.

Hi!

Everyone keep talking about how Roland have used cheap parts in the XP's, and that this is the reason for the decay-noise-problem. Do we know this? I don't think so. The super-JV synthesis is fairly complex, and the noise could come from anywhere in the system. I have noticed that not all patches are affected the same way, which leads me to thinking that it is no problem with the output-circuitry (DA's) or effects section.

The problem is more likely to be caused by the synth engine itself. Maybe even from one single parameter?

Besides, I hear people talking about the Triton all the time. It appears to be a regular wonder-synth. Well, sign up on a Triton mailing-list, and you will see that it has problems of its own. I will just mention a sequencer that does not read/write SYSEX, drum-sets that can not have individual filter settings for each key, noise on the output, and so on.... Don't get me wrong; I am sure the Triton is a great synth, but so are the XP/JV's. But every synth ever made has its own problems. I will just mention Yamaha EX, which has more than its share of problems... I have even seen people on this BBS refer to the EX as the ultimate synth. Well, all I can say is good luck; they will need it.......!

The perfect synth has never been built. Has anyone tried to listen for decay-noise on so called "classic" digital synths? I would not be surprised at all if decay-noise really is a decade-old problem on digital synths. And then the analogue synths have their very own problems...

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence!

If you can live with the decay-noise (as I can without problem), then the XP's are great synths that have nothing to be ashamed of when compared to other synths. It is highly recommendable.

Stig,
the proud owner of a Roland XP-60 :-)

I never said the xp's are bad synths. They are great synths. BUt apparently roland is using cheaper d/a converters, and that is the problem.

I spoke with a guy who had the same issue on an xp-30. He took it to a non-roland dealer and had the problem traced to a cheap d/a converter. The converter was replaced with a higher quality one, and the noise and tearinwent away.

HE had the same problem as I did, as do many with th xp's. I just had the luxury of having 30 days to return it.

Synthesizers are all about sound.
Its their most important feature. You can mess up the sequencers, you can mess up the features, but NEVER, EVER mess up the sound.

If you are going to cut corners, cut corners on features, NOT sound quality.

I love the xp synth engine, that is why I purchased one in the first place.

But I was already keyed into the defect tearing noise, and I could stand it no longer. I create pieces that have long , quiet decays, and the xp with the patches Iwanted just could not do this without that problem. When Roladn told me to " use another sytnh for the quieter passages", I had to laugh.

I'm still not convinced that the DA-converters are the source of the problem. We have extremely cheap CD-players that do not have any decay-problems. Besides the noise is different with different patches, and on some there is no noise at all.

But I have to say that when Roland suggests using another synth for quiet passages, they must have missed the point. Some of us only have one synth.... This is a workstation! :-)

I (also) wonder: Are some XP's /JV's worse than others? (Different production batches maybe?) My XP-60 is not bad at all. I really have to turn up the volume of the amp to max as the sound decays to hear it at all; on normal levels I have never heard it. I would not have noticed it at all if I had not read about it and decided to listen for it. I do not have "symptoms" anywhere near those described by some other users.