Casio XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer

[icarusi]

Hi.

I've been looking at the XW-P1, nearly bought, but found the Korg Krome about to land and also found the MOX6 and PC3LE6 in the frame, so held fire. Last year I was about to get a Novation Nova mainly for the arps til I found it didn't output the arp over midi. Checking this thread it seems the XW-P1 will do a lot, with some restrictions. Just a matter of finding out which will be important and workarounds if any.

Currently I'm liking the auto-accompany arps on the MOX6 mostly, although the XW-P1 looks good for real time arp manipulation. What I'm looking to do is generate arps, manipulate them til I get something I like, probably change tones over the held arp, which some synths can't do, they stop the arp if you change tones, eg. Novation Nova, then play guitar/synth over the held arp.

I'd also like the guitar/synth to be the midi note input to the XW-P1 sometimes for the arps but don't know what the limits would be on this input, eg I assume I'd need to send the guitar note info on a single channel, otherwise I'd be straddling the performance parts.

Have you used the XW-P1 as a module for a midi guitar/synth yet?

[lucabbrasi]

Hi to all, new to forum. I own an XW-P1 since 1 month, and I got few observations from scratch:

- the limit of only 1st part for Solo, Hex or Drawbar is very....limitating! if only the SO could be modified in order to get ALSO part 2 or part 3 WITH another Solo or Hex would make this synth...a terrible beast! What's the problem for this? Polyphony? I don't mind, I know that the synth is 64, so I've the alert...

- effects: my God, only few parameters to modify, and the reverb...! nothing sounds metallic as it!

- PCM sounds: few parameters to edit, and....it's no possible to change the wave data! what? very, very limitating. If I find a PCM sound like...a pan flute, and if I would like to use the same parameters for a sound like a saw synth...not possible, the wave remains the same. Frustating.

- a simple function seems to miss: how to name a patch, an arpeggio or others?

pls, correct my impressions if wrong (also, correct my english, I'm from Italy)

what about new patches? (emulating famous synth leads like Odyssey and Moog Source?)

thanks to all and to Mike, of course

Luca

[Anderton]

 

Originally Posted by lucabbrasi

Hi to all, new to forum. I own an XW-P1 since 1 month, and I got few observations from scratch:

- the limit of only 1st part for Solo, Hex or Drawbar is very....limitating! if only the SO could be modified in order to get ALSO part 2 or part 3 WITH another Solo or Hex would make this synth...a terrible beast! What's the problem for this? Polyphony? I don't mind, I know that the synth is 64, so I've the alert...

 

I think it's difficult to allocate enough CPU power to have engines be flexible enough to run in multiple arbitrary configurations, perhaps Mike can comment. I'm sure it's more efficient to say "This engine does here, this one goes here..."

 

- effects: my God, only few parameters to modify, and the reverb...! nothing sounds metallic as it!

 

The effects aren't the XW-P1's strong point, as noted previously in this thread. But they can still be useful, particularly the rotating speaker emulation and the ambiences.

In the studio I rarely use onboard effects with any synths, the DAW plug-ins are usually better. Live it's convenient to have good onboard effects so you don't have to carry extra gear, but there's a limit to how much you can process the sound live and still have it sound clear.

 

- PCM sounds: few parameters to edit, and....it's no possible to change the wave data! what? very, very limitating. If I find a PCM sound like...a pan flute, and if I would like to use the same parameters for a sound like a saw synth...not possible, the wave remains the same. Frustating.

 

You can load PCM sounds into the Solo Synth and modify them as you would other waveforms. This can be particularly effective for single-note lines (sax etc.)

I also use the PCM sounds a lot in the hex layers to add textures.

 

- a simple function seems to miss: how to name a patch, an arpeggio or others?

 

You can indeed name or rename, but the process isn't obviuos. As mentioned in a previous post I don't have access to the XW-P1 at this moment, but how to name patches is in the manual.

[FMURI]

 

Originally Posted by Dispozoot

Thanks Guys. I guess I was hoping the solution would be within the XWP1 rather than the pedal type. I have a couple of pretty high grade pedals from Yamaha, but they don't contain any switches.

I was trying to go back in time because it seems this happened to me before with another board and pedal. To the best of my recollection, that keyboard had an edit function to accommodate different pedals. But I'm not tottally sure, only that I did get the problem resolved that time.

Maybe Mike could offer something?

Dispozoot

 

Mine is Yamaha also without switch.

[icarusi]

 

Originally Posted by jdc513

Wow, what a letdown. Picked it up at GC, went home, hooked everything up, pressed power, display flashed once and nothing. Changed outlets, changed power strips, pressed power button harder as instructed by user guide....nothing. I guess stuff like this can happen but very disappointing.

 

At that point I'd try batteries.

[icarusi]

 

Originally Posted by Anderton

Each of the parameters you see in the drop-down menu (ovedrive gain, overdrive leel, speed, brake, fall acceleration, rise acceleration, slow rate, and fast rate) can be programmed to specific, fixed levels. However, you can also choose one parameter’s maximum and minimum values, as selected by the DSP processor settings button for real-time tweaks. Of course, for most drawbar fans, the obvious choice is switching between fast and slow rotary speeds—but if you want to switch between, say, two overdrive amounts while maintaining a constant rotary speed, you can do that too.

 

That sounds good. I often find the fast rate may be authentic, but too fast to be musical, so switch quickly to slow to avoid that top speed.

[Dispozoot]

Great advise, Anderton...

in my quest to fix the damper pedal issue, I followed you into Data Edit and adjusted my rotary speed, rise & fall etc. It sets perfectly!

Also set it to my pedal for triggering, very cool.

I did find the damper pedal adjustments, soft/hold etc. but it does not fix the "opposite" damper switching issue Im having however...

Dispozoot

[happyrat1]

Is it really that much of a deal breaker to use your old Yamaha pedals rather than blow $20 on a new pedal?

Hell I spent more than that just on cables to hook up my synths.

Gary

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acces...-sustain-pedal

That's the one I have. Sorry I said it was SP-1 when actually it's SP-2...

[Dispozoot]

No deal broken...I simply love this Synth...I just feel these discussions should be designed to help educate people of the gear they have.

I can buy a pedal, that's not the point, especially if the keyboard does in fact have the function Me and other owners are looking for. I'm waiting to hear from someone like Mike or Anderton to say, it's not there. Then I will buy a pedal. That's all...

[FMURI]

 

Originally Posted by Anderton

You can indeed name or rename, but the process isn't obviuos. As mentioned in a previous post I don't have access to the XW-P1 at this moment, but how to name patches is in the manual.

 

To rename a function, you must select it and then press the WRITE button. The default is to change the place you want to save the new custom function (USER BANK POSITION). Then press the down arrow, using the ALPHANUMERIC buttons (check manual) you can rename the function as you want.

[icarusi]

Am I right in thinking:-

1) Blocks 1 & 2 of the Solo synth use non-PCM oscillators which can be PWMd

2) Solo synth is always monophonic, everything other than solo synth is polyphonic

3) The Hex layer can use *any* PCM waveform shown in the index, apart from those shown with a *1 note.

I don't understand the index *2 note 'these waves are the same as synth waves', apart from they have the same names 'synth wave list' with a # in front and those in the synth wave list can be used in a Hex layer?

[SakaSal]

so what'sup with some of the controller settings in the edit menu? i'm having problems, i'll set something like phaser, vib rate, vib depth, and decay to K1-4 and i don't hear any audible evidence of anything happening, but the LCD display clearly shows me that something is happening. what's the deal with this? do i have to go in to another menu to turn those effects on? or should they be working simply by being set to the knobs?

[Andyr80808]

Hi there. Just got the xw-p1. I think it's a great addition to my set up. I do have one question, I dont know if it's been answered. Im using the Korg M50 as the master keyboard, I have tried to kick the appegio off on the Casio, without much joy. I don't usually have this issue with other keyboards with appegio's . Is there something I'm doing wrong ? Can you help please.

On a quick note, excellent forum !

[rockstar_not]

I received my XW-P1 last month, and have only been able to start digging in this past week due to competition for my attention and time.

I'm going to be honest, I bought the XW-P1 because of the drawbar organ emulation. First and foremost. I am a sometimes gigging keyboard player (mostly unpaid at church), that needs usable drawbar organ and old-school electric piano sounds with a decent sampled acoustic grand needed on-hand as well. I knew that these latter requirements were probably in-the-box because the el-cheapo Casio WK-200 that I bought for my daughters last Christmas has gig-worthy sounds in these categories.

I want to do the following and have not figured out how to do it.

I want to use the sustain pedal as the way to switch from the slow to fast speeds for the rotary effect on ALL drawbar organ tones.

I've been able to call up a 'performance' with a drawbar organ selected, and in that performance I can edit the controller for the footswitch to be the selector of fast vs. slow. This somehow magically carries over to when I am just using organ TONES and I am happy. Until I turn off the power. Then all is lost. Anyone out there that knows how to make this 'permanent' - so that I can use the footswitch to control rotary speed switching, on all drawbar organ TONES?

I also want to use overdrive, but even on what seems like the lightest setting, what comes forth from the XW-P1 is like the opening riff to Styx's "Blue Collar Man".

Perhaps there is a user forum for the XW-P1 somewhere else? I've found the XWSynth blog, which has some really useful information on it, but no user forum.

Is Harmony Central the right place for a user forum, tips and tricks, frustrations, etc.?

[manw]

hey guys!

I just got an XW-P1, and so far i love it. 70% of the sounds are rather dull out of the box, but can be brought to life if one's willing to do some tweaking.

At any rate, i didn't buy this synth for the PCM sounds, but mostly for the solo synth and hex layer, and for that it's totally worth every penny (at least in my opinion).

However, i'd like to include it in my setup, which is comprised (amongt other things) from an iPad, a Motif rack XS, and a Roland SonicCell, and i can't for the life of me figure out how to do that, or at least where to start.

What i'm looking for is a way to control the other 2 modules + ipad from the XW, but i can't find enough info to get me started anywhere. I managed to configure the knobs to send out CC07 in different zones, so i can at least have volume control over the sounds (could this be done via the sliders?), but i can't make the XW send out MIDI data from any zone except Z1. I'm thinking that Z1-2-3 should also send MIDI through corresponding channels 2-3-4, but there seems to be no incoming activity on those channels in either the modules, nor the iPad. Also. is there any way to control the level of the incoming audio signal from the XW?

Can someone share a few pointers ? I remember that at some point Mike Martin promised a video on how to connect the XW to the iPad, and then use the sound coming out of the ipad back in the XW.

Thanks a lot!

[FMURI]

 

Originally Posted by manw

Can someone share a few pointers ? I remember that at some point Mike Martin promised a video on how to connect the XW to the iPad, and then use the sound coming out of the ipad back in the XW.

Thanks a lot!

 

Connecting IPAD to XW-P1 you can see here - http://xwsynth.wordpress.com/2012/04...connected-4-2/

[manw]

Thanks fmuri! But i've read the xw blog forward and backwards, and that ipad article is more of a feature presentation, than anything else. What i wanna know is once you have the ipad connected, how do you control it? Like only hear the ipad sound on a specific zone instead of the internal sound, and how do you make a zone other than zone 1 transmit midi data to the ipad on a diferent channel, and then how to control the incoming audio signal from the ipad...at least a volume control, in order to achieve a better blend between the internal and external sounds.

Thanks!

[raymb12]

http://xwsynth.wordpress.com/2012/04...eyboard-split/

These are Mike Martin's tutorials for the xw-p1. I don't know if they've been mentioned here before or not.

[Korianna]

Hi,

I have the step sequencer and phrase sequencer running at the same time and want to play the keyboard live in solosynth on top of that, but when I do, the phrase sequencer jumps to the solosynth tone instead of the strings I had originally wanted. Is there a way to get around this?

Thnx in advance!

[rockstar_not]

Since this has become a user thread rather than a review thread, I would like to see a move over to the Keys, Synths, Samplers section of the forum. I would really only want to see that if there can be subdivisions of the thread however.

Or, would any users here be interested in a dedicated group to XW-P1 owners? Perhaps a Yahoo or Google group where we could divide up user tips into sections as it pertains to the XW-P1. I don't think Harmony Central Forums allow for that. Maybe a Yahoo group? I can start one if it seems like there is interest. I used to participate in an active Yahoo group on the amp simulator that I use and what was nice was the preset sharing section of the Yahoo group.

This is a much deeper synth than what it appears to be on the surface. The manual is useful to an extent, but there is much that it does not explain clearly.

Who is up for a user group space? Casio, please jump in and lead this if you like. Meanwhile, here's a start over at Yahoo groups:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xw-p1/join

[raymb12]

http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthr...05#Post2442105

Another forum for the XW

[FMURI]

 

Originally Posted by Korianna

Hi,

I have the step sequencer and phrase sequencer running at the same time and want to play the keyboard live in solosynth on top of that, but when I do, the phrase sequencer jumps to the solosynth tone instead of the strings I had originally wanted. Is there a way to get around this?

Thnx in advance!

 

You have to split part of the keyboard (upper right - for ex.) and select solosynth tone do you want for that part.

[Korianna]

Thank you...I bought this XW-P1 3-4 months ago and havent had the time to get into it till now. Thankfully, Mike's videos have been a tremendous help especially with the step sequencer. Im assuming then that to split the keyboard, that has to be done in Performance mode? Im sorry if I seem ignorant...Im a piano person and synths are new to me, and that manual is a bit over my head lol

[Anderton]

 

Originally Posted by rockstar_not

Since this has become a user thread rather than a review thread, I would like to see a move over to the Keys, Synths, Samplers section of the forum. I would really only want to see that if there can be subdivisions of the thread however.

 

It is possible to create sub-forums, but I think a blog format separate from the review, with blogs dedicated to different aspects and a useful collection of comments, would be the ideal way to go. vBulletin does not allow for that, but we're looking for software that can complement the forums and provide this kind of functionality. In my ideal world, there would be a landing page where you could jump off into several well-defined topics regarding the XW-P1.

In most cases, these reviews maintain their "reviewness" but not always by any means, particularly with "deep" pieces of gear. That said, though, a lot of the comments here on actually using the XW-P1 have helped people decide whether the XW-P1 was right for them or not.

[Anderton]

 

Originally Posted by Korianna

Thank you...I bought this XW-P1 3-4 months ago and havent had the time to get into it till now. Thankfully, Mike's videos have been a tremendous help especially with the step sequencer. Im assuming then that to split the keyboard, that has to be done in Performance mode? Im sorry if I seem ignorant...Im a piano person and synths are new to me, and that manual is a bit over my head lol

 

The Hex Layer also allows for splits; see post #279. Each sound you use in a layer can be restricted to a particular keyboard range.