I Sold my Axe! (No More Roland XP-60)

After years of faithful service, I finally sold my Roland XP-60 last week.

It's for a good reason. My new board is scheduled for arrival today, but I'm still feeling surprisingly sentimental.

I still have an XP-80 which will remain one of my options for gigs. So, I haven't kissed my custom programming goodbye just yet. But, I no longer have a 61 key keyboard. That board had been around the world with me. I didn't think I would, but I kind of miss it. A little.

Ever get sentimental when upgrading?

Incidentally, I have some of the expansion boards available if anyone is interested. They are Piano, Bass & Drums, and Keyboards of the '60's & '70's.

Soooo what is the new board??

I've been trying to convince the keyboard player in our church to sell his XP-60 for a long time. I've pretty much given up on it now. The problem is that he doesn't have any expansions and is a preset player

He's a great piano player (esp jazz), a good EP player, and really needs something better than what he has. I even brought my A-80/Fantom setup for him to play during an event we had on a weekend, and he loved it... but still won't upgrade.

I'm the guitar player and I have a much better keyboard setup that I only play at home... which kind of sucks

I kept both my XP-60 and 80. And I'm glad I did. I've currently got 'em both set up in a P&W band, after a frustrating and unsuccessful try with a Motif ES7 and an expanded Fantom S with this outfit earlier.

It's not a matter of nostalgia. XPs are the best there are at certain tasks. Everyone in the praise band is happier since I returned the XPs to the setup. The Motif is now my club board only (where it excels) and the Fantom S currently is unused.

I don't use my XPs for piano, which they're not good at. Our praise leader is on acoustic piano. My job is pads-pads-pads, plus choirs (courtesy of SRJV Vocal... just a terrific board), organs (60s-70s), brass, and key bass (the best Precision bass sound you can get is on these guys). All custom patches.

CR, I was waiting 'till it arrived today to post details, but since UPS screwed up, it'll be delivered tomorrow. (I'll give you a hint. It's got 88 Weighted keys and the brand name starts with a K and ends in urzweil.) I'm really looking forward to this!

I can totally understand your frustration with your keyboard player. It might be worth mentioning that some of the expansion boards for the XP are killer. In particular, the Keyboards of the '60's & '70's expansion has great Rhodes and organs, and the Bass and Drums has some killer Marcus Miller, John Pattituci, and Abe Laborial samples. It's a relatively cheap and easy way to upgrade the board.

I put them in my XP-60 and in my XP-80. So, I have a spare set now, if he's interested. The guy who bought my board is writing Asian music and didn't want these boards. I think he was planning to add the Asia expansion and maybe an orchestral one.

You can find audio clips online to check them out.

mrcpro,

First, you've always been helpful when I've posted XP questions on the forum so thanks for that.

Second, I totally agree about the XP vs. Fantom S. I remember trying out the Fantom when it was released and I found that I preferred the action on the XP's. The XP is just a great all-around rompler.

I may yet pick up an XP-60 at some point in the future, but for now, I needed the $$$ to pay for my new board, so it had to go.

Out of curiosity, which bass sound are you using? Is it a modification of an existin patch or did you roll your own from scratch.

Yes i felt sentimental about my A90ex , bought new in '96 and it was a great MIDI controller, however with the new Fantom G8 there is no turning back and in this day of USB, MIDI seems a little dated!

ps...... I love, love, love the G8, great feeling keys, beautiful display, its my new Oasys killer!