Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsMeh
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2023
Big enough to not be easily portable on foot.
Small enough to make you miss having more keys.
The honeymoon will last until you try to do something that requires more than 4 notes at once, which it can't do.
Since I play mostly ambient that means the honeymoon lasted one day.
The keys on the keyboard are junk - obviously cheap and flimsy.
Considering the price, the quality issues of the keys are straight-up insults.
The flaws other reviews have posted here are true as well - it has a lot of knobs but less filter options and so on than you'd want.
If you are new to synthesizers, you should be aware that almost all synths are intentionally crippled by the manufacturers so as to encourage you to buy more of them - for its price, this one is significantly crippled.
Normally when I buy something that I can't use, I give it away to a friend.
In this case, I'm not sure that giving them such a crippled instrument would be a kindhearted thing to do.
"What's this!?"
"A synthesizer. It sucks in too many different ways for me. You take it."
If you insist on buying an XD get the module version and pair it with a quality keyboard.
MUCH better idea is to buy something else entirely.
I was going to give this three stars, but after typing out the various problems I encountered with it, I dropped the third.
If you primarily play lead and bass, and if you get it for $400 or less (the price of a roland boutique), then it's ok.
Synth people will tell you that crippled gear forces you to be more creative - yeah, and if you break all your gear it forces you to just imagine the music, can't get more creative than that, so by that argument you're better off not buying any synths in the first place.
Showing loyalty to companies that openly treat their customers like garbage is not much different from battered-spouse sydrome.
"But they were SO innovative 30 years ago, bro!"
Yeah, I sadly remember.
This thing came highly recommended by people who really should have known better - I won't be taking their advice at face value anymore.
