One of the better minikey options, even with its limitations

In a world of DAWless, before I had my JD-Xi, it was chaos. I needed an all-in-one synth; something I could build an entire song on. I didn't want a groovebox, though it probably could have worked. The JD-Xi allowed me to start with a drum track, selecting from solid 808/909/707/606/etc kits. I could put down a bass track from either of two digital or one analog synth tracks. Then I could add a lead. Then another track on that. If the JD-Xi didn't have the sounds I wanted, I could use MIDI outs to control other synths, though I needed a MIDI control box to control my four other synths.

It works. There is no "song mode", but there are work arounds. You can't add samples. Programming with deep menu dives is crazy. But there is "enough": enough control, enough knobs. The star of the show really are the drums.

I recommend it. Get it used. They are always available, though I've heard the keybed is fragile. I haven't had that problem.

From Gear Setup

The best synth on the market for the sub £500 category

This is the best sub £500 synth on the market its analogue section delivers a DCO 24db filter the same as the JUNO 106 but is only one note polyphonic. Never mind the analogue dosnt dissapoint, this synth also offers 2 digital synth sections and a drum section. These all sound great the supernatural digital patchs are well thought out and very useable. All patchs analogue and digital can be comprehensively edited and the JD-XI works great as a synth module which is great news for DAW users. For the price you wont find a better synth in this price bracket or category.

Great value!

While I have not yet been able to use this in any recordings I have had lots of fun noodling around with it making patterns. Again I have trouble making full tracks with these machines that have only pattern mode and no song mode but for the money you get a drum machine, 2 digital voices that are very good examples of Roland sounds and 1 analog voice that while it is good its there I haven't found it overly useful. Overall though great fun, great sounds and amazing value!

Great value and fun to use.

Really easy to get into as a first synth, and extremely versatile with the sequencer and 4 voices.

The software controller "JDXI manager" (http://jdxi-manager.linuxtech.net/) is an awesome complement, which lets you play with all the settings without having to go through the menu system. This allows full interactive ADSR control, save/load patches, all parameters etc.

better than i expected

basically with the way it was presented and how the synth is set up i was expecting something like a groovebox but slightly better, basically it does come down to that but with the ability to create your own sounds from scratch, and it can make just about any sound you can think of, and the ability to create drumsounds by layering 4 waves in 1 drumsound and effects that can be set per drumsound this synth becomes so much more. the sound quality is amazing and really beyond expectation, only thing is that the analog voice could have used a little bit extra, with the way i use it i almost need to use distortion on it all the time. but still this wont spoil the fun. another great feature is the sequencer, which reminds of the trx sequencers. Normally i always needed my daw and with this synth i can just play, record and tweak till i have a base pattern with sounds and then record it to my daw and work on variations of the pattern, add more synths, breaks and such. it's my go to synth when i dont want to start up the imac and i never had a go to synth for this before. real recommender this little powerhouse

Amazing box

I don’t like the feel of the keyboard, nor the fact that you can’t chain patterns into songs and it’s a shame that there aren’t ADSR knobs, but all that aside this is an amazing combo of great sounds and a very intuitive 4 channel sequencer. I’d never sell it.

Exceptional

I've only owned it for 30 minutes but already I feel confident giving it a 5 star rating. The ability to lay down drums, 1 analog synth track and 2 digital synth tracks into a little 4 channel track so quickly makes this ideal as a musical sketchpad. It sounds great too! I'm sure I'm not the only person who has considered making a whole track just on the JD-XI. It makes you love it. edit: owned it for longer than 30 minutes now, still like it!

Amazing techno music generator!

Roland JD-Xi does everything I always dreamed of doing with an analog-digital hybrid synthesizer. Super intuitive controls, magnificent presets, arpeggiator and step/live playing / TECH-REC sequencer, and much more. Perfect dream synthesizer for under $1,000. Love to play it with Korg Kaossilator Pro Plus as accompaniment pad.

Drum machine + Sequencer + 2 x Poly Synth & 1 x Analogue Synth

This thing is a beast. If you get a chance to play on one of these things, go check one out. They are a little bit pricey for the brand new synth player, but very affordable if you are already in the hobby of collecting synths. This thing makes some great sounds, and you can pretty much make entire songs on this thing with all of the tracks and sequencing features. My favorite synth so far.

Good beginner synth

Fun little thing, great for pulling up quick song ideas, but not good for true synthesizer sound design. You get an analog voice (monophonic mind you) and 3 digital voices all for under 800 cad. Its a Solid synth to learn on. It lacks many features you'd want on a truly professional synth which makes this not ideal for performance.