waveformer Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I've been going back and forth since joining here between the P1 and G1. I finally decided on the G1, and I ordered one last night. It should be here by Monday. This is just too much awesomeness to keep all to myself, so I had to share the news. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Welcome! Take your time to learn the G1 and you'll find one very powerful and fun synth under the hood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Hey Scott! Welcome to the XW family. Can't go wrong with either the G1 or P1, but for me the G1 is a better fit. Which is why I got that one. We also have a Facebook Group if you are interested, Scott ps. I was just in Arizona - what beautiful mountains there. Was really blown away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waveformer Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Thanks, guys. Btw, Scott, what part of the state were you in? We've got everything here (except jungle, lol), from wooded mountains to rolling grasslands to sand dunes. People are often surprised that it isn't all desert and tumbleweeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Thanks, guys. Btw, Scott, what part of the state were you in? We've got everything here (except jungle, lol), from wooded mountains to rolling grasslands to sand dunes. People are often surprised that it isn't all desert and tumbleweeds. We stayed in Phoenix but took a day trip out to the Grand Canyon. Drove up through Sedona so we saw a wide range of topography. Love the dry heat too. The humidity here in Florida is just gross. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waveformer Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 'Tis here! I haven't had a chance to really dig in, but I like what I'm hearing so far, just scrolling through presets. Music room is tiny, so I couldn't get back far enough to capture the whole thing with my craptacular old school phone camera, but you get the idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CairnsFella Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Congrats. Ordered mine yesterday, but whenever it arrives I wont be using it until Christmas (Pressie from the missus). I see you have a JD-Xi too. That was on my shortlist. To be honest, from my research I felt the JD was most definitely a better 'synth' and I was soooooo tempted. But then I remembered that I wasnt looking for a synth specifically, but something with groovebox capability and sampling, so I decided the Casio was a much better match (But I am still jealous) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waveformer Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 Yes, bottom tier is (clockwise from top left) a black Waldorf Blofeld (another recent acquisition), Akai MPX16, Arturia Microbrute SE, and Roland JD-Xi. The JD is extremely intuitive to program and get phenomenal synth sounds out of, and the 4 track (up to 64 step) sequencer is very easy to use, as well; however, the sequencer, with only 4 tracks and each locked to a specific category of sound (Digital 1, Digital 2, Drums, and Analog) can be limiting. You can copy and paste patterns from one program to another and overdub notes to each track as you play, adding complexity or changing sounds for a specific track in a new program, and you can have different "motion" sequences per program, but there's no getting around the limit of only 4 types of sounds within any given sequence. The G1's sequencer, with more tracks, more flexibility in assigning different sounds to each track, multiple patterns per sequence, and 4 controller tracks, seems like it'll be more flexible overall (once I figure out exactly how to operate it ), despite having "only" 16 steps per track. For pure "synth" work, as I said, the JD has the classic, phenomenal Roland sound and is easy to tweak, but I'll have to reserve judgement on how it compares to the G1 until I've really dug into the G1 and started programming my own sounds. That's not gonna happen until I can tear myself away from the Blofeld. Man! That thing is addictive as heck. Wavetable synthesis has been one of my great loves since I had a chance to play around with a PPG Wave 2.2 that was brought into a music shop I used to work at back in the '90s for repair, and the tech and I spent most of a day playing with it, but this is the first actual wavetable synth I've personally owned, so I'm going nuts over it at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CairnsFella Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Yes, I also noticed that you have at least a few bits of quite recent gear. More jealousy, as my meagre collection was mostly obtained in the 80's and 90's. You have indeed listed the reasons I chose the XW over the JD. I realise the JD's sequencer is pretty cool, but because I need my gear to last me a long time (hopefully) I felt the limits were too constraining. I am not even expecting much from the sounds of the XW (Which is in part, why I chose the G1 over the P1, as the sampling 'should' give me a little extra sonic flexibility) though I am perhaps secretly hoping to be at least 'content' with the solo synth. Ultimately I am likely to be using the XW in a purely 'home studio' environment, so my plan is to use the XW as a quick creation tool. If I come up with something I want to work on further, I can use other external sound sources if necessary. Historically I have used computer sequencers, but being the perpetual fiddler I am I feel I have wasted sooo much time tweaking and learning various aspects of PC based DAW's and trying different VSTI's etc that I just wanted to try an alternative that may be a little more 'immediate'. Of course I realise the XW's also have a lot of depth and tweakability but, I hope at least, I can experiment with a lot of this 'whilst playing'. Also (and again it's a hope rather than a certainty) but I do hope the fact that I can just turn it on and jam means I will make use of smaller free periods of time. Nowadays, unless I have a few hours spare, I am reluctant to boot up the PC (and I dont have that many spare few hours). Anyway, we will see. Worst case scenario I will have an entertaining new toy, even if my plans do not play out as hoped. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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