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Posted

Hi everyone, I acquired a XWP1 a week ago and I haven-t really come to terms with it, but slightly. It seems very confusionary and there seems to be no logical scheme in its workflow. I am used to customary Roland/Yamaha/Korg/Alesis operating systems, and they usually have a pretty intuitive synth/multi/sequencer/effects structure, but this machine does not, and in fact it keeps being hostile to me... I don't care that much about the drawbar organ, i don't even have a clue as to why it's there as normally, organ users will have a dedicated keyboard for that, but nonetheless, it's there. The HEX engine, it seems rather confusing. AlenK's additional manual is great in addressing the synthesis issues of this keyboard, for those who are interested (i'm not) but frankly I think the most difficult part is getting around the damn SEQUENCER and all its quirks. If I had the need for a SYNTH, I would have bought a SYNTH. This was pushed as a performance keyboard and I would expect it to perform, not just play sounds.

Just the simple fact that the sequencer only has 9 (nine!) tracks gets you in the mindset of thinking, this machine is plain weird.

And it forces you to place the VA synth or Hex patches, or hammond patches on midi track 1 , there's no way to dislodge them and allocated them to some other part. I was used to allocate part 1 to kick drum, now I can't.

The sequencer also has no menu, and you don't f****** know what sequence you are playing, what pattern, or even if you are on planet Earth at all.; does it even have a list of stored sequences, at all? Can I store my sequences in the machine and recall them when I want? Mystery.

Can i save the "mixer" setup (which is a "multi" for using an external DAW) and have it recalled when I need it? Mystery.

Then you have the Phrase Sequencer, and there is no way to figure out in which way it is attached (if at all) to the main sequencer. And that involves the arpeggiator, too, and the Key Play, and bla bla bla...

I mean, I'm willing to learn this machine but that can't take a full year of my life. Please help me out as the manual really is but a introductory guide, and AlenK's one is just about the synth engine which I'm not interested about. My concern is the SEQUENCER and the possibility to bring live my finished sequences.

Posted

Look for Mike Martin's YouTube series of guides and instructionals for the P1. Those will go a long way to helping you understand how to get the most out of this synth.

 

Also, note that the P1 (and related G1) have "step sequencers," not full blown workstation style sequencers. Casio do actually call this feature a "step sequencer", but a number of users miss this and don't understand why it doesn't behave like a workstation. It was never meant to be one!

 

I agree that the workflow of the P1 can be confusing and it is not the most intuitive keyboard by a long shot. The official user manual is not much help either, though it's good that you've found Allen K's excellent Companion Guide. The P1 IS worth persevering with though, as it's still a surprisingly capable and powerful synth once you get to grips with it. 

Posted

Hi thanks for replying

I did see Mike Martin's instructional videos and I even exchanged a couple of emails with him.

the problem with this keyboard is not only that for my needs it does not have a full blown sequencer -which I had wanted in the first place but so long to that- but also that even when playing back tracks from a DAW like cubase, if I dare touching any buttons on the panel it would change what is doing, change tones and voices, and on a live stage these could be a serious mess....

I would like to like it, honestly, but it's difficult to like it, to be frank about it.... I will give It another shot today and tomorrow trying to get to grips with it, even with the fact that the sequencer will not hold sequences long enuff to be played back as a bone structure of a song on stage...That's the major problem for me, nothwistanding this keyboard abilities which are very good in terms of sound quality and editing, but like I said earlier, if I just wanted a synthesizer i would have gotten me a synthesizer with full hands-on controls, while this one was marketed to me as kind of a groovebox thing....

Thanks anyway bro

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