The XP-60 was one of Roland's flagship digital Workstation Synthesizers. With extensive professional features, superb quality PCM sounds, sequencing, effects and more, the XP-60 could be the only synth you may ever need! Compared with other XP- synths, the XP-60 is almost the same as the XP-80 except that XP-80 has a great 76-note semi-weighted keyboard whereas the XP-60 has a standard 61 note keyboard.

Like the XP-80, the XP-60 offers up 64 voices of polyphony and can send on up to 16 MIDI channels simultaneously. The sounds are all digital in nature and sound pretty good too! Though its strengths are the emulation of acoustic instruments, it can create convincing synth-type sounds too. It comes with 16MB of ROM sounds, but there's room for up to four 8MB expansion boards that add Orchestral, Techno, Vintage Synths, World, Bass & Drums and other instrument sets (from the SR-JV80 expansion series).

Bringing up the 'Workstation' end of the XP-60 is a full-fledged on-board MRC Pro sequencer. With a 60,000 note capacity, 100 patterns, and 1 song position - you can create songs, patterns, loops or phrases with relative ease. Other features of the sequencer include Grid, Groove or Shuffle quantization and a built-in disk-drive. A great Arpeggiator is also available. High quality internal effects are provided such as Reverbs, Chorus, Delays and many great multi-effects. There are also digital filters (4-pole, 12dB/oct, HP, LP, BP, Peak) and a ring-modulator for analog-synth type effects, perfect for dance and techno music! A Modulation-Matrix provides up to two LFO-effects for adding motion and life to the sounds. In addition, there are 6 sliders for real-time control.

In a nutshell, the XP-60 is a pure digital synth. Its sounds are virtually the same as the JV-1080, JV-2080, XP-80 and XP-50 synthesizers. And the XP-60 makes a great all-in-one Workstation for any musical application. For a digital instrument, the sounds can be surprisingly expressive and the XP-60 is not reserved for any particular musical genre, other than top-quality music!

TDT

November 29, 2010 @ 12:05 pm

Incredible synth for creative musicians; could be pretty bland and 90's-sounding for those less creative folks. The synth engine is incredibly strong, and by setting up performances it's very easy to switch between sounds for a live setup. I've had this synth for 15 years (as well as a collection of Ensoniqs, Junos, early Rolands and Korgs) and I always use the XP60 for live stuff. I've found use for the XP60 in a brutal prog band, a synth pop band, an orchestral rock group and an experimental noise duo.

CD

October 19, 2010 @ 4:17 pm

I've been using one since I bought it in 1999 and have never had a problem. Every time that I think the sounds on it are played out, I just go create new ones from their amazing banks of sounds.

Rob the Russian

July 20, 2010 @ 1:14 pm

Roland totally missed the ball on this one. After the stink cleared, Roland started boasting about its "legacy". Very convenient for a company that can't put out anything new or relevant. So while Yamaha proceeded to wipe the floor with their Motif workstations Roland decided to start reissuing classic keyboards like the new Junos and SH's (which are by ALL MEANS totally better than the XP). At the same time, they still aren't real analog, and they still aren't REAL ROLAND.
This isn't the keyboard that began Roland's fall from grace. This is the one that clinched it.

Rob the Russian

July 20, 2010 @ 1:13 pm

The mid 90's were plagued with companies like Rlnd, Alesis, and Mackie who tried to cram their proprietary audio formats down our throats. Go ahead, load any Roland VS-XX file onto your computer. Wait...you can't? That's because they aren't compatible.

Rob the Russian

July 20, 2010 @ 1:05 pm

The Roland XP-60 is whack. Sorry guys. Dudes used to bring this piece into the studio all the time and barrage me with their thin sounding, over-quantized, general-MIDI sounding hip hop beats. If you are going for an XP you need to get an expanded XP-80. Bottom line. The keys on the 60 stick and break easily. Saving songs to a floppy disk? Way to go Roland, you sure were ahead of the curve on that one.

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