I just recieved my Novation 49 key XioSynth 2 hours ago,& I had a hell of a time prying myself away from it,to pause,& post of review of this wonderful multi-tasking synth!
My inital impressions....
Amazingly compact,yet surprisingly solid,as it has a velvety smooth tactile aspect at this price point!
Despite the drastically reduced amount of manual controls,in contrast to the X-Station-THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM,as the knobs & buttons are multi-functional & are laid out nicely,for such a tiny keyboard...it's an incredible space saver.
The synth's strengths are single note performances,as it's mono-timbral,but nonetheless,the sounds are warm,punchy & bright & alot of fun can be had with arpeggios & sound shaping.
Some of the pads played as chords are nice though,especially when you customize the the oscillators,lfo's & such.
The joystick & the enormously sized ribbon controller is a very beautiful thing,as you have instant gratification with sound mangling-instantly as your playing.
As a stand alone synth-that in of itself,is worth the $400 and obviously,I have yet to tinker with the midi controller,audio interface,analog inputs for outside sources-such as GUITARS
and the ability to download new sounds.
Be warned though,there are no additional user patches for new downloads,so you'll have to decide which programs you want to over-write!
Also,just like the X-Station,the XioSynth can used as an effects processor-which is of decent quality for the unit's price.
