Review of Casio XW Digital Synthesizers

Casio may not be very popular for such products, but of late, Casio has been trying to expand their offerings and want to be seen as a company that not only manufactures good keyboards, but also music technology/electronics equipment.

Now that Casio has some cool digital synthesizers, here are reviews of the Casio XW series synth keyboards. Before this product was launched, many would probably consider a Roland or a Korg if they wanted an inexpensive little synth. But not any longer; just place this keyboard next to those from the big brands, and you would definitely be surprised looking at what Casio has to offer.

Casio XW Series Performance Synthesizers

Casio XW P1 Synthesizer Keyboard

The Casio XW-P1 is Casio’s first professional synthesizer keyboard in several years, it’s quite powerful, and is an amazing synth, considering its price. While its not a Roland, Korg or Yamaha, but it can do things the other keyboards can’t. For the price, its a great synth for the beginner. Casio breaks the price barrier for virtual-analog synthesis with this powerful synth ready to rock on stage. 

Here are the things about this keyboard that caught my attention.

• Forget the name ‘Casio’, just check the several online forums, Facebook groups, and videos that exists for this keyboard. Having such a prolific online presence tells this is a credible product.
• It looks cool and surprisingly (for the price) doesn’t cut down on features. Other brands try to cut corners for their keyboards that are priced in this range, but not this one. With the XW-P1, you get everything – real midi in and out jacks, pitch and mod wheels, SD card slot, aux in, midi USB, mic in, pretty much everything.
• Its a versatile keyboard – a programmable solo-synth, with drawbar organ, and hundreds of tones (some of them are weak). And almost everything is fully editable.
• A performance synthesizer with a heavy-duty sequencer and sounds for any gig

So all those Casio fans out there who are tired of hearing that Casio cannot produce pro keyboards, you finally have something to cheer about!

Its lightweight and easy to carry. For some gigs you may choose to carry the Casio xw-p1, instead of a heavier board. It even runs on batteries.

• PROS: Multiple sequencers. Drawbar organ mode, Audio inputs. Good combination of synth and acoustic sounds. Excellent Little Synth with great Features and low price.
• CONS: No 76/88 keys (piano players could be disappointed with that). No input for an expression pedal, No internal speakers. Display is the best in Casio’s keyboards but still limited. Nothing more to be frank if I look at the price

 

The XW-P1 has a great set of acoustic and electric (non-synth) instruments, and they all sound pretty good. In electronic sounds, you have a nice mix analog and digital sounds. You have a good selection of acoustic and electric pianos, drums, basses, guitars, accordions, winds, brass, strings, which you can use for gigging or composing.

Not all the sampled gig sounds are the best, but you can “create your own sound” which sound better than some of the individual sampled patches. If you don’t like the way something sounds, just hit the edit button or twist some knobs, and you will dial into something that you will like.

You have everything to produce pulsing dance grooves, animated synth textures and arpeggios. Regarding arps, you get a hundred preset arpeggio patterns and another hundred locations available for user arpeggios – which means you get lots of variety.

The combination keyboard gives you Step Sequencer and Phrase Sequencer that provides an endless array of sound possibilities.

I have seen musicians use the Casio XW P1 in a rig that included a Roland RD700-GX, a Korg BX-3 organ, a MicroKorg, sometimes Logic/ MainStage, and sometimes Reason. And guess what, the XW-P1 has the power to stand up to these pro gear – it won’t embarrass itself in the company of all these other instruments.

The XW-P1 features 4 realtime controller knobs, pitch bend and modulation wheels, 9 sliders. Includes standard MIDI ports and USB port.

The audio input allows you to monitor an MP3 player, computer or other device – play along with your favorite songs – without the need for a mixer.

You can use it as a synthesizer for its quality sounds, tweaking capabilities, layered synth sounds, arpeggiator. The drawbar organs sound phenomenal.

Touch pads (to play drums) would have been better, but it still comes with plenty of I/O, lots of controls, you can even use it as a small mixer or a midi controller.

Key features & tech specs:

• You can combine multiple synth formats, you have solo synth – monophonic or bass synth.
• You get envelopes, noise generators, built-in DSP effects, real time control of filters.
• Assign knobs to do whatever you want to do that is possible with synths.
• Then you get the Hex layer with six tones stacked, each of them can be altered.
• Drawbar organs, rotary effects (Casio is becoming quite good at this).
• You can easily combine sounds during performances. You can use solo, hex, drawbar, combine / split with the various pcm sounds like piano, str/brass, guitar/bass, synth, and various other sounds.
• The Arpeggiator can sync to external midi clock or generate its own clock. It can be the master or the slave.
• A Powerful step sequencer contains several parts. Eight different patterns, each can have eight different parts, and totally customizable. Its sister keyboard features a grove sampler instead of hex and drawbar.
• casio xw-p1 manual / appendix

Casio XW-P1 comes with multiple sequencers, drawbar organ mode, audio inputs, and lot more, available at a really low cost. Excellent sound, solid arpeggiator and sequencers, lightweight. Its a great synth for beginners (and also for the experienced players), it has a clear ‘buy’ written all over it.

Casio XW-PD1 Trackformer Groove Center

Casio XW-PD1 Track Former Groove Center has a step sequencer, sampler, synths, effects, and 4 banks of 16 pads into a futuristic designed (spaceship-shaped) portable groovebox.

The Casio XW-PD1 comes with a space age design, has innovative features, is cool, and looks like a lot of fun (its no longer the old Casio guys). As the name suggests, this is basically an equipment that lets you build beats wherever you go.

• Pros: Functional, good sound collection, has line inputs for sampling
• Cons: Takes time getting used to it
• Uses: Provide Backup, For recording, Practicing

The Casio XW-PD1 Track Former Groove Center is great for music lovers, who want to create music. It’s a all-in-one product that’s easy to use, has great features and helps create music to your taste.

You get everything you need (synthesizer, a sequencer, a sampler, effects) to create tracks; it has built-in speakers as well. It also allows real time control over the sounds, thanks to knobs, sliders and more.

Remember, this is not an inexpensive, entry-level Casio keyboard; its a pro-quality groove center costing almost 300 bucks, so you can expect some top notch sounds and features. The XW-PD1 comes equipped with a wide variety of sounds, including the hottest sounds arranged by professional musicians and DJs/producers; great for making dance music.

When it comes to making music, especially dance music, you will need to create loops; the Casio XW-PD1 allows you to create foot-rhythms by just tapping on the pads. Easily create your own original beats and produce unique tracks just by tapping out rhythms on the pads. The Sequence Step Keys (with rotating lights) allows you to check the rhythm pattern at a glance; just to ensure everything sounds okay. Once the rhythm is sorted out, you just have to lay melodies and bass lines over the beats, and your unique track is ready.

Any mix is incomplete (at least it won’t sound cool) unless you apply effects to them. The XW-PD1 comes with 200 effects that have the ability to dramatically transform your sounds. Control the music however you want – emphasizing hooks, inserting floor-pounding drops, and more.

This is one of the favorite creation activity for those who’re new to music production; remix a song that you love. You can even become a DJ using this feature. Just connect the Casio XW-PD1 trackformer groove center to your smartphone or digital audio/music player via a mixing console and you’re ready to mix or remix your favorite tracks. You could even connect a music keyboard or other electronic music instrument to the XW-PD1 and jam along.

 

And don’t forget to apply those effects to the songs; just let loose and think that you’re the best DJ in town. There’s one more thing you can do; sample your favorite parts/hooks/riffs from a song and insert into other songs, and you will be the coolest musical kid on the block.

Other features & Specs.

• Pads: 16, Knobs: 4 (FX1, FX2, Value, Volume), Faders: 2 (Mix, Assignable)
• Solo Synthesizer : (monophonic) 100 presets, Step Sequencer Presets: 100, Phrase Sequencer Presets: 100, Pad Effects Presets: 200 types
• PCM Melody: 250 presets, PCM Drum: 15 presets
• Padset Types: Solo Synthesizer, PCM Melody, PCM Drum, User Sample
• Pad Types: Sound, Note, Effect, Phrase Seq, User Sample
• Number of Steps: 16, Number of Banks: 4, Number of Measure: 16 measures, Number of Patterns: 8 patterns, Number of Groups: 4 groups
• Number of Samples: 36 user samples, Sampling Frequency: 42 kHz, Monaural
• Quantization: 16bit
• Amplifier: 2.0W, Speaker Size: 6cm
• Input/Output Terminals: PHONES – Stereo mini jack, LINE IN – Stereo mini jack, MIC IN – Standard jack (for connecting a dynamic microphone only), LINE OUT – RCA pin jack (stereo), USB port – TYPE B, DC IN – 9.5V

Casio seems all set to transform the Dance Music Scene with its Trackformer products. The Casio XW-PD1 Trackformer Groove Center allows users to mix, scratch and produce their own music tracks.

 

Casio XW-G1

(Discontinued)

Designed primarily for the DJ and the club performer. The step sequencer and sample looper are quite handy for capturing performance patterns and instruments. It comes with impressive sequencing and sample looping capabilities. The six oscillator monophonic solo synth engine sounds amazing. Read more on Casio XW-G1

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Casio Synthesizers: Guide

Introduction

Casio XW series synthesizers created a lot of buzz when they were first introduced in NAMM, and some even felt that Casio XW-P1 performance synth was superior to what Korg, Yamaha and Roland have in their lineup (in this price range).

It includes some great synths for live gigging, and with decent build quality too. No, I’m not saying that this is going to compete with the Motif or the Nords. But this can easily be your additional instrument if you’re a pro, or this can easily be your first instrument in case you are a musician on a budget and/or are looking for top quality drawbar organ sounds at an affordable price.

 

 

Overall, great keyboard synthesizers from Casio (though there will be doubters because the name Casio is involved) with good collection of voices and features such as the sequencer and arpeggiator.

Keyboards in the Casio WK series have good drawbar organ sounds, and the same have been improved a lot in these xw synths. If you ask me, the drawbar organ emulator alone is worth the price of the keyboard.

And when it comes to pricing, its difficult to beat a Casio. It seems, these Casio synths will definitely be a force to reckon with in this price segment.

Review of Casio XW Digital Synthesizers…

How to Use the Step Sequencer on Casio XW-P1 & XW-G1 Synths

Here’s how to use the step sequencer on Casio XW P1 & XW G1 Synths…

You can quickly build up a composition or a small piece of music (and even edit it), using the features available.

 

 

 

Part 1: How to assign tones to parts and about the advanced track parameters.
 

Part 2: Shows how to use the sliders to manipulate parts, record bass and chordal parts live from the keyboard and more.

 

The best part about the XW synth is that these are designed to always keep your primary keyboard sounds live, even while you’re building a sequence using the buttons and sliders, so that the synth is always available to play a melody or other instrument part.

Casio XW-P1: Software Editor, data editor, download new sounds

Casio XW-P1 Synth: Software Editor, data editor, download new sounds.

Where Can You Find Software Editor Version 1.0 for Casio XW-P1?

There’s a lot that you can do with the Casio XW line of synths, but Casio wants to provide even more flexibility to the end users of these synthesizers.

The Mac and Windows compatible software/data editor for the XW-P1 synth lets you edit tones, performances and much more, using your computer.

So if you’re a pro musician who needs a lot of patches, this software is going to come in handy.

 

 

It also provides the ability to back up any user data to your computer, so you can back things up without having to use an SD Card. Though the SD card is convenient, it can have limitations in terms of the storage capacity.

Casio says a future version will allow for Undo/Redo commands while editing.

You can download the software here:

http://support.casio.com/en/support/download.php?cid=008&pid=20…

 

Watch: How to make sounds / patches with Casio XW-P1 data editor
 

 

Watch: How to download new sounds for the Casio XW-P1 synth