Casio XW synth

For many years the name Casio has conjured up images of products perhaps most diplomatically described as being aimed at the more entry level of the market. So I was more than pleasantly surprised when I was confronted by the XW-P1 and the XW-G1. The latter is more 'DJ' oriented and I will talk about it another time, but the XW-P1 is very definitely a player's synth, aimed squarely at performers who want a huge range of features on a budget.

Firstly the expected price falls below a thousand dollars, which is fantastic value. The look is extremely 'pro' and as soon as it fires up the sound quality is apparent. It is by anyone's standards a good sounding synth, with a vast array of sounds. There's four basic ways it can be used. In solo synth mode there are 100 presets representing some great vintage analogue sounds; then there's 'hex' setting which allows the layering of six tones; there's fifty drawbar organ presents in organ mode and the nine sliders on the control surface are used in this mode to replicate the adjustments of drawbars; and then there's a mode which has some 420 PCM melody and drum presets.

The XW-P1 has a total of 311 internal synth waves based upon vintage analogue synthesiser sounds, and a total of 2.158 PCM waves. Sounds can be built up by layering waves and they can of course also be used as a basis for individual sound creation, with the sliders allowing the adjustment of various parameters. Featuring six oscillator blocks, the scope for sound creation seems endless. There are 100 preset effects which are fully editable, and space to store 100 of the edited 'user' effects you can create yourself. The main intention of this unit is to provide a versatile tool for the live performer and to that end Casio have packed in some pretty cool features. In the 'performance' function the keyboard can be divided into four zones, with different sounds in each. There is a phrase sequencer which allows you to record musical phrases for playback, and there is a step sequencer for generating entire tunes. In fact it really has everything you could need to create and perform your own music. Then there's little features like the non slip area at the top right where you can put an iPod or some other device, and the fact that you can run external devices through it.

It's fairly light but has a durable feel/appearance. It can be run off battery power - good for busking! The control surface seems to me to be fairly intuitively laid out and features such as the sliders are multi functional, which means you still have a very tactile approach to sound control. Despite all the features it's easy to navigate, and all seems pretty logical. The bottom line is that it looks great, it is competitively priced, and the sounds are very good. There are synths that sound better and do more, but in this price range the XW-P1 offers a complete solution for any serious performer.

 If you want to get out there, play and you are on a budget, the XW-P1 will not let you down. When product guru Paul Noble started belting out 'Jump' at EnTech, followed by plenty of other iconic keyboard sounds and riffs, there was literally cheers of approval. The sounds are BIG and Casio have delivered a lot of bang for your bucks with this one.