CASIO XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer (Sneak Preview)

This video, via RobertKarasekGermany, features a series of audio demos of the new Casio XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer.

Not a lot of blah blah blah in this video, just a lot of direct sound demos showcasing some of the more ‘synthy’ sounds of the Casio XW-P1.

The Casio XW-P1 retails for around US $500.

If you’ve used the Casio XW-P1, let us know what you think of it!

22 thoughts on “CASIO XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer (Sneak Preview)

    1. Look at what $500 can buy today:

      M-Audio Venom
      Casio XW-P1
      Artia MiniBrute

      Those are all great products, and they’re pretty different, too. And these are just the things I think of off the top of my head, there are more. So people can pick and choose a great product to fit their personality. Kids growing up with these kind of resources are going to create some great stuff.

  1. This is a a home keyboard with more bells and whistles. A PSR keyboard with 100 bucks worth of gadgetry.
    It doesn’t sound good at all.

    Those looking for a nice toy should pick this one up. If you’re looking for a synth, then pick up one of the other options in this price point.

  2. It could be anyone’s generic cheap va, not knocking it, just slightly disappointed Casio didn’t come up with something a little more innovative…

    1. Why should a manufacturer of 499$ synth be the innovator, when the bigger players are not that innovative either. And despite the price this still has a couple of tricks of its own.

        1. Those are modules.

          This is a swiss army knife of synths, and fantastic addition to synth world. When you need anything and everything on the go, its Casio. When you need anything and everything in the studio, even then you could consider Casio. When I need organ, Piano and real time step sequencer, I don’t go for DSI and Waldorf. Tetra or…and Blofeld would be beautiful on that landing slot though, and would make it pretty powerful setup!!

  3. I wish he would have explained which voice modes he was using. Even after reading the manual, I am not sure whether the hex layer mode supports independent filter envelopes. If so, that makes it pretty excellently powerful! If not, then the only real “synth” part is the mono “lead” synth.

  4. whatever, this thing sounds tits! can’t wait to play it! I think this has just enough and not enough features to be something really great. There’s something to say about limited capacity that doesn’t need to be said at all…

    1. i cant understand your british slang! does “tits” mean it sounds bad or good? tits are good but the sound they make isnt presumably awesome….

      1. It’s like Propellerheads’ “rack extensions.” It means something “awesome” by way of “voluptuous” or “sexy.”

        The male equivalent, “bollocks,” means “crap” or something bad in general – much like if Props tried to introduce “dongle extensions.”

  5. I like this, I would not compare it with pure synths, but with modern workstations. And at this price it is just a nobrainer! I always had gone with Casio keybs when I was a kid with no money at all… and if such a nice keyboard with so much potential would exist back in those days, I would have been totally blown away from it!

  6. I have to say I’m impressed with the usability of it. Regardless of how you feel about the sound it’s definitely very performable with plenty of buttons and sliders.

  7. played this in the local shop here in toronto, this is by far the cheapest feeling synth i have ever placed my hands on. the keys and components used to build them are complete shit, i dont care its only 500$, the sound is also quite thin with little to no characteristics that that give the sound anything unique. its just an priced casio keyboard you should buy at Best Buy or something…

  8. i like casio and i like cheap. somehow the sounds in the demos dont turn me on. is it just me? even the m-audio venom, which i wont buy, imo, sounds sexy. people say this is good for the price but isnt a netbook+midi controller cheaper? i must be missing something here…

  9. We have one at the store I work for, and I’m not that crazy about it. It’s good for layered pads and such, but it’s really thin in the bottom end. It sounds almost like they put a high-pass filter on the output. I think the layout and architecture leaves a lot to be desired as well. For something so affordable, it’s overly complex.

    All that being said, I’m not giving up on it just yet. When I have more free-time, I want to delve into it more.

  10. It does sound nice, but…

    I note that my CZ-1000 has 8 oscillators and is even 4-part multitimbral on synth parts.

    Admittedly it was more expensive when it came out. 😉

    1. Yeah it did…and does.

      Did it have organ modelling, VA, Hexlayers, step sequencer, effects. How was its piano? Yep, apples and oranges. I’m praying that Casio is already working on a PD synth.

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