Emu Xboard 61 61-Key MIDI Controller User Reviews at zZounds

"Tof likes" submitted July 10, 2008

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: Musician, filmmaker

Music Style: Progressive Rock

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Sound: Doesn't make its own sounds, it's a controller. It sounds as good (or as bad) as whatever soft synths or rack mounted synths you prefer to use. Feature: Works great, I love that you can reprogram any of the knobs to be whatever midi CC number you want it to control and it seems to keep that configuration even if you unplug the unit and don't use it for a while. I just wish the volume slider was a CC controller as well. It'd be nice to use the volume slider to control the volume of a patch, but the volume slider appears to control a system exclusive event. The keys are good. Solid, not too soft, but not super-heavy for those of you who like weighted keys that are heavier than a real piano. I use this for synths anyway, so I don't want weighted keys. Ease of Use: As long as you have the manual it's pretty easy to read about how to do what you want to do. Quality: Seems pretty solid to me, I haven't had any problems with it. The knobs are nice, solid, non-continuous pots. One thing I wish it had were threaded screw-holes on the bottom for more permanent mounting. Basically all you can do is set it on top of a keyboard stand, you can't screw-mount it into your rig like you can with most keyboards. Value: I got this item on clearance while I worked at Guitar Center, so I got a killer deal, but I would definitely buy another one if I was in the market for another midi controller. Manufacturer Support: Haven't had to contact EMU yet. The Wow Factor: Looks cool, the blue LEDs make it look really modern, the whole thing is compact and lightweight, very slim lines and sleek looking. Overall: Not looking for another controller any time soon. This one is really nice. A few things I would have done differently in designing this keyboard, but it's still a great controller.

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"Excellent midi controller! A+" submitted August 17, 2006

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: hobby

Music Style: electronic dance

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

Feature: For it's intended purpose, the features are fine. Very easy to use and does everything a midi controller should. Ease of Use: Simple Quality: The keys on this controller blow away almost any synth out there including all the really expensive Euro and Japanese ones. I don't know how EMU did it, but the feel of these keys are top quality! So much better than any M-Audio or other plastic midi controller. The X-Board keys remind of the smoothness of an Access Virus keyboard. Value: For $250 you can't beat it. And it has After Touch! Something the M-Audio board do not support. Some M-Audio and Edirol support programmable after touch but this is not the same. Overall: Overall this is really a great midi controller. I wish the Novation Remote SL (Automap) boards had the same quality keys because I like Novation's idea of Automap, but the keys on the Novation are hard and clunky. The X-board is the way to go!

20 of 22 people (90.91%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Solid keyboard for any style." submitted April 9, 2011

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: Owner of Deuce G Productions

Music Style: Hip Hop, R&B, Rap, etc.

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VERIFIED BUYER

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Sound: Well the keyboard itself doesn't make sound, but the included Proteus X program does. It comes with some decent sounds and the program has many options to change a soung to your liking. E-MU also has optional sound packs for this product. I would recommend looking into them. If you would like to hear some sounds from this keyboard, check out my instrumentals: http://soundclick.com/deucegproductions. Feature: I think the features of this keyboard are nice. There are 16 knobs that are assignable in most programs. Personally, I use FL Studio and the keyboard integrates great with it. The keys are different from playing a normal piano though. Ease of Use: The basics are easy. Plug it in and open Proteus X, load a sound bank, and start playing. But it does get more complicated. Proteus X is a program with many features so it may take time to learn them all. The keyboard is easy to use though. Quality: For a cheap keyboard, it's built pretty well. I have used it for more than a year now and no problems so far. Value: For anybody who wants a good midi keyboard for a relatively cheap price, it's great. Manufacturer Support: Never needed it. The Wow Factor: It looks like a normal keyboard. Not much to say here. Overall: I have this keyboard and another different keyboard. By far, I enjoy this one more. The other one even costs more!

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"Long time synth head LOVES this controller!" submitted October 1, 2007

By a customer from britecog.com

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Musical Background: Semi-pro, been playing synths since 1976

Music Style: EVERYTHING

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Sound: It doesn't make sound ... it's a controller. Even so, the included Proteus X stuff is top-notch. Mine came with 3 extra sound sets as ... including Planet Earth, Planet Phatt and Protean Drums. Feature: The best feature about this is the keyboard action ... perfect "synth type action" ... not mushy or too springy. Ease of Use: Dead simple with any of my VSTs it works great. Quality: Lightweight but surprisingly sturdy. Doesn't feel like you are about to snap it in half. Value: You get a great controller, free sequencer software and a sample playback VST (comparable to SampleTAnk2 in a lot of ways) for less than the price of some VSTs alone. What's not to like? Manufacturer Support: Emus has always been very cool to me. The Wow Factor: Well, the panel graphics are sorta bland ... whatever. Overall: I'd buy another in a heartbeat if I ever lost it or it was damaged/stolen.

7 of 9 people (77.78%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Good Keys, Not Realiable" submitted October 22, 2006

By a customer from cox.net

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Musical Background: Active musician and producer

Music Style: Smooth Jazz, and contemporary gospel

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Sound: It does not have sounds, it is just a controller Feature: It came with Proteus X, which I had latency problems running it, and after some tweaking it kind of worked but the sounds are very middle of the road... Ease of Use: a bit complicated at the beginning. The slider doesn't control volume as you'd expect. The 16 patch button is a good feature but this controller does not have a INC/DEC button to change patches quickly, so audition patches becomes a bit slow Quality: I loved the playability of this keyboard. Unfortunately it seems to lack a decent Quality Assurance. I had 2 controllers in to months. The First had some keys that did not play. I took it o the shop and they exchanged for me. The second only lasted 30 days!, it freezed while I was playing and never wanted to turn on again. I got sick of these failures and decided to return it. I got a Roland Juno-D for 200 more! Value: Good playability, great keys... but unrealiable... Manufacturer Support: I send EMU an email,about the slider not working on the volume. They came back after a week... Not good really The Wow Factor: Nope. I returned 2 of them. They are unrealiable. Sorry Emu. Overall: It would be good if it were realiable, if the master slider could control the volume and if it had INC/DEC buttons to change patches quickly (to audtion patches).

4 of 6 people (66.67%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Beware before you Buy!!!!" submitted December 12, 2006

By a customer from discoverymail.co.za

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Musical Background: Active Musician

Music Style: Alternative, Rock, Dance etc.

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Sound: Sound is OK. Lots of latency issues at first, but managed to sort them out eventually. Lots of clipping when playing full or busy scales, and it was not a CPU/RAM issue. Feature: This is where I had major issues, have now been through two units and returned both of them, in the process of looking for something more reliable. On the first unit, the "Zone Enable" keys stopped working after a couple of weeks and the unit started warping, despite the unit being nowhere near any heat source. I returned it and it took 3 months for them to eventually decide to replace it. On the second unit, half the keys did not work, the "Zone Enable" keys did not work, half the patch selector keys did not work and..... the modulation wheel did not work!!!!!! I kid you not!!!! Second unit also has a "rainbow" warp to it where the two centre feet at the keyboards centre are completely off the surface!!! Ease of Use: This keyboard professes that it does all these wonderful things, if it actually works!!!! Unfortunately I was was not able to explore the keyboard much as half the features didn't work and wasn't about to wait another 3 months for another exchange, so I opted for a refund. Currently looking at a CME 7 which looks far mor robust and solid. Quality: Nuff said!!!!! Value: If E-MU gave me one for free, I would use it for decoration. Manufacturer Support: 3 Months to decide to exchange a faulty keyboard for another faulty keyboard. Need I say any more. The Wow Factor: Retuned the second unit very promptly, thought maybe the first one was a dud, but two duds out of two is a 100% failure rate. Will stay far away from E-MU products in future. I will not recommend this product at all. Overall: Enough said already.

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