I have had my XP80 for 3 years. I disagree slightly with the description of "weighted keys", however, they certainly feel heavier than synth-weighted. I love the strings and orchestral sounds. The Rhodes sounds are nice, and the steel guitar played through the arpeggiator set at "3-string guitar" sounds authentic. I added a "Session" expansion board, which is excellent. The pianos on this expansion board sound just as good as Kurzweil's MicroPiano module. This keyboard is full of features. Study the manual and get the video owner's manual to tap into its fullest potential.

I HAVE OWNED THIS SYNTH FOR 2 YEARS AND WITH A BIT OF TWEAKING HERE AND THERE IT SOUNDS UNBELEIVABLE.WILL SUIT ALL TASTES..I MYSELF INTO JARRE AND KRAFTWERK AND VANGELLIS.THE ADDITIONAL VINTAGE SYNTH CARD IS AMAZING AND ADDS AN EVEN GREATER PUNCH ....GO BUY ONE IS MY ADVICE !!!

Very Nice. Compact and light. One of the lightest and coolest looking 76 key synth. Keys are semi-weighted, and great functions all around. Metal chassis, and great display. Only problem is the sound department- it's doesnt cut it, not quality enough. Only a fully expanded XP-80 will be upto the standards of a triton. So go and buy those expansion boards, they're worth the extra bucks.

Roland xp-80 is a fairly balanced workstations with a good price. Extremely programmable, with wavetable synthesis and a bit of physical modeling. Its notable features include a good and convenient built in sequencer, radical sound manipulation techniques, large display a convenient interface. XP-80 also includes a good arpeggiator though it severly lacks the ability to be proggrammed and changed around. The down sides of XP-80 are its rather poor string/violin type sounds. The manual is rather complicated and not down to the basic point. Feels like its been written for an engineer not a musician. Also xp-80 would've been much better if it had piano style weighted keyboard and full 88 key set as oppose to being semi-weighted and 76 keys. The synth can also be expanded with various expansion cards which can extend the synth towards your musical style and add more realistic sounds. XP-80 is rather nice especially for electronic/ambient/industrial type music. Overall a nice workstation with good price, convenient sequencer and nice proggramobility though not quiet kruzweil it can get you where you want. It and an amp is basically all you need to produce your next hit from whatever musical style.

Clean sounds
Expansion boards are ubelievable
The key board sounds great, looks great and does everything you need. cuts out at least 5 pieces of equipment you would normally need

Love the feel and sounds. I did find a problem using it as my main keyboard playing live. The lower row of buttons are too close to the keys and I found myself changing sounds inadvertantly

At the time I bought this instrument, the model was relatively new. Visiting many area music shops and listening to every high end synth I could find, nothing really compared to the XP-80. From the sensitivity of the keys to the quality of the default patch library, everything about this device is excellent. It is also remarkably versatile -- if Roland had squeezed in a sampler, then this single instrument would feature pretty much all the capabilities of all the digital keyboard instruments that came before it. Since my XP80 has travelled a great deal, I know it lives up to the maker's reputation for building rugged hardware. Shoppers with unlimited funds and no need for a sequencer may want to consider the XV88, but it is hard to imagine anything of superior quality available in the XP80's price range.

I have made 3 albums and will continue to make more. The only drawback is the trumpet or flute sound. Not as good as Kersweil.
It is easy to use, once you understand the basic live performance and sequencer.