Casio Announces Limited Edition Gold XW-P1 Synthesizer

Casio has announced a limited edition version of its XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer.

Casio re-entered the professional synthesizer market earlier this year with the launch of two products, the XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer and the XW-G1 Groove Synthesizer. Keyboard has rated the XW-P1 as a Key Buy.

The gold XW-P1GD was designed in partnership with New York streetwear design firm aNYthing. It’s is limited to 200 synths.

Here’s the official intro video for the XW-P1GD:

[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu2ekj_dj-enferno-xw-p1gd_music[/dailymotion]

For more details on XW-P1 synthesizer features, see our previous Casio XW-P1 posts and the Casio site.

The XW-P1GD will be available in October 2012 for an MSRP of $799.00 at available at Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend.

19 thoughts on “Casio Announces Limited Edition Gold XW-P1 Synthesizer”

  2. I don’t really get into the hot rod/limited edition/custom synth thing, but I really like the look of those old synths with reversed keys.

  3. “Casio re-entered the professional synthesizer market…”

    Wait a minute — Casio was in the professional synthesizer market??

      1. I was kidding (a bit); the joke fell kind of flat. I’ve got a Casio VZ-8M rack mount module from ages ago, and I still like it. Even in the old days, though, I felt like there was a cheese factor for Casio that I didn’t feel from some of the other synth makers.

        1. Really? I have an FZ-1 and it feels and sounds every bit as professional as any of my Korgs, Rolands, and Yamahas. Even my CT-101 feels nothing like a toy. I got that as a sound-alike when a Kawai SX-240 was not available, and I think I may not need the latter at all. Of course, I do have an SA-35 for noodling around. There’s nothing like instant-on battery powered piano with weird mods to make the day seem sunshine bright.

        2. On the ‘cheese factor’ –

          Hardly anyone would argue that classic Casio synths don’t have that. They weren’t on a par with the best synths from Roland, Moog, etc., but were probably more like ‘budget pro’ gear!

          My first synth was a CZ101. It was cheep and cheesy, but I learned a lot from it and you could program some great sounds on it. This new synth seems like a worthy successor, offering way more power and full size keys. Seems like a great ‘first synth’ to me.

  4. I played the XW-P1. It felt like crap. The instrument itself was flimsy, and the keys felt spongy, like one of those cheapo keyboard plus recording interface kits for beginners. As for the sounds, the hex layer was as paddy as a pad can get, and the monosynth was actually pretty nice, though I couldn’t figure out how to edit the envelopes quickly. The worst part of all was the organ, having played organ longer than synth, I know my way about them. This was the worst sounding organ I’ve played to date, excluding your portasounds or the like. It sounded thin, and not roaring. The rotary sim, and keyclick was fine, but I just cant get over how horrible the organ sounded. Try before you buy.

  6. This is a very nice come back, and a surprising too. I wouldn’t have believed, if someone said, that Casio is working on a VA, but here it is combined with organ and rompler engine and unbelievably fun step sequencer @$500. And the organ is fine too. Even if this is not the greatest organ model ever, I have had many, much more expensive romplers, that sounded worse than this model. This is amazing value, and I hardly even dare to think, what Casio could make with $1000!

    I hope they would bring back the PD synthesis too. It has lately become an obsession to me.

  10. So, hey, I certainly see where it all is going. Nowadays companies are not offering something more technologically advanced but rather sell the same product in another color scheme (red-and-black, or gold, for example) and claim it’s something new.

    Let’s just hope people will continue getting stupidier and would only want synths designed by Pierre Carden or at least signed by deadmau5 or skrillex. I certainly see the latter sounding fatter or wobblier or generally better (or more dainty, regarding those Pierre Lauren’d), but if that means companies would also offer synths with the same specs, only not fancy and for half the price, I can’t sincerely wait when this happens!!

    (Call me crazy but I can see myself paying HALF AS MUCH for a synth, even if it means it doesn’t have what is the most important for a synth — LOOKS. Waste of money I know…)

  11. As best I can tell from the MIDI implementation, PCM/HexLayer sounds on the XW-P1 do not have filter envelopes. 🙁

    If they added filter envelopes to the PCM/HexLayer sounds, this would be a formidable instrument.

  12. I think some compromise was made so that PD synthesis did not step on Yamaha’s FM patents, which left CZs sounding a bit thin. That also made them great layering synths. Their basses were never as meaty as those of a TX81Z, but their bells, pads, weird organs and scritchy leads found some real use at my house. The CZ-101 had a crappy build when played, but as a module, it was golden. Now, if Casio would put a danged synth in a Privia case with controls 2 grades more solid than their usual low-enders, that might turn some heads.

      1. Great examples! Thanks for sharing.

        This is illustrates why electronic gear manufactures have a hard time because they have to compete against all the perfectly good synths that are already out there!

        You can get great sounds out of almost any real synth made in the last 30 years if they have a decent interface. It makes good business sense to offer new looks on old products. The real area for innovation (and cost!) comes with designing and implementing the interface.

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