JD-Xi/Minilogue/DFAM setup
This compact and portable setup is surprisingly flexible, allowing you to translate music from the studio to the stage with no laptop. Here’s how…
If your music is mainly sequence-based, this setup can cover a lot of ground. Like its bigger brother the JD-XA, the JD-Xi 1 can do a lot sonically as it has two powerful 64-voice digital parts (which can be used for poly or mono sounds), a greatsounding drum part for beatmaking, a super-tight, great-feeling sequencer for sequencing internally or for sending MIDI/clock out to other gear plus a fat-sounding analogue mono part for basses and leads.
Note: the reason we’ve chosen the JD-Xi here is because it offers unprecedented versatility in a very compact form factor, for a very compact price! With this particular setup, it’s also wise to do some prep first, so sequence your drums, basslines and any other parts into the JD-Xi and once you’re happy, put those sequences into the JD-Xi’s ‘favourite’ slots which you can then move between seamlessly live/in the studio without the sequencer stopping (unlike the JD-XA). Make as many sequences as you like for your set (one for each tune, or one per section perhaps) and then once again, store them into the favourite slots for easy/quick recall.
Next, take a MIDI out from the JD-Xi to the Korg Minilogue’s 2 MIDI in and set the Minilogue to receive external MIDI clock, so that its sequencer will sync up with the Xi’s. You can now sequence in real time on the Minilogue whilst the Xi is playing back a sequence to add further layers, atmospheres, arpeggiations or mod sequences!
Take the Sync Out of the Minilogue into the DFAM’s 3 ADV/ Clock input so that the sequencer in the DFAM advances when it receives sync pulses from the Minilogue. Now we have a fully-synchronised, portable setup for live performance/ studio recording, which offers lots of sonic flexibility too.
In terms of performing/recording with this setup, the JD-Xi is the main hub here, so generally you would load a sequence from a favourite slot (make sure when you save your sequence that its saved state has the required parts muted/un-muted so you don’t inadvertently give the game away as soon as you press play!), then you can mute and un-mute the drums, analogue part or other digital parts (as required) to change up your track and keep your audience engaged.
You can then play over the top of the JD-Xi sequence live on the Minilogue and/or record in a complimentary sequence, or use the arpeggiator to add a more rolling feel over your groove whilst tweaking all the real time parameters on the Minilogue’s front panel (tweaking the filter, envelopes, noise and delay effect are all go-to’s for stepping up the sonics)! Your Minilogue sequences and arps will stay fully in sync with the JD-Xi’s MIDI clock, keeping everything locked nicely.
Then, when you want, you can add the DFAM into the mix, either with a pre-prepared front panel setup, or simply ‘shoot the breeze’ and tweak away to add another percussive, melodic or atmospheric layer to your performance/recording (you could also add external effects).
Note that at any point in your set/ recording, you can move to a new sequence in the JD-Xi seamlessly. Just remember to turn down the Minilogue and DFAM’s volume/filter to bring back the focus to the JD-Xi before moving to a new sequence on the Minilogue and then adding back in the DFAM as a percussive layer. Also, don’t forget to use the JD-Xi’s front panel controls (including the filter cutoff/resonance dials on the analogue and digital parts) plus the onboard effects to add further space, depth and modulation/evolution, as well as the ‘interactive chord’ mode which allows you to transpose your sequence by hitting different chords on the keyboard.
Finally, the JD-Xi (like the JD-XA) also features a decent vocoder section (and mic) so don’t be afraid to experiment with this powerful feature too!