Worship Musician April 2018 | Page 15

Roland JD-XA The Roland JD-XA 49 key analog/digital crossover synth is destined to be a classic. It’s got the best of both worlds. A true analog synth with analog filters, combined with Roland’s amazing digital engine with a great selection of effects. The top is divided into user-friendly logical sections making it easy to navigate. There’s a bright LCD Behringer Deep Mind 12 Lastly in our roundup is the Behringer Deep Mind. It’s a 49 key 12 voice analog polysynth. On top are Pitch & Mod Wheels and a good- sized LCD screen for navigation. The layout is logical & they have opted to use sliders almost exclusively. These make it really display with a multi-directional joystick and 2 assignable pitch wheels. A combination of sliders and knobs make real time changes easy. Also on board is a 16 -track pattern sequencer, with 16 corresponding buttons as well as a mic controlled mod source with vocoder and CV input. Downloadable Integra-7 sound libraries from Roland's Axial sound portal always keep you up to date. Lastly, the backlit orange vibe looks fantastic on stage. Again, for a modern worship team the JD-XA is a killer option, and you’ll get a lot of really great fresh sounds and tons of vibe. easy to see with a glance what’s going on. There’s a 32-step areggiator with gates and 1,024 patch memory locations. Deep Mind also has built in Wi-Fi to use with tablet apps. In another smart move, inside are four effect engines with algorithms from TC Electronic, Midas and Klark Teknik. Behringer is aggressively positioning themselves as a major player in the synth world. Deep Mind is another great choice for a modern worship team. It’s got great sounds and is very affordable. $1,799.99 roland.com Buy at Sweetwater $999.99 behringer.com Buy at Sweetwater WRAPPING UP: They might have some good input. It’s also a Sometimes players can become complacent There are no rules for what works best for you great thing to have one person in charge of about caring for the church’s gear (and that is or your team. Consider your budget and needs, church equipment. Stuff gets lost all the time, not the best practice). We hope this keyboard then go and try as many of these you can at and it si good to work to develop a culture round up will help your team play and sound your local store or check YouTube. Every one of of respect for the Lord’s equipment! Find the “better by Sunday”. these options is going to be good. balance between letting people borrow gear responsibly for church related events Talk to the person who is going to be using and keeping an eye on protecting your the keyboard before you buy for your team. backline gear. April 2018 Michael Hodge Record Producer, Writer, Studio musician, Staff Guitarist at Lakewood Church Houston TX. Owner of Gman Productions film music MichaelHodge.com WorshipMusician.com 15