At my JV/XP page, http://www.louisville.edu/~gtcraw01/rolandjvxppage.htm you can find links to reviews of the XP30. My advice is to save some more and get an XP60 or XP80. The user interface is far better, especially for a beginner. The 60/80 is more versatile and holds more expansion boards(which you WILL want). Plus, I'm uncertain if the XP30 is as programmable as the other JV/XPs.