I bought a six-month-old X1 from someone at this forum. I had so many problems, it was unbelievable. Even though, I must admit that I never heard of anyone having a problem with the SD1, I would be very weary before purchasing one.

My problems began when I ordered the vocalizer kit and the 13 switch pedal. Neither worked (I spent needless hours troubleshooting, especially with the vocalizer kit). So I had to pay for shipping to get replacements. I purchased these two items from Alex at Music Magic. He did not keep his promise to me to send me free styles in compensation for my aggravation getting this stuff DOA. I pestered him two or three times, and then forgot about it.

Then I noticed some keys were louder than others. So I shipped it back under warranty to Bell Solton. That was $50 I had to pay. The keyboard came back with some foreign object lodged under some of the keys (At least that's how it felt) and some other problem I can't remember. I didn't want to open up the keyboard because I'm not a tech.

So the next time, they paid for shipping, and it got sent back again. When the X1 came back, and I took it out of the box and put it on the carpet and lifted it up again, there were five or six screws from the assembly on my carpet. I'm not kidding! They told me that they changed the whole internal part of the keyboard, but there were still keys that rattled when I played them. At this point I wanted to sell it, but I new that I couldn't with the keys rattling.

This time I demanded a new X1 for all of my problems. They accepted this (at least over the phone). I sold the X1 through a forum as new without warranty. When the X1 came, maybe they put new stuff inside, but it had an older serial number and was scratched outside. So I had to face the embarrassment and pay money back to the buyer of the "new" X1 I had sold. At least it worked!

I thought the X1 would solve all the shortcomings of my PSR 740. I wanted a PSR 9000, but I balked at the weight. But the X1 had a lot of its own shortcomings, including shoddy workmanship and no nearby repair.

I'm heartened that I do not hear about any problems with the X4 nor the SD1, so I might buy another Solton if it had the features I wanted, but I would never buy an X1 even though the styles absolutely kick derriere.

Right now I own two PSR 740s. One I keep in my studio and the other in the trunk of my car. I gig twice a day, and this keyboard is very reliable - but they do break. I'm sure the PSR 9000 is built sturdier. At least I know that on the way to one of my gigs I can drop off my keyboard at one of the two repair centers in the area.

I hope those who own the X1 get millions of notes of musical pleasure out of their keyboards, but I think it's important for people to hear from people like me whether or not my experience was a rarity.

Larry

[This message has been edited by Beakybird (edited 08-23-2001).]