Roland D-50 - Gear Chat 02

In this second episode of Gear Chat we take a look at the Roland D-50.
Download free D-50 samples : www.adsrsounds.com/D-50.html
The Roland D-50 is a polyphonic 61-key synthesizer produced by Roland, released in 1987. Its features include Linear Arithmetic synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analog synthesis-styled layout design.
The D-50 was the first affordable synthesizer to combine sample playback with digital synthesis, a process that Roland called Linear Arithmetic synthesis.
The engineers at Roland determined the most difficult component of a realistic instrument to simulate is the attack, so the D-50 included almost 100 sampled attacks in ROM. The synthesizer played back an attack and used the synthesizer section to create the sustain of the sound.
This dual-use method was required in 1987 since RAM was so expensive. Roland did, however, incorporate a number of "texture" samples that could be mixed into the synthesized sustain-part of a patch.
Although the D-50 was among the first non-sampling machines to be able to produce sounds with sample-based characteristics, it was not long before many synthesizers on the market began using similar methods to create sounds.
Roland later released a series of lower-priced keyboards and modules that allowed musicians who couldn't afford the relatively expensive flagship D-50 to have some of these sounds (Roland D-10 (1988), D-110 (rack version of D-10) (1988) D-20 (1988), D-5 (1989), MT-32). Though these lower priced D-series synthesizers did not contain the full "LA" synth engine, each was 8 part multi-timbral, and Roland doubled the number of onboard PCM samples. Roland also produced the 76-key, 6-octave "Super-LA" D-70 (1989-1990). With the D-70 Roland removed the digital synthesis section, which was replaced with full-length, more realistic and natural sounding samples, including an acoustic piano, which the D-50 lacked. The D-70 also had an expanded filter and effects section and was 5 part multi-timbral. Even with its improvements, however, the D-70 was unable to catch up with the dominant workstation of the time-the Korg M1-and failed to become the next Roland flagship synthesizer.
The D-50 produces a hybrid "analog/digital" sound: one can use traditional fat analog waveforms like saw and square (digitally created on the fly unlike competing synths of the time that used PCM samples of waveforms, ala Korg DW-8000) together with PCM samples of actual acoustic instrument attack transients and famous analog synths of the past, filtered through full analog-style processing (LFOs, TVFs, TVAs, ring modulator, effects, etc.). This breakthrough led to the creation of totally new sounds never done before on either pure analog synths or samplers.
Each D-50 sound ("patch") was made up of 2 "tones" (Upper and Lower) and each tone was made up of 2 "partials". Each partial could be either a "synth waveform" (pulse or sawtooth waveform) and a TVF (time-variant filter, the digital equivalent of a VCF) or a digital PCM waveform (sampled attack transient or looped sustain waveform). The partials could be arranged following 1 of 7 possible "structures" (algorithms), with a combination of either a PCM waveform or synthesized waveform, with an option to ring-modulate the two partials together.
The synthesized waveforms could be pulse-width modulated and passed through a digital 4-stage Low-Pass filter, allowing for subtractive synthesis. The lower and upper part could be split or played in dual on the keyboard. The dual configuration allows an 8-voice polyphony bi-timbrality while only one partial plays, which allows for 32 voices.
The D-50 was fully MIDI-compatible, though it transmits on only one channel. The keyboard was velocity- and after-touch-sensitive, and the keys were slightly "weighted" with metal for a higher-quality feel. It included 64 patches on-board, and 64 more patches were available on the expansion RAM card that was included. It use C2032 Lithium internal battery for memory back up.
For its sound and build quality, and the unique synthesis method it featured, the D-50 has remained popular to this day. Its synthesis engine, in more or less updated forms, was used in Roland's JV and XP series synths, among others. Furthermore, in 2004, Roland released a VC-1 expansion card for V-Synth and VariOS synthesizers. It contained a modeled and updated D-50 synthesis engine and the original operating system, including factory- and all Roland "expansion cards" patches. Since newer DAC chips sounded different (cleaner), it included the option to simulate the D-50's "rougher" output.

[@cokedoutmarv2006]

The D-50 was the 1st keyboard I ever bought, and still own.

[@MrVinylistic]

I got my first D-550 in 1989. When I heard it the first time at the local music shop I was absolutely fascinated of its huge dynamic range and its powerful and spectacular sounds, that I had never heard before. I use my D-550 even today in nearly every production together with a MKS-70 and a JD-990 and many other VSTis. The D-50/D-550 sounds even today very modern - especially if it used as a VA-Synthesizer (Partial Structure 1 and Structure 2). Sounds like "Spacious Sweep" and "Soundtrack" shows the huge Dynamik range of this synth legend and its PWM offers so many nice sound variations. Also the 6 LFOs and 2 independant Pitch ENVs in the DUAL Mode make the D-50 to a real "pad monster". But the best is its Lithium battery that is running now for more than 28 years without a replacement. Only its display is week now and needs replacement. For me the D-50 stays a classic like the Minimoog, the Jupiter 8, the DX-7 and the Korg Wavestation.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

awesome presentation guys, very enjoyable, bought one today myself actually to do some demos on my channel, thanks sharing with me the knowledge.

[@MrDanoman812]

Just picked up the NEW D-05 earlier... *STOKED over it too...* :)

[@thomasjahn374]

Funny, and your presentation was the reason, why I bought one, a year ago!! :-)

[@alandarylmusic555]

The Greatest Keyboard/Synthesizer of all-time hands down! I definitely remember hearing a lot of these legendary sounds in a lot of different songs growing up. My favorite D-50 Patches/Presets are: Soundtrack, Nylon Atmosphere, OK Chorale, Fantasia, Digital Native Dance, Slow Rotor, Piano-Fifty, Spacious Sweep, Bass Marimba, Vibraphone, D-50 Voices, JX Horns-Strings, Horn Section, Pizzagogo, Glass Voices, Living Calliope, Future Pad, Jazz Guitar-Duo, Pipe Solo, Stereo Polysynth, Staccato Heaven, Nightmare, Afterthought, PressureMe Strings, Synthetic Electric, Combie Strings, Arco Strings, Jete Strings, Syn-Harmonium, and last but not least Intruder FX. The whole entire Synthesizer is incredible even over 30 years later…thank you so much to the Roland Corporation and Eric Persing & Adrian Scott for designing, developing and manufacturing this timeless masterpiece of a Synthesizer.🙏💯😎🎶

[@IzzyRock]

This was my 2nd keyboard back in the 80s.... Loved the sound of that era... I still have a JV-2080 that mimics a lot of the sound from the D-50 :-)

[@madness8556]

The JV2080 is the second best module that Roland ever made after the XV5080.

[@analogrich]

interesting insight into the d50.. can't wait until the next episode

[@madness8556]

I remember the first time I heard a D50 in 1987 when a synth guy at my local music shop demoed it to a group of us. WOW!!!!

[@machiwoomiapoo]

I love listening to you guys talk about gear. I bought my Roland D-50 because I always loved Enya's sound. :) I made a song with it name "Ann" about my step-mother who passed away in February. The Roland D-50 really has that sound that can make you feel so many emotions. Thanks for uploading this video. I appreciate it. Take care, Sam.

[@Spacerboy]

nice! thanks for the sample pack. i had one in the 90s, loved it!

[@Schumanized]

Still have it since '87. Works like a charm!!

[@DavRBailey]

My first synth was a Juno-6, purchased pretty cheap since it was the last one at the music store and he was making room for the new Juno-106 that was on the way. My next synth, purchased on 1/26/1988 just before I turned 20 was the D-50. Hitting that first "Fantasia" chord blew my mind, and I was along for the ride that would be the "D-50" over the next decade. Still my favorite synth (for it's sounds as much as the meaning of the synth to me,) I still have my original D-50 and PG-1000, plus a second D-50, two D-550's and now my very heavily used D-05 boutique version, which is my main "traveling" D-50. I can't help it. I'm obsessed. Lol. :-)

[@Jobotubular]

I gotta say, I love the fact these guys are going over these older (but not vintage/collectible/rare) boards -- readily available on the secondhand market, perhaps no longer trendy but still very viable. I bought both a D-50 and a DX-7II this past year -- despite already possessing flashier, more modern keyboards. The D50 in particular has a really nice feel in the keybed. Kudos for recognizing that these extremely popular -- even overused -- keyboards are classics in their own right, even if pop music has moved on to other sounds

[@burninturntable]

this series is great.

[@resofactor]

Still makes GREAT New Age, Sci-fi, Alien, Horror, Film Score, Ambient, Industrial sounds. Gary Numan used a lot of D-50 as well ;)

[@ssahakian3KnightGuardian3]

‪Roland you guys did a fantastic job with the roland D50 Amazing I just bought one my self recently am proud of it quality it shows in your work roland Thank you I hope we see one just like the D50 in the near future proud of you roland thank you to everyone at Roland ‬

[@RobOnekea]

Very well done. I had several D50s back in the day and these are pretty close. Most M1 patches have been out there but would be nice to have them in one spot. awesome as usual adsr.

[@Geardos1]

Great vid. Didn't know all these little details about the d50.

[@TurtleCake1]

I have an important question about the D-50. If you use it as a MIDI controller with a DAW, can you transpose the midi octaves up & down using key transpose?

[@freejazzbone]

you dudes are GREAT ! thanks

[@sacredgeometry]

Love these videos, more please

[@powerdx7383]

Wow the famous Roland D-50. I have a respect for the D-50, as it put a benchmark on what kind of sound a digital synth produces. With amazing built-in reverb and adding realism to synth sounds, I was really envious of the Roland D-50, and that really helped me to push my Yamaha DX7 MK1 further and further. Cheers, Power DX7.

[@monsterjazzlicks]

I never owned one, but I did play on one once when depping on a gig. The sounds were of course great, but I have to say it felt really cheap and plasticy to me (esp. the keyboard).

[@powerdx7383]

That's an interesting comment. I don't remember how I felt when I played the D-50 back in 1987. It was a long time ago..... I know for sure that the DX7 Mk1 is built like a tank!!!! Having an internal effect unit really helped to bring out its unique sounds. I think it has the Roland DEP-5 class effect unit with dynamic range of over 91 db or something like that. That was the reason why I got myself an external effect unit (although I was going to get the Roland DEP-5, but I was talked out of buying that and instead, got Yamaha SPX-50 which was not really good) to compliment my DX7 MK1. As I started to make some awesome DX7 patches, with an external effect unit, my envy towards the D-50 was gradually disappearing...... I started to appreciate the DX7 more and more..... Still, I have a soft spot for the D-50. The whole thing about making awesome DX7 patches was to not get outdone by the D-50, as I knew that the DX7 was a very capable synth, producing breathtaking sounds without sampled waveforms. Long live the D-50 (and the DX7)!!!

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Oh really, I never knew the 'D50' had the 'DEP-5' FX built in. I love the 'DEP-5' although the small display screen and menu diving made it a bit cumbersome. Power DX7

[@powerdx7383]

As you know the DEP-5 has chorus, delay and reverb, I would think that the D-50 effect unit is very similar (even identical?). And the the DEP-5 sound quality was top notch back in the late 80's. Yamaha effect units had poor audio quality back then. I really regretted not getting the DEP-5. I should have had taken the Yamaha unit back to a music shop and swapped with the DEP-5. I was willing to pay more for the DEP-5!!!!!! But, now I have Lexicon MX400 for my DX7 and TX802, and I'm happy with that. It can do something that the DEP-5 can't, creating a serial effect chain of reverb first, then delay second. It's a unique combination, but gives an distinctive sound effect which is not commonly used. Your Lexicon MX300 may be able to do that as well. Having dedicated hardware effect units for classic synths really make their sound magic!!!!!

[@monsterjazzlicks]

The bloody 'DEP-5' was well over $1,000 when it came out! lol I think the people I knew who prefered the Yamaha was the 'SPX-80' so the next one up from yours. Maybe the higher range model made a big difference. I actually used my 'DX7' with a 'DX21' and had zero FX on either! Dry as a bone! lol

[@joxer96]

I also spent an inordinate amount of time poring over the D-50 ad in that issue of Keyboard. And, of course, the very first patch the Guitar Center employee played when I went to check out the D-50 in person was Digital Native Dance. Sure, it sounds very cheesy nowadays, but at the time it was something incredible to hear. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[@jimstout]

Thanks for the support. I'm glad I wasn't the only one. :-)

[@monsterjazzlicks]

I think I heard the RESO BOW STRINGS and the TRUMPET & STRINGS being used more commonly than anything else in the late '80s (on live gigs). They sounded superb for the time I remember and much better than both 'DX7's'.

[@J._Campbell]

Great synth! Legend! We have no any similar by guality sound in todays synth. Old school! Thanks a lot!

[@tonylancer7367]

Question: Is there a legal way of getting the Digital Native Dance sound or are there other similar sounds/plugins? Also, does anyone know what sound that plays in the intro of Another Part of Me by Micahel Jackson?

[@gackooDuz]

Great Instrument I have a D50 too... since 1989!

[@garys-617]

Another great vid guys - keep 'em coming, I'm enjoying these :-) My story is very similar - after reading the first magazine reviews and then having a demo in a music shop, well, there are some things you just *WANT*.... I got my D-50 in 1988 - I loved it from day one, and I still love it now ! I had no trouble figuring out how to program it, I just thought it was rather intuitive - just treat each Partial/Tone as a seperate synth, with quite familiar terms/elements (unlike the DX7 lol) and build the sound up. Great ! It's still a firm fixture in my Live and Recording Rig, I simply wouldn't be without it !! :-) (Haven't changed the internal battery in this either !! :-O )

[@MaxiZamac]

Amazing machine! Currently enjoying it via Arturia's VST, sounds great.

[@dvamateur]

Yeah, the D-50's feature set is mouthwatering, square wave generator with variable pulse (sawtooth obtained at filter stage), ring modulator, 3 LFO's, low pass resonant filter, multi stage envelopes, parametric EQ, chorus, flanger, delays, reverbs. Oh, I would forget, 76 8-bit samples (nice ones, no multi-samples) sprinkled over. Fantastic! But of course the most important thing was the looks. The machine looked gorgeous from front and the rear with the Roland D-50 logo and all. I had it on stage recently, and the characteristically shaped Roland keys sparkled in the staged light beautifully. I couldn't stop staring at it. So here you go, call me shallow, but all these things are important to me in the synthesizer. And once again I am quite in line with the guy on the right.

[@mkultrapolis]

thx again ! love your video !

[@tkat191]

Do you have to have a sound card to activate the keyboard?

[@astrokoki]

can you please give me a download link about roland d50 sound links

[@winstonbrown4951]

I need some piano patches for my d50 how can I get some? ?

[@Kolinu2]

Fascinating information. Great amount of knowledge, thank you. I own a Korg Monopoly. I''ve had it from new and I've still got the box and the card that goes across the surface, which was there as a guide for those who were new to synthesisers. When I bought it there was a choice between the Monopoly and the Juno 6, both of which came to market around the same time. I'm happy I got the Korg. :) Hope it works out that you get to talk about it.

[@jimstout]

We would love to talk about that as well. The Mono/Poly is a really cool synth. It's a good excuse to get one!

[@monsterjazzlicks]

I have Korg 'Poly 61'. I was originally going to go for the 'Poly 6' but I heard bad reviews about electronic failures etc. Gotta luv the '61'!

[@_Thorsten]

Great talk. Waiting for the JD-800 !

[@The_Bit_Player]

This is was cool. And the V-Synth is awesome.

[@thebeliever1775]

Please help me how to connect studio with roland d50 basically

[@tritonrecordings]

Started an all-synth band early this year and my live rig and at least 50% of what I've used in the studio is a DX7 mk1 and a D50, haha. I have some analog synths at my disposal and analog is still "in" right now, but digital synths like this shouldn't be ignored. I taught FM synthesis at MTSU and tried to make a point that these can be perfectly useful in today's music in the right hands. I find the D50 is more difficult to program than the DX7, which I can pretty much do blindfolded...well, not with those flat membrane buttons. In any case, the D50 can sit in nearly any mix and immediately add a sense of space to a song. Eager to see the Korg M1 video next! I feel like I need to buy one just to complete the holy trinity of DX7, D50, and M1.

[@fcastle13]

great video! learned a lot from this and please keep them coming! Maybe review the Akai AX80?

[@daleweber2579]

Was that the intro to Thriller @2:18 That one thing you played almost didn't make it on D50 sounds like what Playstation used as their intro. for the Playstation One an PS2.

[@zoisgyftopoulos6334]

hello everyone!! Is it possible to connect D-50 with a laptop and record music through a digital audio workstation?? If yes, does it need special drivers?? If not it is such a pity :/

[@zoisgyftopoulos6334]

ooh thank you very much!!

[@leo081969]

Informative. You guys know your stuff. I've subscribed

[@GregSimon]

I bought mine in 1988 from thoroughbred music for 1400$. Still have it and love it. Biggest issue with it was that it was only mono-timbere. This was a major issue since back in the 90s audio recording DAWs weren't affordable. But wow this board is killer and still impresses people today.

[@krzysztofwaleska]

great video! great synth! can't wait until next comes! the only real hardware synth that i have, except for jv90.

[@celiacasanovas8518]

I read somewhere that the D-50 didn't actually emulate a substractive synth, but that it was actually a phase distortion synth similar to the Casio CZ series, and that it morphed between a sine and a square wave, which would then be turned into a sawwave if you wanted (which is why it allows you to have PWM on the sawtooth wave as well).

[@dvdny]

Very informative video, you guys are a wealth of knowledge. Since you mentioned it a couple of times, does the mc-808 deserve its own gear chat episode? I always wondered about capable yet complicated box.

[@Mrmre]

good stuff keep em up

[@Mrmre]

suggestion: Live broadcast??.. so we can ask questions etc.. Gear suggestion : Yamaha Sk series, Korg Poly-800, M1, MicroKorg, LinnDrum, Simmons Drum so many options

[@MikeAcostaOfficial]

+Murmure great suggestion but there's always the issue with time zones and no matter what somebody will always be upset that it's not during a time where they can participate. However we will look into because I think that would be great.

[@JessicaSeverin]

Loving this series! I would also love to hear your take on all the follow up Roland synths that evolved from the D50: JD800, JD990, JV80, JV1080, JV2080, XV3080. I still love my JV1080. I also hope you do the Korg M1, Wavestation, Triton maybe even the Korg KARMA since that was a really unique beast.

[@Lainer1]

Back in the day, had a D-50, a Juno 106, a Roland TR626 drum machine, a Korg O1W FD and a Kawaii. Loved the Tascam 4 track too. But MIDI was taking over. Have to say my fave keyboard was the Korg. Never was a fan of the Yamaha DX7.

[@bitley]

I am def one of the D-50 kids as well. We went to the store to try it just avout every single day. At the same time all those records came out where it played a dominant role. I can namedrop a few others: Art Of Noise - Ode To Don José. Erasure - Ship Of Fools (actually begins with the four or five first presets). Pet Shop Boys - Introspective (all over it), Michael Jackson - the intro to Man In The Mirror (a preset), Bruce Hornsby, Prince - Lovesexy. The analog engine of the D-50 is really a model of the JX / Jupiter 8 and it is really powerful. I am working on patches but it takes forever because of the depth of the synth. Agreed the D-70 was a weak followup. Even the JD-800 pales next to the D-50. You mentioned the effects: don't forget the chase play and the EQ. Absolutely one of the best if not the best synthesizer ever made. Prophet VS came out in 86-87 and the ESQ-1 is another competitor but I also think Roland looked at the DW-8000 not only for the delay but even the physical appearance is quite related. It's pretty hard to estimate what the market value of the D-50 should be today but given the Jupiter 8 value the D-50 which is equally impressive for its time really should be up around $2500-3500. Same with the JX8P/JX10 really. Isn't it fun that the synth Roland made prior to the D-50 was the JX-10? So it had to be able to do all of that. And it nearly does. Chase play, dual tones, plenty of polyphony (the D-50 is a 32-voice synth really if you break it all down). 30 year later and it's still pretty mindblowing. All I can say about Omnisphere is that it simply has no soul. Just look at the D-50. The design is perfect. Even the "GUI" has some remarkable logic to it.

[@bitley]

They have removed the possibility of editing but of course I meant to say the virtual analog engine.

[@popfortyfive]

Great series! Looking forward to the M1 next. Please do a V-Synth episode too.

[@monsterjazzlicks]

'M1' will be a killer I am sure ;-)

[@MikeAcostaOfficial]

We plan to but Jim and I both sold our v-synths a while back. We may have to rent or borrow one but its in on our list.

[@speedtribejp]

Mike Acosta can you compare the V Synth XT's D50 with the original D50, is it really identical or different?

[@looneyburgmusic]

Soundwise the V-Synth D-50 has a cleaner output, (unless you use the "noisy D-50" emulation. Beyond that, they are identical, Roland really did a good job on that card...

[@Venatt1]

I have the D550 module and it's exactly the same patches, the only thing is that it doesn't have the joystick.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Great video! But perhaps not using a gate with the high threshold while trying to demonstrate the reverb..? ;)

[@DIXIFREELY]

I love these vids...I hope you guys do the Roland JD800 if you haven't. That synth still holds good value today.

[@timothymcjury72]

What's weird to me is the d 50 sound engine still cuts through and those are 80's fx and AD converters. It still till this day has the a amazing sound and technology in analog to digital conversion which has come way beyond. I total agree with these guys D 50 sounds awesome.

[@greeneminence]

Jim mentioned Kawai K-1 being popular among techno kids. Can you make an episode about it?

[@andrewphi4958]

997KB - when engineers produced technical marvels, not using straight-forward sample-and-play method. Same goes for all other bloatware in IT world. Good algorithms take almost nothing. Big respect to you guys for your respect to that! :)

[@MisAnnThorpe]

Talking about turning of the on board effects....how does one do that?!

[@MisAnnThorpe]

Or OFF rather!

[@Vin4227]

Great synth,it is up there with the Dx7 & the other synth that defined the 80s & 90s music industry...couldnt understand the spinoff with the other Roland Dseries though.

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Well done guys! ;-) For which exact part of "BAD" was the 'D50' specifically used please? Thanks.

[@jimstout]

The intro to "Dirty Diana." We can't include actual copy written music content in these videos.

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Oh, I see - a song FROM the album "BAD" lol. Gotcha. Thanks, I will check it out . . .

[@monsterjazzlicks]

The INTRO to 'BAD' is those chromatically ascending parallel 4th's (or something like that?). So those stabs are not 'D50'? Maybe you could put me out of my misery and spill the beans? I used to use Korg 'M1' Combi-Strings patch heavily detuned (and with it's in-built Stereo Delay FX) for that Solo-Intro.

[@jimstout]

We are talking about "Digital Native Dance" being used in the intro.

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Cheers ;-)

[@bitley]

So was the D-50 revival just a momentary thing or is it ongoing? I'm of course one of the original fans & still enjoing it a lot. :) Cool video with great examples guys!

[@woltermuller]

Korg Wavestation? K1? Nord Lead 1? Great vid! Got my first d-50 a month ago. Love it.

[@roboticrealm]

Thanks for the great Gear chat videos! I would really like you to do an episode about the Emulator II! It would also be great if you would do episodes about the Jupiter 8, OB-Xa and maybe the Fairlight.

[@roboticrealm]

As you've pointed out in the video the nice things about these old synths is that they had a sound/personality of their own. That's what makes them inspiring and interesting. Newer synths nowadays can be very good and incredibly complex but to me they are more boring than those old classics.

[@jimstout]

I would like to do one as well.

[@robertogiannotta4477]

I still like my D-50, especially because ages ago I upgraded it with the multi-timbral MEX expansion by Musitronics (which is waaay more effective when used in multi-layer mode with one timbre:-).

[@jimstout]

Those upgrade were rare

[@christaylor839]

Really like the series, guys! Would you consider doing a V Synth video?

[@coolelectronics1759]

Im subbing just because these guys brought up new jack swing, levert, Teddy Riley, SWV, and guy. I was born in 1993 and obsessed with njs and r&b from the mid-late 80s to the early 90s. Im surprised they didn't bring up Kyle West, who did the synths for several Al B Sure recordings! That guy made heavy and clever use of the d50, dx7 and the solid bass patch from yamaha's 4op synths that can be heard on several of his recordings from the time. Night and day, Right now from in effect mode, Oooh this love is so, Oooh this jaz is so and I think he might even be the guy who recorded some of the keyboard parts in Jodecy's Forever my lady from the early 90s

[@looneyburgmusic]

Not to knock Eric, and his presets, but the very first thing I did when I bought my first LA-synth was initialize every patch location so I had a "blank slate" to create my own sounds that would be totally unique...

[@roffpoff8221]

D-50 got some DCO's. Is a DCO an analog thing digitally controlled, or pure digital all through? Why not just call it something else than DCO as it assumes something analog?

[@MacXpert74]

The D50 doesn't have DCO's. A DCO is an analog oscillator that's digitally controlled for tuning stability. The waveforms (sound output) in a DCO itself is however created by analog electronics similar to a VCO. The D50 on the other hand is completely digital. Like said in this video it does have analog style waveforms and filter, but they are created digitally much like the virtual analog synths today. It combines these waveforms with PCM samples of short attack transients to create it's unique sound.

[@giuseppmetallic8872]

queen was it all worth it used fantasia sound for the intro also

[@midiman5045]

What I liked still to this day is the keyboard feel.

[@r1canpride]

Thank you guys so much for the history and review on the D-50. I have someone in the area selling one and I've been on the fence. I play in an 80's cover band (Depache Mode, Eurythmics and such). Now it makes perfect sense that this is the route to go! Thanks again and love your videos!

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Have subscribed ;-)

[@rockybalboa2526]

Hi guys, im not sure if i have sent you this particular message before or not? i may have, but i never heard back from either of you. I just found this video here again, and again, becuse i am still looking, i felt i had to ask. I want to know if EITHER OF YOU, live in, around, or not that far away, from NYC? BECAUSE, if you do? i would like to talk more with EITHER OF YOU, about possibly playing synth with/for me, on 3 albums of fresh, new, 80s sounding pop/rock music? And all the opportunities i am offering. IF so? Please get back to me. ~ Thank you

[@mikeanthony718]

when did the roland d70 come out?

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Mike Anthony 1990. (You know www.google.com is a click away, right? ;))

[@moxigeren50gabe23]

Mexican cumbia bands use this staccato haven and Living Calliope on most all their songs back in the lates 80s

[@pcuimac]

I have a D-50 in my V-Synth. ;)

[@DisneyGator]

#51 Glass Voices was used on the Theme of Star Trek: TNG

[@monsterjazzlicks]

The thing which set the 'DX7' (I and II) apart from the 'D50' was that the latter had built-in FX. The poor old 'DX' could not compete in that respect! I only actually owned the former mentioned though.

[@hounDogmusic]

Thanks for doing these..... nice walk down memory lane......must admit though I don't remember all the cutaways in the DX-7 version. Personally I preferred that format, less editing and to me flowed better. rsp

[@jimstout]

They are in the DX7 video as well. This has more Musical examples.

[@ssahakian3KnightGuardian3]

The best keyboard roland D50 I just bought a roland D50 my self my cousin uses it on his international pop band Persian style such a nice keyboard there will never be one like it it’s a special keyboard the best

[@kawamusicdsr2000]

I own a Yamaha PSR A3000 and hope to get D50 sounds on my Yamaha

[@MrRedwoodStudio]

So that's where Ben Liebrand got the start of his In The Air Tonight remix from!

[@mosesbullrush8051]

11:00 "The D-50 can be considered the first digital analogue synthisizer". Correction - the Ensonic ESQ1 was first in 1986.

[@Mrmre]

C'mon guys we want another gear talk video :)

[@tsitracommunications2884]

I got that issue as well

[@DavidBoura]

JD-800 and a top view cam would be great!

[@DavidBoura]

And this video here just reminded me i've got the D50 emulation included in UVI Digital Synsations, that they offered a few months ago. I'm not sure i have all those presets though.

[@MikeAcostaOfficial]

Great suggestion as I do own a JD-800 but some of the keys are out so I may have to use a controller or just do the best we can with a few keys out.

[@DavidBoura]

Nevermind the missing keys! The beast, and you taking us deep in those times, with all the little stories around ^^

[@MikeAcostaOfficial]

Its on our to-do list :)

[@DavidBoura]

Mike Acosta Thanks a lot, i'm willing to see it :)

[@oubrioko]

2:17 That sound is used in the first seven seconds of the intro to the 1988 song: Just A Taste Of Lovin' by Al B. Sure! kzbin.info/www/bejne/noGkgYafa9GaqJI

[@dvamateur]

To make long story short, it says U-50 on the D-70 main circuit board. That should explain everything. Mind you, D-70 had the multimode filters from the S-770 which D-50 didn't have. It also had the DLM which I'd swear that all the "Moog" bass sounds on Michael Jackson's Dangerous album are DLM among many other D-70 sounds on that album. The D-70 was an amazing synthesizer in its own right. There are some internal patches and on the PN-D70-01 ROM card that I would not imagine to be able to reproduce on anything else than the D-70, like those incredible resonant filters magma like bubbles going, I mean, that thing was unreal, or I mean, very real! You know what I mean.

[@jimstout]

We didn't say that the D-70 is a crappy sounding synth. It just didn't have much in common with the D-50.

[@dvamateur]

Jim stout Whew, good :) D-70 is fantastic, except for the key contacts.

[@ariksemagin7220]

It does not: D-70 circuit boards are labeled "D-70" (at least on couple of D-70 I had to open to fix). It's a widely circulated rumor but not true. Wish I took the picture. I had a couple of them, bought first one expecting it to be "Super D-50", another just because it was cheap, like $50, with bunch non-working keys (simple fix, clean key pads with alcohol). Sold both, wasn't impressed at all. So whoever still owns the D-70 can open the bottom panel and look at the circuit boards: D-70!

[@ariksemagin7220]

Key contacts are the simplest fix on Rolands: clean with rubbing alcohol. I fixed one D-50 after very bad coffee spill and a few others (D-10/20, U-20, JV-80/90). Major problem is that you have to dissassemble half of the synth and pull all the keys out to get to contacts, time consuming.

[@dvamateur]

Arik Semagin Yeah, I know. I replaced the LCD backlight in the SY77. You have to disassemble the whole thing. It looks brand new now though. It was worth it. Key contacts I have no patience with. How do they do it at Yamaha? Those keyboards always work.

[@jamieb1342]

JMJ comment: most definitely the Wavestation "ski Jam" patch, not the D50. Also, Janet Jackson is almost entirely JD800, tho I'm sure some d50 is in there.

[@jimstout]

I'm sorry but it is the D-50. I have the patches from JMJ.

[@bladebrown4191]

Yeah Jam & Lewis used some D-50 sounds on Rhythm Nation. "Love Will Never Do" and "Escapade" are good examples.

[@looneyburgmusic]

The D-5/D-10/D-20/D-110/MT-32 are all second generation LA-synths.... Not just "based on LA hype" as you said... All are identical in their sound generating capabilities, and are 100% patch compatiable with each other... They are no more "just digital synths" than the D-50 is. While not as capable as the D-50, (which has the full "LA" engine), they all surpassed the D-50 in some areas - far more PCM samples for sound creation, multi-timbral, and can use twice as many partials per patch as the D-50 can, (8 vs 4), which if used correctly, makes for some amazing patch creating possibilities, (32-partial "Mono-Bass" patch in multi-mode for example...) Also, the U-110 was more related to the "Super-LA" D-70, then the D-50 or any of the 2nd Gen. "D-synths"... As far as the D-70 being nothing like the D-50, I've always looked at the D-70 as what the D-50 would have been if RAM prices had not been so high - with the full length samples, the D-70 has no use for the D-50 "virtual analog" part of the synth engine... I've yet to meet a D-50 patch that I can't recreate on my D-70, (excluding any patches that use the "loop" PCM samples of course), while the D-70 can bury the D-50 for "analog synth" style sounds, and totally destroys it for acoustic style instruments like pianos, strings, brass, ect... It's only real faults, (and why it failed so badly), is the UI, (which can be confusing to beginners), and the CPU design screwup that led to issues like the LFO slowing down under heavy note load...

[@dvamateur]

1Mbyte is a swath of memory. Atari 65XE had 64Kbyte RAM, and you could do all those amazing games on it in assembler. There's an old adage that comes true here, it's not the size of memory that counts, but what you do with it.

[@jimstout]

This is very true.

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Not that I particularly like this synth(!), but the Roland 'U20' would be an interesting discussion, and also your comparisons/viewpoint on it compared to 'D50'. Thanks.

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Please stick with the VINTAGE SYNTHS for a while rather than jump to modern day era hardware. Maybe we could do a video share where I show you my Moogs, DX's and Korgs! lol

[@dvamateur]

Why do you guys automatically assume that analog synthesizers are subtractive and digital synthesizers are FM? There are three major synthesis methods: additive, FM, and subtractive. Each one can be implemented by both an analog synthesizer as well as digital synthesizer. Additive synthesis is simply expensive to implement with analog oscillators, with say 128 additive partials each played by a separate oscillator would cost a fortune. But Hammond organ is analog and does additive synthesis, albeit with no envelopes. Anyway, many analog synthesizers can do FM also, but since analog oscillators are not that stable, the FM is going to fall apart after you modulate more than two oscillators on an analog machine. To get 6 FM oscillators modulating each other and making a usable sound like in the DX7, you need digitally controlled oscillators. Anyway, my point is, it's misleading to newcomers to assume that analog synthesizers are subtractive and digital are FM. Unless the old timers don't know any better either :)

[@jimstout]

We never assumed anything. Why do you??? Thanks for watching.

[@dvamateur]

Jim stout Sorry. It's just whenever I hear oh this is analog and this is digital it makes me nauseous. Everything post 1978 is some sort of hybrid of both one way or another. I find discussion which one is better absolutely pointless.

[@jimstout]

Please see look @ 30:51 and 34:55. We make a point of that twice in this video.

[@dvamateur]

Jim stout Good.

[@jimstout]

So happy you approve.

[@fairlite79]

Begining sound of "Enjoy the silence" is NOT DigitalNativeDance, it's from Emulator II, called "Liquid stacks", which is sampled from the DX7, patch "Stratotron". Listen closely - kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4bbnZudnNyDbbM

It's funny to have a review of 50 on ADSR channel when you know how its hard to simply edit the ADSR on that synth

[@pepinillosazucarados6743]

I SUSPECT THAT THE ATTACK PART OF THE DIGITAL NATIVE DANCE SOUND FROM THE D50 COMES FROM SOME SAMPLED CLAVI PATCH FROM THE DX7

[@theanswer2365]

Korg Triton!

[@snotmale]

I too run a Triton Extreme *and* a Roland JV-1080 and an MT-32 patched and a Alpha Juno and some VST Korg Legacy and VST Mellotron and Hammond C3 - I layer all these sounds!

[@issiewizzie]

The main reason I he Roland D50 burnt out so quickly was the introduction Korg M1

[@BasedFrequency]

my guess is that that will be next weeks topic

[@dvamateur]

It was all very quick progress and advancements back then. The M1 introduced only a year after the D-50, it had 16-bit samples, 4MB ROM, it was multitimbral, it had effects, sequencer, etc. The M1 also looked far more modern and higher end compared with anything else. And the price was right at I believe $2,000. My jaw really dropped when I saw the SY77 though, but it was not a big seller because the price was $3,000. It all comes down to money in sales figures.

[@issiewizzie]

+Andrew Piatek I remember spending my Saturday's and Sunday's just playing with these synths in the music shops in london - the shop assistant must have really hated me for not buying anything. I was blown away by the M1 but sadly the Yamaha SYS 77 just didn't have that wow factor for me . Then the Rowland JV8000 came out ....

[@dvamateur]

+Issie Wizzie Really? Yamaha SY77 had the biggest wow factor on me, it was absolutely fantastic. The M1 seemed old news by that time. The T-series was already about. T1 must have been everybody's ultimate fantasy. I wanted a T2. Then there was the JD-800, then Yamaha VL1. Things were very exciting, until Clavia Nord Lead came out. "analog modeling"??? The must have been kidding.

[@issiewizzie]

+Andrew Piatek Gotcha 😀

[@marguskiis7711]

Massively imported into Soviet Union 1987. Almost every pro musician had D50 in SU after 87.

[@ariksemagin7220]

Yep, cost me more than standard Lada 4-door sedan back then (a Russian copy of FIAT-125)

[@WesslansFilmprod]

Have you guys ever heard a D-50 sound like this? kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZe6pH13Z7SEi5I /Daniel Fletcher of D.S. (a Swedish Synthrock/Synthpop group)