Roland D-2

The D2 is very easy to use.. its a very basic unit, there are no faders or pots to control yr sound. The D2 uses a D-filed controller wich work quite allright. I dont use it much because I control the unit with a Yamaha Rm1x.. I use the knobs and sequencer of the yamaha..
Editting patches is not very in depth on the unit itself.. if you want to edit yr patches you're better off using the mc-505 editor I heard.. I didnt tried it becuase I use it standalone, I work without a PC.

Sounds are okay. I expected them to be better as I read that the D2 usues the same jv-quality sound engine as the mc-505.

Polyphony is 64 voice.. effects are good. The delay is excelent. I use long delays when I produce progressive/tech-house stuff and it sounds great (tempo-delay)
Filters a quite okay, you can choose 1 of the 4 filter types per sounds...
The unit has no data card slot or other storage capability. I dump my memory over midi in my rm1x and then save it to floppy disk.

I have the D2 only for 3 months but I think its quite reliable. I havent gigged with it tough.. I would take a back-up disk with me if I ever had the chance to gig. Just in case...

Didnt need customer support

Its a very cheap unit wich is capable of a lot.. I bought it as a souns expansion mudule and I made the right choice. I dont think I can buy anaything better for this price.. I looks great too..

This box takes a lot of time to get familiar with. I do not edit patches (too time consuming) but I imagine that it will be difficult with the extremely simple calculator-style display.

The sound bank is enormous for such a little box. I think there are 600 or so decent patches which make this box a much better value than the half rack sound modules (XV1010 and such).

The included sounds lean toward dance and techno styles but you can still find some of your basics (like piano, strings, horns, etc.)

My favorite feature of this box is the ability to create a pattern (or song) and use the D-beam like a DJ uses a turn table to speed up/slow down, play in reverse, etc.

The features of this little groove box come pretty close to Roland's XP line of synths. It's just harder to get at all of the features. There is an on-board sequencer. One of the nicest things is the D-field. It is a touch pad that can be used to simulate a record player, tweak filter and modulation parameters and play like a fingertip keyboard.

If you need some additional, just plug in a midi keyboard and away you go. I use an Oxygen controller.

Seems solid. I only use in my home studio.

Never called so I give Roland a 10 in this category for making something that is reliable and can be figured out given enough attention.

I love this box. Maybe I am biased because I really like the Yamaha DX200 too. But, it does a few things that the big keyboards just don't. So, to me, the D-beam feature makes it a great piece to add to your collection - especially when the stores are running closeout prices right now.

Kind of clunky...

Excellent quality of sound though the sounds themselves were somewhat dated...

Didn't seem like there was much to go wrong with the unit. Solid piece of plastic but a bit light.

N/A

A great unit if you have the time to learn all of its features and methods to get to them. I returned it after 2 days to the Guitar Center and decided to stick with my SP-303 sampler instead. The sampler is a far better piece of equipment. The D-2 seemed like a hard-wired piece of equipment that made the same noises that my computer does - albeit with a better user control surface. Stick with your computer unless you actually do LIVE work - otherwise, it will drive you nuts.