Roland D-10

This is a response to the less than glowing reviews of the sound capability posted earlier.

For its time, this was a very usable synth that had the flavor of the D50 in a smaller footprint and its Midi integration or 'chaining' made it easy to setup. Although it has 'reverb' on front panel, hidden behind, it also has Delay, Plate, Room and Hall, with depth and speed control for each.

A good basic synth, but with he sound engine from the D50, less the effects and additional partials...

The interface is actually quite straightforward, but there are a wealth of functions not accessible from the front panel which further enrich the sounds and expands functionality. I was lucky enough to get the undocumented SYSEX and HEX data from Roland and incorporate it into my setup. As a result, I give this a solid rating.

The onboard sounds are typically Roland stock - and although 20+ years old - you can even hear references to them in later JV modules and even in the Fantom!

!!HOWEVER!! with my work with Steinberg Synthworks I created a comprehensive collection of sound files for the D10/D110/MT32 Roland synths. (Can be applied to D50 also with synthworks)

Contains many patches that the later D synths were famous for and even some emulations of D70 and Yamaha SY77 'misty' pads. Also powerful, clean analogue voices and some good FX tones.

Available as either *.snd file format so that can be easily loaded via the Steinberg Satellite desk accessory on the Atari St or as sysex patches for all platforms.

The Atari St version also comes with other useful desk accessories for the MT32 to enable 'beneath front panel' extension of Reverb functions (full range of digital delay for example) and a 'partials' remapper to any of the 16 midi channels so you never run out of notes on the fullest of pds and exotic voices!

17 sound banks of in excess of 16 patches per bank (depending on type).

Hear some of the effects here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gYeczZgRVsg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp6Oh5jVbII

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZhnyJxfmHg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo9f5V0lA3k

20 years on and solid as always..

Roland were very happy to discuss the expansion of the functionality with me at the time I bought it in 1988. They supplied a lot of technical data too that has resulted in it still being so usable today!

So, I have not only a useful (now classic) Synth, but also a massive (over 800) library of pro studio patches for this and the D10/D110/SC and MT32 engine. You too owe it to yourself to load up your D10 with these modern, powerful synth sounds as they will never be so painstakingly created again...

My collection comprises 17 sound banks of in excess of 16 patches per bank (depending on type) easily uploaded as in either raw sysex or in Steinberg Pro24/Cubase .snd - Mail me for info/your copies.

Let??s admit it.This might have been a usefull synth in 1988, but it has hugely been surpassed by all of its competitors.
The presets are straight-out ugly and completely unuseful,unless you don??t care about sound that much.For a coverband that plays all time favourites on a wedding party,this might be just good enough though.
Editing is horrible,and makes you wonder if somebody can put up the patience for it,as it??s all done with numeric values from 0 to 127, making it a burden to edit sounds,which unfortunately you have to do ,in order to make this synth sound a bit decent.
The manual,as most manuals from Roland,is written by aliens.

The keyboard action is indeed very good,mainly because it dates back to a time when there was no need for restraining costs on hardware,like today.
I think it does inhibit some nice features as well, but lack of transparency and usability made me refuse to go deeper into these matters. Mine came with two extra soundcards:Brass,and drums and bass. Complete rubbish,and unfortunately it started the expansion board hype by Roland,always trying to rip you off with their optional accesories.

As I use it entirely as an master keyboard to steer other gear(the above all oh so lovely DS-330), I got back on the heart of this synth just now and then,only to conclude it is a nightmare of a synthsiser.Since I use it only as a keyboard,I couldn??t care for less.

As stated before,it actually is quite a reliable synth,in that matter,that it is firmly build,and looks cool,very minimalistic.
I bought it second hand from a store, and it wasn??t in a very good condition, so I had some minimal repairs done.
I don??t use anything else than the keyboard, the octave up down button,the midi connector,and the pitch bender/modulator, which all seem to do their job.

Contacting Roland gives me the creeps.period.
For a faillure in velocity on one of the keys,I was send to a regular repair-shop,who was meant to be the official representer for Roland sercices.Laughable,but these people, drownimg in work,repairing mainly old televisions,actually did their job well.

This is not a synth that??s worth buying,if you??re looking for some vintage stuff.It can be usefull as a practice keyboard,or,as in my case,a master keyboard.It has never entered the list of "got to have this", and it never will.Nor is it a collector??s item.The only D series for that matter would be the D 50.It is though,built with quality materials,and therefore does its job.But if you??re looking for a usable 2nd hand synth,I??d definately search for something else.

not that good at all - this kind of old Roland way of changing presets - I used to have Yamaha PSr series keyboards in the past with this fantastic wheel by means of which you could easily change presets in miliseconds - jumping from 1st to 601st. Here it is much more difficult. Not to mention programming - real nightmare. Sounds scattered all around - I lack cathegories, banks - or whaterver you call it.

polyphony is not a problem here, effects are very difficult to use - forget using them in real time - while playing. Keyboard action is plastic fantastic - but what to expect - it is low budget synth.

Worst of all I have heards. I bought it becasue I read opinions of other users here. That was a mistake. What I looked for was portable, small keyboard with some organ sounds mainly. When you read opinions here people say all possible superlatives about organ presets at D10 - this is all rubish - do not believe it. Organ sounds are cheap and sound funny - compared to regular PSR 530 keyboard they are very poor.
Not to mention pianos - I lack words to say how terrible these are. And even electric pianos - they all suck. Some leads form the 80s are right - but these are easy to make. So this must not be an excuse for Roland - people from ROland you blew this machine.

good and heavy always ready for action - nicely assembled - after so many years lookls cool.

na

almost a junk - but cool looking and well built. Useless as a keyboard on gigs.

never used it

d 10 has basic sounds it can get boring easy so not for the extroverts ha ha you know who you are you people persons ha ha

This synth is very easy to use...Once you get to know it. I got the manual, but i have learned to know it without the manual.
But i have to say in the long run, the Yamaha DX7 is more easy to program, and has a better program system. But i've read that it's so hard to program the DX7, i don't think so...So maybe it is easier to program the D10.
The preset sounds are great. EXEPT FOR STRINGS AND ORCHESTRAS, they suck!!!
But pads, leads, brass, bass, synth, organs, pianos and other stuff is just awsome!
It also has this Van Halen-Jump brass sound in it, haha.
For 80's music, it's awsome!

The keyboard action is great, the MIDI works fine and the effects give a very nice sound to it. But i can't seem to find out how to get the delay away from the drums...Exept to plug it into my DX7. Hmmmm.
I think it has expansion cards for more memory and new sounds.

This synth reacts very good to velocity.
The instruments are ace, exept for strings!! But you could always get a cheap sound card to get good strings.
I found it works best for 80's rock and 80's synth pop, and basicly just about anything 80's, haha.

I would use this synth no matter what gig it was....But if it was at a football stadium with 60.000 peoples...I would use my DX7 as a backup. But i doubt it would be nessescary. Instead i would use my DX7 as the piano synth for those ballads.

I got this synth with two broken keys, so i ordered to spare keys from Roland. And there several WEEKS to late!!!
Im beginning to doubt wether they will come or not at all.
But in the meantime, 'ive borrowed another D10. Wich im basing this review on.

If this synth was stolen, i would buy it again ASAP! I've ben playing all my life since i was alittle kiddo. but im not a synth man. Im better at guitar, and guitar is what i love to play. But piano is pretty cool to, you know, just to have in the studio when you need to play it.
I choose to get this synth only becouse it was from the 80's. I ONLY buy equippment from the 80's...exept for computers though.
It's been very helpfull to record my music. Even though i don't really use it on ballads, i use my DX7 for that. But for rock songs, the D10 is THE synth for me to use.

I kind of rew up with my d-10. Gigged it loads with an old korg DW and an M1. Liked the realism of the sounds but I guess that depends on what pa you used. Patch editing for me was always hit and miss so I tried it and then went back to presets. The manual was ok but couldn't help me understand editing. Basic editing was fine until I started changing waves etc. But simply as a keyboard, it's so easy.

The polyphony is fine and adequate. I bought an expansion card - did anybody else. These must be rare now - I never used mine. The dum machine is brilliant and I've always liked it. Wouldn't use it live but for home use its adequate.

I think the realism of the d10 is pretty good. Piano isn't realistic but which were in those days. Organ sounds good even today as do some strings and there's some juno synth patch that you can double and play around a little bit with and you've got Van Halen jump and i founds the sound for 1984. Always liked it for this. Also got a techno type sound that Sash(?) would love!!

Yes. Have gigged with it no probs. But hey, its getting old now so just like a 10 year old M1 or whatever, it might be an idea to play it safe!!

Cannot comment.

Err no. I'd probably move on and try this Juno-D or sommething different. Do like the D-10. Good down to earth synth. I may have wished for a sequencer on it. The drum machine is amazing and I'm suprised a lot of competitors don't have similar. The only thing I don't like about mine is that the keys have started squeaking badly but having been gigged in three bands (+studio) and used endlessly in the bedroom(!) I've had my moneys worth.

Logic Pro5
VERY easy to use.
Presets are fine.
Did'nt experiment too much once i mucked up one of the Bass Guitar sounds . .Damn!
The manual is 1st class, anyone who chucked it out is a fool.

Too many 'nerdy" questions here.
Just switch the thing on, and play.

For its time the sounds are great, lets not forget, it is a "Synth"
Not a bloody Steinway.
And 20 years on, it can still be a useful tool to create your own material.

It has never let me down.
Could you use any instrument, without back? Hmmm me thinks NOT!

Never had to deal.
Nope!

Having read some "Negative" comments from other owners, i think that the "tone" of their input, suggests that they think they are too good to even breathe the same air as the rest of us.
The sounds on this Synth are great, who are these bods that think that they can judge this product with the attitued that they know best! . . .they need to get out more.
To sum up, this synth does what it was designed to do, no more,no less ADIOS.

As far as you have understood what's the "timbre" and "tone", things will be easier. Editing very "push button".

Bought in 1988, 8 note polyphony (4 oscilators). Nice reverb sound but lacks chorus (any Eff Proc with chorus is cheap now).
Has drum machine, very basic, but can be useful sometimes - even to copy its patterns to any other equipment. Light keyboard. Never let me down and has been serviced recently (keys and pots). Nice friend. No GM/GS compatibility - not useful for midifiles.

LA synthesis was nice in 1988 but PCM waves don't go through TVF (Time Variant Filter). Ok then use Synth waves - square/Sawth -.
Presets were nice, multipurpose, but when edited you can have very good results. A chorus is needed for some colour in the sound.
I always pick presets and edit them.

Neve let me down. Payed 130? in 1989 for M256 but never needed it.
It looks as new (I protect my investments).

Have dealt with Roland Oficcial Technician/Service. No problem, not expensive.

Nice friend, and if it were stolen/damaged, I'd buy a D-110 (have to many keyboards). Have it for 18 years.

This was the original version, bought in 1988, pre D20 (Chris Williams, you haven't done your homework). It was my first ever performance synth, so can't rate it against anything. The sounds were quite lush, plenty bass & at the time in the sub #1000 bracket the keyboard was peerless. There were two manuals supplied, both reasonably clear & concise. I was comfortable with all aspects of operation within a matter of a week.

32 voice polyphony, though realistically this was 10 keys, less if you used the drum machine. Reverb & delays built in, with limited capacity but enough to soften everything.
All aspects of MIDI were supported except for volume send (it received it though). This was frustrating, because I had a hardware sequencer, & could not force this to happen.
No onboard sequencer for notes, as the D-20 came out later, but there was a sequencer for the drum machine.

Most of the sounds were reasonably realistic below C5. Fine for most types of music, though I noticed during recording there was a bit too much noise overhead. The keyboard wasn't weighted, which suited me fine. Velocity sensitive, but no aftertouch (that was still a new feature on the best keyboards at the time)

The only thing that ever went wrong was the control panel keys became sticky over time. No other problems I can remember.

Never spoke to them. I regret ever having sold the unit, it was a fine writing & performance tool. I'd buy another if I came across one for the right price (ie what I had in cash in my pocket).

Like I said, at the time it was peerless. The ability to have 8 different channels, plus drums, made it possible to completely program a band for backing, and the relative ease of use made it fairly painless. Expensive at the time, though, and it was overtaken in the technology stakes fairly quickly. I didn't regret the purchase, ever. Why anyone would want to just give one away is beyond me - unless of course you have a brace of better instruments & don't mind throwing away money.

Basic operation of the Roland D-10 in 'preset-mode' is a very simple affair. Instead of having to type in a three digit MIDI number, you've got two rows of eight buttons - one for the bank, the other for the individual program within that bank. There are two main banks of 64 sounds, each main bank then subdivided into a further eight banks with eight programs in each.
A drum programmer is also provided and comes with about 32 ROM patterns, and then space for 32 of your own custom designed patterns. I have yet to program my own loops to use in the drum programmer but it looks like a pattern is one bar long, and you can chain together different patterns to achieve the effect of drum fills, build ups and break downs. This is quite a nice feature as it allows you to jam to a drum track without all the hassle of cheesy auto-bass-chord stuff you'd find on a home keyboard. The preset drum loops are also mainly eight beats and 16 beats so you'll sound like a rock act rather than dance or cheesy home organ (there are a couple of Bossanovas and Sambas though!)
Edit mode is a bit more tricky. I've only had this keyboard a week and not really had much of a chance to start building my own programs with it yet. I can say that it's less obvious than the Yamaha DX7 because the panel controls do not say what their edit functions are. I have found out that there are two types of editing: one to edit the patch, and the other to edit the tone. I assume that to create custom programs from scratch - it's something to do with tone editing. Patch editing involves higher level functions such as the transpose, split points, layering and the sounds you want to split or layer.

In 'Whole' or, more familiarly what is often termed 'Single' mode these days, you've got 32 notes of polyphony to play with. This is quite a lot, and pretty good for a keyboard that was released in 1988. However, the synth is up to eight-parts multi-timbral so this could cut it right down to only being able to play four notes at once. Many sounds in performance mode layer at least two sounds together so you can play upto 16 notes at the same time.
The keyboard itself is of the light plastic type, rather than the semi-weighted keyboards like the Yamaha DX7 or the Korg 01w. However, I can't imagine these key mechanisms ever suffering from the 'sticky key' problem that some keyboards have, no matter how much gunk gets in between them.
The D-10 accepts RAM cards inserted at the rear panel which expands the total number of programs available at any one time.
The synth has full MIDI implementation over eight simultaneous MIDI channels with velocity sensitivity but not aftertouch. The lower row of program select buttons on the front panel act as MIDI status LEDs so you can see which channels are active. The lights react quickly so even if a fast passage is playing the lights will flicker rather than just stay on. There is no onboard sequencer on the D-10.

Hmmm... some of the presets are questionable. The Roland D series uses LA (Linear Arithmetic) synthesis that combines digital sampling with traditional analogue synthesis. For some of the sounds this works quite well, like synth bells and chimes, but for others such as *some* of the piano sounds, the combination of analogue and digital does not gel together well and you get the impression of hearing two distinct sounds as a composite rather than one coherent sound. The chorusing sound evident in acoustic instruments which the Yamaha DX7 could emulate so well is also more difficult on the D-10 so while your attack might be more realistic, the decay side of the envelope is much more static in the absence of the complex feedback loops and timbral changes that the DX7 handled with ease.
What the D-10 is pretty good at is analogue strings and pads, none other than prog A11. The analogue waveforms you get are Pulse and Saw - both used for creating string sounds on a traditional analogue synthesizer. The lead sounds and atmosphering bell sounds are also rather nice, and I quite like the vox sounds too. Also, the rock organ sounds are absolutely amazing! Bass sounds aren't so brilliant on the D-10 - the Yamaha DX7 has a much tighter bottom end. Although in the factory presets there are probably only a handful of sounds that are really good, this suggests that the tone generator is capable of a whole new array of good sounds that can only be accessed by learning the programming interface.
What makes the D-10 sound more modern than the Yamaha DX7, and what is definitely cool about the D-10 is its built in effects processor which helps to add gloss and animation to the sounds which is so essential in studio recordings. This synth features five different reverbs and three different types of delay - the variations basically being related to the time (reverb one is short while reverb 5 can be very long).

This is well made. The whole body is metal. The base and underneath of the keys is steel, and the front and rear panels are black brushed aluminium. It's only half the weight of a DX7 at eight kilos but it still feels pretty sturdy. My only dislike is being able to hear the sound of the springs in the keys echoing around the unit, and I was never a fan of trailing power leads...

Never dealt with Roland so I can't comment on this aspect.

This keyboard was an absolute bargain for the price I paid for it. Not only was it cheap but because the previous owner had owned it since new and never gigged it, it was still in near mint condition with only a few very minor dings in the finish.
If it were lost or stolen I'm not sure at this stage whether I'd get a replacement. I haven't become as attached to this keyboard as quickly as I did with the DX7, but I do think that the on-board drum programmer is a huge plus for jamming and creating ideas to later record in a more serious manner.

Other stuff:
Yamaha DX7
Korg 01/wFD
MicroKORG
Yamaha DJX
Casio CT-101
Evolution MK-125
Yamaha PSS-470
Oberheim MC1000
Technics EX-50
Ibanez GSR200
Yamaha PAC112
J&D 5-String Bass
Fostex VF08
Behringer MX2004A
Boss PW2
Boss RV5
Boss DD3
Boss CH1

It is harder for me to go to the bathroom than use this synth. But we have become one; my grandmother bought it for me for my bar mitzvah. She is now dying of emphysema. The buttons are gumming up after all these years. But that's all the problem I have with it right now. As I approach thirty, it doesn't matter so much anymore--my own buttons are gumming up!

The marvelous D-10 keyboard is a black box of inspiration, wonder and PCM samples. I believe that the saw and square waves are actually analogue--but I could be wrong. Nonetheless, the string sounds I get from it sound a billion times better than my Proteus 2000. Damn! This is features, not sounds. I guess I'm fired from my D-10 review.

To Review the D-10 is to review my very flesh and blood. Through many years it was my only friend in the whole world. They have questions here, maybe I should focus that and eschew sentimentality. The onboard effects are great, in the larger sense. What I mean to say, is that they are, technically, audiophiliacally bad. So, in a limited sense, they are awful. But in the grand scheme of things they have great, noisy personalities that shine through every track. Roland has always had the best sounding digital synths, D-10 is no exception. There is great fun to be had with the ring modulator. DX7, eat your fish-heart out.

Can you depend on the sun? Can you depend on the utter corruptibility of the human heart? I'd sooner depend on the D-10 than on God. Dependability? In the ten plus years of constant use my D-10 has had to be repaired but once. ONCE! And I am a very sloppy, angry keyboardist. I'd sooner back-up myself than the D-10.

I have no opinion on this issue. I never needed customer support. They sent me a free magazines for years. It would be humorous to see those old articles on Hall and Oates, etc.

If my d-10 was stolen or lost...
I don't know what I'd do. I might just give up music for good. I mean, I don't know exactly what to do with myself sometimes anyways--but then I find the D-10 when I get home and it is just me and it. Gost, that's sentimental. But, what can I say. For awhile I had an E-mu ESI sampler, and the two of them got along very well. But then the ESI died. In the meantime, as I mentioned earlier, I picked up an E-mu Proteus 2000. I use the 2000 much more now only because I really like huge bombastic textures. Shamefully I must admit that I use the d-10 primarily as a controller. But! But! It is always there under my fingers, reminding me of all the years, those melancholy years through highschool and college, alone alone alone, just me and D-10. Me and a handful of PCM notes and a ring modulator that didn't always work right. There I sat for years and years, hunched over, formulating warbly sounds, composing sentimental melodies over Depeche Mode beats, our conductress that grand Dame, Ms. Alesis MMT-8 sequencer. OH! Those years will never be back. Now everything has to go through a filter. Every melody, every break, every everything is swooped up and down a lowpass, a midpass, a high pass--up and down, down and up, wip wip wip wip bloop bleep bloop! Aie! I can never escape it. I hear too. Up and down, down and up. I should return to my roots. Burn the proteus. Excise my softsynths. GONE GONE GONE!!!!

Never had a manual for my roland D 10 but I think one would come in handy, also I do not know the software version or how to find out. It's whatever came on it. Patching the sounds isn't too hard, takes a while to get used to this synths layout, but you can change the pitch, reverb, split point (for using multi instrument sounds), and a gang of other stuff that I cant remember at the moment. You also are able to control the pitch bend knob (a whammy bar for a synth basically) and what it controls on the synth, IE- pitch, reverb, ect ect. I liked that feature alot.

I love the fact that this synth had midi in and out, and aux in and out, and a headphone port. The midi comes in handy for software such as reason, or nuendo, and there's a ton of software synths that you can plug in to via midi. The keyboard plays great, the sensitivity of the keys is pretty close to a real piano. the harder you press the key, the louder the note. Can expand the soundbank via cards (which are hard to find)and through midi somehow (never found out how to do so) Onboard sequencer is a bit difficult to get familiar with, but once you figure it out you can actually make some crazy stuff with it.

Already noted were the organ sounds, they're aweswome. Also, the piano sounds are not bad at all, most of the isntruments sounds decent, i'd give most a 7 or 8 out of 10 . Could be a little sharper but not bad for how old the equipment is. Onboard effects "sound effects?" It has some sound effects, but I was dissapointed at how limited this soundbank was. My dissapointment was removed when I found out about "software" synths that the roland works great with via midi, on my pc.
Endless sounds and possibilities with these. I use this synth mostly for hip hop, drum n bass, speedcore, and trip hop type music. On it's own I could see it being used for jazz or in a noisy indie rock band definitely. Get an external midi to usb and a laptop, then your possibilities are endless.

This Synth has never failed me or done anything bizzare, one key sticks but I think it's because there's something in there (prob. compliments of my 2 year old) which I need to clean out.
I'd definitely do a show with it. It's built like a tank.

Never had to contact roland for anything, I never had a manual either, this keyboard is made out to be harder than it really is.
No upgrades and never had to have it repaired.
This synth ROCKS.

If I lost my roland I would definitely get another one at some point, though they're quite hard to come by.
I've been playing for a year or so, using this roland for about 7 months in various ways to help me make beats and music.
The only thing I don't like about this synth is that it's so damn heavy... But it's very durable as a result of it's weight, so it evens out. I also wish I had a manual.
I love it's compatability with my soundcard and all software that i've run it through. It's never not worked.
I can't really compare it because this is the 1st synth i've owned, but i've played others and read up on others and for the price, this isn't bad at all. I do wish it had better drum samples, and more of them at that, it's seriously lacking in that department, but that's what SP's are for. haha.
I'd say the Roland D 10 definitely helps with music making, if you can get past the akward interface then you've got yourself a piece of great musical equipment.

I'd love to know how to add patches and such and find out how to access different things in the synth that I might not know about if anyone knows.

The presets on this keyboard aren't to good. Considiring its age they still aren't good. I'm a church musician and I bought this keyboard because I was desperate for a professional style synth. The only thing good up their was the organs and the leads weren't to bad. But you can get a better piano sound out of a $100 dollar radioshack keyboard. Editing isn't to hard. You won't need a manual. I never had a manual and I move around the board pretty easily.

As I said before the sounds suck. Unless you are just buying the synth for an organ sound. The leads are straight but I heard better. If I were to compare this keyboard to another it would have to be a beginner one from radioshack.

I wouldn't use this keyboard in a gig without a backup. I don't think I would use this keyboard at all. When I bought it had something wrong internally but the out side was in good condition. I got it fixed which ran me almost 70 dollars. It really wasn't worth it.

It wasn't hard to get my D-10 fixed. I just brought it in to my local Roland Dealer (MCfayden Music) and they shipped it in to get it fixed.

Overall this keyboard doesn't meet any of today's standards. I would pay someone to steal mine. I really wouldn't recommend this keyboard to anyone

Just got mine off ebay and its my first.Need rewiring instruction so I can set up for 220. Came with plug end missing. I will fix this one myself, just need some tech advice on wire color code"( which is the pos and which nuetral)". The schematic for the transformer prongs
are not clear and I need exact connect point for the switch from 240 over to 220. Does anybody know what I'm talking about or where I could get the support I need? Your help would be much appreciated.

Other than the end plug missing this board looks to be in near mint condition. This was purchased to form a home school of rock for my teenage daughters and friends. They are chomping at the bit ton get this project underway. Looking for as much free links to tech side of
repair and set up of an entire recording studio and band set up. Help a Dad out!!!

N/A

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Tried rolands site but only got usual new product links. No personal suport to used and older instruments.

Maybe or something simular to it. Under $200. is the limit set. There
is plenty for sell at that price used.

The D-10 is obviously a cheap D-50 with about half the punch. Most of the presets are unusable by today's standards with the exception of some of the organs perhaps. The rest of the sounds are too thin unless used with another synth filling them out. Pretty easy to find your way around this puppy. Manual? HA ha! Throw it away. I was given this keyboard bec the owner just did not want it anymore - what does that tell ya? I will rate it as easy to use though.

The polyphony on this machine is ok - I think it is 32 notes. Effects arnt bad if you like chorus or reverb. Nothing else. It accepts the standard D series cards like you have read before. Sorry, it wont read your D-50 cards. It has a nifty little drum machine built in to it and this is about the only redeeming feature of this keyboard. The drum sounds are cheesy but can be used in some recordings if over laid with samples or something. It is EASY!!! to program.

Even for its time, this keyboard is lame. I'm not joking here. It has some interesting pads and weird loops and noises. Still just too thin to hold their own. The keyboard is quite light and plastic and does not have a patch on the D-50. However, the D-50 is not multitimbral like this keyboard so go figure.

I have found that sometimes sections of keys on the keyboard just wont work as well as some problems with the machine booting up. It just freezes and you have to try two or three times to start it. I would not gig with this machine - Just use it as a door stop in the studio.

Ha! Its Roland man!

Hey, seriously? If you were new to the scene and found one of these real cheap, buy it because it would be a good first synth type thing. If it was stolen or lost, I dont think I would care really although I still pull it out now and then and jam on it with the drum machine going to remind me of the good ole times. This machine is very average and is possibly the weakest link in my arsnel. Dont be fooled because if you put this side by side with a D-50 you will be amazed at how junky it sounds.

Originally, I play the piano and guitar, and am a complete novice on the field of synthesisers, so it took me a couple of weeks to figure out the basic principles. Compared to what I see at musical equipment of friends though it is a pretty simple machine.

The sounds I like best are the organ sounds, and there are quite a few of them, but it features also a lot of sounds which are too peculiar to use. I like the split keybard very much, as I do the rithm section.

It is pretty sensitive, and the action is way too light for me. The sound is a bit thin, but I use a Twin Reverb or a Pignose for amplification, so I get surprisingly close to the desired Jimmy Smith/Barfly sountrack sound.

Although it is a pretty old machine, and you have to push some buttons real hard, it never broke down.

Never had any problems.

It is a nice sounding, relatively cheap machine that, properly amplified, gives a fat, bluesy organ sound. The action is way to light for any real honkytonk pianoplaying though. The money I spent on it is not wasted.

Generally speaking, the D-10 is fairly easy to use for those who don't venture far from the factory presets. The MIDI implementation is pretty well thought out, and the sound set includes a good meat-and-potatoes selection, as well as a some more "out-there" ones.

For those of you who are programmers, the instrument becomes a little more complex (as any synth would), but it is still manageable. Editing is hindered slightly by the cramped LCD, but this is offset some by the use of the front panel controls.

Let's take a trip back in time to 1987. Roland introduced the D-50. It was revolutionary in the sense that it did something that very few other synths at that time did: it merged sampled attack transients with subtractive analog waveforms to produce more realistic acoustical sounds as well as a whole new generation of synthetic timbres. Roland called it Linear Arithmetic (or L/A) Synthesis. It reigned for a year as the king of the hill, and its signature sound flooded the market.

Then 1988 came, and with it came the Korg M1. The M1 took Roland's L/A Synthesis, renamed it Advanced Integrated (AI) and added multi-timbral capability and a sequencer to make a powerhouse synth that took the hill away from the D-50. The M1's only weaknesses were its lack of polyphony (16-voices) and the lack of a floppy drive to store sequencer files.

Roland introduced the D-20 to compete with the M1. They were forced by the economics of the proposition to make some tradeoffs. The D-20 added the disk drive and double the polyphony of the M1, but they made some sacrifices in terms of sound architecture to bring the D-20 down to the price point Roland was aiming at.

Then Roland stripped the disk drive and the sequencer out of the D-20 to introduce the D-10, attempting to make the D-series sound more accessible to entry-level players.

For a synth that was introduced circa 1990, the D-10 was rather nondescript. It had no expansion capabilities, save a memory card slot. It has velocity, but no aftertouch.

The D-20 was developed with a purpose - to compete with the M1 - which it didn't do all that well at. The D-10 was more of a tagalong with no real market emphasis. The only player it would seriously appeal to was someone who already had some some sort of sequencer.

The effects on board are simple - a reverb and a delay, which is one reason why it never got up the hill to take down the M1, which sported distortion, exciters, and many other effects.

If you have other synths and are looking for a basic multi-timbral unit to flesh out your arrangements some, the D-10 might be for you. If you want to use it by itself, don't do it. It doesn't have the guts to fly solo.

As I stated earlier, when Roland tried to send the D-series out to rumble with the M1, they had to make some tradeoffs. On of the sacrifices they made was trimming some fat from the sound architechture, which proved to be the fatal flaw. What made the M1 such a killer synth in spite of its lack of polyphony was the fact that it sounded awesome. Roland added the polyphony back into the equation, but skimped on the sound quality. The effects help some, but the raw materials to be had just don't cut it very well.

I own this model of synth, and I have used it to a good deal of success, but only because I have several other synths that camouflage the thin sound of the D-10.

The one strong point of the D-10 is that it is more or less a tank. I have had mine for nine years, and in that time it has had a guitar amp fall on the keys, and it has survived a six-foot drop off a stage. It has its share of road wear, as it has seen about 1000 hours of live stage performance, and 4000 hours of studio time and rehearsals. I have never had to have it in the shop, and aside from a few surface scratches and one button that requires a special touch to operate, it is in fine working order.

I would not use it by itself at a gig only because of the sound quality.

Never had to have it in the shop.

If I had to replace the D-10, I would not buy another one. I say this only because for the price to replace it there are so many other synths that do twenty times more (such as the Alesis QS6.1, and the Korg N5ex).

I wish it had better sounds, but I'm processing it through a Lexicon Reflex effects unit which I have MIDI mapped to the D-10's program changes, which thickens it up a bit.

As far as the D-20/D-10 original mission (to compete with the M1), they did not succeed well. What Roland ended up with (at least in my estimation) was a jack of all trades and master of none.

Performanace and multi-timbral functions are fairly straight forward, but programming patches is a little clumsy (though pretty typical of such interfaces).

The polyphony is pretty useable (typically 12-16 notes), even in multi-timbral mode. Start using some of the lush pads that hog voices, however, and notes will start dropping from your sequenced rhythm section.

The keyboard is typical non-weighted plastic, which works fine for me. The velocity sensistivity also seems to be pretty even (no big jumps in volume when striking gradually harder).

The reverbs and delays are pretty clean and have only a few parameters, so there easy to use, although only one effect is active at a time.

There are a slew of ROM cards out there (and free SysEx files on the Web, including Roland's site), so sounds abound. The ROM card sounds are not selectable via MIDI, so using the D-10 for sequencing (which I do), requires the sounds you want to be loaded into internal memory. I have banks of SysEx that I load via Cakewalk for my projects.

The LA-synthesis engine produces tones similar to the old Yamaha DX series FM synthsizers. No real good fat analog sounds with the D-10.

The amount of pitch bend delivered by the bender lever is patch-specific. This has been a bit of a frustration for me while composing. I record a track where I bend a note an octave, later switch the patch for the track, and the controller amount only bends the note a fifth on the new patch. This may be true of every synth ever made, I don't know. Too bad MIDI doesn't record the note values for pitch wheel rather than amount of wheel "travel".

I bought mine used, and have had it about 11 years now. It is my only synth. A few years back it would often lock up on power-up, but an inexpensive CPU upgrade at an authorized service center cleared that up.

Construction is pretty sturdy.

Haven't dealt with Roland US directly. No opinion there. The authorized service center (Paul Morte Technical Services in Orange, CA) did great work at a resonable price.

I've only owned two other synths: A Sequential Circuits Pro-One and a Roland Juno 106, so take my review with a pound of salt.

If I were to replace my D-10, I'd probably get something else, mostly because I've been using it for so long, and I'm due for something newer and different.

I got the D-10 for composing via sequencing. At the time I got it, it offered the best multi-timbral features for my budget. 11+ years I'm still using it, and haven't been obsessed with replacing it.

The D-10 is limited to 8 parts (plus a rhythm track) multi-timbral, but that's about all the polyphony will handle anyway.

All-in-all I'd say the D-10 is a great for composing simple arrangements (don't plan on composing any symphonies with this -- unless the D-10 will cover only 4 or 5 of the instruments in your orchestra). These days, I probably wouldn't pay more than $500 for it, just because there is newer, better, used gear to be had out there for $800+.

It has the standard late-eighties 'one slider and two rows of eight buttons' interface, but it's not all that hard to use with practise and you can get editors for it quite easily. The manual is fairly nice, with an excellent section on the MIDI specification.

It's an LA synth, so it combines a simple synth section (square and sawtooth waves only, resonant filter, neat keyboard scaling effect so you can play it 'left handed'), with a then-revolutionary set of samples. It has 32 partial polyphony, although in use this can range from 4 notes (for a big whoosy sound in performance mode) to, more typically, 12-16 in multi-timbral mode. The effects section is limited (some nice, crisp reverbs and delays, easy to use), but then again it was one of the first keyboards to have built-in effects. The keyboard action is very light, not piano-like at all, and it doesn't have aftertouch (the velocity sensitivity is quite good, though, and responds well to light touches). There are lots and lots of expansion cards for it, and the sounds are compatible with the D-5, the D-20, and the MT-32. Full MIDI implementation, nice and fast, no problems with a slow CPU. It has a nice drum sequencer as well - it's easy enough to use and fairly unexceptional. By far the best thing about the synth is the way that the panel lights flash whenever they recieve MIDI input. In the dark it looks wonderful.

The presets are very 'D-50 LA synthesis' - lots of ethereal-sounding chimes, excellent 'chiffy' flutes, and some spectral loops which you can't do with other synthesizers very well. Unlike other synthesizers this has both a sample-playback section and a simple subtractive sequencer (in other words, it isn't just a sample playback/filter device), although you can't filter the samples, tragically enough. With some effort you can make some nice synthy noises, but it's not brilliant for acidy analogue-type sounds. That said, the organs are utterly excellent, some of the samples are great (despite being mono, 12-bit companded PCM), and it can do things with square waves that other synths can't.

It's quite relable, solidly-made out of metal, it feels cold, and it's very heavy. According to some reports the keyboard can play up, but I haven't experienced that myself.

Roland customer support is notoriously superlative, although nothing has gone wrong for me to call them yet.

Although it doesn't sound great on paper (a stupid way to listen to a synthesizer anyway), I like mine. It's simple and fun to play with, the keyboard is nice, and it's quite cheap too (although you might as well save up a bit more and buy an M1 or something like that). Some of the presets are peculiar to this family of instruments and you don't hear them elsewhere (the classic 'digital native dance', for example).