Roland D-50

I purchased my D-50 brand new in the late '80's. In 1991, I sent for the "SCREAMIN' B3" organizer series card from VALHALA. The patches are excellent, and I started to leave my heavy Hammond and leslies at home.
My wife and I play as a duo all over Southern Ontario, and use the D-50 as a lead instrument and a Roland E-30 Intelligent Synth. as a back-up "band". Through an excellent stereo P.A. system, we still sounds great, even though we are using outdated synths. We realize that there are better sounds out there to be purchased, but we have used these synths for so long, that they are second nature to our show, and we do not have to think about how to use them, leaving more enegy to creativity.
The manual has been filed for over 12 years. It was very too time consuming to completely master, as was the editing.

The action is very good. If you have one of these machines, then you know the difficulty in mastering the midi. I tried hooking the two keyboards together at first with midi, but, again didn't have the time to figure it out, so,... Besides, when I did have them linked, there was an annoying LAG in transfer.

Great sounds! We play for such a cross section of audiences that we need some traditional sounds, as well as the :- "of or relating to the regions beyond the earth b : CELESTIAL, HEAVENLY c : UNWORLDLY, SPIRITUAL" sounds for which the D-50 is famous. For traditional sounds with a flair, the organs are super, I like the sweet vibes, calliope, horns, horns and strings, rich-bones. Pianos suck, so I lean towards the elctric ones. I like the PCM on the original sound card. Strings seem to be too digital.
For wilder shows, the stereo pad, stacat. heaven, spacy voices are wonderful

It's been reliable for the dozen+ years of live gigs so far. I had Roland replace the internal battery 6 or 7 years ago. From what I've read in other reports here, it should be good for years to come. I'm actually starting to get finger wear marks and indentations from repeated use in areas on the snyth. The touch sensitivity messes up, and right now a "B" note in the upper range is extremely loud. An A flat note was doing that several years ago, but self-corrected. This doesn't seem to be going away. I haven't tried to take it apart to fix it,...perhaps someone could e-mail me with a step by step safe way to do it, or I'll take it to Roland.

See battery replacement in previous slot.

If it were lost or stolen, would I buy it again or get something else?.... Probably get a newer synth. Is it worth what you paid? Yes, even though it was expensive for me.

the presets were great when it was new on the market, I got myself an Atari Dr.T editor for the D-50 as well as for my D-110 at the time. this machine is packed with parameters that need some editing tool.

16 voices with two oscillators is ok. keyboard is good but be aware of the velocity switches under the keys. they get dirty over the years and force you to take it apart for cleaning. (3 times since 1988).the FX's are outdated and primitive but have one reverb and two modulation FX's. one for upper & one lower Tone. Midi sends out note off velocity that disturbs some sequencer programs.

thanks to all modulation parameters I've made some great string sounds, filter sweep, e.pianos and brass patches on it. it is a bit dirty and noisy. with pedal, pitch bend and after touch the expresiveness is wonderfull, though.

the keyboard switch was the only problem with it until the power unit broke down two months ago.

the technical support was good here in sweden.

the sounds I've made on it are now emulated by my soft synth Vaz Modular. the last two years it's only been a master keyboard at home.
It's very old so I've replaced it with a newer keyboard. a Roland JP-8000 or some other virtual hardware synth is a good replacement to me.

This is not the easiest synth to program, thats for sure. However, underneath the messy user interface lies a simple but powerful digital synthesizer. If you know what kind of sound you want it is relatively easy to dial in.

Polyphony is usually 8, and for me that's enough. Effects are ok considering the age of this synth, basic chorus and echo.

The keyboard action is very good. The keys are light and therefore fast runs are easy to play, but still the action is precise and firm. Personally I don't like the joystick, bener&mod wheel feel better to me. The aftertouch is a good feature to have in this kind of synth which has no tweakable knobs.

This synth does well the things it is supposed to do. Beautiful analog-like pads and strings, digital pads and bells, monsterous leads. The sound is very recognizable and many of the presets are used in various albums. I use this synth in a prog-rock band and D-50 has proven to be a very flexible instrument for this kind of music. We play some RUSH covers and D-50 can do most of the needed sounds except the Mini leads.


Basically all imitations of acoustic instruments are bad. Get some other synth for them.

Well, some number pad keys need cleaning from time to time. I have fixed aftertouch once. No biggies, anyhow.

Overall, this synth is strongly built.

This thing is definitely wort the money it cost. I have considered buying another D-50 so i could leave one to training place and have another in my house. The keyboard action is very good and the sounsd are heavenly. That's why I love it. I compared it with several other budget synths like DX-7 and CS1X and found D-50 to be the most flexible of them and still having the characteristic of it's own. Of course D-50 has some drawbacks like the lack of tweakable knobs and confusing user interface, but I like playing with a quality instrument like D-50 more than some toy like CS1X.

when i first got this synth i found it to be a bear to program,due to the fact that i did not get a manual with it, and it also being my first synth programable by a digital menu rather than with knobs, sliders, etc. But i love a challenge! after a little practice i love the fact that i can adjust so many parameters i still wish i could adjust these a little faster but the end result is always worth the wait.
i am starting to get a little tired of the presets though. luckilly i got a rom card with itso there's many more. the string and pad sounds are awesome not quite as fantastic as pure analog but oh so close!

i like the fact that this keyboard comes with aftertouch that's defenitely a plus. the on board effects are also a nice feature (e.q., chorus) but the reverbs sound way more digital than the sound generators. i wish i could find more rom cards for it but what can you do?

the d-50 works perfectly with the style of music that i use it for: gothic/ambient, experimental/gloom. i'm not really using this synth for realistic sounds but the electric piano sounds pretty good. i have also found that through extensive programming, i can get the keyboard to respond to my expressiveness quite well. it does have alot of noise to it but for me that adds character as i'm not using it for movie soundtracks or anything like that.....

i also received this instrument with a hard case and this keyboard especially for a roland, is built like a tank!

i've never had to deal with the company so i have no comment on this one.

i'm pretty new to playing keyboard (i mainly play guitar) so there's not much i can offer from a "professional keyboardist" stand-point. what i likemost about it is that you can create sounds that fulfill the emotion/sound connection i'm looking for. these sounds also seem to fill my head with new textures, licks, and songs that i probably never would have thought of.
i really, really, really need to know how to save the sounds i create internally since without a manual i am lost. oh yeah, i also really, really, really need a manual too!

I got my without the factory presets... so I have to program my own sounds in it... since it come without manual I have to figured out things by myself but it worth the time I spent and it makes me blown away by the sound power! since I like sounds programming this synth really give me alot of fun. its not sound dated.. it sounds classic.

I know it lack of polyphony... but at least it's polyhony! when playing EP layer or gliss the organ/synth sounds you could expect voice stealing. the built in effect is usefull to help the sound have some delay and add character. the aftertouch is hopeless, and the key action is great for internal sounds only but pretty bad if controlling external sound source. dont expect to make it an expresive controller for external soundsource.

WHAT A NICE STEREO GRAND PIANO!!!! LOL... just a joke =)... the power of the D-50 is for the synth oriented sounds... it could produce amazing leads and stabs that no other synth could match... the pads is wide, inpiring and wonderful.. and some soundtrack sound efx is gonna be useful for scoring and its very expressive. I even makes a very funky analog clav from it! cound makes some decent sounding organ or flute like... haven been able to make silky strings pas but some strings sound I make could be useful. the EP sound classic... thats the only sound you could expect heard some background noise... actually this synth sounds noisy but the sound it self makes out for it and in live situation you wond hear them.. an in the studio when you out it in the mix it wont bother at all. never regret to got one.. just wish to have the chance to also have the rack version (D-550) so I have back up for the future... but this one built like a tank and good lookin'!! =)

seem very rugged and durable... I can count on this one.

in my country Indonesia you could find some used D-50 for about 200-300$ I got mine pretty cheap and its in a very good condition!!! very satisfied with it. I'm a Christian keyboardist and do recordings and gigging... I also have KORG TRINITY, i30, X5D, Roland XP-80, U-220, Emu proformance 1+ and this D-50 really gives me good classic and powerful synth sounds... I really want to have another for back up/collection, but its hard to find the rack vertion and if I bought another D-50 it gonna just taking more space. one of the thing that I love from this synth is the portamento feature... it makes leads sounds come alive! the D-50 is undoubtly a Roland classic... if you love classic sounds and if you like sounds programing you wont reagret to have this one. I have modern keyboards that sounds awesome (Trinity is trully a magnificent sounding synth man!)but they all have their own beauty.. and there'll always be a place for the D-50 in my heart and in my music mix.

No the easiest synth to use, but once you get your head around it, it's pretty straightforward. I'd recommend getting a PG-1000 for some better analogue-like programmability.

Great effects and chorus section and fantastic aftertouch and velocity sensitive keys. This is basically a 2 part multitimbral unit with 8 or 16 voice polyphony(depending on the complexity of the sound).

Absolutely fantastic. It's great for just about every kind of music if you are looking for synthetic analogue like sounds. If you need the perfect bosendorfer piano sound, don't buy this synth. Strings are a real plus here.

I bought my D-50 new in 1989 and I'm still on the original battery. No problems whatsoever. As sturdy as they come.

Roland has excellent customer service and are always ready to help if anything should happen or if a user has even the most basic of questions.

My first synth and my all-time favourite. What else can I say? I love it!

I bought this D-50 new in 1988. It is very easy to use. It is somewhat involved to tweak existing patches. Expect to spend considerable time if you really want to program new patches. I bought a third party book back in 1988 written by some prof of synthesis explaining virtually all the programming features of this synth. I think it is a must have.

You buy this synth for it's sound. It is NOT multitimbral by todays defination! Though way back I bought a third party MEX card which does allow some multitimbral capibilities. I have two ROM cards, (Thank the Lord), The original 64 factory presets, and a Bo Tomlyn card. Recently the CR2032 battery crapped out (after 12 years), which I promptly replaced. I lost all but was able to Dump a ROM card back in within seconds. I do have this stuff backed up to a computer (X-OR patch editor/librarian) as well. MIDI is suberb. I still use this synth as my main midi controller board. I am primarly a guitarist/composer and have several other MIDI sound modules to create my back drops. There are some sounds on this synth that cannot be found any where else. By no means can this synth cover most bases, but the ones it does cover is does extremely well.

Sounds it is lame at: Acoustic Pianos (barf!!!), most horns(trombone, trumpet), sax, human voice, No drums what so ever.
Sounds it Excels at: Cathedral Organ (best I have ever heard!), Hammond roter organ (GREAT!!! - Again tough to beat this one any where), Electric pianos, Analog Synth strings, Stactto hits, French horn(very haunting, I love it), Erriee Pads, Crisp sparkley tones.
This synth is useless as a GM synth but it's unique expressive sounds add that spice that may make or break a soundtrack. One of the problems with the D-50 is that many of its legandary sounds have been over used in the 1980's. Staccato Heaven and Digital Native Dance probably more than anything else. Just though I'd point that out. I mainly use it for the organs, E-pianos, strings, and some sweet Ring Mod sounds I came up with.

Yes, still seems to be going strong. They say in books that the D-50 has been considered a "Vintage synth" for years now. I have no idea what the author's defination of "Vintage synth is". My D-50 is an integral part of my MIDI studio, looks and sounds as fresh today as it did 12 years ago. I don't see it retiring anytime soon. Replacing that stinkin' battery ticked me off a bit though.

If I ever lost this I may try to track down another one. It is like an old buddy to me.

I have a D-50 v1.0 of 1987.
The preset sounds are not great, but when you hear them they are appealing. This Staccato Heaven preset is a legend.
My D-50 is like my brother so I can't really answer about the ease of editing patches. I think everything is at the right place but the sub-menu organisation is a little bit painful sometimes.
I have 2 manuals: 1 basic and 1 advanced. And they explain the action of each parameter quite well.
I like the big buttons on the front panel to select patches, and the portamento button near the pitch bender is very convenient.

Actual polyphony is 16. Most of the time 8. But it is sufficient, even for pianos. The keyboard is delicious, a little bit heavier than other keyboards. It is very easy to control the aftertouch.
The effects are a little bit noisy, bit it gives some charm to the sounds. The reverb sounds like no one on newer synths. You cannot adjust the delay though, there are 32 presets.
You can use memory cards but they are expensive. And and anyways there are tons of librairans for the D-50 in any platform.
The MIDI capability is standard. With the manual I have I don't have the midi sysex implementation, but I'm not sure that they are the original manuals.
No sequencer, no arpegiator, but there is this interesting effect "chase". A patch is composed of 2 tones (each tone being 2 partials).
With the "chase" effect, their will be a delay between the "upper" and the "lower" tone, and you can ajust it and make funny effects with it.

All acoustic instruments are bad. The synths are killers. Once you have heard a D-50 you will never get enough with a sample player !
I had a CS1x and now I have a XP-30 (which features "Techno" expansion board). They look like they are toys compared to the D-50.
The sound is PHHATTT. You have 2 tones, 2 partials each. Each tone has its own 3 band parametric equilizer and chorus.
The ring modulator works great and produces awesome sounds. The D-50 will never tell you "I can't". You can make sounds which distord like hell.
The samples are of poor quality but they give a unique charm to the synth.

I had to fix some keys because they didn't respond to velocity anymore. It's not a complicated operation, although pulling the keyboard out of the box is a pain.
Otherwize this keyboard is 13 years old and still working great. The box is in metal, you cannot destroy it.

Never deal with them. Never upgraded.

I will never sell this keyboard. Once you've played with it, you feel like you know why you like synthesizers so much.
I bought it in 1995, I've been playing for 17 years.
I do love the sounds. Electric pianos will make you cry. Pads will make you dream.
The sound is bright, transparent, on all the keyboard. DAC are 20 bits and you can feel it.
I hate nothing about this keyboard. I just wish they had made a multitimbral version. Maybe an arppeggiator could have made it even better, but with the chase effect you can have fun anyways.
The sounds I have created with this synth inspired me all my best songs.
I'm OK to share my sounds with other people.
Overal rating is: 10. For me the D-50 is the best synth ever, unique combination of samples, analog stuff, digital effects. Also very pretty.
The only keyb I have tried and that I think is worth trying to compared with the D-50 is the Kurzweil K2000.
God bless its designers D-50 !! :)

Turn this sucker on and blast off! The presets are great! nothing sounds like this synth. Editing patches is not a breeze...but worth the effort.

Plenty of polyphony and a thick sound. the built in effects are noisy as can be..adds to the character of the beast. Not a multitimbral axe.

You've heard 'em over and over again..and still they're fresh. Like a big analog/non analog synthesizer on its own turf. The organs cheese, the synth sounds buzz, the pianos are far from real, the brass sounds fat, the choirs irretate. Its perfect! And its sounds are big. The newer units and modules from Roland are thin by comparison.

Well, this is an old synthesizer and it still is working.

I always want one of these in my rig ( maybe 2 or 3 ).I get tired of the great/ newer pristine tones my Triton or Kurzweil K2600 delivers...I need grunge and imperfection to achieve perfection. Of coarse the synths aforementioned are incredible pieces of sonic gear, the D50 holds its own usefullness. It works well for retro / progressive rock ( although now adays , its considered re-gressive rock ), film and video post score and music beds, pop,alternative, hip hop, techno, classical ( Wendy Carlos style ), jazz, fusion, country, and Disneyland cartoony stuff!!!!
I'm inspired everytime I sit at this instrument. It helps my creative juices to flow!!
I own a Triton / Kurzweil K2600 / Roland JV2080 (2) / Akai S2000 and S3000 samplers / Gigasampler / Korg O1W / DX7 (3) / Alesis QSR / Korg M1 / Korg Wavestation AD / Roland D50 / Roland JP8000 / Waldorf Wave / Minimoog ( retrofitted for MIDI ) / OBX 8 ( w MIDI) / EMU Proteus 1 and 2 / Roland Jupiter 6 / Moog 15 module / Roland Juno / Nord Lead (12 voice )/ Synclavier system ( bought it used for peanuts from the old Motown studio ) and Prophet 5 (2) that were recently overhawled and cost me a fortune! So as you can see, I'm outfitted with some of the best stuff...and I still recommend the D50 as one of my favorite synths of all time.
I make a ton of money composing jingles and such...and spend quite a bit of it on gear. So, if your like me...go ahead and purchase the D50...if your not like me..treat yourself anyway!

Straight out of the box, it's a Roland in look and feel. Therefore, it can sound okay, but you need to get right into it. I don't have a manual, and some of the more esoteric functions are less than intuitive.

The presets are wonderful. This is a synthesizer, not a 'keyboard', and it comes with a handful of sound effects, as well as emulations of traditional instruments. Like all Roland gear, it's 10/10 for strings, but sometimes sounds a little hollow on brass - better than a JV, though, and it has room to improve with the parameters available.
Lacking a powerbrick is a big help, although it's a heavy keyboard by modern standards.

Mine has just been serviced, the keyboard action is positive, but seems to require a fair push to wake up the velocity sensitivity. I've found the outputs are a little weak, too, needing quite a high level of gain compared to my JV-50.
Built in effects are many, and although they aren't easily accessible, familiarity will pay off. For performance, arranging your patches in the banks sequentially and using a footswitch to skip patches is wonderful, and quick access to chase effects means the sound of the instrument can be changed very quickly.
I haven't used MIDI on it yet - so I can't comment.
It lacks both a sequencer, which is a tolerable ommission, and an Arpeggiator, which is not, and really reduces the functionality of the synth. It's a shame, but as I record everything live, I can survive without it, and I'm sure it could be controlled by an external synth with a sequencer or arpeggiator.

This is where the D-50 really comes alive. It responds to you wonderfully - when it was demonstrated, it sounded so-so, because the guy was more into performance keyboards, but once I had had time to familarise myself, I found it worked beautifully. The effects are good for the age of the synth - it can really surprise you - and what music you use it for is up to you. I play ambient music mainly, and was overjoyed to see one of the D-50 users is Jean Michelle Jarre.

Dependability - I have yet to find out. I've had it two days. The display failed once, but fixed itself, so I suspect a loose connection which may well be addressed if I fit an expansion board, even with the display messing up, I know enough of the synths menus to be able to play it. I don't play live, so it's not a concern for me. I hope it doesn't prove to be unreliable!

I've had my JV-50 refurbished by Roland, and found them exceptionally helpful, I also have a VS880, and have had other Roland gear in the past - EG101, JP8000, MC-303. On the whole, in the UK they have been very helpful and reliable.

I know it's worth the money, and as an additional synth, I love it. The user interface could be better, but it's 13 years old - it can be forgiven. I can only imagine how wonderful this seemed back then. After only a couple of days, I would be heartbroken if I lost it - as for replacing it, if I found one, sure - but I think modern synths would keep me happy. I found it by accident when looking for a Korg MS2000 to try out, and decided to buy it whilst scraping together money for a Korg Triton - and I will keep it once I have the Korg, whereas my JV-50 may go. I've been playing for years, but have no musical knowledge, play live, ambient, and am very dependent on synths to express exactly what I am feeling - I will record it one day!