Roland D-50

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!

This keyboard really is a classic. Its sound is used as a reference of new Roland keyboards (like the Junos, Jupiters and TB-303).
It really set the standard configuration of modern keyboards. Think of it as an adittion to your gear, not as a main keyboard. The presets sound as good as you get into them. You can find zillions of patches on the net. Its bitimbral. Every patch has two independent oscillators. Editing patches is a bit confusing, but if you think the D-50 as four independent synthesizers, it's really easy. PG-1000 programmer or a patch editor is a bit helpful. The manual is simple. Does'nt have too much information.

It has a great keyboard action, but as a midi controller, it has an old school response (you have to fix then velocity of your new modules if you want the same response). It has great effects section. Two effects processor, one for each patch. You have a selection of 36 reverbs, 8 pitch modulators (chorus, flanger, tremolo, phaser) and a 5 band EQ. Believe me, they sound great. How is its architecture? Great. 3 LFO's, independent low pass filter for each voice (4 of them), three 8 stages envelopes (pitch, filter and amp). I probably give it a 10 if the LFO's and effects were synchable to midi clock, impossible to an 80's keyboard.

The output is a little bit noisy but I think is a good addition to the sound. If you are looking for realistic sounds on this board, look elsewere. Think of it as a big synthesizer. It sound as big as an analog. Compared this board to an XP one and the XP's sound really thin. This keyboard is capable of really awesome ambient and breathy pads, analog stuff (pads, leads, strings, basses), incredible realistic organs, choirs. It can cut probably in any kind of music, including electronic. You have to push hard to get aftertouch. Velocity is ok.

What can I say? It has the original battery for RAM. It's very dependable. Solid as a rock.

Never deal with them.

I would probably get another one. Is worth what I paid. I'm playing from about 12 years. I also have a Roland JP-8000, Yamaha TX81Z and an E-MU Emulator III. It sounds wonderfull. Maybe the only thing I hate is its sluggish keyboard response. I compare its sound with my JP-8000 and E III and it sounds fatter than the JP but can't compete with the E III analog filters. I wish it had filters for the PCM waves and synchable LFO's to midi clock. Try to get one, you won't be dissapointed.

NOTE: Rick's review is a very good description of this board.

Well even for its age I understand the D50 it is a benchmark for new synths to style their architecture to. This synth definately set the standard for modern synths. It is only 2 8 voice poly, and 2 part multitimberal, which is its downfall as far as not having a realistic piano and maybe a couple of other multi-sample reliant accoustic instrument patches. The synthesised type patches are amazing. Thick, full, and because there are a couple of different synth structures to select from, you can develop those early vanhalen multi sawtoothed sounds. This was the first synth I learnt to edit back in 1988, and did it without the manual (even though i had one) and it wasn't an easy task. New terms and extra parameters compared to other synths, were there to add to the confusion. Once you feel your way around it for a while, it soon becomes logical and creating sounds is good. As far as i know it was the first synth to incorporate a signal generator and sampled sounds in the same synth. When creating sounds you can select between a realtime analogue type signal generated waveform,with pulsewidth adjustment on a selection of saw, square, sine, etc waveforms, and any of the numerous pcm sampled sounds to create your patches. Patches are created like the xp and jv synths. A selection of up to four basic tones/elements mixed together with only low pass filtering available. It has alot of features which were dropped off later roland keyboards, like the genuine signal generator, ring modulator, and routing/mixing of reverb and chorus through eachother, and initial waveform routing. These features have finally been brought (excluding the signal generator) back into the xp80 and 60. The lack of these features in newer keyboards made it dificult to replicate the d50 properly. The xp series finally recapture the sound. (well as close as you'll get so far.) The manual like all roland manuals is a shocker. It tells you what you need to know but not in a logical order. Don't expect to find what your looking for in a couple of seconds. I recon they need a few lessons off Yamaha. they have brilliant manuals in my opinion. this is one synth a patch editor really helps. It has a reasonable display, easy to read, but for its features, you really needed something bigger. Its the same size as the JV80.

The poly is 8 voice, and 2 part timberal. 2 of the elements/tones can be assigned to one midi channel, and the other two to another. Keyboard split is there also. There is an old 3rd party mod available to make it 8 part multitimberal but still limits some parameters. It has built in reverb, chorus, and ring modulator. Now the other beauty of its effects are that they can be mixed together in different ways. Making sounds thinner, thicker or just plain different. The effects aren't infinately adjustable like newer synths. The chorus and reverbs have multiple preset selections (about 34 reverbs and 6 chorus) which have different reverb thicknesses (densities and durations and delay times) and chorus types at different rates, so selecting a delay time means selecting one of the 34 preset reverb types which closely matches the tempo you're looking for and the same for chorus. However, effects depths and balance can be infinately selected for each. The effects are very good! The are similar to the quadraverb made by Alesis. Very realistic and natural. Not sharp tinny sounding like my Yamaha. I think the reverbs are better than my jv80. It has velocity sensing keys and monophonic aftertouch, and a dedicated aftertouch control slider on the front which control how effective the after touch is. I don't think this slider can be mapped as a controller. It has a slot for user memory expansion cards or roland developed patches, but no sample/ waveform expansion. Your stuck with the built in waveforms. It has a portamento feature, and chase (a delay feature which splits up the patch and delays each element/tone). No onboard sequencer.

Yep the synth sounds are great. There is no emulating the sounds accurately on other synths. It is a synth you need to buy to get the real thing. I find its great for early 80's rock. Piano sounds are impossible to simulate closely due to its limited midi parts. Some great techno synth sounds and rips can be created. It has excellent velocity and aftertouch sensitivity, and the bender/modulator is great. Not much travel in the modulator but still controlable.

Very very reliable. This is the only synth i have hung onto and will always hang onto. The sounds are individual. I have always used it on a gig without a backup.

Yes I would buy another. The sounds you can make are extremely usable and sit well in a mix without too much messing around. Low noise level with no sound played, but does have a little bit of disortion as the sound fades right out. Un noticable without headphones at high level. The keyboard is a classic without any doubt. Its price s/h has held at 500 to 800 for the last 6 years and I believe if you hang on to them for long enough, it will probably increase in value.

The presets are very good for the most part. (weak piano though). The organs are fantastic, the strings and brass sounds are very good and the bass and guitar is passible. I am just learning how to edit patches but for only having it for afew months I have been able to create some wonderful new patches so I would have to rate the ease of programming very good. There is so much you can do. The manual is helpful after you read it a number of times and get the feeling for it but overall it gives you the basics and lets you explore the options with the many menus the D-50 offers. The joystick is a nice help in editing.

The keyboard action is very comfortable. Having been used to the organ keyboard of the E-15, the touch sensitive keys are a pleasent change. The effects are fun to play around with especially the settings for the chase and portamento. It is completely MIDI compatible. I have expanded it with the use of a piano module and extra data cards.

The presets for the most part are very good. The organs are simply wonderful! The D-50 has the best church organ sound I have ever heard and the rock organs are excellent as well. The only place it is lacking is in pianos. There are acouple but they are poor. The guitar is ok, the strong point is the ambient strings and atmospheric tones are very deep and rich. I use the D-50 for composing new age music and the atmospheric and ambient tones (strings, soft synth sounds ect.) are excellent. I find I keep the aftertouch all the way up so, while it does react to your touch, I guess it could be better. The chase and portamento features really enhance the tones and are fun to use!

I got the keyboard used and have had it for three months now. It is in perfect working condition. I have had no problems with it at all!

I have only had the keyboard for three months and up to now have had no problems or any reason to contact Roland.

If I lost this one I would definately get another. I chose the D-50 because I have another Roland keyboard (an E-15) and really enjoy the Roland quality and sound. The D-50 is perfect for the new age and progressive sound but if rock or dance music is your style you may find it lacking.

Terrible presets are nevertheless highly recognizable in a mix. Editing patches is fun & absorbing 'cause you are thrown in a great panoramic space of stereo field, especially with the on-board controllers like poratamento and chase. I have no manual but a little knowledge in programming got me some awesome sounds that I want to hear for the rest of my life.

8 poly but 4 oscillators each, which is interpreted as 32 poly, so the indivisual sounds I create with my D-50 are way more complex and fulfilling than the patches (not combis)I make with my 01/W pro. Built-in effects are not as versatile and advanced as today's other synths' but adequate enough to express the machine's unique possibilities. Mono-timbral, so no good for stand alone tool for computer music. But the potential sonic power of single patches has placed this a specialist's item. It does have the selection of 128 sounds which corresponds to GM at least in numbers.(w/ card) I love the chase and portamento buttons (also transpose) on the left side of the keyboard

Galaxy! Hence surrealism! (rather than realism) Very good chiffy sound, high & clean choir, heart-filling brass and synths, brilliant chromatic percussion, very expressive E. guitar, terrible pianos but poised E. piano for some mood, horrible and skimpy drums; this instrument is not "everything" like a good Korg, but something of a crown which has its territoty. The bouncy keyboard gives you such a smooth and nice feeling that somehow, when played by other keyboard over MIDI, the sound even doesn't feel as good. However for fast playing, I thnk, the keyboard action is a little ineffective: that noisy VFX keys work a lot better. Velocity reaction, I suspect, is not really as sensitive as some other keyboards.

Proven by myriads of musicians all over the world.

N/A

I will never even think of losing it. My favorite match with this synth is Yamaha SY85 and/or Roland JV 880, when layering sounds, which both have a very strong acoustic department. Keeps me high and dazzled. D-50 is basically for purely live music, i.e. w/o sequencing beforehand(or you have to use a hardware multi-track recorder). You can also fill an important track of your song with the sound of it. After all, I'm alive and I shine partly because of the inspiration I get from this sharp and bright instrument. Could be an instrument of your fantasy, if you already have a newer and more powerful master synth.

This one really is for synth freaks. You can spent hours editing a few patches (due to the multitude of pages and parameters that don't affect the sound untill you select something which is on a totally different page), which will by then sound great. I like getting lost in menus, but if you don't GET A PATCH EDITOR!!!!!!! Don't bother with the presets, they sound OK but are used about a zillion times.

The filters don't have enough resonance, you can't sync the oscillators and the 3 LFO's can't modulate each other. That's about it on the down side. Everything else is up, way up. Though you could consider buying two or three (I bought an additional D550, the rack version) to get more polyphony and more multitimbral channels.

I don't find the sounds that expressive, partly because of the not-so-very-good filters. But other than that, after a bit of programming you can get every electronic-sounding sound (?) you want. Great for fat basses (use a compressor!) or synth-pads. Key-like instruments are also possible, but they won't fool you into believing there's a real rhodes, acoustic piano, harpsichord or whatever. Once you know this baby you are able to create exactly the sounds you wanted in the first place (taken into account its limitations), in fact, it's the only synth I have which will do as I say.

I own this one a year. No problems occured.

No experience.

It's an indispensible too in my studio (along with the D550). I use one of them or both in about 75% of my productions. What I really love is that it's a programming-synth. It's the only synth I can sit down in front of and just keep on programming awesome sounds untill the early morning without even glancing at my O3D.

The D-50 is a very good master Synth. The Modulation/Bender control is one of its more famous features...it gives the player better control than two separate controls for each. The presets are very fat and many new patches can be dumped in it off the net. I have used my D-50 for 8 years and it still performs better than ever. It takes a little time to familierize yourself with the programming of new patches (especially without the PG-1000 module accessory. The manual is pretty technical but there are books out there that translate well.

The D-50 is 32 note polyphonic. The keys are not wieghted but it has a nice bouncy action to it plus it is aftertouch sensitive. It has 30 Reverb effects and chase and portamento. Valhala made an upgrade to it for multitimberal capabilities....but Valhala is gone (The upgrade was rumured to be buggy anyway) No sequencer on board. This machine was made for perfomance and/or personal computer sequencing.

This keyboard works well with any type of music. The instruments are true synth sounds...nice and fat. This is not a sampling keyboard if you are looking for true to life sound try somthing else. It reacts well to my playing..sharp and bright when I go nuts and delicate and smooth when it needs to be. Velocity and after touch work well...some voices need an extra hard push on the aftertouch to utilize the full effect.

100% reliable...never needed a backup...this is a solid machine (At 50 LBS it should be)

Never needed support

If my synth ever became unusable I would definately find another. It was worth every penny. I love the action and fat sounds...I hate the fact that it is not multitimberal with out an upgrade (which can't be found easily) This synth has had alot of exposure in the music world and its effects are used in TV commercials and Shows. It is a great sounding instrument that has long surpased the typical life of a synths use in the main stream market

The presets are excellent. Forget about programming it, just punch up a different patch. It seems almost any pop music record made in '87 or '88 had a D-50 factory preset on it. This is one of the last synths produced by anyone in recent years that had any character. Try mixing a D-50 preset with an analog synth patch, or a K2000 patch and it'll sound like a million $. Nothing else sounds like a D50, it totally unique.

You get what you get. - That's it. Meager on board effects, not multitimbral. You can get the odd upgrade but really there not much can do. If the presets don't sell the machine to you, go elsewhere.

It's a synth, not a sampler. They try and pull off a few "real" sounds, but if it's realism you want, what are you doing looking at a synthesizer in the first place? The sounds are in a class of their own, and absolutely first rate.

8 years old and still ticking. It's being used as a master keyboard so it gets a fair workout.

not needed customer support yet

If the keyboard gave up, we'd still use it as a sound module via midi. If the electronics blew up, we'd have to get a new one. Indispensible - a specialist item. It's not good a wide range of things (no on board sequencer, etc), but if you want unique, bright, and amazing "chiffy" pads, this is the only unit for you. Well worth the current going rate of $500 USD on the 2nd hand market.

The presets are not as good as in many new synths because the 128 ROM samples are of low quality. The strength of the D-50 is the possibility to make your own sounds using saw and square waves, and filters with resonanse. I use a PG-1000 for programming, which is much easier than fiddling around with the buttons on the synthesizer. I haven't found any patch editors for the D-50. Can someone please make one?! :)

It's 32 tones polyphonic. Each patch is made up of 4 partials though, so the "real" number is 8. Each partial is either saw wave, square wave or a PCM sample. You can change the pulse width of the waves and each partial has it's own filter with resonance. One annoying thing is that you can't use the filter on a PCM sample. Almost everything can be controlled with velocity and aftertouch, making it great for playing the instruments live. There are two effect units, one for the chorus and one for the reverb effect. There's also a built-in equalizer. You can expand the RAM memory using RAM cards. The keyboard has 61 keys and it's velocity and aftertouch sensitive. The D-50 is bi-timbral as standard (you can split the keyboard), but you can buy an expansion that makes it 8 channel multi-timbral. This expansion is a bit annoying to use though and if you want a multi-timbral synthesizer the D-50 might not be the best choice for you. You can send/recieve patches with sysex commands.

Most instruments are not very realistic due to the low-quality samples. There are no drums. The D-50 is best used for synthetic sounds, like synth strings, pads, keys, basses and some slightly acid-like sounds. It works best with dance/techno and synth music. The effects are good. The chorus really makes the sound fatter and the EQ is nice. The velocity and aftertouch is great when you play around with a sound.

I haven't had any problems with my D-50, so I guess it's reliable. I haven't used it that long though.

Haven't contacted the support, so I don't know.

I got a PG-1000 and the Multronics MIDI Expansion (making it multi-timbral) included when I bough mine, so I think it was a good buy. I love the possiblities to make your own sounds, there's lots of parameters to change. The effect units are good too. I don't like the ROM samples and the fact that there are no drums. I have a friend that have a D-20, which is almost identical to the D-50. If you consider buying a D-50 take a look at the D-20 too (or the D-10). I've listed some differences between them below:
Advantages of the D-20: - cheaper - has drums - multi-timbral
Advantages of the D-50: - chorus - equalizer - better sounding - aftertouch
If you want to make your own synthetic sounds and like to play live the D-50 is great. If you're looking for a flexible, all-round synth, look at the D-20 instead. There are lots of patches on the internet to download for the D-50, so you won't be short of sounds.