Roland D-50: Difference between revisions
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=== Roland V-Synth === | === Roland V-Synth === | ||
The Roland V-Synth | The Roland V-Synth is able to access recreations of D-50 patches when the Roland VC-1 card is installed. The V-Synth XT rackmount module comes with the card built-in.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roland_V-Synth&oldid=1299949042 Wikipedia's Roland V-Synth article], under the "Models" section.</ref> | ||
The patch recreation job, according to users, were a mixed bag, with some good recreations and some not-so-good ones.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250724104820/https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/986675-roland-v-synth-vs-d-50-now-some-proper-tests.html Gearspace forum post by Don Solaris (archived)]</ref>. This seems to be due to stereo imaging/field differences, and a different frequency response. | The patch recreation job, according to users, were a mixed bag, with some good recreations and some not-so-good ones.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250724104820/https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/986675-roland-v-synth-vs-d-50-now-some-proper-tests.html Gearspace forum post by Don Solaris (archived)]</ref>. This seems to be due to stereo imaging/field differences, and a different frequency response. | ||
All 64 original D-50 sound patches are included, as well as extra patches from the D-50 and D-550 sound libraries, plus a brand-new selection of 64 patches, which use 28 new waveforms that were not present on the original synth.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250423083908/https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/roland-vc1-v-card Paul Nagle via Sound on Sound, May 2005 issue (archived)] - "The VC1 is supplied with all of the D50's original presets, plus the sound libraries for the D50/D550. In addition, 64 new patches are supplied using 28 extra waveforms that were too large to fit into the original synth..."</ref> | All 64 original D-50 sound patches are included, as well as extra patches from the D-50 and D-550 sound libraries, plus a brand-new selection of 64 patches, which use 28 new waveforms that were not present on the original synth.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250423083908/https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/roland-vc1-v-card Paul Nagle via Sound on Sound, May 2005 issue (archived)] - "The VC1 is supplied with all of the D50's original presets, plus the sound libraries for the D50/D550. In addition, 64 new patches are supplied using 28 extra waveforms that were too large to fit into the original synth..."</ref> | ||
Revision as of 15:36, 24 July 2025
| (No photo yet. Please contribute one!) | |
| W × H × D (mm) | 974 x 94 x 332 mm[1] |
|---|---|
| Weight | 10.5 kg[1] |
| Type | Linear Arithmetic synthesizer |
| Keyboard | 61 velocity and channel aftertouch sensitive keys[1] |
| Manufacturer | Roland[1] |
| Release date | 1987 |
| Parts | 1[1] |
| Max polyphony | 16[1] |
| Normal presets | 64 Patches[1] |
| Expansion | Optional Card Library PN-D50 card series 1-3[1] Optional RAM Slot M-256E Duplicate of internal[1] |
| Effects | Reverb (16 types)[1] |
The Roland D-50 is a synthesiser released in 1987. It is notable for being the first synthesiser to employ the linear arithmetic synthesis, or LA synthesis for short, as a method of producing sound, which employs 4 tones that can either be analog-like voices with subtractive filtering or PCM tones, which were usually reserved for transients or short acoustic type sounds. A rackmount version, known as the D-550, was released as well.
The D-50 and D-550 could interface with Roland's own PG-1000 synthesiser programmer, designed to provide hands-on control to all synthesis parameters. Nowadays it is also possible to upgrade the firmware to various third-party solutions to give it more features.[2]
It was, and is still regarded as an influential synthesiser. Many of its presets, such as Fantasia, Pizzagogo, DigitalNativeDance and so on have seen a lot of use throughout the late 80s and 90s media, and the synthesis engine would go on to inspire the creation of the D-70, which itself would go on and ultimately lay a foundation to the Roland JV series. Its synthesis methods would also be transformed and shrunk down for use on the Roland MT-32 and other related products. Many of its sounds would also go on to be recreated on numerous Roland products, as well as other manufacturers (such as E-MU Proteus/1 featuring a "Phantazia" patch, for example), and notably some of its sounds would form part of the General MIDI specification.
The Roland D-50 on other synths
Roland V-Synth
The Roland V-Synth is able to access recreations of D-50 patches when the Roland VC-1 card is installed. The V-Synth XT rackmount module comes with the card built-in.[3] The patch recreation job, according to users, were a mixed bag, with some good recreations and some not-so-good ones.[4]. This seems to be due to stereo imaging/field differences, and a different frequency response. All 64 original D-50 sound patches are included, as well as extra patches from the D-50 and D-550 sound libraries, plus a brand-new selection of 64 patches, which use 28 new waveforms that were not present on the original synth.[5]
Roland INTEGRA-7
A small selection of D-50 sounds was made available on Axial via the D-50 collection. This provides the INTEGRA-7 with 11 new tones.[6]
Re-releases
As part of the D-50's 30th anniversary, Roland put out two separate products to celebrate this.
Roland D-05
The Roland D-50 would get a reissue in 2017 starting with the Roland Boutique D-05 synthesiser - it is in essence a compact module variant, still exposing all the controls of the keyboard, and includes an extra 5 banks of patches, as well as user storage space for up to 8 banks of 64 patches each.[7]
Otherwise, the feature set would stay the same, with the same polyphony limit and same selections of sounds and filters.
Roland Cloud D-50
Also in 2017, Roland would reissue the D-50 in software form via their Roland Cloud subscription service.[8] This is the first time that Roland would officially issue a complete emulation of the D-50 in software form. It allows for SysEx files from the D-50 to be loaded as banks of patches as well.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Roland D-50 Owner's Manual, pg. 29 - Specifications
- ↑ Paul Ward via Sound on Sound, June 1997 issue (archived) - "Several operating-system upgrades were made available by third-party companies. The Musitronics M-EX is probably the best known, and gives the D50 multitimbrality among a host of other useful features."
- ↑ Wikipedia's Roland V-Synth article, under the "Models" section.
- ↑ Gearspace forum post by Don Solaris (archived)
- ↑ Paul Nagle via Sound on Sound, May 2005 issue (archived) - "The VC1 is supplied with all of the D50's original presets, plus the sound libraries for the D50/D550. In addition, 64 new patches are supplied using 28 extra waveforms that were too large to fit into the original synth..."
- ↑ Axial D-50 collection page (archived)
- ↑ Roland Corporation, D-05 specifications (archived)
- ↑ Ben Rogerson via MusicRadar news, 23rd June 2017 publication, "Roland celebrates 30 years of the D-50 synth with a plugin version in the Cloud" (archived)