Roland D-50
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| W × H × D (mm) | 974 x 94 x 332.5 mm[1] |
|---|---|
| Weight | 10.7 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] 16 Reverb Patches[1] 64 Tones[1] |
| Expansion | Optional Card Library PN-D50 card series 1-3[1] Optional RAM Slot M-256E Duplicate of internal[1] |
| Effects | 2 Band semi-parametric EQ, Reverb, delay, chorus and flanger[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 2 analog-like voices with subtractive filtering, and two PCM tones, 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.
Rereleases
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.[3]
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.[4] 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
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Roland D-50 Technical 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."
- ↑ 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)