So I have one of these late-80s gems coming -- Thursday if FedEx is on time. What do I need to know when it comes to getting patches and such into it, patch editing, maintenance and so forth?
I have a thing for 80s-esque Synthwave stuff like Mitch Murder, so its sound is right up my alley.
I have an iPad and there's a layout for MIDIDesign Pro that is supposed to work, so I'll go with that for now rather than search around for a PG-1000. I have an iConnectAudio 4+ to handle the MIDI. What about sysex? Anyone know if the few iPad Sysex librarians work with it? I know there's MIDIQuest but it costs almost as much as I paid for the D-50, at least for the Pro version with AU support.
Can the synth do a decent job as a master keyboard?
What to Expect When I'm Expecting a Roland D-50
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- KVRAF
- 15263 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Are you american?
First shoot, then ask questions...
First shoot, then ask questions...
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. 
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- KVRAF
- 6419 posts since 22 Jan, 2005 from Sweden
I had one 10 years ago and used as masterkeyboard.
Some remarks:
1. it sends AllNotesOff every time all keys are up.
That means you get this in normal playing and may cause issues with some plugins that will shut off reverb tails etc. So for midi stuff this may be an issue.
There are some midi plugins that filter this.
I just took adhesive tape and glued top key down, before arming a track for record or monitor. Then all keys are never up, and you wouldn't get this. It does work for internal sounds also if you set Local Off on D50, and echo midi through daw.
2. A couple of times having it a couple of years, I had to refurnish internals of a key as it stopped working.
Corrosion under rubber cushion. It's nothing major and not to difficult to do. The most difficult part is first time to know what to remove to get access. Look for youtube videos, I imagine they exist on how to do this.
What really is needed is electronic anti oxidation fluid spray, and a cotton tops package(like for ears etc).
Otherwise, D50 is a nice synth - and keyboard beds are decent for synthwork and to some degree piano not all bad.
If you can find sound presets from Crystal series, they are really good.
I recently got a JV-80 for Roland keybed mostly. Better than most midi keyboards I had.
Some remarks:
1. it sends AllNotesOff every time all keys are up.
That means you get this in normal playing and may cause issues with some plugins that will shut off reverb tails etc. So for midi stuff this may be an issue.
There are some midi plugins that filter this.
I just took adhesive tape and glued top key down, before arming a track for record or monitor. Then all keys are never up, and you wouldn't get this. It does work for internal sounds also if you set Local Off on D50, and echo midi through daw.
2. A couple of times having it a couple of years, I had to refurnish internals of a key as it stopped working.
Corrosion under rubber cushion. It's nothing major and not to difficult to do. The most difficult part is first time to know what to remove to get access. Look for youtube videos, I imagine they exist on how to do this.
What really is needed is electronic anti oxidation fluid spray, and a cotton tops package(like for ears etc).
Otherwise, D50 is a nice synth - and keyboard beds are decent for synthwork and to some degree piano not all bad.
If you can find sound presets from Crystal series, they are really good.
I recently got a JV-80 for Roland keybed mostly. Better than most midi keyboards I had.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 858 posts since 25 Sep, 2014
I have an iConnect box which should be able to filter out the AllNotesOff messages, tho it's annoying I won't be able to just plug it directly into my Analog Four. Oh well.
Crystal still charges $125 a pop for their sound cards, dang. Am I right in thinking the sound cards don't actually come with new PCM, but are just presets using the transients/loops already in the D-50?
Crystal still charges $125 a pop for their sound cards, dang. Am I right in thinking the sound cards don't actually come with new PCM, but are just presets using the transients/loops already in the D-50?
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- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
Too bad PG-1000 was not included in the deal
This VST editor is not too heavily priced:
http://www.vst-control.de/D50v.html
This VST editor is not too heavily priced:
http://www.vst-control.de/D50v.html
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- KVRAF
- 6419 posts since 22 Jan, 2005 from Sweden
I don't remember for sure. The D50 I bought had 6 Crystal cards with it.
It could be like JV80 series, that it contains waveforms not present in synth - but it might be just presets.
Clear as mud, isn't it?
JV80 has two different inputs slots for these types with waveforms and ordinary preset cards, so it could be just presets in D50 case.
It could be like JV80 series, that it contains waveforms not present in synth - but it might be just presets.
Clear as mud, isn't it?
JV80 has two different inputs slots for these types with waveforms and ordinary preset cards, so it could be just presets in D50 case.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 858 posts since 25 Sep, 2014
Those things are on Ebay for more than what I paid for the synth :/Numanoid wrote:Too bad PG-1000 was not included in the deal
This VST editor is not too heavily priced:
http://www.vst-control.de/D50v.html
There's an iPad app that does essentially the same thing. And neither one will be too much help editing existing patches, since the PG isn't motorized and the app can't parse sysex out of the D50. Oh well.
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- KVRAF
- 8414 posts since 4 Jul, 2012 from Alesia
Interesting read on the D50, looks like it was pretty popular back in the day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_D-50
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_D-50
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 858 posts since 25 Sep, 2014
Trip report: D-50 came in on Thursday and it functions well enough. Unfortunately the aftertouch is in pretty rough shape -- I can't seem to press it down more than about 50% or so. Still I love this thing for pads.
The iPad and iConnectAudio work wonders for patch librarian and editing duties. Something neat about devices 30 years newer still being able to control this stuff.
Looking through a bunch of documentation and going through a zillion downloaded patches now.
The iPad and iConnectAudio work wonders for patch librarian and editing duties. Something neat about devices 30 years newer still being able to control this stuff.
Looking through a bunch of documentation and going through a zillion downloaded patches now.
