I inherited "my" D-50 from my closest friend not long before he took himself from us. Every time I play it, I think of him. RIP Mark, never forgotten. x
@@SyncroLens things inherited from close friends or family have a very powerful message. They are almost sacred. I got a lathe and a set of tools from a guy i know (not even a big friend) and feel respect for those. My dad is very old and ALREADY packed all his beloved tools in a wooden box , as he said, for "my dear son" .... and that is heavier for me than an ocean liner. Actually, just the idea scares me a lot.
For years I have had a special place in my heart for a certain type of pad I heard in old jungle and rave tunes. Thanks to youtube I realised that its the 'Soundtrack' patch and now my life is complete.
Listening to this with good headphones is so cool. I have a really hard time finding synthesizers that I like enough to buy, but I absolutely love this thing. It sounds absurdly beautiful. Thanks for the great demo.
Yes - in EVERY preset. I am still tryna do that, now I just have to figure out how to attract the attention of Korg & Roland so they'll have me program new presets.
@@@subwaygaragemusic - Yes. And the Jupiter, D-50, D-70, JD-800/990, R8, S-series samplers, JV-880/1080/2080, the Sound Canvas, JP-8000/8080, MC-505/909, The V-Drums, XV-5080, Fantom series, the V-Synth and many more. Safe to say he has had a hand in most Roland products since 1984. He went independent in 2005.
Never apologize for getting carried away Woody! It's infectious!, I teach photography, and I am still always getting carried away, if I ever stop, then I will stop.
Great demo. Breaking down the patch with the joystick is very revealing. An instrument from another world, played with infectious enthusiasm. Thank you.
I think the philips CDI boot logo too and the macintosh fart crash sound from the 90s. I also think there is a sound on android that was made on a d50. Its the one he says is his favorite on any synth ever or something like that.
will never forget when I touched a D50 for the first time... thanks for bringing these memories back! I can totally understand your emotion.... keep it coming, please!
Fabulous video. I owned one of these incredible machines back in 1991. Then I met a girl and then sold it, to help pay for a deposit for a house. I’ve always been told, never to regret anything in live, but I always regret selling the D50👍
I have zero musical ability, and it's a pleasure to watch someone that is such a wonderful musician. Thank you for putting all of your videos together, I'm beyond words as to my admiration of your talent.
The Soundtrack preset was on a cheap RadioShack keyboard I had growing up. I have to say, it was one of my favorite sounds ever, but the D-50 version blows it out of the water. Thanks for playing that beautiful progression, I was tearing up too.
Love the Roland D50! Digital native dance is one of the effects on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. They used the D50 extensively on that show. Sweet Loop on C was also used as the theme for the Technodrome!!
Hi Woodie! I’m a 61 year old guitarist who wished I had had a synth mentor like you in my youth. I have become obsessed with synths since 2020, and the D-50 absolutely nails what I would wanted back when it was released. Now in 2024, I am torn between trying to obtain the actual synth, or be content with Roland’s cloud version. Great vids!
Gigged with the D50/M1 combo from '89 to '06, and even used that same brass patch to play the 'addicted to love' riff that you played in the demo. Great memories...
I remember back in 1987 and playing this keyboard in a local shop. It was about 1400 quid and nothing else sounded like it. The reviews in SOS and MT were full of superlatives about how such sounds were sounding like classic Synclavier and Fairlight sounds. It just sounded so produced and multilayered thanks to the fx and multitimbrality. A friend of mine had one on top of his Akai AX73... and I was so envious as I only had a JX8P at the time. I never did get to own a D50 as time moved on and sampling became hot around the same time... then the D50 started to sound old hat by the 90s esp as the sounds were somewhat overused in the same way as the DX7. However, all being said (and with the passage of time), listening to this shows that the sounds do still have some utility today... thanks for the reminder of Soundtrack! :D
Yeah I actually loved my JX8P (had 2 x JX10 since then too!) but the D50 sounded like another universe then. I remember Jarre and TD did whole CDs back then that were more or less D50 demonstrations in their own right. I totally loved stuff like Soundtrack... I guess the M1 took over the reign/reins in the following years.... it was a heck of an era to live through.... the previous generations of digital/sampling synths were completely unaffordable (PPG/Emu/Fairlight et al) and in many ways this was the beginning of the end for those machines.. :D
Hallo Woody! I discovered recently your channel watching those DX7 videos and I enjoyed it a lot that you present today the Roland D50. The DX7 and D50 are my favorite 80s synths, and I often play them both being linked via MIDI. Great job on your presentation!
Nice ! A guy once told me never to sell my old keyboards. Well I had to, needed the money for new boards. I had the D50 since it came out and was part of my rig until late in the 90' . It are a board I miss. This video brought back many good memories. I remember the aftertouch as a nice feature and with fine effect for some patches, but very hard for my wrist. A company called Valhalla made some great soundcard for it, the "Screaming B3" was one of my to go organ sounds those days.
Hi Bjorn, I understand your regret. I never owned the D50 when it came out, seriously wanted one but my budget only stretched to the D10. But now I can afford and have all those 80's digital synths, if you are patient they show up from time to time.
I get one this week !!!!!! DEC 7 !!!!!!!! lets see what can i do !!! I know nothing about music .. but i plane to learn !!! I am not a KID EITHER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Woody. I could not believe it when I heard your favorite sound that brought a tear to your eye being played in ''Child's Play 1'' in 1988 and not only that, but a whole array of sounds in this machine. The scene is when Chucky comes after Andy in the home scene. It really blew my mind to know it was used in a horror movie!
At 12:30 you demonstrated the data joystick. In my previous comment, I explained each patch is created from four separate "partials". Two partials form the Lower Tone and two for the Upper Tone. The Data joystick allows you to adjust the balance between these four "building blocks" of each patch. When you select "Upper" next to the joystick, the upper-left and right corners of the joystick travel adjust between Upper Partial 1 and 2. Pulling down on the joystick introduces the lower two partials into the mix, at their preset balance. So you pick the balance of Upper Partial 1 or 2, then add the Lower partials as desired. When you select "Lower" next to the joystick, the opposite happens. You can choose the balance between the Lower Partial 1 or 2 and then slide it up to introduce the Upper Partials. Very cool real-time stuff.
One final comment on the Data Joystick -- (It's been years since I've done this, so can't remember exactly which button is which) -- When you select "Value" or "Local" there's a mode where if you are in an edit window, and for example are editing the Frequency setting on a synth sound, moving the Data Joystick up and down raises and lowers the value you are editing, while moving the joystick left or right edits the setting displayed NEXT to the one you have selected. (Such as Cutoff). So, like an analog synth, you can adjust the Frequency and Cutoff settings simultaneously with the single joystick. Very fun.
who no one tell me this earlier? but there are two buttons also that correspond to the joystick, labelled upper and lower if I recall. and you can only enable one button.
Woody Piano Shack You can't use the Data Joystick to select between all four partials at the same time unfortunately. When the "Upper" button is selected, the two upper corners of the joystick travel will choose between Upper Partial 1 or 2. The Lower partials are preset at this point, and you can only blend them in by pulling the joystick downward. If you set the balance of Upper Partials 1 and 2 to your liking, then select the "Lower" button to move to the lower corners of the joystick travel to do the same for the Lower Partials. It's harder to explain than to do it but you'll get the hang of it quickly. It's a faster, more "organic" way to balance all four Partials then using the nested menu settings.
Great video! Thanks for uploading it. I enjoy your enthusiasm and thanks for going through the Roland D-50 patches I think that last preset sound like Tangerine Dream by Edgar froese
Oh my, love the sound of that Roland D-50. Because of you l will be picking up my D-50 tommorow 😊 I watch your channel often, just purchased a Krog M1 and Krog Wavestation EX. I'm a classics guy!
I like a lot of my synthesizers. But I'm deeply in love with my D-50. This beast not only surprises me with it's huge possibilites. For my taste it's also the best looking synth of all. For a digital synth, there is a lot of life in it, I sometime hear it's breathing ;-)
Oh, wow! I just died when I heard this thing in the 80s! I had to have one! So I got one and played and played until the end of the 90s when I thought it sounded old like 80s stuff haha. My experimentations taught me a lot and wore the D50 down a lot on top of issues with the keys so eventually, it gave up. Now I'm planning for a little Roland D05 Boutique on my desk hehe!!!
Time to find and get mine out again, blow off the dust, put my shellsuit on, and be Mr cool, like the good ole days..Love your videos. you look like a kid on an Xmas morning with a new toy. A joy to watch Woody. Save the wale, save the wale, save the wale,. Thanx for sharing keep safe. moog.
7:04 is the part that almost brought tears to my eyes. It's clearly one of the many sounds used in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Brings back memories of being a kid in the 80's There is also a patch "H-8" that i am interested in hearing. I will continue watching.
You are probably thinking about the technodrome theme, yes it is a D-50 patch, but not this ones, it is “Sweep Loop on C”. I’m not aware of a use of DIgital Native Dance in the show but they widely used the D-50 in it so who knows
Thanks for presenting this fine Synth. It reminds of many gigs in the late 80s and 90s where I always wished, I better played Keyboard than the bass on stage! Thanks for this enthusiastic Demo. I am totally fixed and will keep on viewing your videos. Best regards from Germany, Johannes
The one at 7:00 - Digital Native Dance, the remarkable sound, and I love the Native Dance loop during the hold on the key before releasing it. If there is any plugin nowadays who claim as a D-50 sound (except RolandCloud), I used to find this patch and play it. If the plugin cannot faithfully reproduce this patch sound, I will say to that plugin, "Sorry, you failed..." LOL
Wonderful Sounds on that D-50. I won't even venture to guess the name of the Mystery Patch, but I think I've heard that something like that sound on one of my keyboards, can't remember which one. None the less, great video. Waiting for the next video. Thanks, Woody
+Woody Piano Shack Thanks for this amazing video. I love the DX7, but this takes the cup, especially with the digital reverb. I wish I had one of these. Especially Digital Native Dance, that patch is out of this world.
Maybe someone else also pointed it out, but It's "co-lie-oh-pee" and not "cali-oh-pee" :) Your D-50 demos bring out the sounds that make me want one. I had previously dismissed it. Thank you Woody!
Eric Persing himself almost tears up at this patch, and it's his creation! While demonstrating with the D50, he mentioned how personal the patch was to him, but that so many people connected with it.
@@WoodyPianoShack You're welcome! By the way, I just bought a Roland D-50 about 3 hours ago. It has a lot more cosmetic wear than I'd like, but functions perfectly. This video demonstrating the "soundtrack" patch is responsible! It is my favourite preset also!
Hey Woody! Another very nice video of a legendary and beautiful sounding synth! What is nice about the D-50 is its ability to sound very colourful in a brilliant quality on almost every patch. Although my favourite synth is in fact the DX7, it finally broke up the EP-dominated era, even being equally hart to program, before high-quality samplers were accessible to general public. Jean-Michel Jarre, George Duke and also Dave and Don Grusin used those presets in a very nice. I might consider one day to put one next to my DX7 Mk1. By the way, your favourite patch is called "Soundtrack". Cheers!
well done on nailing the patch! for me also the DX was more ground breaking, although the D50 was the first of the romplers that dominated for the next 30 years. and now FM is back in fashion again... :)
+Woody Piano Shack You're probably right in saying the DX was more ground-breaking back then.... But the D-50 has stood the test of time better, probably because it has on-board effects, splitting and layering, aftertouch and (IMO at least) is considerably easier/more intuative to program than the DX7, to make those awesome, huge sounds ! I've had mine since 1987 and it's still used regularly... The acoustic pianos are still crap (as they were on all synths back then), but if you told me to pick just one, either the DX7 or the D-50, to go make music with, it would be the D-50 every time ! :-) Loving your enthusiasm !! :-)
Gary S That'd be a very hard choice. I have a Volca FM which is a mini DX7 and I have the Boutique D-05 which is an exact recreation of this synth. I love them both. I wish i had the space for the OG keyboards but they're too big for my 1 bedroom apartment.
Of course, just knowing you're on preset #37 means "Soundtrack". Lol. Amazing sound. I started with a Roland Juno-6 and jumped to the D-50 next. What a leap! Bought it new from the store on Tuesday, January 26,1988. (Not that it was a memorable occasion or anything.) Lol. Grabbed Roland's sound cards 01 and 02 and the PG-1000 programmer all at the same time. Bought cards 03 + 04 a few years later when they came out. I have always loved the D-50 and now have two D-550's as well. I thought maybe I was the only one still bonkers for this synth after all these years, but your passion and excitement for this synth is really refreshing and I appreciated both parts of this demo. And yes, I also get moved to tears by various patches, so I was completely with you while demo'ing the "Soundtrack" patch. I can't say enough awesome things about Chris Nightingale's "D-50 Librarian" program if you want a great tool for organizing and loading patches into your D-50. www.d50librarian.co.uk Beautiful job on your restore job! Cheers!
that sound. well, I think it was on another channel that said that was the spacious sweep, and you're right. the sound's on my roland e-28, and my generic digital piano, and I think my casio CTK-4400 has it too. it's my fav sound also. also, there's no need to apologize for how you feel. I think if I owned a d50, I'd have tears in my eyes too, it's so wonderful.
I enjoy listening to it as a musical instrument (no modern harshness it's soothing to my ears) and even the traditional sounds that I normally would pass by (thinking plink plink) are not bad. The younger generation needs a music class so they can play this keyboard and compare against modern synths and VSTs, and have a class discussion on what they like. It's very important for them (and us!) to develop artistically, culturally, and musically.
Brilliant Video. I have a Roland FrX4 Piano Accordion which has some of the D50 sounds as presets. I midi it up to a Kawai km1 module, and can get a really good sound. Keep posting your great Demos. Ken from Scotland. 😀
So agree with you on that last patch Soundtrack , i spent hours and hours trying to recreate this on my JD 990 didnt quite happen. However the Sy77 has a very close patch . I must post a demo.
That one is present on the D-20 as well, even as the same name (not typically the case). Idk if its exactly the same, but I'll never forget that sound from my childhood.
The D50 sounds a lot warmer hearing you play it than I remember. At the time I thought the pads were weak, but then I was comparing it to an Oberheim OB-Xa. My fave patches were Soundtack, Stacato Heaven and Star Trek Voices. Jean Michel Jarre used this synth for most of his Revolutions album.
Oh and did you know that Yamaha had a patch called sweet heaven which is on a lot of their keyboards which sounds exactly like staccato heaven on the d50
Greetings! Your favorite preset at 16:50 was used on Tangerine Dream's Canyon Dreams album, Water's Gift. In fact, most of the album was recorded from the D-50. Nice sound indeed. Love the rich sounds this beast produces :)
I stumbled into your video here and was wanting to listen to find out what the very same patch was. I have heard this for decades on famous songs and wanted to know myself. My favorite song using this patch heavily is on Tangerine Dream's "Canyon Dreams" LP and the song "Canyon Voices". What a gorgeous synth. Your enthusiasm is shared. Thanks for the great demo.
great comment, thanks! yeah, you can spot that sound in many songs when you know what to listen for. every synth that came after the d50 copied the sounds with patches such as "Fantasy" (fantasia) and copies of Soundtrack. cheers.
Have watched this video several times now and I want one!! I have owned a few Roland E- and G- series home arranger keyboards and they all have many D-50 samples in them (the famous sounds like "Fantasia" and "Atmosphere").. .not as good as the real thing of course but I love playing them.
If you can't get your hands on the D50 for realsies, Roland offer a VST emulation (which can be programmed!) as part of their Roland Cloud, and it also sounds awesome. My god what a beast it must have been in 1987. I think in 2017 it still sounds amazing!
![Enya's Sledgehammer | Roland D50 demo | Factory sounds [02]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5l0JvuHZ18c/mqdefault.jpg)
![Enya's Sledgehammer | Roland D50 demo | Factory sounds [02]](/img/tr.png)
![[TH] 2024 PMGC League | Survival Stage วันที่ 1 | PUBG MOBILE Global Championship](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FVFT-PFwU80/mqdefault.jpg)
I inherited "my" D-50 from my closest friend not long before he took himself from us. Every time I play it, I think of him. RIP Mark, never forgotten. x
Sorry Nick. I'm wondering if this is the same Mark I knew. Did his last name start with the letter R?
I also inherited mine from a dear departed friend.
@@anonymous_friend My friend was Mr Mark L.
@@SyncroLens things inherited from close friends or family have a very powerful message. They are almost sacred. I got a lathe and a set of tools from a guy i know (not even a big friend) and feel respect for those. My dad is very old and ALREADY packed all his beloved tools in a wooden box , as he said, for "my dear son" .... and that is heavier for me than an ocean liner. Actually, just the idea scares me a lot.
For years I have had a special place in my heart for a certain type of pad I heard in old jungle and rave tunes. Thanks to youtube I realised that its the 'Soundtrack' patch and now my life is complete.
And another very nice D50 feast on this one - Michael Cooper - Shoop Shoop (Never Stop Givin' You Love)
Your genuine love for the d-50 has been the lone ray of sunshine in a very bleak day. Shut up and take my subscription, Woody, you wonderful person!
sorry to hear about your bleak day, glad I could do something about it and thx for the sub!
I also have bought a D05 module because of Woody and his contagious enthusiasm :-)
yes, yes he is indeed !!!
You Guy so Happy in your world 🌍.
Thanks a lot for sharing your happiness 😊.
haha, any time my friend!
Listening to this with good headphones is so cool. I have a really hard time finding synthesizers that I like enough to buy, but I absolutely love this thing. It sounds absurdly beautiful. Thanks for the great demo.
thanks for the feedback, glad you enjoyed the demo
Back when there was love in every preset ... Persing did do a beautiful job on Soundtrack!
Yes - in EVERY preset. I am still tryna do that, now I just have to figure out how to attract the attention of Korg & Roland so they'll have me program new presets.
well music has changed now so some of these presets(although they do say sound beautiful) just don't really fit with modern music
Dubub: I respectfully disagree. I am sure that you can make a hit with any of the presets. It just depends on how creative you are. :-)
Isn't Persing also the one who did the presets to the JX? I used that synthesizer to the moon and back, man.
@@@subwaygaragemusic - Yes.
And the Jupiter, D-50, D-70, JD-800/990, R8, S-series samplers, JV-880/1080/2080, the Sound Canvas, JP-8000/8080, MC-505/909, The V-Drums, XV-5080, Fantom series, the V-Synth and many more. Safe to say he has had a hand in most Roland products since 1984. He went independent in 2005.
Eric Persing did a great job programming the D-50.
that's what I think every time I hear D-50 presets
He also did the presets to the JX series of synthesizers. The High Strings patch on the JX8P is still the one preset I used frequently to this day.
,,,and Adrian Scott as a co-designer
I can do that on my instruments
Subway Garage really? Didn’t know
The D50 was the soundtrack to my youth!
Never apologize for getting carried away Woody!
It's infectious!, I teach photography, and I am still always getting carried away, if I ever stop, then I will stop.
Great demo.
Breaking down the patch with the joystick is very revealing.
An instrument from another world, played with infectious enthusiasm.
Thank you.
Just acquired a D50 thanks woody love the emotion mate
awesome pickup, congrats!
The D 50...I was blown away the first time i played one as a kid back in the 80s...still a legend in my book.
The Playstation intro was done a Roland D-50. The Spacious Sweep patch was used to make it.
I think the philips CDI boot logo too and the macintosh fart crash sound from the 90s.
I also think there is a sound on android that was made on a d50. Its the one he says is his favorite on any synth ever or something like that.
will never forget when I touched a D50 for the first time... thanks for bringing these memories back! I can totally understand your emotion.... keep it coming, please!
Fabulous video. I owned one of these incredible machines back in 1991. Then I met a girl and then sold it, to help pay for a deposit for a house. I’ve always been told, never to regret anything in live, but I always regret selling the D50👍
Same way I sold my Yamaha Cs1x...
I have zero musical ability, and it's a pleasure to watch someone that is such a wonderful musician. Thank you for putting all of your videos together, I'm beyond words as to my admiration of your talent.
well that is very sweet of you, thanks! i don't believe that anybody has zero ability btw :)
Never heard me play a keyboard then, have you!
Awesome legendary synth! The sounds quality is so fantasic! Old school!
excellent demo, really enjoyed it. one of the best sounding synths ever.
GREAT demo! You're very talented obviously but your passion really comes through. You also seem like a good guy to boot!
Amazing sounding synth, thanks for playing the presets and sharing your thoughts! I loved the last one as well, very beautiful demonstration!
thanks, I think I will have to do an entire video to That Preset...
My old friend used to own a D50 and he played lots of Jean Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream style music in it. It sounds so good to hear it again!
Great video! Thanks for uploading it. I enjoy your enthusiasm and thanks for going through the Roland D-50 patches! :)
glad you enjoyed it, thx!
Nice demo woody. love the sound of this one... truly amazing and some patches are really HUGE!
16:43 the name of the legendary preset is "soundtrack" and it's in preset number 37.
I love that sound.. its so inspiring..
Always reminds me of George Duke at the opening of the Jazz night of Guitar Legends in Seville, 1991.
I think Roland D50 and JD800 are the finest synthesizers Roland has ever built to date.
They arguably have no rivals.
I just love your enthusiasm over a classic synth.
Great demo! The D50 (most of the factory presets) sounds up to date even today, 30 years later.
Just found one of these and in very good condition, had to purchase and haven't regretted it all thanks to this video Woody!
The Soundtrack preset was on a cheap RadioShack keyboard I had growing up. I have to say, it was one of my favorite sounds ever, but the D-50 version blows it out of the water. Thanks for playing that beautiful progression, I was tearing up too.
Woody, I'm so glad about the way you are enjoying this amazing synth! Take care! ;)
Thanks Woody! "Violet" by Seal is one of my favorite tracks with D-50 Soundtrack all over it.
Just ordered the D05 and came here to listen to what beautiful sounds to expect.
Picking one up today! Gorgeous synth, will sit below my dx7
Find the M1 and you'll get the Holy Grail Trinity of the Late 80's!
Sounds like digital razor blades
Love the Roland D50! Digital native dance is one of the effects on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. They used the D50 extensively on that show. Sweet Loop on C was also used as the theme for the Technodrome!!
3:40 Sounds a like intro to "forever young" by alphaville
Hey, man, you are good! Like professional! Thank you very much for these nice playing and demo! I like this legendary sound!
thanks erop, glad you enjoyed!
Hi Woodie! I’m a 61 year old guitarist who wished I had had a synth mentor like you in my youth. I have become obsessed with synths since 2020, and the D-50 absolutely nails what I would wanted back when it was released. Now in 2024, I am torn between trying to obtain the actual synth, or be content with Roland’s cloud version. Great vids!
thank you, or compromise, get the modern d05 roland boutique hardware
Gigged with the D50/M1 combo from '89 to '06, and even used that same brass patch to play the 'addicted to love' riff that you played in the demo. Great memories...
I remember back in 1987 and playing this keyboard in a local shop. It was about 1400 quid and nothing else sounded like it. The reviews in SOS and MT were full of superlatives about how such sounds were sounding like classic Synclavier and Fairlight sounds. It just sounded so produced and multilayered thanks to the fx and multitimbrality. A friend of mine had one on top of his Akai AX73... and I was so envious as I only had a JX8P at the time. I never did get to own a D50 as time moved on and sampling became hot around the same time... then the D50 started to sound old hat by the 90s esp as the sounds were somewhat overused in the same way as the DX7. However, all being said (and with the passage of time), listening to this shows that the sounds do still have some utility today... thanks for the reminder of Soundtrack! :D
yeah, all the boards you mentioned were pricey back in the day. of all the synths you mention your unloved JX8P is probably the most valuable today.
Yeah I actually loved my JX8P (had 2 x JX10 since then too!) but the D50 sounded like another universe then. I remember Jarre and TD did whole CDs back then that were more or less D50 demonstrations in their own right. I totally loved stuff like Soundtrack... I guess the M1 took over the reign/reins in the following years.... it was a heck of an era to live through.... the previous generations of digital/sampling synths were completely unaffordable (PPG/Emu/Fairlight et al) and in many ways this was the beginning of the end for those machines.. :D
I was blown away in the 80's with songs like "Father Figure" and just had no idea what synth was being played.
Hallo Woody! I discovered recently your channel watching those DX7 videos and I enjoyed it a lot that you present today the Roland D50. The DX7 and D50 are my favorite 80s synths, and I often play them both being linked via MIDI. Great job on your presentation!
thanks, my favs too, although I do need to find an M1 to complete the series. Must be quite a big sound when you midi them together... :)
Nice !
A guy once told me never to sell my old keyboards. Well I had to, needed the money for new boards. I had the D50 since it came out and was part of my rig until late in the 90' . It are a board I miss. This video brought back many good memories. I remember the aftertouch as a nice feature and with fine effect for some patches, but very hard for my wrist. A company called Valhalla made some great soundcard for it, the "Screaming B3" was one of my to go organ sounds those days.
Hi Bjorn, I understand your regret. I never owned the D50 when it came out, seriously wanted one but my budget only stretched to the D10. But now I can afford and have all those 80's digital synths, if you are patient they show up from time to time.
What a nostalgic trip!
I had one of these in the 80's....should have kept it! Thanks for another great review 👍
hi! cool, your music career goes back many years then, yet you look so young! :) All the best!
Thanks Gareth, you´re too kind...I'm 47 :) I bought my first synthesizer 1985...My favorites were the Ensonic ESQ-1 and the D-50 👌🏼😊
I get one this weekend! Also with a working aftertouch 🙂 Such a great synthesizer.
I get one this week !!!!!! DEC 7 !!!!!!!! lets see what can i do !!! I know nothing about music .. but i plane to learn !!! I am not a KID EITHER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Woody. I could not believe it when I heard your favorite sound that brought a tear to your eye being played in ''Child's Play 1'' in 1988 and not only that, but a whole array of sounds in this machine. The scene is when Chucky comes after Andy in the home scene. It really blew my mind to know it was used in a horror movie!
that's funny, i did not know that and would have fallen off the sofa!
At 12:30 you demonstrated the data joystick. In my previous comment, I explained each patch is created from four separate "partials". Two partials form the Lower Tone and two for the Upper Tone. The Data joystick allows you to adjust the balance between these four "building blocks" of each patch. When you select "Upper" next to the joystick, the upper-left and right corners of the joystick travel adjust between Upper Partial 1 and 2. Pulling down on the joystick introduces the lower two partials into the mix, at their preset balance. So you pick the balance of Upper Partial 1 or 2, then add the Lower partials as desired. When you select "Lower" next to the joystick, the opposite happens. You can choose the balance between the Lower Partial 1 or 2 and then slide it up to introduce the Upper Partials. Very cool real-time stuff.
One final comment on the Data Joystick -- (It's been years since I've done this, so can't remember exactly which button is which) -- When you select "Value" or "Local" there's a mode where if you are in an edit window, and for example are editing the Frequency setting on a synth sound, moving the Data Joystick up and down raises and lowers the value you are editing, while moving the joystick left or right edits the setting displayed NEXT to the one you have selected. (Such as Cutoff). So, like an analog synth, you can adjust the Frequency and Cutoff settings simultaneously with the single joystick. Very fun.
who no one tell me this earlier? but there are two buttons also that correspond to the joystick, labelled upper and lower if I recall. and you can only enable one button.
Woody Piano Shack You can't use the Data Joystick to select between all four partials at the same time unfortunately. When the "Upper" button is selected, the two upper corners of the joystick travel will choose between Upper Partial 1 or 2. The Lower partials are preset at this point, and you can only blend them in by pulling the joystick downward. If you set the balance of Upper Partials 1 and 2 to your liking, then select the "Lower" button to move to the lower corners of the joystick travel to do the same for the Lower Partials. It's harder to explain than to do it but you'll get the hang of it quickly. It's a faster, more "organic" way to balance all four Partials then using the nested menu settings.
That's it, I need this synth in my life, I haven't heard a single sound I didn't like
well these were the highlight sounds, there are some quite boring sounds too, but worth having for the good sounds. or get the vst plugin version.
Great video! Thanks for uploading it. I enjoy your enthusiasm and thanks for going through the Roland D-50 patches I think that last preset sound like Tangerine Dream by Edgar froese
We need you and every single synthesizer in the world. Great video, thanks - still watching, but felt like commenting while you're playing haha
I have a Roland GR50 guitar synth from the same era. Many of these sounds are in it... excellence indeed....
Such a great and enjoyable demonstration! I just found your channel and I'm thrilled to go through your videos. Well done sir.
glad to have you here, cheers.
fantastic sounds!!
You the man Woody, your 'Soundtrack' chord sequence is the stuff of legend!
one of my fave synths of the digital era. When it came out post DX7, everyone had to have one.
Oh my, love the sound of that Roland D-50. Because of you l will be picking up my D-50 tommorow 😊
I watch your channel often, just purchased a Krog M1 and Krog Wavestation EX. I'm a classics guy!
awesome, what a great rig!
great sounds! and enjoying all the vids.
You have fun with these great keyboards, and we get to come along for the ride!
that's what this channel is all about, thx for visiting.
I like a lot of my synthesizers. But I'm deeply in love with my D-50. This beast not only surprises me with it's huge possibilites. For my taste it's also the best looking synth of all. For a digital synth, there is a lot of life in it, I sometime hear it's breathing ;-)
14:27 so true. It's one of the best synths from Roland ;-)
*Love* your video's woody!! that one of your MODX in the garden was soooo nice, such nice atmosphere, i think i watched it allready 20 times :-)
Oh, wow! I just died when I heard this thing in the 80s! I had to have one!
So I got one and played and played until the end of the 90s when I thought it sounded old like 80s stuff haha.
My experimentations taught me a lot and wore the D50 down a lot on top of issues with the keys so eventually, it gave up.
Now I'm planning for a little Roland D05 Boutique on my desk hehe!!!
So glad I found your channel! Enjoying the music and info very much!!
that's awesome nathan, thx for stoppin by
Thanks for the video woody! its amazing!
8:25 definitely heard that on a few song intros during the Bad Tour.
Time to find and get mine out again, blow off the dust, put my shellsuit on, and be Mr cool, like the good ole days..Love your videos. you look like a kid on an Xmas morning with a new toy. A joy to watch Woody. Save the wale, save the wale, save the wale,. Thanx for sharing keep safe. moog.
Incredible! My favorite video of yours, Woody!
You nearly did cry at the end on the Soundtrack patch it is very moving.. It reminds me of a sad scene from a Sci-Fi film.
Such a nice video, dude. A good mix of talking and playing.
Thanks for demo and education ...I'm a fan
woow, what a really wonderful demo. thank you so much!. now i plan to buy this amazing keyboard!
good luck, hope you find a nice one!
Thank you Woody excellent presentation as always ,my guess is that Roland D50 was made for future ,it still sounds like future to me
it sure does!
7:04 is the part that almost brought tears to my eyes. It's clearly one of the many sounds used in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Brings back memories of being a kid in the 80's There is also a patch "H-8" that i am interested in hearing. I will continue watching.
You are probably thinking about the technodrome theme, yes it is a D-50 patch, but not this ones, it is “Sweep Loop on C”. I’m not aware of a use of DIgital Native Dance in the show but they widely used the D-50 in it so who knows
17:47 a synth that makes a grown man cry - that tells me it's the best synth ever created by humans!
Thanks for presenting this fine Synth. It reminds of many gigs in the late 80s and 90s where I always wished, I better played Keyboard than the bass on stage!
Thanks for this enthusiastic Demo. I am totally fixed and will keep on viewing your videos.
Best regards from Germany, Johannes
The one at 7:00 - Digital Native Dance, the remarkable sound, and I love the Native Dance loop during the hold on the key before releasing it. If there is any plugin nowadays who claim as a D-50 sound (except RolandCloud), I used to find this patch and play it. If the plugin cannot faithfully reproduce this patch sound, I will say to that plugin, "Sorry, you failed..." LOL
I bought a Roland D5 just for soundtrack, gotta have it. Nice when combined with a JX10 soundtrack patch 😁🎹🎶
Your favorite preset there Woody sounds very similar to a few on Native Instruments Absynth. Another gorgeous synth
Wonderful Sounds on that D-50. I won't even venture to guess the name of the Mystery Patch, but I think I've heard that something like that sound on one of my keyboards, can't remember which one. None the less, great video. Waiting for the next video. Thanks, Woody
Heh, it's called Soundtrack. And funny you should call it a mysterious patch. I like to use it for creep-out/suspense atmospheres.
+Woody Piano Shack Thanks for this amazing video. I love the DX7, but this takes the cup, especially with the digital reverb. I wish I had one of these. Especially Digital Native Dance, that patch is out of this world.
thanks for feedback, cheers, you know when you own the d50 you never actually use the DND preset, it's just a novelty and sales gimmick i guess... :)
Maybe someone else also pointed it out, but It's "co-lie-oh-pee" and not "cali-oh-pee" :)
Your D-50 demos bring out the sounds that make me want one. I had previously dismissed it. Thank you Woody!
huh! had no idea. i don't even know what the instrument looks like, let alone how to say it. cheers!
Very understandable as they are a relic:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calliope_(music)
My favourite synth - I fully restored one, sold it and now wish I had one again.
Eric Persing himself almost tears up at this patch, and it's his creation! While demonstrating with the D50, he mentioned how personal the patch was to him, but that so many people connected with it.
interesting, thanks!
@@WoodyPianoShack You're welcome! By the way, I just bought a Roland D-50 about 3 hours ago. It has a lot more cosmetic wear than I'd like, but functions perfectly. This video demonstrating the "soundtrack" patch is responsible! It is my favourite preset also!
Hey Woody!
Another very nice video of a legendary and beautiful sounding synth! What is nice about the D-50 is its ability to sound very colourful in a brilliant quality on almost every patch. Although my favourite synth is in fact the DX7, it finally broke up the EP-dominated era, even being equally hart to program, before high-quality samplers were accessible to general public. Jean-Michel Jarre, George Duke and also Dave and Don Grusin used those presets in a very nice.
I might consider one day to put one next to my DX7 Mk1.
By the way, your favourite patch is called "Soundtrack".
Cheers!
well done on nailing the patch! for me also the DX was more ground breaking, although the D50 was the first of the romplers that dominated for the next 30 years. and now FM is back in fashion again... :)
+Woody Piano Shack You're probably right in saying the DX was more ground-breaking back then.... But the D-50 has stood the test of time better, probably because it has on-board effects, splitting and layering, aftertouch and (IMO at least) is considerably easier/more intuative to program than the DX7, to make those awesome, huge sounds !
I've had mine since 1987 and it's still used regularly... The acoustic pianos are still crap (as they were on all synths back then), but if you told me to pick just one, either the DX7 or the D-50, to go make music with, it would be the D-50 every time ! :-)
Loving your enthusiasm !! :-)
Gary S That'd be a very hard choice. I have a Volca FM which is a mini DX7 and I have the Boutique D-05 which is an exact recreation of this synth. I love them both.
I wish i had the space for the OG keyboards but they're too big for my 1 bedroom apartment.
Of course, just knowing you're on preset #37 means "Soundtrack". Lol. Amazing sound. I started with a Roland Juno-6 and jumped to the D-50 next. What a leap! Bought it new from the store on Tuesday, January 26,1988. (Not that it was a memorable occasion or anything.) Lol. Grabbed Roland's sound cards 01 and 02 and the PG-1000 programmer all at the same time. Bought cards 03 + 04 a few years later when they came out. I have always loved the D-50 and now have two D-550's as well. I thought maybe I was the only one still bonkers for this synth after all these years, but your passion and excitement for this synth is really refreshing and I appreciated both parts of this demo. And yes, I also get moved to tears by various patches, so I was completely with you while demo'ing the "Soundtrack" patch. I can't say enough awesome things about Chris Nightingale's "D-50 Librarian" program if you want a great tool for organizing and loading patches into your D-50. www.d50librarian.co.uk Beautiful job on your restore job! Cheers!
great to hear from another d50-freak, there are more of us than you might first think... :)
that sound. well, I think it was on another channel that said that was the spacious sweep, and you're right. the sound's on my roland e-28, and my generic digital piano, and I think my casio CTK-4400 has it too. it's my fav sound also. also, there's no need to apologize for how you feel. I think if I owned a d50, I'd have tears in my eyes too, it's so wonderful.
Thanks for the the inspiration, finally found a mint D-50.
that soundtrack preset is also my fav too its so harmonic and warm with a unique feel
13:08 I love how You enjoy it :D
I enjoy listening to it as a musical instrument (no modern harshness it's soothing to my ears) and even the traditional sounds that I normally would pass by (thinking plink plink) are not bad. The younger generation needs a music class so they can play this keyboard and compare against modern synths and VSTs, and have a class discussion on what they like. It's very important for them (and us!) to develop artistically, culturally, and musically.
D50 & DX7 & M1 Korg are Legends 💗👍
Candra Carolus picking up my DX7 tomorrow. 30 years in the making. At least.
I have the Holy Trinity!
@@djdigital3806 Yes agree... korg trinity is best. But later came triton 😀👍
Candra Carolus Playing with my DX7s now
Candra Carolus I have a Krog M1 and a Krog Wavestation EX also.
Brilliant Video. I have a Roland FrX4 Piano Accordion which has some of the D50 sounds as presets. I midi it up to a Kawai km1 module, and can get a really good sound. Keep posting your great Demos. Ken from Scotland. 😀
hi ken, that sounds like a mighty fun and unusual rig, nice 1 :) now go find yourself some midi bagpipes!
I was thinking about getting one and You just convinced me to.
Alex Rex And - did you get one?
So agree with you on that last patch Soundtrack , i spent hours and hours trying to recreate this on my JD 990 didnt quite happen. However the Sy77 has a very close patch . I must post a demo.
Really curious. Please do!
would love that patch
0e0 I will do a demo vid soon and post on my channel as well as some of my other sound creations.
Get the VST of the D50 on Roland Cloud, it has this patch!!!!!
That one is present on the D-20 as well, even as the same name (not typically the case). Idk if its exactly the same, but I'll never forget that sound from my childhood.
The D50 sounds a lot warmer hearing you play it than I remember. At the time I thought the pads were weak, but then I was comparing it to an Oberheim OB-Xa. My fave patches were Soundtack, Stacato Heaven and Star Trek Voices. Jean Michel Jarre used this synth for most of his Revolutions album.
Oh and did you know that Yamaha had a patch called sweet heaven which is on a lot of their keyboards which sounds exactly like staccato heaven on the d50
Greetings! Your favorite preset at 16:50 was used on Tangerine Dream's Canyon Dreams album, Water's Gift. In fact, most of the album was recorded from the D-50. Nice sound indeed. Love the rich sounds this beast produces :)
I stumbled into your video here and was wanting to listen to find out what the very same patch was. I have heard this for decades on famous songs and wanted to know myself. My favorite song using this patch heavily is on Tangerine Dream's "Canyon Dreams" LP and the song "Canyon Voices".
What a gorgeous synth. Your enthusiasm is shared. Thanks for the great demo.
great comment, thanks! yeah, you can spot that sound in many songs when you know what to listen for. every synth that came after the d50 copied the sounds with patches such as "Fantasy" (fantasia) and copies of Soundtrack. cheers.
Amazing video, thank you! I need to get myself a D-50.
Have watched this video several times now and I want one!! I have owned a few Roland E- and G- series home arranger keyboards and they all have many D-50 samples in them (the famous sounds like "Fantasia" and "Atmosphere").. .not as good as the real thing of course but I love playing them.
If you can't get your hands on the D50 for realsies, Roland offer a VST emulation (which can be programmed!) as part of their Roland Cloud, and it also sounds awesome.
My god what a beast it must have been in 1987. I think in 2017 it still sounds amazing!