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The most blatant uses of D50 Digital Native Dance in the 80s


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Inspired by a recent thread.....

 

The D50 was quite ubiquitous when it hit the scene in 1987. I can't recall a music video of the time that didn't proudly display the sleek beauty as a token of the professional artist. FM was already getting it's fair share of over-exposure and samplers were just starting to break the price barrier of the weekend musician. No patch better demonstrated that the D50 was "something different" quite like Digital Native Dance. From the big metallic attack to the swirling pad and transition into a rhythmic sequence, the one key demo patch was born. It seems that an incredible number of acts shamelessly jumped on the "put that cool thing in the track" bandwagon (perhaps my memory is making this fish bigger than really was). Let's find out.

 

Post examples of popular recordings that featured all or part of the Digital Native Dance in all it's (shameless) glory!

 

I'll start with my favorite example from David Lee Roth's Skyscraper - 0:25 seconds in. No hiding it.

 

[video:youtube]

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Stokely beat me to it! Desde La Vida was my favorite song on that album, probably the most ELP-like. I didn't know what the hell that sound was, of course until I bought a D-50.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

 

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Keith Emerson was not immune--assuming Native Dance is what I think it is.

 

I had this album in the 80s, I think my band even played the single from it!

 

Right about 2 minutes in....

 

I kinda ruins the charisma of the track after you know that this swirling sound is a stock synth preset. It's like thinking your girl told you a secret but finding out more people know it.

FunMachine.

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It actually did jar me when I first heard it, because like many of you I had already heard that very distinctive patch :) The D50 made a big splash iirc. I couldn't believe KE would just use a stock patch...but in the end, it's about the songs and playing for better or worse. I have no room to point fingers, I'm notoriously lazy about programming my own patches.
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Okay, gotta say that I like that usage of that patch in the David Lee Roth song. Tempo-matched and later the tinkely part is mimicked by some sort of other keys with alternating panning. That's actually a good use of it.

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I've never heard the David Lee Roth song and really liked it! It's got a bit of '80s cheese to it and almost seems pitch shifted up or sped up for some reason...just my very first listen. I want to find this album. It reminds me a bit of the sound/production of Bob Plant's album Now and Zen, which was one of my favorites from the later '80s.

 

I am racking my brain on other uses of this sound in prominent ways...I have a recollection of maybe on MJ's Bad album or some Pet Shop Boys song? I'll poke around.

 

Thanks for this thread! Great nostalgia. Makes me want to track down a D-50. I used a borrowed one for a few years back in the day and I have had the D-05 Boutique twice and sold it (couldn't get along with the form factor).

 

Regards,

Eric

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Skyscraper is a fun album. First and foremost, it's a Steve Vai showcase. But Brett Tuggle has some great keys throughout. Definitely worth a listen (Check out Two Fools A Minute) for some D50 Organ.
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1 more: The Movie by Dream Patrol, 1988

 

That is very cool. It sounds like they sampled it at the beginning and slowed it down (unless there was a way to do that on the D50 itself). Another track that is loaded with D50 patches! I've never heard of them - will check out more.

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