Dave Bryce Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I just traded my D550 even up for a recently fully refurbished D50. The thing even has a standard IEC connector instead of the usual Roland two prong plug. I loved the D50 when it came out. I wrote endless programs for that thing. I have four cards full of them. The D550 rack was simply not the same, from the different colored display (yellow on black on the keyboard is MUCH cooler than the standard Roland rack blue backlight) to the lack of performance controls. Just spent the past hour playing on it. MAN, what a great synth. Happy now. Anybody else have an old friend return home? dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I've mentioned on a few threads over the last few years that I had lost a Leslie 145 to Hurricane Isabell flooding in 2003. It was my first amp, given to me by my father when I was 15 years old, summer 1976. 10 years go by. April 2013 I purchased a Leslie 142 to pair with my 1961 Hammond A-100. Same size cabinet as the 145. Can't believe I lugged that thing around to gigs in High School. What a sound. No substitute. I have owned a Ventilator and a Burn and currently own a HX3 module, all which have excellent leslie sims. If there is a gig, that's what I'm gigging with now. That damn Leslie, though, she's something special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 One of these days I hope to replace the Rhodes Chroma that I lost in a fire. Right now I am trying to decide between working one more year or four more years before retirement. I may through a Chroma into that decision. If I work 4 more years I get a new car, ... and a Rhodes Chroma. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I've had my D-50 since 87. It's timeless. So far I haven't let my favorites get away. But having too much stuff has its own set of pain. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 The D-50. One of my all time favs. LA Synthesis foreverrr! Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 That's great, dB ! The D-50 was a monster, and still is. If I had an old friend return home, that's one of a few I'd pick too. While the initial buzz around the D50 was based on the unique sounds derived from the new 'partial' technology, I also used it as the utility synth in my rig. So I did a lot of programming that utilized the 'traditional' waveforms and subtractive synth engine. Got some huge sounds that way; it was like having a bi-timbral, dual-oscillator Juno-2 with onboard effects. 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 While the initial buzz around the D50 was based on the unique sounds derived from the new 'partial' technology, I also used it as the utility synth in my rig. So I did a lot of programming that utilized the 'traditional' waveforms and subtractive synth engine. Got some huge sounds that way; it was like having a bi-timbral, dual-oscillator Juno-2 with onboard effects. Exactly - me, too! That's one of the reasons I wanted the keyboard back - the rack doesn't have a way to toggle porta on and off, and a bunch of my patches took advantage of that. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I have a lot of gear and the only old friend I brought back was a Rhodes piano. I got rid of mine back in 1983 because the action was terrible. I finally decided to hunt down a real one again as I never found any emulation that could do justice to them. This time I hunted for Rhodes with good action; they're hard to find (don't ever buy any on ebay) but I finally did find one. I was one of the few who didn't sell his analog synths during the Great Analog Dump of the 1980s when the D-50 and DX7 ruled. Those old friends never left and I added some new friends for peanuts. Wish I had known about the modular synths then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucktronix Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Man, I can remember back in the Navy when I was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, a young kid had one.. how I used to drool over how that thing sounded thru the PA, damn!! There is a used D-50 at Sound Source now. I thought about snatching it up, but I don't see the usefulness in my live rig being that the Fantom pretty much covers everything the D-50 would be needed for. It would be more of a nostalgic purchase. Kronos 88 Platinum, Yamaha YC88, Subsequent 37, Korg CX3, Hydrasynth 49-key, Nord Electro 5D 73, QSC K8.2, Lester K Me & The Boyz Chris Beard Band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linwood Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I always loved my D-50. Of all things, I remember having a really good B3 patch on it with the joy stick controlling the leslie. I had a gig for a summer back in the early '90's and pretty much just played organ stuff and used an M1 for the bottom and the D-50 for the top...yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C. Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I always loved my D-50. Of all things, I remember having a really good B3 patch on it with the joy stick controlling the leslie. I had a gig for a summer back in the early '90's and pretty much just played organ stuff and used an M1 for the bottom and the D-50 for the top...yikes. I had a similar experience using my D-50 for Hammond B-3 sounds back in the '90's. It was no Hammond SK1, but it definitely wasn't too shabby compared to many other options back in that timeframe. In fact, awhile back I made a short instructional video for YouTube that showed how to use the D-50's joystick as a speed-control for the Leslie-Speaker effect. (Something that couldn't be recreated the same using the 'joystick-less' D-550 module.) I've owned both the module and the keyboard version of the D-50 over the years, and I absolutely prefer, (and still currently OWN) the D-50 full-sized keyboard version! Here's a link to that video clip I was talking about for anyone who's interested... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I too loved my old D-50. The thing felt great under ones fingers, was build super solidly, and oh the sounds! Built in effects!!! And yeah, I though the Hammond sound was pretty great at the time for sure. That was my first real "new" purchase, and man those stock sounds sounded awesome in a band... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogholic Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Yeah, the D-50 was my first synth. Was totally blown away by its sound. I still have it, she's pretty beat up from all the gigging. Keyboard useless, wonky outputs...and a totally worn out vol slider probably too expensive too fix. So a MIDI cable and some gaffers tape on a good day can make her sing again All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenner13 Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 If one happens to have an iPad, a MIDI interface, and a D50, theres an app for that...iPG800 just had a very recent update and now includes a PG-1000 emulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 If one happens to have an iPad, a MIDI interface, and a D50, theres an app for that...iPG800 just had a very recent update and now includes a PG-1000 emulation. Ain't technology grand.... dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konaboy Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 I picked one up very recently and have been doing lots of vids on this wonderful synth. playing the soundtrack preset brought tears to my eyes. here's my pickup vid if you're interested. hang out with me at woody piano shack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 My memory might be faulty but I remember hearing that latency on the midi input made playing the D50 from another keyboard almost impossible. This might have been on earlier models. Can anyone confirm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konaboy Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 My memory might be faulty but I remember hearing that latency on the midi input made playing the D50 from another keyboard almost impossible. This might have been on earlier models. Can anyone confirm? i sequenced a song the other day PC => D50 and there was no noticeable latency. hang out with me at woody piano shack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 My memory might be faulty but I remember hearing that latency on the midi input made playing the D50 from another keyboard almost impossible. This might have been on earlier models. Can anyone confirm? I don't recall experiencing that. I got my original D50 when they first came out, and used it extensively via MIDI. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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