This is a wonderful subtractive synthesizer. Square wave generator with variable pulse width (sawtooth is obtained at filter stage). Ring modulator, excellent low pass resonant filter, multi-stage envelopes for pitch, filter, and amplifier. Three simultaneous LFO's, that can be routed again to pitch, filter, amplifier, and pulse width. Then of course the parametric EQ, chorus, and reverb/delay type of effects, all in digital domain. Oh yeah, and then 76 samples (no multisamples, thanks goodness) sprinkled all over the solid subtractive synthesizer. It's a fantastic machine. Kudos to brilliant Japanese engineers and programmers (70% of D-50 development was software, so arguably the D-50 is a soft synth, but I digress...) and of course Eris Persing patch samples and patch programming. In other words, Western touch on Far Eastern technological marvel. Lovely.

There is something about your videos Woody, that are so compelling. You don't make zany, laugh a second, action packed videos, but I think what I see in each and every one, is sincerity, both towards the product, and the viewer. So, thank you!!

D-50 Arriving tomorrow. I am soooo stoked!! My favorite synth since I was a teen. Great demo, the emotional connection to sound is real. Sometimes a song will bring you to tears, sometimes a sound. Cheers!

I get the same emotional response from synthesizers. Loved that moment when you played your favorite patch. Thanks for making this video! I’m hoping to buy an original D-50 soon! :)

The favourite patch is used by Clannad extensively on the Atlantic Realm soundtrack album, one of their best albums

Happy anniversary D-50, you are indeed a classic!

One of my all time favourite synths and I am very excited that it has been confirmed that Roland will be releasing this very soon as a boutique synth.

Woody, loved the video as always. Your enthusiasm and affection for D50 is very heartening. You can almost feel the emotions you put into playing the instrument. Keep it up!

Hi Woody ! Thanks for your emotional video of the D-50. I bought an original unit today - everything works beautifully and it sounds fantastic !

thank you for playing this synth spiritualy, its so magical!

I'm so excited about the D-05 and can't wait to order mine! _Soundtrack_ has also impacted my life, it was somewhere early 90s where I played the sound on a E-70 or JV-30. Not the 'real' sound but part of the GM spec, but still, I was blown away. Sounds of the D-50 were in numerous records in the late 80s and 90s, and it still holds up today as great classic sounds.

A sweet blast from the past. Thanks.

Brilliant video of your journey with the D 50 thankyou for sharing Woody :-)

Thanks for this amazing video. Great as usual.

Great tribute Woody. Really enjoyed this. 😎👌

Hi Woody, thanks for sharing! It’s so great to see and hear someone so excited!! 😊 The D50 indeed is a great synth and brings back lots of memories to me. I still remember the first day I met the D50. It was in Rotterdam at a musicshop named Soundwave. The D50 had just arrived and the guy from the shop was showing off. One of the sounds I remember was taken right from Grace Jones’ Slave to the rhythm. When he played the first two chords... wow!! I was completely flabbergasted! What a beautiful sound it was! Later on I decided to buy it’s little brother the D10, but... it never had that ‘touch’ and spirit of the D50. So the D10 ended up as being just my master midi keyboard. Once in awhile I run into a D50 again and always was thrilled with the sound! So I know and feel what you mean by playing the D50. Even now, 30 years later it’s still ‘a hell of a machine’!! 👍

i just love your hustle Woody, makes me want to get a synth i really knew nothing about! I recognise heaps of those patches from 90s drum and bass. nice!

Great, super sincere demo. Thanks man!

0:45 what a great moment, thank you for the video Woody!

man I finally subscribed to your channel, your freaking awesome and I love that you review all synth , I will buy this D50 , I just got myself and Roland JV1000 for some 80s sounds, this D50 is amazing.

8:33 - Intruder FX - that's the patch that sold me on the D-50. I remember walking into a music shop in 1987 and trying the D-50. When I heard that sound, I had to get one! I'm glad you played it with a big chord and then laid into the aftertouch on it as that's how that patch really sound best!

Brilliant Woody! I will check out D-50 more when time comes...

So many people get so involved in acquiring and owning the latest gear, believing that newer means better. Too many people spend too much time debating analog vs digital, as well. At the end of the day, it should be about the music and how it makes you feel. It's so great to see someone throwing those silly arguments out the window and allowing us to see him being emotionally moved by sound and music, regardless of the source. I grew up on digital synths made in the late 80s and early 90s, and I can assure you, a beautiful digital pad with lots of layers can move you just as much as the purest analog waveform.

Woody I really enjoy your channel. I've own on the past a Roland D-20, and think that they're really great instruments. Greetings from Argentina !

Best synth I ever owned (with Oberheim Matrix1000 being a close 2nd). When I first heard it at the LA music show (late 1987) I was blown away. Suddenly the DX7 sounded thin and dated because the D-50 was so fresh sounding (PCM attack partials). I had to have it and shortly thereafter it was my 2nd keyboard (along with my first MIDI keyboard, a Roland Juno-106). Made a lot of great music with it and the sounds themselves were VERY inspiring. Even got the Steinberg D-50 patch editor/librarian which allowed you to create patches randomly. Mostly misses doing it that way but once in awhile it would give you a gem. As with a lot of young musicians, after I got married I ended up selling it around 2000 (to buy Pampersx1000). REGRET!!! So happy to see Roland has FINALLY released both a VST plug (subscription...ugh) and a hardware module (D-05).

Ah Woody... I love your videos mate, I could learn a lot from your chilled presentation style too! I signed up for the Roland cloud trial recently so I'll be locked in my studio for a bit lol. Hope all good with you, wherever you are now

Nice one Woody. I am a full on analog nerd. But the d-50 always spoke to me. I'm waiting on the new boutique d 05. Roland has nailed it with the sounds on it. And I have no studio space for ANOTHER keyboard! Love Arco Strings! 🕶✌🏻🎶

I'm like number 100! Great job! :) I always enjoy your accent and videos. Take care, Sam.

Okay, I'm sold with the D-05. Was never really that interested in the Boutique series, but this new and small version of the D-50 is just awesome.. Can't wait to try one! And of course, can't wait to see Woody playing it one day on the channel :).

Man this was a fun video to watch

Wonderful review/demo , Woody! that patch you featured sounds familiar, but I have no idea of the patch's name. Great work again!

Bought my D50 new years ago and still plays great, I will never get rid of it.

And I thought I was the only one who got choked up over a patch (true story)... Your a true Sound Soldier Woody. High respect!

It still sounds relevant and modern all these years later.

the entire Jean Michael Jarre's "Revolution" was written on D-50. BTW, Woody, that "your favorite patch ever" can be also gotten on JD-XA (sourced from Integra-7)

Holy cow! I like Yamaha DX7 and Korg M1 but absolutely LOVE Roland D50.

I'll be giving mine some lovin' today as well!

We should all aspire to love something as much as Woody loves the Soundtrack patch.

I remember many synths from the mid to late 80's , however the D-50 escaped my attention until maybe 2007. I did recognize the Clannad/ Enya sound. Its awful nice of Roland to offer D-05 & maybe cultivate future synth collectors.

5:30 it was "SOUNDTRACK" preset right..?? Im a fan user of Roland..i owned a d20 when i was in the junior high school..and still own XPS10 and an EA7 Roland Arranger

Hi Woody ! So happy that Roland FINALLY release this "rebirthed" hardware synthmodule. Can't wait to test it. By the way, this boutique-module will be compatible with ALL past D-50 presets. Only point that remains unclear : will Roland release an editor for it... Keeping finger crossed. Great tribute to that iconic synth by the way ! Congrats. Nice week-end to you. S.

The sound of that D-50 is getting me wetter than an Otters' pocket, I will definitely have to pick up a D-05 :D

My go to Sinth without a doubt

Great sound tour, Woody. Always fun to see a synth musician react viscerally to a patch. And it's great to see that Roland have created the D-05, and at a very affordable price. Also, for more keyboard thrills, check out Eric Persing's (btw, no "h" in Persing) search KZfaq for Greg Phillinganes playing the Sprectrasonic Keyscape!! Such a very cool instrument and what a great walk through pop music history by one of the greats!

The sound is called soundtrack, I bought my d50 in the early 90's. I had to clean some contacts and stupidly blew something. I bought a Yamaha SY22, which I have now and my d550 rack mount is coming tomorrow (I hope), so I essentially still have my d50 of course midi to the Yamaha Sy22. But actually thinking about it, it is weird in a way that only a couple of months ago I wrecked my d50 and it turns out to be 30th anniversary, I don't have it and now have the rack coming, it has an enhanced display. looking forward to hearing these sounds again. Another thing, i am a huge fan of the phantasm films, this synth was used for almost the entire phantasm 2 score, and that "soundtrack" patch is actually on there too, as well as the Fantasia sound, you can find that on the end titles theme for phantasm 2 and a track called "a thoughtful moment". Should mention the D05, I did not know about this until after I ordered the D550 rack sound module I know it has some other stuff on it but from what I have heard ( a comparison video by Roland) I think the actual D50's overall sound is that bit better than the D05, So I think it was almost meant to be for me that I am getting the rack. As you said in the video though, it won't just be the same playing the D550 on the Yamaha SY22 as it is a beautiful synth the Roland D50. i may pick one up again later on then I can play 2 Roland d50 sounds at the one time...which in the 90's was one of my dreams...but then now I have a Yamaha EX7 which has some great sounds too which would be better to use in conjunction with the d50/D550 sounds. But the fact of the matter is I only bought the D50 way back when because I loved the sounds from phantasm 2 and at the time it was genuinely amazing to actually have them on a synth and be able play them. P.s you can hear the D50 too on the Leon score, well in the film only, in the international cut when Mathilda is going round the doors with Leon and sticks the chewing gum in the peep hole, you can hear that native dance sound there too. Recognised the D50 in other films too and that same sound on other films too.

Классные звуки . Суперовский синтезатор.

That’s the Soundtrack Patch that has a bunch of different versions/variations on many a Roland synth after the D-50!

Picked up my D-50 last week. Coincidentally he was an Indian gentleman also. He bought it new 29 years ago and said it was the best synth at the time for Indian style music

One of my favorite, keyboards form back in the day was the roland D-70.. did you ever use that one?

It's Soundtrack preset? Your lovely one.

Every synthesizerfan should have a D50 :) Never gonna sell mine

lately I bought a D50 in excellent condition. I grew up with the music of the 80s and I owned a lot of synths but never the D50. Only now can I say that I missed a great piece of music history in my hands. I loaded other patches banks alternative to the presets and I realized that the D50 is a machine with infinite sound possibilities. it sounds fat, beautiful, analog.

Hey, Woody! Tell me pls, how get "kbd Trans" function in d-50? Where is it?

Hey, Woody. Great D-50 special. Enjoyed it very much. Especially the short music sequence starting at 1:51. Can you tell me what it is? Shazam does not know it. I MUST have it. Can it be purchased anywhere?

Hello, I have got a D50 since the eighties. I have stopped playing music for 25 years and there is one month ago now I have reconnected my synth. Just the battery to change and it is ready to play again ! What an amazing instrument ! Unfortunately I have lost the internal sounds 😭 I have got a big collection of sounds on floppy disks but i don't know if I Will be able to read them again ... They were readable with a D50 éditor which was running on an Atari computer ... And I haven't got this computer any more 😭

Roland made D50 VST on Roland Cloud. I wish there was a D50 Reborn synth instead, something similar to what Yamaha did with Reface models. Just realized there is D05 but I was hoping for something larger.

Are there good piano and EPs in D50? I would like to play gospel music. Congratulations!! Greetings from Brasil!

That's cool... I didn't know that.. Just when I bought my D-50... It arrives on Wed. haha

When did the D-550 come out?

So old... 1987 ?! but better than the Yamaha Montage & the newest Synthesizer... Nice Video ! ^^

The boutique's with the tiny knobs are just too small for me, but for a D-50 .. ba da boom! Been looking for a mint D-550 all year with no luck .. the search is over!

is that the sound of the endind of war in rocky 4 or the begining

I think you got a good deal. Does the Soundtrack patch still make you cry?

Does anybody know where I can get a proper dual prong power cable for my D-50? I've made something up with pieces of tape and cork but it's... pretty dangerous-looking :)

you loved it's sound but were worried on it being 30 years old and one output was hotter than another..SO are you getting the D-05 Boutique?

Digital Native Dance. My goodness.

the contender Roland released to "fight back" the notorious Yamaha DX7 ;)

So what's the name of that patch? It sounds incredible and your reaction was really great :)

اجمل كيبورد كان رفيقي في الأستيج

in May Home (IRAQ) before we was rent the instrument from music shop but with Arabic Scale (MicroTune) because we need it Amazing Keybourd

Is this synth programmable? Or it only has presets?

problem I bet would be on the 05 no after touch which adds the expression to the sound as without it be dull

Nice video. But I'm a bit confused. Didn't you already have a D50 earlier that you sold? So is this a old footage?

2 things, I wish I had that synth, and I wish I knew how to play the keyboard.

Thats my favourite sound was sound track gary numan one off the roland d50 sample the sounds

Woody sorry it's 1987 and not 1997, simple mistake. :)

I loved my D50, but eventually sold it because I needed better piano and organ sounds. But awesome for pads and strings :)

I had d50 nice synthasizer had few cards sorry got rid

Your favorite preset: Soundtrack 😉

'Soundtrack' is the name of the preset.

Magnificent the D50 but it still expensive expensive !

lets play montage on the monatage

Soundtrack

Oh, I think I should reset mine with default factory sounds :)

haha where else can you watch a synth video. have no playing for 3 minutes at least but be fully entertained XD I like the fact that buying synths can have a story attatched lol

soundtrack.... I also have it in the U-20 but it sounds brighter and lost his deep warmth: www.synthmania.com/Roland%20U-220/Audio/Factory%20Patches/43%20Soundtrack.mp3

Woody, You need some more Eric Persing. You'll have to try Keyscape.

Thought you sold this bad boy?

CORRECTION - 0:00 - 0:12 it's thirty years since 1987, not '97.

Soundtrack Preset

I love all the Roland "LA" series of D-synths, but except for my D-70, all of mine are in permanent cold storage now because of those damn flimsy front panel buttons that Roland used... No matter how nice you try to treat the synth, eventually those buttons will break, while the actual switches underneath will become non-responsive... and it's just becoming too hard to find replacement parts... When I was restoring my Roland D-5 it took nearly two years to track down a source for the front panel buttons, and then the buttons on my D-10 started breaking... As great as LA-synths sound, with the release of the D-50 VSTi, and the D-05, it's just not worth the effort anymore...

Borrow one? They should give you two!

1997?? Makes it 20 years old lol

Roland wont send you one because there pissed of your review of the A-49 😜

For me the D-05 is to small and the D-50 is to large. I got very small space left here in the studio, i wish it were so big like a microkorg.

Roland Botique has now released a new D-50 Hardware-Synthesizer, called D-05: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/itCbebGjybWsfZs.html

1987 not 1997. I really dont understand how people like these as they came after the prophet 5 and jupiter 8 which sound so much more lively and cool. but to each his own

Woody... since Soundtrack is your favourite patch... I am pretty sure you'll enjoy a video by its creator: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jM2XpqVmysCUn4E.html

1987 ;-) lol

*87