Joy of Synths 41 Roland D-50 Hardware Synth

A lot has happened over the past three months. Though writing never stopped, focus kept shifting hard right and hard left to the next new thing. There was iii (3) Points Music Festival in Miami; acquiring non-rental Kino Flo pro film studio lights for 1/100th of the original cost a decade ago ($35 vs $3,000/light unit); bidding, winning and picking up instruments and audio gear offered by a musician’s estate sale; Boston visit & The Record Co. session); Tallahassee & Monticello Opera House; Holidays; and storylines that are still ongoing.

Given all the spending on gear and travel, Black Friday had a great offer by Pittsburgh Modular through cre8audio.com with a $999 Taiga Keyboard plus a free Boom Chick Drum Machine, currently discounted to $299 or $1499 Voltage Research Lab 2 plus free Boom Chick. The prices are still ongoing through December 2025 but there’s no free Boom Chick included.

After decades of shopping mania, I’ve learned that psychically it’s best to buy an item at a steep reduction immediately than it is to struggle with a decision only for the item to be gone when your mind is made up. This leads to regret and reproach. It’s easier and cheaper to buy and then see if it is even unboxed in a week of ownership before deciding to keep it.

For brand new items I pay attention to return policies. If a restocking fee is involved then I skip it entirely if there’s a chance I’ll return it. For thrift store items, I’ve learned to put it in a guarded cart. (It’s a social convention that you don’t pull items from another person’s shopping cart. People ignore that convention so you guard your cart and remind folks you’re buying it if they come to take a look.) Once “secure,” check the online price, and if it’s more than half off, move to product testing. If I can buy a better unit for the same price online then I pass. Testing electronics is important but it is not always possible. So there’s the gamble, risk/reward, and depending on mental state, you only see reward and zero risk.

I had zero interest in digital hardware until I opted out of a Modular Eurorack Go case and spent that money on a thrift store find of Novation’s MiniNova virtual analog hardware synthesizer/vocoder. This I tested in full at the thrift store. Despite a fader cap disintegrating in my hands, it checked out at 100% to buy.

In October a musician’s estate sale offered a Roland D-50 digital synthesizer which did not have a power cord. This was a leap of faith tempered with searching out the resell price for a D-50 “for parts” should the synth be inoperable.

A week after the D-50 pickup, a Vox amp popped up at a thrift store for $40. That I tested with no input connections by turning up the volume. There was no noise or hiss as I turned up the volume and EQ controls. Overdrive/gain will produce noise, but this Vox amp was silent otherwise so I bought it. Later testing proved it to be a great find and super necessary for the digital synths as they do not have built in speakers like sample-based keyboards.

Finally, as though a test from the universe, a Korg X50 with handles popped up in my line of sight at a thrift store. I did not need a 3rd digital synth. Like the MiniNova and D-50, I had never heard of Korg’s X50 before encountering it at that moment. Yet this had 2 instrument cables and most importantly the original branded power supply for $122. An off-brand amp was also for sale on the shelf so I connected the Korg to amp and ran through the tests- turning dials, pressing keys, listening for extraneous noise, hiss or hum. Despite an octave of yellowed keys, it sounded great and the buttons and dials were there and responsive. Again, temptation: should I buy? I did. Regret would then drive me to scour eBay, Reverb, Craigslist and anywhere else for a similar price. I essentially bought it for peace of mind and haven’t dived into this Korg X50 any further.

The Roland D-50 hardware digital synthesizer has been present of mind and an online research subject amidst all this other activity. Upon winning the estate sale auction I bought a power cable from Amazon, which arrived a day before I travelled for pickup. The D-50 powered up on November 3rd, and I left it in its hard case until Sunday Dec 7th, when I finally felt I had the right resources and time to dedicate to sorting it out. So let’s sort it out.

This is written in order of operations and acquisitions, not chronologically.

Never heard of the Roland D-50? You’ve likely heard it in late 1980’s pop music from its production era starting in 1987. Roland’s listening guide to the physical Roland D-50 digital synthesizer keyboard is stellar: https://articles.roland.com/listening-guide-sounds-of-the-d-50/

The presets, aka patches, give you ready sounds to play in whatever fashion you like. Some sounds continue to evolve as you hold the key, others after you release the key. You have the option to adjust the sounds but unless you back them up somehow they are gone for good just like a voltage controlled analog synthesizer with multiple patch points.

I don’t view the Roland D-50 as an instrument to replace an analog synthesizer. The D-50 is a standalone unit that relies heavily on MIDI and software development by others to make it useful in 2025/26.

The key to getting a Roland D-50 to play sound is to

1. Replace the power cable and plug into a power conditioner so faulty wall wiring doesn’t fry the D-50.

2. Install a new 2032 battery inside the D-50.

3. Restart with a reset by pressing a few buttons and on switch. This may take 2 peop.

4. With Roland D-50 Memory Cards software for Windows 7-11 only, connect a MIDI OUT from the MIDI converter box to the Roland D-50 MIDI IN port.

5. Install the Factory Presets! Easy!

Swapping a dead battery was not so easy as this was my first step into disassembling digital electronics. The MIDI stuff more appears to be more advanced than Eurorack semi-modular MIDI to Control Voltage module Note (Pitch in Volts per Octave) and Note On/Off.

But it’s not that hard for a starter in digital synths and MIDI to sort this out thanks to the many good people on the internet, specifically Pekka Grönfors, Synth Guy, Cult of D-50, and many blogs and forum posts. I didn’t feel “influencer-ed” for views/affiliate links. Their collective love for the Roland D-50 was genuine based on this spirit of sharing. It’s not such a huge world of despair after all. However, replacing a battery was a bit harder to turn up with basic searches, so here’s what the steps I took.

Step 1: Disconnect the D-50 from power and place it upside down on a soft surface like pillows on a couch or bed. BE CAREFUL WITH THE JOYSTICK!

Step 2: Unscrew the back screws and place them in a container. Unscrew the bottom screws and place them in a different container. These are different lengths.

Step 3: Remove the bottom cover by lifting up and forward/backward. It shouldn’t be connected to the board.

Step 4: Do not disconnect any of the wires from the board! Note that it says D-50/D-550.

Step 5: Locate the flat disc battery near the top of a board, close to the keys. I was unable to remove this battery without Step 6.

Step 6: Do not unplug wires. Unscrew the top board including center screws. Be very careful not to scratch this board with the screwdriver falling off the screw head. There should be protective tin around the screws should you slip.

Step 7: Gently lift the board up, back, and over the lip of the D-50. This gives you access to remove and replace the 2032 disc battery. Pushing from the far end of the battery should allow you to grab it as it emerges from the disc battery holder.

Step 8: Once the battery is replaced move the top board back into position and screw it back to the D-50. Again, no cables were removed so nothing should need to be reattached.

Step 9: I didn’t screw in the bottom cover immediately in case the replacement battery was dead. The bottom cover will hold in place if you grab it while moving the D-50.

Step 10: With luck the D-50 will power up! You won’t hear sounds yet- that comes with MIDI SysEX.

Where to begin with the Roland D-50? A suggestion is to start with determining how you’ll load presets BEFORE you acquire a 1987-1990s produced Roland D-50. If you are truly starting from zero then there are MIDI devices and MIDI cables needed that will increase the cost of owning a physical Roland D-50 synth.

If the Roland D-50 already powers up and has a working D-50-00 ROM preset card (internal batteries can fail and leak all over the card rendering it useless) then you would press buttons to make restoring presets happen. For those new to ROM and RAM, ROM is Read Only Memory, and RAM is Random Access Memory, or Writeable. So you would need a second card to store any presets that you adjust or create from scratch.

What’s interesting is that the Roland D-50 relies on presets/patches to play sounds and it already has 8 numbered buttons for Patch Bank (sound banks) and 8 Patch Number (preset) buttons for sounds per bank. If the Roland powers up AND has a working screen BUT is absent Patches/preset names then you likely won’t hear sounds but you’ll see text and dashes on the screen. However those dashes should be Patch/preset names and those should change as you advance through blank memory slots for I-11, I-12, I-13, etc. What’s that “I” mean? Internal.

So without Patch data filling those blank Patches you have a nice mechanical keyboard that produces no sounds.

To buy one vintage D-50 card/cartridge is between $90-$199. A new high end option is HYPERSYNTH HCARD-750 MKII for $199/Perfect Circuit. It doesn’t use an internal battery, has all the Roland D-50 cards installed and has space for you to store your own custom presets.

My out-of-pocket was $288 after additional auction fees and taxes for the D-50 (auction included a travel case worth $500). Expenses includes $14 for the power cable, $9 for 2 new MIDI cables, $29 for a USB to MIDI cable adapter. I’m not counting travel time and gas because I also picked up 11 other auction items, nor am I including a windows laptop as for most people that is a sunk cost or someone will give you their older Windows 7 to Windows 11 laptop.

Despite these low startup costs for the physical instrument I still consider the $199 for the HCARD-750 a fair price because 95% of the value of the D-50 comes from these presets running through the hardware and out its digital to analog converter.

Without patches/presets the D-50 won’t generate sound. People choose the D-50 for their favorite sounds, which again are presets but called “patches” from analog modular and semi-modular patch sheets.

While there are a number of applications to deal uploading patches to the D-50 with your laptop and MIDI, this following application by Pekka Grönfors proved to be visually pleasing and easy to use with clearly written instructions.

I love the Roland D-50 Memory Cards 1.3.6 Application by Pekka Grönfors. Link below is for Windows 7 - 11 only and a macOS app was never available, with link active as of 12/10/2025. You will have to log into your Google account before access is granted. To download press the 3 vertical dots for options.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u39tTZSMMetoDZCi3yFWohGk5LHxbdPt

Once downloaded unzip the package and just double click to launch the Roland D-50 Memory Cards.exe file. There is not an Installer. Just launch the exe file and read the included manual.

“MIDI device” is where budgeting should come before buying a Roland D-50.

If you proceed wiMRAM cards then you will need to have a Windows computer connected to a MIDI device that is recognized by this application.

The MIDI device needs to have a MIDI OUT capable of connecting a 5-pin MIDI cable to D-50’s MIDI IN port. This can be a full size MIDI port or a MINI MIDI jack that uses a Type A or Type B Mini to Full Size MIDI converter.

The Roland D-50 Memory Cards app doesn’t verify the connection to the D-50’s MIDI IN port. It verifies the connection to the MIDI Device, you’ll use to relay the System Exchange (SysEX) of Patch Banks and Patches per card.

It may be that you already own an audio interface that has MIDI IN/OUT ports and connects to your PC via USB cable. In my case, I used the Scarlett 18i8 2nd Generation’s MIDI OUT port to connect to the D-50 MIDI IN jack.

If you own an audio interface without a MIDI IN or OUT there are alternatives to buying an interface. A cheaper MIDI IN and OUT alternative is CME U2MIDI Pro ($20) or CME C2MIDI Pro ($30). What’s the differference? U is for USB-2 and C is for USB-C. Both models have 2 MIDI 5 PIN connectors for MIDI IN and MIDI OUT from the same device and connects by USB 2.0. USB-C connects to the computer and mobile devices. There may be $10 cheaper knock-offs on Amazon but I suggest going with CME directly or through Amazon store due to their free MIDI customization application which should work with both models, though the USB-C model may prove to have more uses as that cable can plug into iPads, Tablets, and mobile phones without an adapter.

The Korg SQ-1 analog step sequencers can work as a MIDI device if you connect to a computer with a USB-B square cable. The SQ-1 has a MINI MIDI jack that uses a Type A 3.5mm to Full Size MIDI adapter.

While it’s fairly basic when it comes to converting control voltage to MIDI, it works as a simple MIDI bridge.

Restart the computer, then check the app’s settings to see if the MIDI device is recognized. It showed up as “Audio Interface,” NOT Roland D-50 on my computer.

Per manual, change Settings>Misc. panel>Delay after F7 from 00 the speed to 04 ms to give the Roland D-50 time to react to the SysEX transfer.

I’m not loading more Patch Cards to the Roland D-50 as I don’t want to risk messing it up until I’ve exhausted recording all of my favorite current Patches.

I have the 2025 release of the Arturia Keystep mk2 arpeggiator/sequencer and a 2019-acquired Korg SQ-1 analog step sequencer with MIDI OUT. Given that the D-50’s aftertouch has dried up over the decades it’s easier to connect a MIDI controller that sends aftertouch to try and restore that functionality to the Roland D-50.

More will come on the Keystep mk2 in forthcoming newsletter.

Roland D50 | All six official cards for the Roland D50 in a nice bundle! For free!!!

@SynthFellow

Covers Roland D-50 Memory Cards App by Pekka Grönfors

https://www.youtube.com/@pekkagronfors7304/videos

Deadlink to advertised cross-platform web app that has since disappeared in the USA, unfortunately. It may be accessible in Europe only?

Https://modernretro.epizy.com/roland-d50-memory-cards.html

Roland D-50 30th Anniversary landing page and Interviews link

From 30th Anniversary page, sound design talk by originators Eric Persing and Adrian Scott. YouTube link

Sweetwater: Restore Roland D-50 Factory Presets article from 2017 (Press and hold 0 and Data Transfer buttons then Power Up while still holding those buttons.) link

Polynominal.com page with lots of details on Roland D-50, Linear Arithmetic synthesis and further resources. Link.

Hypersynth’s Hcard-750 MK2 Preset (Patch) Memory Card with built in Patch Bank indicator display for Roland D-50. $199 at Perfect Circuit. Link.

DTronics.nl DT-1000 hardware controller/programmer for Roland D-50 link, still available at PC for $500. Their manual is another pathway into understanding editing existing sounds / patches and creating new ones from scratch.

Bobby Blues site with best explanation of how a D-50 patch is put together and so much great information and links. Visit here for that page. This page has famous examples of D-50’s use with links to audio files with examples. This still-active site stands the test of time of web-design and page structure. It is not mobile-first but it is readable on a mobile device. Here’s the D-50 starter page if you are linear.

And again, aforementioned Roland D-50 Memory Cards app needs mentioning again as I don’t believe it is cited in other pages. This Windows software fills blank memory slots with the right patches. Login to Google first then head over to this link, valid as of Christmas Day 2025.

Roland_D-50_Creative_Book.pdf by way of The Kyoto Connection.com. For D-50 manuals and pdf books check out: https://www.thekyotoconnection.com/cultofd50/#manuals

A very sincere expired sales post about the Roland V-Synth XT Rack mount synth. May appear to be a dead link but scroll down as the listing may be archived. To quote, “I hope it inspires a young generation of musicians and whoever buys it has as much fun and productivity from it as I have.” Amen.

If your Roland D-50 is up and running then begin playing and recording the Roland D-50! If it’s a non-working project, well, keep digging deeper and consider that there are repair shops and individuals who service Roland synthesizers. Expect to pay a non-refundable fee for a repair estimate so shop around based on reputation before price.

The end of a year is a time for reflection on the 11 9/10s months prior and consideration of where one has arrived with projects and where one could be in a year’s time with projects, possessions, and personal relationships.

If you’re a bit deflated as the 2025 calendar comes to a close, watch this video on DiViNCi for inspiration about creating music. Then quietly despair at a future that did not take hold. Promise yourself that 2026 will be different, somehow.

The upside is that creating things brings joy and joy should be shared so start sharing and creating. Wishing you the joy of synths and all the best over the Holidays and New Years! Cheers, Anthony // Joy of Synths.

One final thing

Writing about the D-50 was much harder and time-consuming than expected as getting prepared to sort how to get digital hardware instruments and devices going was time-consuming This newsletter will return to a 2x a month schedule in 2026 as there are plenty of topics I started writing about that needed a “It’s working!” conclusion to complete. Always start with an internal battery replacement and don’t fix it or clean the boards if it ain’t broken. If it’s running then run with it!

All Contents Copyright Anthony Torres 2025/26. All rights reserved. Linked sites and videos property their owners.