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Average rating:
4.4 out of 5
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I just bought a used D50 and I wiped out the lame preset pianos, saxes, etc. and filled it up with exotic hybrid sounds. This machine has a lot of potential if you check under the hood. The D50, like the Wavestation, should be in the synth hall of fame. Play with the waveforms inside...you might surprise yourself...
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There was a time where I was mad about the D50's sound, but it was 10 (?) years ago. I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it, except for the pleasure of owning a synth who carved his name in synth's history. I have the PG1000, it's a nice tool, but it doesn't prevent the D50 from sounding 'flat', unfortunately. I am very sorry to say that, because it seems that some of u are very fond of their D50, and it's fine, but the sounds it make are somewhat 'outdated'. Don't get me wrong, i didn't say it couldn't produce some nice sounds (I made some truly breathtaking pads/strings on it, for instance), but for instance, it's very difficult to make it sound 'punchy', if u see what I mean. Possible yet to make intersting FXs, cooooool to have EQs inside, which are useable, not too bad chorus/flanger, dreadful metallic reverb. Cool 'chase', this one is a really funny function. A nightmare for basses : even when u can make them sound good alone, they get burried as soon as u bring back the mix ! Don't like at all the 'human interface' neither. Even with the programmer, it's still not very inviting when it comes to program your own patches. You will find 18.000 sound banks on the net, but 99% of the content is shit. As always, build your own, it will probably sound better and u will be proud! A crap machine for (my) techno as far as it lacks sonic personnality, but maybee good for ambient (?). I would feel guilty to give a 1 to my old friend, and wrong to give it a 5, so no mark today.
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A wonderful keyboard, great for smooth analoguish lead sounds. It's THE lead keyboard to have for most modern middle-eastern and armenian muic. The only problem i have are the ep's and string type sounds suck (i'm not talking about analogu synth string pads, more like sampled strings) but what can you do, no machine is perfect. Ihave some cool lead sounds if anyone wants them.
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As a teenager, I dreamed of owning a D50. I just recently bought a D-550 sound module (it's cousin) last week and I am loving it. I am disappointed about the preset piano sounds, but the analog and brass are second to none.
I also already own a technics digital piano, an Alesis QS7 keyboard, and a Roland U-220 sound module. My best guess tells me that I will spend most of my time playing the D-550.
Also, if anyone has any D50/D550 cards for sale, please email me at kevinr@iname.com.
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If you use the lame-o presets, you will hate it as they have been overused again and again. However, the D-50 to this day has not been replicated by any other "digital" synth. In many ways, the D-50 is the first virtual analog, with a distinctly analog paradigm in programming (aside from the sample sniplets that can be used for attack). What this synth has that not too many others do (I'd say almost none) is the ability to fit anywhere in the mix and add "air" without adding weight. Very few presets show this off (notable exception: Glass Voices) but delve into programming or even just explore the net patches and you'll find tons of synthetic sounds with air. Very few synths can even come close to these sounds, thanks to the unique architecture of the D-50. Great for mixing with analogs.
For dark ambient, the D-50 also shines. It has the ability to do low, aliasing waves that sound surreal through swirling FX boxes. Dark, nasty, grungy, and quite wonderful in that context. Get a D-50 and a MKS-70 (especially together - they compliment each other well) and you're in dark pad heaven.
Programming is not easy even with a PG-1000. But its rewarding.
Not for everyone (especially the PCM piano crowd) but I love mine.
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