Subjectively speaking, I found patch programming very difficult, especially making the transition between the sampled attack and the synthesised "body" of the sound, in particular when all four partials were used. If a sound sort-of worked in a certain range, it was bound to sound terrible two octaves up or down. I tried to solve this problem by relying only on the analogue waveforms, but it turned out to be a bad idea; the D-550 relies on its samples for character and if you leave them out, you get a cold and thin analogue emulation. To sum up, I suspect that I was trying to use the D-550 for something it wasn't made to do and with my programming skills, I was bound to fail. I DID manage to get one aggressive sound out of it, the only one that made it into a song. If you'd like to hear it, please e-mail me at sartre@siol.net

I admit, I was warned before I bought it: "this is a pad synth, my boy", the owner said. But I thought I knew better and I'd be able to squeeze aggression out of it yet. I wasn't though, and even though that, theoretically, a synth that defined the late 80's pop sound should work great in an 80's pop band, this wasn't the case. I'm going to spend the money from the sale on another Roland - the MKS-30. It's a punchy, warm, and simple analogue synth - everything I missed in the D-550.

I must stress that the D-550 is by no means a bad synth, but it's not an all-rounder. It will do great strings, pads and ethereal sounds, but it is likely to disappoint as a lead or bass synth. Think carefully about your needs before you buy this one - you can save yourself some bother.

I think it must have been used in lots of eighties movies. True analogs have waaaayyy more character than digital synths but the D50 is one of those remarkable exceptions that really stands on it's own.

Although...I've created a hell of a hammond B3 organ sound on the D-50. NOT the real THING...but when played LIVE on stage, it sounds as close to it as possible.