Released thirty years ago in 1987, the Roland D-50 Linear Arithmetic (LA) Synthesizer is easily one of the most influential keyboards ever made. The D-50 helped to define the sound of the late 80’s with its instantly recognizable mix of sampled attacks and synthesized sustaining waveforms (that’s LA!) plus chorus, reverb, and EQ. It’s the basis of classic tracks in a wide range of genres including Synth Pop, New Wave, New Jack and R&B, plus countless film scores.
With the new Roland D-50 DCB Software Synthesizer, Roland Cloud subscribers can have the iconic sound of LA in a powerful plugin, which perfectly recreates this legendary synth down to the subtlest of nuances!
Perfect recreation of D-50 from the company that made the original
Digital Circuit Behavior (DCB) faithfully captures every detail
Authentic user interface with all original controls and parameters (including those found on the sought-after Roland PG-1000 hardware programmer!)
All the original presets plus fresh new sounds
32-bit and 64-bit VST2, VST3 and AU support
Simple installation and updates via Roland Cloud Manager
Vintage Digital
When most people think of vintage synthesizers, they think of analog beasts with lots of knobs and sliders. The 80’s ushered in something new: sleek keyboards with digital engines that brought musicians and producers a totally new palette of sounds not previously possible with analog.
As Roland’s first all-digital performance synthesizer keyboard, the D-50 took the world by storm with its unique mix of sampled attack transients and synthesized waveforms combined with built-in digital effects and… a joystick!
Name a famous track from the late 80s to early 90s and there’s a good chance it was built around one or more Roland D-50 sounds. Unabashedly digital, the D-50 has taken its rightful place in the hallowed halls of classic vintage synthesizers. Its sound is unique and beautiful, and it brings a certain “something” to your tracks that you just can’t get anywhere else.
Samples Meet Synthesis
So, what exactly made this synth so attention-grabbing? The Roland D-50 used an innovative mixture of short, sampled “attack transient” waveforms blended with digitally-synthesized sustaining sounds. This technique, which Roland dubbed “LA Synthesis” offered the realism of expensive (at that time) digital samplers, the expressiveness of a synth, and the polish of a high-end studio thanks to onboard digital effects – it's no wonder the D-50 became one of the best-selling professional keyboards in history!
New Wave. New Jack. New Age. And so on…
The 80s were a dynamic period for pop music. Producers were trying new things, looking for new sounds, and new genres were being forged at a furious pace. From 1987 on, the Roland D-50 was massively influential and appeared in studios and on stages around the world. Some of the most influential recording artists in history have used the beautifully crafted presets, unaltered, as the cornerstone of huge international hits. There’s just something about the quality of its sound that grabs you. And with the Roland D-50 in this new DCB software synthesizer format, Roland Cloud subscribers can travel back to the future; back to LA!
