It used to be fun to have one keyboard and try to emulate other synths. Now, we can have cheap specialized plugins for all those synths, even in our phones. Having only a modest list of waveforms in a synth back then forced a lot more creativity than today’s gigabytes of internal ROM waves and all the effects/polyphony you could ever want.
It's crazy how things have progressed. I find today's mega-workstations "too much," and prefer vintage analog gear with hands on Knob per function parameters. There's a reason they call them workstations. I prefer play-stations.
I remember going to a music ministry conference in North Wales in 1986 and 1987. One of the speakers, Rick Powell a record producer (from Nashville, I think), told us that he was working on a project with Dr Moog and Roland to develop a synthesiser that would have a range of sounds that would suit worship in churches and houses of worship. It is possible that the D70 may have been the product of this developmental work.
Amazing video and great explanations! Never had the honor of owning a D-70, but got the predecessor U-110 when it came out, and later found a U-220 (still have it). Same samples, but no filters. Just now I got the MV-30, which has the D-70's filters, and I'm amazed at what I've missed. The D-70 is more powerful though. Pity it was never released as a module!
What a steal for 90 bucks. After a 3rd cleaning, I coated the carbon contacts with CaiKote 44 silver conductive coating. I haven't had any issues over 5 years now.
@@wedream2 Good idea. May be I should do the same next time (if there is a next time). It's a lot of work to dismantle it competly. If you cleaned it several times, how did you prevent the small rubber connectors (which connect the rubber band with the PCB) to tear off? I broke 3 of them and I am afraid it will be more next time, because they seemed to be pretty streched everytime pulling them out.
@@suga4all If you pull them, the tabs will tear. Grab the top of the rubber connector right above each tab and squeeze it between your thumb and index finger. It will come out of the pcb easily. Do each, one at a time.
The most common problem is with the keybed due to non-triggering of notes. Best to remove the keybed, remove every key, remove the silicon covers for the contacts and clean the contacts in the silicon covers and the contact surface of the circuit boards. Then coat both with Deoxit D5. Better yet, coat just the circuit board contacts, but coat the contacts in the silicon covers with silver paint (Caikote 44). You'll never have a mis-trigger after that. If all the stored data is lost and the LCD screen looks garbled, you will need a RAM card with the original data to load, or borrow someone's D70 to load into all the data via midi. I've tried downloading the data from Roland, but it won't load into the D70 from a computer using usb/midi cable. Don't know why. Could be the computer program that enables the transfer.
Many modern MiDI interfaces with USB to PC connection don't support System Exclusive messages. They are useless for sending firmware updates and bulk dumps. If you are into old keyboards you also need an old Atari or PC with serial interface and MIDI Cable to serial port interface/cable.
the d70 is simply an u20/220 with articulated 4 layer synthesis, same architecture of jd800 and further roland synthesizers. the DLM is something most underrated and unexplored into its possibilities, and quite exotic never came back after d70 neither into its laptop version (mv30), so it remains kinda unique feature. what really shines is tvf multiband filter, essentially the same of jd/s series, very liquid and musically sounding with resonance control, way ahead compared to korg m1/t3 or wavestation at time (1990). what really bad about d70 are effect section (very limited compared to korg wavestation or yamaha sy series) and the architecture which has some kinda depedences between objects, so you modify a sound starting from a tone, then assing effects and something else in patch mode and then finishing the programming in performance mode....saving all three phases separately but with an issue...you don't have enough memory to store all performances with 4 parts and 4 tones always independently, so most sounds share same tone with the result when you edit a sound the risk is to change other performances, it is quite similar to combi mode from korg but on steroids. nothing to say about the sound quality, it sounds amazing.
You're right. The D70 accepts the U20/220 wave form cards for additional sounds. I could never produce anything useable from the DLM, so ignored it. I do like the filter. There is definitely a learning curve; keeping track of tone/patch/performance when editing is frustrating. The most frustrating thing is losing all memory when the internal battery or card battery dies.
Thanks for sharing. The D-70 was a unusual offering. More than a D-50 but didn’t take off as the D-50 did. If given a choice, I would go D-50 or D-550 because the large array of 3rd party patches available. Was too young for a D-50/D-70 when new so I settled on the D-05.
Thanks! I kept only a few of the factory patches. Most are my own creation. The only way to share them is to transfer to a memory card. I've tried saving to computer, but have never been able to save sounds that way or load in sounds from a computer file.
I wanted this machine so bad, esp. because it had a 76 keys keybed and was perfect for playing piano. It was priced at 2400 DM around 1990 here in Germany. That was far to expensive for a student like me.
@@torbenanschau6641You are right! So much money. I bought it in Miami 1991 when my parents lived there. It was much cheaper and I managed to get it through the customs, it was huge package when I arrived in Frankfurt 😂😂😂
Definitely fills a great niche in a pallet. I have a special place in my heart for simple yet analogy rich pads like this does. I need a much pluckier synth to go with it though. I've been through about 40 synths in the past 20 years. Since buying a house recently I am down to just an MX61 and a Crave! I'm looking to pick up an MS2000 . My SY99 needs work (has keybed issues) and I barely have time to just play as it is. I wonder how the D70 would sound through a Sherman filter bank. I think I still like older synths like this with outboard "warming" enhancements instead of modern DSP supersynths like Virus, etc. Combining sounds like these with realistic exotic instrument samples and some funkier pluckier bassier synth sounds is kind of my thing.
A great pluckier analog synth is the Roland MKS-80 Super Jupiter module. Quite a bit cheaper than the Jupiter 8, but with all the sound plus velocity and aftertouch. I've posted 3 videos on it.
It has several organ samples that can be combined at the patch level to create a Hammond organ sound. There is also a PCM organ/harpsichord card for adding additional samples.
The keys have a light touch despite having weights glued to the underside of the keys. They are velocity and aftertouch sensitive. I'd say they have an "average" feel, comparable to the Oberheim OB-8, but Not as good as the Yamaha DX7.
I like the D70 for its extended keyboard, better filters, and sample banks of acoustic, synthesizer, and percussion sounds. The D50 sounds have been played into the ground.
![Almost in tears | Roland D50 demo | Factory sounds [01]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3xfdigHwIeg/mqdefault.jpg)
I knew that board inside out thanks to that Blue book. That was the 90's RnB board and I recorded so many jams with it. Those wooden sides go crazy.
It used to be fun to have one keyboard and try to emulate other synths. Now, we can have cheap specialized plugins for all those synths, even in our phones. Having only a modest list of waveforms in a synth back then forced a lot more creativity than today’s gigabytes of internal ROM waves and all the effects/polyphony you could ever want.
It's crazy how things have progressed. I find today's mega-workstations "too much," and prefer vintage analog gear with hands on Knob per function parameters. There's a reason they call them workstations. I prefer play-stations.
@@wedream2 Well said!
I remember going to a music ministry conference in North Wales in 1986 and 1987. One of the speakers, Rick Powell a record producer (from Nashville, I think), told us that he was working on a project with Dr Moog and Roland to develop a synthesiser that would have a range of sounds that would suit worship in churches and houses of worship. It is possible that the D70 may have been the product of this developmental work.
I just got me a Roland D-70🎹
Subscribed ☑️
Amazing video and great explanations! Never had the honor of owning a D-70, but got the predecessor U-110 when it came out, and later found a U-220 (still have it). Same samples, but no filters. Just now I got the MV-30, which has the D-70's filters, and I'm amazed at what I've missed. The D-70 is more powerful though. Pity it was never released as a module!
Thank you. My main complaint about Roland is they are always onto the next thing, and abandon good ideas, and stop supporting their products.
I’ve had 4 of these and never should have sold the last one I refurbished. Thanks for the video
Beautiful synth. Its really a pad monster. I just got one for 90 bucks. It had keybed issues. After cleaning the contacts it works like a charm.
What a steal for 90 bucks. After a 3rd cleaning, I coated the carbon contacts with CaiKote 44 silver conductive coating. I haven't had any issues over 5 years now.
@@wedream2 Good idea. May be I should do the same next time (if there is a next time). It's a lot of work to dismantle it competly. If you cleaned it several times, how did you prevent the small rubber connectors (which connect the rubber band with the PCB) to tear off? I broke 3 of them and I am afraid it will be more next time, because they seemed to be pretty streched everytime pulling them out.
@@suga4all If you pull them, the tabs will tear. Grab the top of the rubber connector right above each tab and squeeze it between your thumb and index finger. It will come out of the pcb easily. Do each, one at a time.
@@wedream2 Will try that next time 👍
Love the wood cheeks!!!
Thanks for this - I am considering getting one - It will need some work, but for 200 and a bit of shop love, it will be totally worth it.
The most common problem is with the keybed due to non-triggering of notes. Best to remove the keybed, remove every key, remove the silicon covers for the contacts and clean the contacts in the silicon covers and the contact surface of the circuit boards. Then coat both with Deoxit D5. Better yet, coat just the circuit board contacts, but coat the contacts in the silicon covers with silver paint (Caikote 44). You'll never have a mis-trigger after that. If all the stored data is lost and the LCD screen looks garbled, you will need a RAM card with the original data to load, or borrow someone's D70 to load into all the data via midi. I've tried downloading the data from Roland, but it won't load into the D70 from a computer using usb/midi cable. Don't know why. Could be the computer program that enables the transfer.
Many modern MiDI interfaces with USB to PC connection don't support System Exclusive messages. They are useless for sending firmware updates and bulk dumps. If you are into old keyboards you also need an old Atari or PC with serial interface and MIDI Cable to serial port interface/cable.
Done this one too many times!
I never should have sold the last D70 I refurbished.
Now they are priced out of my budget. Oh well.
Я сразу вюбидся в d 70. И это на всю жизнь. Это чудо инструмент . И он у меня дома ! Благодарю за обучающее видео
Пожалуйста!
Great showcase!
Thank you!
Very nice!
But where did you get those wooden-like side panels?
the d70 is simply an u20/220 with articulated 4 layer synthesis, same architecture of jd800 and further roland synthesizers.
the DLM is something most underrated and unexplored into its possibilities, and quite exotic never came back after d70 neither into its laptop version (mv30), so it remains kinda unique feature.
what really shines is tvf multiband filter, essentially the same of jd/s series, very liquid and musically sounding with resonance control, way ahead compared to korg m1/t3 or wavestation at time (1990).
what really bad about d70 are effect section (very limited compared to korg wavestation or yamaha sy series) and the architecture which has some kinda depedences between objects, so you modify a sound starting from a tone, then assing effects and something else in patch mode and then finishing the programming in performance mode....saving all three phases separately but with an issue...you don't have enough memory to store all performances with 4 parts and 4 tones always independently, so most sounds share same tone with the result when you edit a sound the risk is to change other performances, it is quite similar to combi mode from korg but on steroids.
nothing to say about the sound quality, it sounds amazing.
You're right. The D70 accepts the U20/220 wave form cards for additional sounds. I could never produce anything useable from the DLM, so ignored it. I do like the filter. There is definitely a learning curve; keeping track of tone/patch/performance when editing is frustrating. The most frustrating thing is losing all memory when the internal battery or card battery dies.
@@wedream2 You can do a bulk dump to an Atari with Cubase, if I remeber correctly. Still have one with 20MB! harddrive.
Like the wooden ends old school
Beautiful sounds👌🌅
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing. The D-70 was a unusual offering. More than a D-50 but didn’t take off as the D-50 did. If given a choice, I would go D-50 or D-550 because the large array of 3rd party patches available. Was too young for a D-50/D-70 when new so I settled on the D-05.
Yamaha DX-7 - 61 key, DX-5 - 76 key. Roland D-50- 61 key, D-70- 76 key. Korg M1- 61 key, T2(M1) 76 key. Kurzweil K2000 61-key, K2500 76-Key...
Nice demo thanks.
Thank you!
Wow! Wow! Thanks from Ukraine!
Are these all factory patches, or did you combine/edit the tones? Sounds great! if they're yours do you mind sharing 😁
Thanks! I kept only a few of the factory patches. Most are my own creation. The only way to share them is to transfer to a memory card. I've tried saving to computer, but have never been able to save sounds that way or load in sounds from a computer file.
I wanted this machine so bad, esp. because it had a 76 keys keybed and was perfect for playing piano. It was priced at 2400 DM around 1990 here in Germany. That was far to expensive for a student like me.
It was 4000 DM at the time even. It was the competitor to the SY77 back then and the T2 Ex.
@@torbenanschau6641You are right! So much money. I bought it in Miami 1991 when my parents lived there. It was much cheaper and I managed to get it through the customs, it was huge package when I arrived in Frankfurt 😂😂😂
Definitely fills a great niche in a pallet. I have a special place in my heart for simple yet analogy rich pads like this does. I need a much pluckier synth to go with it though. I've been through about 40 synths in the past 20 years. Since buying a house recently I am down to just an MX61 and a Crave! I'm looking to pick up an MS2000 . My SY99 needs work (has keybed issues) and I barely have time to just play as it is. I wonder how the D70 would sound through a Sherman filter bank. I think I still like older synths like this with outboard "warming" enhancements instead of modern DSP supersynths like Virus, etc. Combining sounds like these with realistic exotic instrument samples and some funkier pluckier bassier synth sounds is kind of my thing.
A great pluckier analog synth is the Roland MKS-80 Super Jupiter module. Quite a bit cheaper than the Jupiter 8, but with all the sound plus velocity and aftertouch. I've posted 3 videos on it.
oohh So beautiful Melody 👍👍👍❤Beautiful Sample07:01
Fantastic pad sounds. I’m hoping I can duplicate these with the Roland Cloud JD800 vst.
D70 is a great pad machine! Thanks.
Apparently Roland almost called it the U50?
I has very little in common with the D50, so I guess Roland was piggy backing on the success of the D50. Purely a marketing decision.
Does it have something like a hammond organ?
It has several organ samples that can be combined at the patch level to create a Hammond organ sound. There is also a PCM organ/harpsichord card for adding additional samples.
Hello my friend! I want to know how is the feeling of the keys. Are they good for any sound like pianos and acoustic guitars?
The keys have a light touch despite having weights glued to the underside of the keys. They are velocity and aftertouch sensitive. I'd say they have an "average" feel, comparable to the Oberheim OB-8, but Not as good as the Yamaha DX7.
Do you still own the synth please?
MANILOW/Chopin I guess
And then the JV1080 did all of that and more in a single box.
what better the D50 ou D70 ?
I like the D70 for its extended keyboard, better filters, and sample banks of acoustic, synthesizer, and percussion sounds. The D50 sounds have been played into the ground.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Your not hearing any of this stuff anywhere these days
Anyone selling this keyboard at a cheap price?
Take your pick: reverb.com/p/roland-d-70