Roland D-50 vs D-110: Can You Hear the Difference?

video upload by Ian Dixon

"The Roland D-50 and Roland D-110 both come from Roland's late-80s Linear Arithmetic synthesis era, but do they actually sound the same? In this blind comparison I play similar D-50 and D-110 sounds side by side, including warm pads, Soundtrack, synth bells, electric pianos, synth brass, Fantasia/Fantasy style patches, and dual-layer sounds, then reveal which synth was which.

The D-50 is the classic performance synth behind so many iconic digital sounds, while the D-110 is the rackmount, multi-timbral workhorse built for MIDI studios. This test is about the real character of each instrument: the modulation, the shimmer, the effects, the PCM attack, and how close the D-110 can get to the D-50 in practice.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction - D-50 vs D-110 blind test
00:48 Warm strings and pads
01:22 Soundtrack patch comparison
02:03 Synth bells
02:21 Electric pianos
02:50 Synth brass
03:23 Fantasia and Fantasy patches
03:57 Dual-layer sounds on D-50 and D-110
04:39 Answers: warm string pad
05:22 Answers: Soundtrack
06:10 Answers: bells
06:39 Answers: electric pianos
07:20 Answers: brass sounds
08:08 Answers: Fantasia/Fantasy
08:45 Answers: dual-layer comparison
09:00 Final thoughts and your score

Featured Topics
Roland D-50 sound comparison
Roland D-110 sounds and presets
Linear Arithmetic synthesis
Classic 1980s digital synths
Blind synth sound test
Soundtrack, Fantasia, bells, brass, pads and electric pianos
D-110 multi-timbral layering vs D-50 performance patches

How many did you get right? Leave your score in the comments, and tell me which D-50 or D-110 patches you would like me to compare next. If you enjoy vintage synths, sound design, and classic digital keyboards, please like the video and subscribe to The Digital Lifestyle.

#RolandD50 #RolandD110 #Synthesizer #SoundDesign #VintageSynth #LinearSynthesis #SynthDemo"