no sound - defect ?

[manfr...@googlemail.com]

Hi and good evening !

I just got a D-50 from a friend. I do not have any experience to operate a D-50.

I powered it up, connected Head-Phone to the Phone-Outlet. 

Mastervolume is on 50 %. 

But I do not hear any sounds if I play the keys.

Is that D-50 broken if I don't hear anything ?

Should the Phone-Outlet always produce a sound if I play the keys ?

Thanks for your help !

Manfred

[The False Dawn]

Hi, Manfred. It could be that the headphone output doesn't work anymore. Try different headphones and adjust the level from 0-100%. Also, try plugging the D50 into a keyboard amplifier to make sure there is output. Check the board to see if there are any patches loaded into it (names of the sounds should appear in the display); it could be that all the sounds have been deleted and you will need to load sounds onto it.

Hope this helps,

Reggie

[manfr...@googlemail.com]

Hi Reggie !

Thank so much for your help. I got a bit further: if I set the ReverbBalance to a Value of less than 100 I get a tiny bit of sound. So the headphones and jack and internal amplifier seem to be OK. However, when I go over the 64 Patches I see all the name of the patches corrupt. If I switch the different sounds (see Video) I hear no difference what so ever. If I play different keys, I hear a difference in pitch - as expected. 

You suggested that the sounds have been deleted. I guess you are right. Can I verify somehow that this really is the problem ? And how do I get the sounds back ?

Thanks a bundle,

Manfred

https://youtu.be/Klst5GUu3AA

[The False Dawn]

It looks like you might need to load sounds into the D50. There are lots of sounds on the internet in SYS-EX format that you can download using MIDI. If you're not good with computers you can use sound cards that you can find on EBay. The original sounds are on the Roland PN-D50-00 card. There are other Roland cards out there, too. Check the Voice Crystal website for D50 sounds, too.

[The False Dawn]

This is the card with the original sounds on EBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Roland-PN-D50-00-Memory-Card-Patch-Data-ROM-for-Roland-D-50/163679313158?epid=1400551097&hash=item261c0c1d06:g:rgwAAOSwPXJc0Kv3&redirect=mobile

[manfr...@googlemail.com]

Thanks for the confirmation about the sounds. I ordered a Roland-MIDI-to-USB cable and will try tomorrow to download some SYS-EX files using the D-50-Librarian. Fortunately, I am quite good with computers ... so maybe I can get this D-50 back to life ..

The D-50 was used some years ago in a band. But thereafter stored in a place with temperatures varying between -20 C in winter and +45 C in summer. I guess that the memory chip could not cope with that ...

[The False Dawn]

Good luck, my friend. You'll be very pleased with the D50 once you get some sounds into it!

Reggie

[manfr...@googlemail.com]

Hi Reggie !

It is WORKING !

For other Users, here is what I did:

- bought a Roland "UM-ONE Mk 2" USB-to-Midi Cable.

- installed drivers for the cable (there is a driver disk in the UM-ONE box)

- installed D-50-Librarian (free software found here: http://www.d50librarian.co.uk)

- downloaded a soundfile (SYX-File)

- transfered it to the D-50

- read carefully all the instructions in the upload window of the D-50-Librarian. (I had to set the delay to 100ms)

- I had to try multiple SYX-files. Some did not work. Some did.

Thanks for your help. Another D-50 back to life ...

Manfred

[The False Dawn]

Hooray! I'm glad I was able to help. The D50 is still such a magical instrument, nothing sounds like it even after all these years.

Enjoy!

Reggie :)