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I really don’t know much about synths but I know somebody who is advertising a D10 for $75. I can't appear to find something online about the price or excellence of them and I am wonder if this is a fine purchase. I would like to get into synths so is this product worth it?

You can't find anything online about the Roland D10?

I find that hard to believe...

The D10 is a D20 without sequencer, and basically a keyboard version of the D110, all of which are second-generation "LA" synths that derive from the D50, although with a cut-down feature set and sound.

It's an Ok price for an "ok" keyboard, it depends on your needs really.

It's essentially an MT-32 in a keyboard, with the onboard editing the MT-32 lacks. I didn't feel the need to hang onto mine as I already had an MT-32, but it's not bad - just nowhere near as good as the D-50.

it's not the most 'straight forward' synth in terms of programming but once you understand it it is pretty cool.

If you keep your expectations low.... around $75....then you will have a nice starter synth.

Please check if all buttons work as they should. If you already need to press them hard then you'll be up for trouble sooon... if you want to keep editing from the synth's interface. There is software available for WinXP that will edit the unit.

It's nowhere near a D-50...but hey... the price isn't either. If you run the D-10 trough some FX it will be pretty cool.

Here's my demo/tutorial of the D-10:

The buttons aren't too difficult to replace if they are worn - if you have some elementary soldering experience and ~$12-15 for replacements, it's a couple hours' work.

I used to have a D20 and it was the first /synth/ i got into. And, I pretty much learned subtractive synthesis using it. Yes, the presets are mostly c**p. Yes, the drum machine inside is pretty dated. The keyboard is okay tops. But there is some serious potential within. While the menu-ridden programming might seem a little tedious after you're used to twiddling knobs, it wasn't this much of a chore in my case, especially when you're trying to get a good grasp of the sonic possibilities of that thing. Seems the millennial in me shines through. Tbh once you get into the sound engine it can get pretty interesting with the inbuilt VA-style waveforms and the PCM loops. Also, the ring modulator opens up a lot of interesting possibilities. There's some really amazing grit inside that synth, and some very beautiful timbres to be carved out. The one major let-down of the engine is how the PCM samples cannot be ran through the filter. But once you get to know them, it won't be this much of a problem. So, if you're willing to invest some time in the D10, get it.

Oh, also, here's a little demo I made of it some time ago. It doesn't use the sequencer, so it should be completely compatible with the D10.

virginialuther12 wrote:I really don’t know much about synths but I know somebody who is advertising a D10 for $75. I can't appear to find something online about the price or excellence of them and I am wonder if this is a fine purchase. I would like to get into synths so is this product worth it?

It worths that price just only for the synthetic strings sound it can deliver. It uses what Roland called "Linear Arithmetic" synthesis.
Basic onboard PCM drum machine.
DX