In this video, we'll go over the Roland S-50 12-bit sampler from 1986. Showcasing sampling and playback of some sound libraries and discuss some modifications done to the S-50 to maximize it's studio use.
Still have my S50 & S550. Bought them when they came out. Sampled a lot! Especially my Mellotron so I didn’t have to haul it in my stage setup anymore. I resisted buying the popular 8bit samplers, and waited until this jewel came out. Glad I did, It’s still awesome!
@@Chevroletcelebrity No. Since the S50 has all those controls on it, I didn't splurge for it. But I do see them from time to time on eBay. Even though the max sampling freq on the S50 & S550 is 30K, they still sound amazing. I had a lot of fun sampling on it. Great standalone sampler with built in software and a VGA port for the times! But I do wish I had the DT-100 pad. I just couldn't justify the price for it without knowing just how useful it was. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Roland_DT-100.jpg
3:24 I have an s 50 in awesome shape but only 1 disk and no display you are awesome would love to up grade mine as well any Information you can give would be greatly appreciated
I bought an S50 when it came out. I bought every add on for it. I used it in my studio for a couple of years, but honestly every time I think I want it back I watch videos like this one (very good), but it tells me I do not want it back again. There are so many better choices for me today and a lot easier. Thanks for reminding me. The only thing I ever brought back from the 80s was a pair of Korg DW8000. They were cheap and still excellent for studio work. Thanks!
Agreed - sampling is not easy, and key-mapping is difficult. The sound definitely has something though, if you want to get that 12 bit sound. Samples seem to cut through and have something in the low end that works well.
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams They were great. The one thing I hated about the S50 software was that their "sequencer" worked like a drum machine. Very difficult to write music. Still wish I could find one for like $100 USD LOL
I’ve had my S-50 for almost 30 years now. It’s still in FANTASTIC condition. I still even have the CRT monitor. I would LOVE to upgrade my system’s monitor like yours. Can you please PLEASE give a full detail description on how you hook up your little flat panel monitor to yours. I NEED that in my life!!!
Hi Delo85 - I have a video on how to add the scart to hdmi board in my list of videos on my channel. It shows everything you need to buy and how to wire it as well. Pretty simple mod and it's really great once finished for usability.
Ha. I love The S-550. I've always called it the poor man's Fairlight CMI. The Roland S-series samplers are truly phenomenal machines. So much work went into their development, and it shows. 8:06 the S-50/550 have a sheen on the high end that glistens unlike what any other 12-bit sampler was capable of. 8:20 listen to that interpolation! You cannot get that rich sound quality from any software sampler or DAW. Keep in mind, when listening, that you can adjust the samplerate to get wildly varying tonal quality from any sound. The filters (which are capable of self-oscillation) are often mistaken for being analog. In addition to the dynamic LP filter, there is also an additional filter in the sample edit page offering Lowpass, Bandpass and HiPass.
Yuup on the filters. I remember all the write-ups about how useful the filters were, when they first came out in 86 or so. I also seem to remember something about 19bit sampling, but saved in the 12bit format. Wish I could remember more about that. The Roland central US rep use to live just around the corner from me. Wish I could remember everything he told me about these, things that aren't in the manual or printed anywhere else.
I remember borrowing this synth for some time when I was around 20, when I discovered the monitor output, I ran, hooked up an old apple IIc monochrome monitor and was blown away.
hey! nice video. I got an S50 not too long ago and you’re one of the rare youtubers making informative videos on it. much appreciated ! Speaking of which, would you happen to know how to use the Digital Filter ? I cant figure out how to route wave data through it. Thanks :) !
Hi Marc - the S-50 filter implementation isn't realtime, so you have to process the sample and save it to a wave bank, and then listen to it. It's pretty tedious, as often you have to go back and re-do it a few times. I'll work on a more in depth video of the Sample Edit modes for you - great idea
Hey Johnny, I replaced the relays. It didn't get sound. I think I may need to replace several switches but I also think maybe its stuck in a midi mode. I did connect a video monitor which is how I can see some keys and some buttons aren't responding. You were saying we could meet virtually and shake it down. Sadly my best laptop died causing me some added frustrations. I do look forward to talking with visual assist. Leo Florida
I have no USB drive and sadly don’t know anything about the disk management. How can I save samples on floppy disk when it needs the system files also on the disk? Can I format any floppy disk with my s50?
I haven't used the drives in a while but you can save the system and one set of sounds on a single 720KB DD floppy. You shoudl be able to format 1.44MB HD Disks with the S50, but they will be formatted as 720KB disks - I've never tried it, but it should work.
It's this one: www.ebay.com/itm/275705982703?hash=item40315b6eef:g:xZcAAOSw57xaawly&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwFjp9SEbRKnVVsZmqax71F7BfBy9NG20RuX6apw5Vp72l24FK9z75PXjU%2F7nFNyy0PSqCfQ1Qd61ACXhnUer%2FqXLXL5kZvfNSLchgnVJ%2B4r%2FwMABje62UmvB6rOgTIdqKRVdg2QKCmHqApMmFzBHfDGpdWmbJ%2BY5PbqAULa1r26%2FkVv7oGY3QPVRM%2FOJ3Jf3G0AxvAHLARuiVb08DBFW32dhsGXoE1n%2Fi65lhkcmklckn7DfWr1BUoRAhdRNsBxD4g%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7zJweryYQ
Hey, which screws release the top panel? Are they hidden or something? Or are they the ones in the back? I took out all the bottom screws and it's still not budging. I'm about to replace the floppy drive with a Gotek.
Does the S-50 allow you to sample one thing per key as an option? Like sampling a kick to one key and a snare to another? I'm saving up for one! Groovie sampler! Did you use the Roland S-10 or S-50 during your compositions of the SSX soundtracks?
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams Yeah. When I first brought it up from the basement, I got several disk errors while trying to load. So, it took me about 15 tries before it worked. I was surprised. Was about ready to give up after the first several attempts!! It was in the case dormant since the 90's.
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams I was the keyboard player for the rock group Kamera. There is an album on iTunes called X-posure. If you listen to the song "What kind of girl are you", you can here at the beginning the S-50 patch mixed with an Ensoniq S Q-80 patch called syn bells. I play it throughout the entire song.
@@jamesa.2880 Love it. Reminds me of Whitesnake and Honeymoon Suite quite a bit. Found this youtube: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8UXf9rGnbCE.html. The hair must have been amazing. The SQ-80 -S-50 combo is perfect.
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams Hey nice. Didn't know the song was on youtube...Yes. those were the type of bands we were listening to. Glad you liked it......My rig was an S-50, Korg Wavestation SR, O1W Pro, Moog prodigy and Juno 106. Which all I still have. I'm in contact with the singer but not putting anything together at the moment. I'm open for writing more music again if it happens.
I gather you really like the Roland brand, right!? ;) Love some of their synths too though I don't have any of them.... I have fond memories from the S50 when it came out though. :)
Had one some years ago now. I really liked the sleek lines of the S50 and the sound was excellent. But I found the off-line processing tedious. The solution was the W30!
Hey toomanyclamps - It was one of the very first Gotek's so it's not even flashed - I have to load the OS in every time - super painful. I might actually buy a new one that's already got the OS pre-loaded. I recently got one for my S3000Xl with a rotary dial and display and it makes a huge difference in usability
Hey Joachim - I usually keep b00 on my gotek (the first disk) as just the system disk with no samples. I can use this as a fresh start for sampling. If you want to erase current samples in memory, you have to delete the 'tones' by pressing Edit, Patch, Patch and then you'll see the delete menu 21
Hi Felippe - once the Scope Screen is activated, you have to stop it first by pressing Enter. Then you should be able to go back to sampling by pressing F1
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams Thak you, Johnny! Unfortunately My S-50 broke down a day before yesterday. It wouldn't switch on anymore and there was a smell like something got burned. I'm taking it to service, and really hope they can fix it.
I would but to be honest they are super easy to make. Check out llamamusic.com/s50s550/unusual_samples.html Format the USB stick to FAT and then you can load onto the USB drive 100 progams - check out the section on USB samples sets.
I've been sampling with mine for months now but I still can't figure out how to assign sounds to individual patches. I've tried going over the manual but it just confuses me more (ADHD is not your friend, folks). Got any tips?
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams I actually just ordered a composite to HDMI cable. I've been going off of just the display on the keyboard so far. It's definitely frustrating, haha. Thank you so much!
@@dreamstaticsounds Yes- I'd say with Version 2.0 OS without the video display its almost impossible. 1.03 OS, although harder to find is much easier to navigate and use with the built in display
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams so, my composite to HDMI adapter arrived today and I now have the monitor view and talk about a whole new world!!! Haha. Still not sure I get how to move sounds around but I think I understand how to sample the sounds into separate patches initially? Maybe! Haha.
Hi Kevin - here's a link to my replacement relay on Ebay - this will save you a fair bit of work and is a drop-in replacement for the old relay. www.ebay.com/itm/Roland-S-50-Replacement-Relay/202873510054?hash=item2f3c3418a6:g:ovgAAOSwPeRdxaBh
@@johnnymorgansynthdreams Hello Johnny. This is amazing thanks. I am based in the UK please can you enable shipping to the UK and add whatever shipping costs plus some 😁 Great kit!
NO PASSADO , EU TIVE UM S-550 ROLAND, EM 1994, E EU GOSTAVA MUITO DOS SONS. ENTAO, NESTE ANO DE 2021, EU SAMPLING, E EU CONSEGUI UMA IMAGE .ISO DO CD PLAY ORIGINAL S-550. COMO NAO POSSUO MAIS A MAQUINA , EU CRIEI MUITOS SAMPLERS E CARREGUEI EM 12bits , 30khz. DEPOIS CONVERTI PARA, 24 BITS 44.1 KHZ. E REFIZ LOOPS. EU USEI O V-SAMPLER VIRTUAL PC COMPUTER . SE VOCE QUISER, EU POSSO MANDAR PRA VOCE USAR EM COMPUTADOR. E PODE UTIL, JUNTAMENTE COM SUA MAQUINA KEYBOAR S-50 . E TENHO TAMBEM A IMAGE.ISO COM SYSTEM E TUDO, CONSEGUI BAIXAR PELA INTERNET. EU ESTOU NO BRASIL VERY GOOD !!!!! YOUR VIDEO. I DON T SPEAK ENGLISH. EU ESCOLHI 40 PATCHES MAIS COMUNS...PRA PC. TER O S-50 ORIGINAL , É MUITO MELHOR PARABÉNS...
