Roland D-05 Review

The Roland D-05 from the Boutique series is Roland's recreation of the classic D-50 Linear Synthesizer. For only $349.99 this little instrument creates a perfect model of the original (to my ears), in a form factor ideal for musicians who don't want another keyboard but want more synths. In addition to this if you purchase their K-25M keyboard dock, you'll have a super portable synth and small keyboard to jam with. Recently when I lost power this gave me a way to pass the time (since its battery powered).

Get the Roland D-05 on Amazon here. (or zZounds if you prefer)

Get the K-25M Keyboard here.

Roland D-05 Linear Synthesizer

Just like the other instruments in the Roland Boutique series, the D-05 is teeny. However in the case of the D-50, which was already hard to program due to menu diving, the D-05 is better than the others in the series. The original had almost no knobs and so the D-05 doesn't either, and the buttons are a large enough size to work with. Just like the other synths in the series, it includes two ribbon sliders for pitch and modulation - and just like the D-50 it has a joystick for blending sounds.

The D-05 comes loaded with original patches from the D-50, and is completely compatible with patches from the D-50. This means that if you own a D-50 you can take this little synth on tour, to band practice, or to the studio and use all your patches from home. All without lugging around a big keyboard. There is an inconvenience that all the Boutique series instruments have, which is the lack of 1/4" line outputs with 1/8" jacks instead. You can easily get an adapter, or use USB audio for recording but it is a small inconvenience nonetheless.

The Digital Circuit Behavior (DCB) modeling algorithm used by Roland claims to simulate the digital circuit of the D-50 (whatever that means). While their Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) modeling algorithm models individual components of their analog gear, it is less clear what they're doing for the DCB algorithm. The original D-50 used something known as linear synthesis, which is a method of blending short sampled attack transients with digital synthesized waveforms. This was Roland's move to compete with the FM synthesizers coming out at the time (namely the Yamaha DX7).