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One strong synth for man, one strong sampler for mankind...

Clint Thompson

Entry posted by Clint Thompson

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I've been in the hardware bug lately and can joyfully claim taking ownership of an amazing new (to me) keyboard:

 

The Roland S-50

 

It fascinates me, this once $2,695 sampling keyboard released in 1986 (a solid era for the Atari ST computers!), can now be found for as little as $100 in 2016. This thing is an absolute monster and definitely doesn't come without its own set of quirks. Just under 24-hours ago was this beast delivered to my doorstep but I powered it up and checked it's video output to ensure it was functioning as intended - beyond an intermittent display issue which I've yet to resolve - all seems well!

 

[stock Photo]
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[My personal machine...]
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[Look at this lovely bootup screen when attached to a TV monitor!]
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[A look at some of the tech under the hood of this monstrosity!]
blogentry-181-0-87773300-1461759951_thumb.jpg
blogentry-181-0-67051000-1461759984_thumb.jpg

 

[Please Insert System Disk!] Compliance!
blogentry-181-0-70215900-1461760009_thumb.jpg

 

My next step is to create the actual bootup disk required to rock this thing and see how far I can take this incredible for its age, 30 years to be exact, technology. =)

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3 Comments

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RickR

When I was in school, I had a Casio Sampling keyboard that I had a blast with.  I think it was an SK-5.  Well, looking on ebay...those things are just about the same price as this Roland you have.  I think you've found a great deal.  I need to look into getting one of these. 

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Clint Thompson

Thanks... I can't wait to actually use it, it'll hopefully prove to be a ton of fun! That Casio is so small! =) You should look up the DT100 digital tablet for the Roland S50 - I plugged my Atari Touch Tablet in and totally expect it to work exactly as those rare Roland branded versions!

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