Synth Nostalgia: The Classic Roland D-110 Explored

In this video, I look at the classic 1988 Roland D-110 Multitimbral synth module. In 1987, Roland released the D-50, which used LA (Linear Arithmetic) synthesis. This synthesis method uses small samples for the attack portion of the sound and traditional subtractive synthesis for the rest of the sound. Since sample memory was very expensive in the 80s, the short attack samples provided a realistic effect without the massive cost of instruments like the Fairlight. The D-50, with its realistic and digital sounds (along with its digital chorus), was a massive hit.

After the release of the D-50, Roland capitalized on its success with the release of the D-20 and D-10 synths, as well as the D-110 module. The synth engine was changed, and the structure was simplified from the D-50, with the chorus being removed. However, what was new was that they were all 8-part multitimbral with a drum section. The D-20 included a multitrack sequencer that could make use of this new feature. The D-10 and D-20 have keyboards, while the D-110 is a rack-mount module designed to be controlled by MIDI. When hooked up to a sequencer like Pro 32 on an Atari ST, the D-110 could be used with 8 tracks of instruments and 1 drum track. This was before the days of digital DAWs, so this was a great feature. As you can hear in the demo, the D-110 is able to produce very nice 80s tones and was only really held back by a very confusing architecture of patches, timbres, and tones.

In the video, I look at the D-110 module, talk about its architecture, and demonstrate its classic 80s sounds. I have sampled all the sounds on the D-110 and plan to release special sound packs for the Korg Modwave and Wavestate soon, so make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel!