HI :) TAKING ANY SYNTHESIZER APART WILL EXPOSE RISKS TO THE SYNTHESIZER AND THE USER! ALWAYS COMPLETELY UNPLUG D-50 FROM A POWER SOURCE BEFORE OPENING D-50. IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR IN TAKING SYNTHS APART, DO NOT ATTEMPT. ANY REPAIR/MAINTENANCE IS AT YOUR RISK. Synthesizers are computers with circuit boards, power supplies/transformers, wires and other sensitive electronic components!.
--- SEARCH FOR A PDF OF SERVICE NOTES OR SERVICE MANUALS FOR YOUR SPECIFIC SYNTHESIZER FIRST BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO TAKE APART ANY SYNTHESIZER, REPAIR OF KEYS OR ANY OTHER AREAS OF TECHNICAL SERVICE. NOT EVERY SYNTH KEYBOARD ASSEMBLY IS THE SAME AS D-50. ---
Here is a short video about how to get into the keys and keyboard assembly of the Roland D-50 (and only the Roland D-50 specifically), and an effective way to clean the contacts hidden under the keys to resolve the classic D-50 velocity issue. I was asked by a few people about the velocity issue and I thought I would make a short video about what I normally do to fix my D-50. This has worked well for my D-50 but isn't guaranteed to solve every D-50s issue or other model synths key issue since each synth has a history, a different level of use, wear and tear and internal stress over the years of its life. When I bought my D-50 years ago, it had velocity issues on almost every key and the paper tabs just above the sensors were dirty and no where near the white color they are now.
D-50s are just sensitive to dust when it comes to the keys and the contacts. I only removed about 6 keys for this video to save time.
So, if your D-50 is having the typical velocity levels of 127 (sounding too loud all the time), a good cleaning with rubbing alcohol will help. If after a good cleaning doesn't solve the issue, consider taking D-50 to a tech who can troubleshoot the problem further.
Please feel free to leave questions. :)
Remember- Always try to find pdf service notes for your specific synthesizer's disassembling instructions.
:) TSF
