[sdiy] Roland D-10 modifications

[Tony Allgood]

>I'd like to get rid of the hiss as well as learn any other possible
modifications that I can
bring to my synth.

The first thing you need to do listen to is the hiss. Does this hiss
occur all the time, or only when you play the notes. There is very
little you can do to relieve the latter. The D series of synths are
relatively noisy to todays standards, and most of it it digitally
generated noise. The final op-amps can be swapped to give lower noise
level while the notes aren't being played, but frankly, it makes no
difference when the synth is actually playing. I can see no reason why
changing the power supply caps will reduce hiss.

The other problem with the D10's hiss, is that its not analogue. It has
this nasty grungy sound to it... very much like too low a bit depth on a
sample. On panpipe sounds (oh no! death by 'Pan pipe moods volume 35')
the resulting digital noise is awful.

My recomendation is to play the sound at its highest internal volume.
Turn up the HF on the EQ section, or make the sound brighter than you
need with the TVF, and then filter it with the desk's EQ.

The D10 is essentially a workstation. The D110 is merely the
programmable sound engine and nothing else.

BTW: I still use my D-50 and like it greatly, but if anyone wants my
D-110, feel free to offer me something.

Regards,

Tony Allgood                       Penrith, Cumbria, England

Oakley Sound Systems                     www.oakleysound.com
Modular projects            www.oakleysound.com/projects.htm