D20 user needs help :(

[raoul7370]

Hi all

So, I have a D20. As of yesterday I also now own a UM One midi interface. Reason - my D20 had languished unloved and fairly unused for several years and I decided enough was enough. Got it renovated, and it now works close to 100%. But ... a lot of performance sounds seem to have disappeared, including most of the good ones (Warm Pad Fade, please come home!!).

After a bit of Googling, the UM One thing seemed the right path, but now I have questions:

- The UM One has two midi connections, marked Midi In and Midi Out. Should the Midi In go into the D20 Midi In, or the D20 Midi Out (and same goes for the Midi Out connector)?

- Do I need some software in order to actually use the interface? If so, I think I heard of something called "Reaper". Are there several potential answers, or is Reaper the way to go?

- I have found D20 files on Roland so it seems I can get the original sounds as a download ... any help on how I get those from my laptop onto the D20?

I apologise in advance if the above are basic questions, but I am a pianist first and foremost and my tech skills are very limited indeed.

Cheers!

Paul

 

[happyrat1]

MIDI In always Connects to MIDI Out and vice versa.

Best Freeware DAW Software out there right now is Cakewalk by Bandlab.

https://bandlab.com

As for loading in the voices? I'll let someone else handle that one.

Welcome aboard,

Gary

 

[Biggles]

Welcome.

Additionally to Garys suggestion.

With any paid for DAW software can I suggest that before you buy one you download and use trial versions first, but only do so after watching a batch of Youtube videos on the software then after installing the trial you will have the full duration of the trial to practice.

It is getting the sound out of your Computer that will probably be the issue.

Cannot help on the keyboard itself.

 

[happyrat1]

I just took a quick peek at the D20 and realized it has a floppy drive.

That's a real antique you have there.

For assistance getting the sounds loaded in I'd suggest visiting the Rolandclan forums.

http://forums.rolandclan.com/

There's probably an internal battery that needs replacing and the floppy drive may also be toast with that sort of age.

You can download the manuals from Roland's archives.

https://www.roland.com/us/support/manual_archive/


Gary

 

[KeysDude]

Hey Paul,

If you have the factory presets for the D20 in a file, you'll need a computer librarian / editor software package. The only one I know that seems to still be in existence for legacy keyboards like the D20 is the Sound Quest Editor/Lib :

https://www.squest.com/Products/MidiQuest11/Instruments/RolandD-20/index.html

Using that software you can upload the D20 presets file via MIDI. Also worth checking is if the internal battery in your D20 has life in it. If it's dead then your D20 will not be able to store the presets after switching off the D20 but if your D20 has some presets stored, it must be ok.

I had a Korg M1 that eventually lost all the presets when the internal battery went. Real pain to replace the battery, but it was cheap. Only costs a couple of quid for a new battery.

 

[Stage Sloth]

Raoul, I know your pain... I have a Roland D5 that I bought circa 1990 that has the most beautiful "Warm String Fade" (I even remember that it's performance A 41!), and and my new Juno DS has no string sound that even comes close to its beauty!

 

[Lee Borrell]

I use a D5 - and I use MIDIox for sysx transfer of files. As above the 20 has an internal drive,but should also be able to pick up files via MIDI. Often there are internal switches within the menu system to allow transfer of SYSx dumps or not.I think the D5 has an option to dump a SYSx description of the patch if the patch is selected,or to do a full dump of the internal memory.
If the files are intended for the D20,programs like MIDIox should be able to readily send them from MIDI out to the IN on the 20 and the 20 should recognise they belong to it. Make sure any 'memory protect' options are switched off before transfer or you'll get no change to the memory at the receiving end.

 

[Paulk]

Hey Paul,

If you have the factory presets for the D20 in a file, you'll need a computer librarian / editor software package. The only one I know that seems to still be in existence for legacy keyboards like the D20 is the Sound Quest Editor/Lib :

https://www.squest.com/Products/MidiQuest11/Instruments/RolandD-20/index.html

Using that software you can upload the D20 presets file via MIDI. Also worth checking is if the internal battery in your D20 has life in it. If it's dead then your D20 will not be able to store the presets after switching off the D20 but if your D20 has some presets stored, it must be ok.

I had a Korg M1 that eventually lost all the presets when the internal battery went. Real pain to replace the battery, but it was cheap. Only costs a couple of quid for a new battery.

Will the the Sound Quest Editor work on an iPad Pro?

I had to join this forum, just to ask this question.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

My guess is that the "desktop" version doesn't work on iPads, since the version information on their website specifies Windows and Mac.

They have three iPad apps listed in the iPad App Store, but the editor/librarian seems to be pricey and hasn't received very good user reviews-- although the most recent review seems to be from 1 year ago, and the app has been updated since then (most recent update was yesterday, I think), so the issues that were raised in the user reviews might have been addressed?

 

[Paulk]

Thank you!

 

[Paulk]

I tried Midi Quest Library and I can’t get it too work?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I don't know much of anything about the three apps, but MidiQuestLibrariani is listed as a SysEx librarian, while MidiQuesti and MidiQuestEssentialsi are both listed as a SysEx editor/librarian, so I don't know if that means the librarian only works with existing SysEx files.

I happen to have MidiQuesti installed on my iPad, but I've never used it. When I open it, it asks me to select the module I want to install, and gives me a long list of synths to choose from. I just selected Yamaha MX49 and it installed a Yamaha MX49 performance editor that's running in demo mode, since I haven't purchased it, but I haven't tried using it with my MX49 yet.

 

[Paulk]

Well, I don’t know what else too do? The main problem with the D20 is, if you either change the battery, or do a system reset. The synth goes into split mode and stays there and the only way to fix it. Is too reload the original factory sounds from a CARD or disk, which is impossible to find, and using an iPad, and not knowing how to use the app I downloaded does not work? I about to just get rid off the synth.

 

[Paulk]

I got rid of the D20. Sold it for $10.00 too a Pawn Shop. I know i lost money, but I’m done with it!