My friend gave me a Roland RA-50 arranger that he got from his work. I know very little about production or this machine (but am willing to learn), so would someone please explain to me what exactly this does, and what other machines I would need to make this functional? The back has imputs and outputs for a midi keyboard and a synth, so I'm assuming that would be a good place to start? Thanks

FYI it looks like this:

Seriously just get a computer sequencer, there soooo much better it's not even worth it.

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https://soundcloud.com/ghostea stuff

I think I would give this old piece of crap a shot wanna sell it?

quote:

Roland RA50-and-MSL-15 These give you high quality synthesizer sounds, reverb sounds, automatic accompaniment performance etc. resulting in a powerful one man band system. They feature excellent functions and therefore can be used by inexperienced and professional players. The RA-50s' 'intelligent' Arranger section automatically produces a tasteful accompaniment consisting of drums, bass, and other instruments ( such as piano, percussion,and horns ) that is based on the chord you play and the music style you choose. 32 preset music styles, which each feature an additional variation, are provided. You can also choose between 'basic' or 'advanced' versions of these styles, giving you 128 ( 32 styles x 2 original / variation x 2 basic / advanced ) different accompaniment possibilities. You can add other creative variations to an arrangement using the fill in function which lets you switch smoothly between a music style or its variation after a fill in pattern is played. By pressing 'to original button', the style changes back to the original style after another fill in is played. A break function lets you stop the performance for a single measure to perform your own fill-ins in real time. To begin or complete your arrangements with a professional touch you can use the RA-50's built-in intro and ending functions. 'Chord intelligence' function allows you to play full chords with just one or two fingers. 'Chord hold' sustains a chord on the lower . 'Sync start' lets you start the performance automatically when you press a note. Eight programmable user programs are provided for creating your own customized combinations of parameters for use with different songs or arrangements. Each user program stores settings for upper and lower tones, music styles, tempo, level balance, effects and other functions, and can be accessed instantly by pressing a single button at any time during a performance. The RA-50 also provides a 'melody intelligence' function which creates block chords for accompaniment based on the melody and bass note. Additional styles are available on Roland's optional library of Music Style cards ( TN-SC1 series ). The MSL-15 style card unit has all 14 cards in one unit. RA-50 Specifications. Arranger section: Music Style: 32 music styles. Arranger Control: Start / Stop, Arranger Select, Intro / Ending, Break, Chord Intelligence, Melody Intelligence, Chord Hold, Split Point, Bypass, Variation, Fill In. Composer Section: Songs: 3 Tracks: 2 Sound Source Section: LA Digital Synthesis ( 32 Partials, 13 Structures ), 128 Tones, 30 Rhythm Tones,Maximum 32 voices. Digital Reverb: 8 Types ( Hall 1 / 2, Plate 1 / 2, Room 1 / 2, Delay 1 / 2 ). Front Panel: 74 Switches, Master Volume, Tempo. Display: 16 Character x 2 lines backlit LCD. Indicators: Switch x 19, Beat x 4, MIDI Message x 1. Rear Panel: Ext. Pedal jacks x 3, MIDI ( KBD ) In / Out, Output jacks x 2 ( L / Mono, R ), Headphones jack, DC in jack, Power switch, Card slot. Power Supply: 9V DC ( when using supplied adaptor ). Power Consumption: 800mA / 9V. Dimensions: 360 mm ( wide ) x 241 mm ( depth ) x 69 mm ( high ) ( 14 3/16'' x 9 1/2'' x 2 11/16'' ). Weight: 2.0 kg ( 4 lbs 8 oz ). MSL-15 Music Style Super Card Contains Music Styles from 14 Music Style Cards in a single unit: TN-SC1-01 Country Bluegrass, Tex / Mex, Country Waltz, Country Rock. TN-SC1-02 50's and 60's M'Town, Rock 'n' Roll 2, Mexican Rock, Slow Soul. TN-SC1- 03 70's and 80's Pop Euro Pop, Rap, Funk 3, Big Rock. TN-SC1-04 Around the World March 2, Waltz 3, Polka 2, Foxtrot. TN-SC1-05 Around the World 2 Calypso, Reggae 2, Ska, Caribbean. TN-SC1-06 Piano Bar Slow Waltz, Standard, Ballad 2, Ballad 3. TN-SC1-07 Latin Samba 2, Mambo, Beguine, Paso Doble. TN-SC1-08 Enka Enka 1, Enka 2, Enka 3, Enka 4. TN-SC1-09 Japanese Pops Japanese Pop 1, Japanese Pop 2, Japanese Pop 3, Japanese Pop 4. TN-SC1-10 Easy Eight Swing 1, 8 Beat 3, 16 Beat 3, Disco 3, Waltz 4, 2 Beat, Latin Beat, Slow Rock 2.------- TN-SC1-11 Dance 1 Slow Waltz 2, Slow Rock 3, Tango 2, Beguine 2. TN-SC1-12 Dance 2 Bossa Nova 2, Samba 3, Lambada, Son. TN-SC1-13 Dance 3 Boogie 2, Rock 'n' Roll 3, Shuffle 2, Ragtime. TN-SC1-14 Dance 4 16 Beat 4, Blues, Slow Swing, Slow Soul 2.

ooops or maybe not, it seems just like it's an automatic acompaniment machine...blah

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Help me make soundtrack for my grandpa´s art exhibition:
Check out my topic about it here
Thank you!

At it's heart it's a baby LA synth (Descendant of the D-50) but is more like the red headed step child. It's no where near as thick sounding (though Multi-timbral), and with such classic presets as Waltz and Lambada under the "Dance" category you might e best selling it to some old geezer down the pub for a pint or two.

Even at that price you're probabbly ripping him off..