Roland D-50 Mod Wheel Hack

From what I've heard, the late Bob Moog did not patent the Mod Wheel- though he is reported to have been the first to have one on a commercially available synthesizer (not sure this is fact).
- and then *everyone* used it (this part is much more certain).





But Roland (in their own kind of wisdom) went with a "pitch stick"- which is actually a single wheel mounted horizontally (instead of the industry standard Vertical Mod wheel) that alters pitch, and then allows Modulation to be applied simultaneously by bending the wheel up vertically.
Yes it was a good shot at a new design (not saying new things should not be tried) but for me I will have to say "FAIL"..... as in- this does not work for me (their new design is one I'd more closely compare to an Edsel... but I cannot make that comparison, because Roland keeps making them this way- and people keep buying them, so I *must* be in an extreme minority with this opinion.
Let me explain why I don't like their design....

The modulation bend upward is too restrictive (on Roland's design), and does not allow the same large range as a regular Mod Wheel, and hence does not allow me to introduce precise modulation amounts, nor does it let me introduce and remove modulation in a smooth manner (which I like to do- ..... to "play" a synth patch and affect the 'life' of the sound in real time- at least that's how I describe the modulation I do).

Given that I love the keyboard action on the Roland D-50, and I don't care for the 'handcuffing' that Roland's pitch stick imposes- I could really use a Roland D-50 Mod Wheel Hack- to remove the Roland pitch stick, and wire in two Potentiometers on Vertical plastic wheels (traditional Pitch and Mod wheels). I thought someone has surely done this- but thus far I have only found folks swapping out regular Mod wheels with Acrylic Mod Wheels (and backlighting for the Acrylic Mod Wheels provided by colored LEDS- which does look very nice... in the right color). Mod Wheel Lava Lamp culture anyone?

So I guess I have to open up the D-50 and figure this out for myself (I must be really alone on my opinion of the Roland pitch stick if no one has this mod available- or even documented).

yet another project I can completely avoid - by just selling the D-50 and buying a synth with good keyboard action, Mod wheels, and decent sound that justifies the space it takes up.
nope... not likely to find that... so a Hack is in order.

I'd like to see the Roland pitch stick Schematic before I open the D-50.

wait a minute.
it may be possible to ...












somehow rig Aftertouch to be on full (at alltimes) and use the slider/fader (labelled Aftertouch Amount) as a makeshift Modwheel.



















Make a Modwheel Box (to sit over the pitchstick) and run a 1/4" jack out of the modwheel box and into the "exp pedal" or "ext control" input on the back of the D-50.


I think Aftertouch control on a Modwheel is what's really useful, as Filter cutoff is what I'd really like control over. (Routing Aftertouch to Filter Cutoff will give me Manual sweep control).

gonna have to investigate this more...

Update: after a good while of 'googling', it seems someone has reported success with a 10K potentiometer used as an external Modwheel sent to a stereo 1/4" jack into the "Ext Control" jack in the back of the D-50.(running Aftertouch>>Filtercutoff) .....just what I wanted. Will have to try this and confirm.

another Update: I just realized that Roland made a controller keyboard (A-50) which features the Roland pitch stick AND a pair of Modwheels! - one could say that illustrates the need for a real set of mod wheels (and lack of Roland's pitch stick design superiority) eh?