D-50 partial sample + synthesis and a few looped rhythmic samples . This the first widely available Digital Synthesizer came close to reproducing "real instruments" when introduced . With only the attack portion of the sample, it was still closer than previous attempts. This seemed to be the design motivation that powered the industry . Certainly the programmers at Roland couldn't resist a little sound exploration creating classics like "Digital Native Dance" and "Fantasia" . From the standpoint of a synth the D-50 is a wonderful machine , nice fat analog waveforms , rich filters and excellent long multistage envelopes . Now it`s time to give this Dirty , Gritty , low bit reverb having Digital Beauty another look .