Hi, also new to this forum.
Does anyone know where I can get hold of a Roland D-50 Modulation/Bender wheel for my D-50 which I purchased in the 1980's?
If a direct replacement is required, then you could try Roland's spares / parts department.
I suspect (and think you too) they will not have one, but you never know, they might have a few left on the shelf.
The only other way, purchase a used (and abused) one from an auction site, use the parts to repair yours.
Has the lever broken, or is it just not functioning correctly?
If the lever is broken, then a replacement will be required.
If however it's a functionality issue, then you could disconnect the bender, if you can live without it.
It will still receive it via MIDI if you have another controller keyboard.
If the bender is playing up, and the modulation part is fine, then it might be worth attempting replacing the variable resistor (pot) within the bender assembly.
I recently had to do this on my old Akai AX73. An easy job, as it has separate pitch, and modulation wheels. Might be slightly trickier on the D-50 as it's combined.
The Korg M1 has 2 variable pots that are sprung loaded on a single joystick. I'm 90% sure that the D-50 as a single pot that is sprung for pitch. I not sure how modulation is generated - perhaps by magic?
