Used For Several Songs On a 1989 Tour

From Musician magazine, October 1993 issue:

"Depeche Mode keeps things simple onstage: no amplifiers. Every sound, from keyboards to guitar to drums, runs through the P.A. system: a Brittania Pow Flashlight System. Dave Gahan and the backup singers use Samson Synth radio microphones with EU 757 capsules. Martin Gore plays a Roland A-50 and Alan Wilder plays an Akai MX1000, each controlling two Emulator Emax II samplers: Andrew Fletcher has another pair of Emaxes. Each pair is hooked up in parallel, so that if one were to malfunction, the other is ready. But 'I don't remember an instance when we had to go to a spare,' says Wob Roberts, the keyboard technician. Samples come from strange and sundry sources, including old analog equipment. The piano onstage is a Korg 01/W Pro X transplanted into a grand-piano body. For down-stage keyboards, Fletcher and Wilder use Philip Reese MIDI line drivers. A MicroLynx sends SMPTE time code to the video and film setups. Away from the keyboards, Gore plays either a Gretsch Country Gentleman or a copy of a Gretsch Anniversary guitar, strung with Gibson strings, from .010 to .046 gauge. Dick Knight copied Gore's original Gretsch for stage use, using Gretsch parts but adding more wood in the body to cut down feedback. The guitars run through a MESA/Boogie Tri-Axis preamp and a Zoom 9002 effects processor, with a Sennheiser UHF transmitter. Wilder's drums are mostly Yamahas: a 22" bass drum and 12", 13", 14" and 16" tom-toms. He uses Noble and Cooley piccolo and 7" snare drums and Zildjian K cymbals: a 22" ride, an 18" China, 16" and 18" crashes, a 6" splash and 13" hi-hats. And don't forget the tapes: two Sony 3324s, one of them a spare. Of the 24 tracks, Depeche Mode uses only 14, because many of the songs were dubbed from a 16-track Tascam that used 12 tracks for sound and four for sync. 'As soon as anyone sees the size of the machines, they think the whole show is on tape,' says Roberts. 'But it's just bass and drum parts and a couple of sequences. This band does not mime.'"

You can see Gillian Gilbert using the Roland A-50 throughout this YouTube video, but a good shot appears at 4:06

Chris is using a Roland A-50 MIDI keyboard in this video; it can be seen at 0:34.

Chris also played A-50 live all the way during the Discovery tour, therefore it should possibly be moved to the Keyboards/Synths section.

In this video Josh uses an A-50 with Type O Negative.

Neil is using a Roland A-50 MIDI controller in this video.

"Roland A-50 Controller Keyboard" is included in the Equipment List.

"I had an Akai weighted motherboard on the bottom, and then a Roland A-50 I think, which was a non-weighted controller. I had two controllers that didn’t make a noise going into a Roland U-110 module. I also had a Roland S-770 sampler because I liked the sonics of it, as well as a few other modules."

Paul Haslinger lists his favorite studio gear as "Hardware: Roland A-50 MKB, Hornberg Research hb1 (breath controller), Novation LaunchCtrl, Faderfox UC-3, Win7 PCs for Cubase and VE-Pro, UAD. Software: Steinberg, U-He, NI, CamelAudio (RIP), FabFilter, SoundToys, UAD, PSP, AAS."

In a live performance of "Resurrection" by Fear Factory at Bizarre Festival 2001, John Bechdel is seen using the Roland A-50 MIDI Keyboard Controller.

From "Musician" magazine, December 1992 found on Prince.org:

LEVI SEACER plays a Gibson Epiphone ("Because my stuff is clean stuff") straight into the board. He has a rack-mounted Zoom unit 9010, a Cry Baby chorus pedal, a Roland GPS and a Boss digital delay pedal. On "Thunder" and "Live for Love" Levi pulls out an Ibanez guitar with double humbucking pickups. Levi uses D'Addario strings.

When TONY U. reaches for a guitar, it's either a Charvel or a hollowbody Epiphone. Tony's strings are either GHS lights or Dean Markleys. He has a Zoom effects processor.

SONNY THOMPSON plays an Oswald bass (though be admits his favorite is an Alembic, "a great bass") with a GB8 effects processor, an Akai Octaver and a Boss Octaver. Sonny uses a Heavy Metal distortion pedal and plugs into a Trace Elliot amp. He prefers GHS heavy strings because "they seem brightest- they keep the boing longest."

ROSIE GAINES plays a Hammond organ onstage, and has a Korg and Roland D-50 MIDI'd to the Hammond. Rosie sings through Shure microphones. Rosie is also leaving the NPG to go out on her own.

TOMMY BARBRELLA plays a Roland A80 and an A50 controller, a Korg T3, an old Prophet which he uses on "Kiss" and a few others "for that old analog sound." Tommy also carries a new Roland JD800, a couple of E-mu E-max 2s, a Proteus 1 and Proteus 2, and a Roland D550.

MICHAEL BLAND's drums are a combination of Sonor, Yamaha and Gretach, with Zililian cymbals and Vater sticks. Trying to get mere details out of Michael is useless. "I abhor shop talk," he says. "I don't know when we change heads, I don't know when we get new cymbals. I don't have any emotional attachments to gear at all."

At the 18 minute and 52 seconds mark in the YouTube video titled "TNT - Shinjuku Kosei Nenkin Hall (Tokyo 1989)(DHV 2010)" uploaded by István Császár, Dag Stokke is clearly seen using a Roland A-50 while performing with the band TNT.