With success replacing the LCD screen on my Akai S900, I thought I would try to do the same for my two Roland D-550 sound modules that both are legible, but with no back light. I could get a foil backlight for the LCD, but to me they seem rather expensive. I was able to get the LCD screen for about $10 and if successfully installed could prove better for me than having a foil. The screen on my Akai S900 is amazing now and if I could get the same look for the D-550 that would be fantastic. Right now with what I’ve learned in my research, the actual LCD installation is not the probably, electrically, rather it’s whether the size will fit well or not. Indeed the thickness of the original is about 9mm and the one I purchases is a bit thicker at 13mm. The big hang up will be whether I can fit this into the D-550 or not and if not, whether I could make room for it with some modifications. If so, then the installation should be pretty straight forward. I should get the LCD sometime next week and should then be able to install shortly thereafter. Stay tune for updates and hopefully I’ll have some good results to post. I know a few people are looking to do the same. Thanks!
Jim Atwood in Japan 
Jim, it will be interesting to see if you can get the display to fit. As far as powering the backlight it might be easier to solder jumpers on the LCD panel, +5V from pin 2 and ground from pin 1. (rather than modifying the power supply board that I mentioned in a previous comment). The noise from EL inverters definitely suck. I put a new EL foil in my SY77 and the buzz really killed the music making vibe. To get around the problem I put a switch on the back panel so I could switch the EL foil on and off. But I just bought a TG77 and will try a buy display.com LCD panel. Cheers, Scott
Hello Scott! Thanks for the info. Indeed that is the route I think I’ll be trying first, to jumper the pins on the LCD panel. That seems the easiest for testing as well. My main worry a little is the depth of the LCD panel and I’m hoping a bit of creativity will help in making it work. We’ll see! I’ll definitely post more info once I receive the LCD screen.
Also, yes, the buzz on the SY-77 and TG77 can be quite annoying. I couldn’t stand the humming in my SY77 which lead me to change that LCD which now works great. I still have a TG77 to do as well and will do so once I find a source for the LCD, likely Buydisplay.
I’ll update you shortly. Thanks again.
Looking forward to finding out how this goes as I need the same fix – if the LCD is on the same board as your buttons, it may push it that much further back and leave a gap such that the actuators (panel buttons) won’t reach the switches…
Turns out I did just that yesterday, and documented the whole procedure: http://hacks.slashdirt.org/hx/D550/
Hope that helps 🙂
Wow! Great work! Thank you so much for posting your procedure. I should be receiving my LCD shortly and your notes will definitely come in handy. Thank you very much!!
Hi Jim, I’m Robin from Izu, you may remember me. Some time ago you got a Yamaha PLG board from me. I noticed you have a Yamaha FX500. I have one as well but the LCD has faded . I wonder if there is a simple and cheap way to fix it? Hope to hear from you…
Kind Regards
Robin von Hoegen
Hi Jim – it’s tony from London here; we’ve spoken in your comments before. Just wanted to say, I hope everything’s ok – we’ve not heard anything on here from you since last summer! I miss your articles.
I really want to know what you think of the new direction Roland is going in. I hadn’t even spotted that there had been huge changes at the top, and now they’ve launched the JD-Xi mini synth with proper analog circuitry plus SuperNATURAL sounds, which will be followed by the JD-XA full-size flagship “analog/digital crossover” synth. Life for Roland fans is getting really exciting. I said before, I’m not a “Jupiter Widow”, always desperate for a brand new JP-8. But I am a true lover of Roland’s sound, it captures my heart. Always has done. I feel like truly making music when I get my hands on a Roland synth. So, if this new flagship synth (that’s how Roland US described it) is as amazing as the prototype looked at Winter NAMM a few weeks back, and if it is truly “unleashing the potential” of Roland (and the JD-XA press conference mentioned the Jupiter 8…) then I think we are in for a treat.
I’ve already decided to buy the JD-Xi. It looks like so much fun. It looks like I will lose hours and hours without even realising it. That’s what the JX-3P did for me the first time I powered it up, and when I recently bought a mint, old JP-8000 it had the same effect. I think the JD-Xi, even with its minikeys, is going to be a true ‘songwriters’ synth. It makes me happy just watching the demo videos. No other synth manufacturer makes me *happy* just to see their keys being played.
So, Jim I hope you’re still around and healthy, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the ‘new’ Roland! 🙂
I somewhere saw a cool replacement with an VFD Display, like the MKS-70 has. That would look so cool. Have saved the information / pics but not had the time to do that mod.