In 2024 the display light of my Roland D-550 rack synth suddenly went out. The CR2032 battery was due for replacement as well. I liked the aqua color look of the original display, but decided to replace it with an OLED like I did on other synths. In online research I learned that people tried this before with OLED displays that seemed to fit at first, but then showed timing issues during operation.

So I found only two proven offers and chose the easy way by ordering from the German dealer "synth-parts.com". The other source would have been "Super Synth Projects" in the UK. They also provide great instructions on the replacement that helped me: https://supersynthprojects.com/synth-display-upgrades/roland-d50-oled-display/

Opening the case of my D-550 was easy, but I ran into a major problem with the screws holding the front panel in place. They were locked super tightly closed and made of soft metal, so I literally screwed them up. For the first time ever I had to try to drill out screws. Fortunately I managed to do it without damaging the synthesizer.

The replacement of the display was a rather easy job as no soldering was needed. The display board came ready with a new data cable and plug and the boards dimensions fit well into the machine. The OLED display does not need the extra power for backlight so this old cable gets removed completely.

As a first test after the repair I played something improvised that you can hear as soundtrack to the video.

I hope my video helps anyone interested in exchanging their display.