Roland VS 1680 - Did you use one ?

i used one.. well I tracked some stuff for a guy on his, mixed it on my AW4416 and PC and mastered it back in the day.

it was a cool machine for the time.

I thought my Yamaha AW4416 was better sounding

cheers

Wiz

Bought one for $3600 new (you have to add the CDRW and two FX boards that were extra)....

Sounds like dogshit. Between the RDAC compression (which wasn't the biggest of these).....the to this day possibly worst preamps I've touched--and note I'm no snob....and the combination of a 20bit ADA and 24fixed bit at mix sum....not good EQ....not good compression....

I can say the FX boards were fine, decent time based effects.

Anyway--they sell around here now for about $250--and unlike when I had one, someone has written an app that will export the files into a DAW, he can certainly use it to track if he likes it.

I would venture if he "likes it" it's due to knowing how to use it--Rolqnd was horribly proprietary in their nomenclature and there are people I maintain contact with today who that was their first "north of four track cassette" recorder-who still refer back to how "easy" X or Y was.

Coming from a traditional engineering of component based systems (meaning desks and decks and effects and compressors all tied together with wires and patchbays....I found the machine maddening--I could never figure out it's fucked up automation, which involved adjusting two "snapshots" and altering the gradation/transition between them...I did one record with it, and sold it off....for I don't know $1200? That was an expensive album. Especially considering I realized the NEED for external preamps and ADC. To this day--the tracks themselves are fine sounding...but, there were just NO mix tools...

I always said that the VS880 and 2480 were the stars of that line--880 was so limited you used it like a four track--KISS and thus it produced good demos...and then the 2480 they finally stepped up and gave you the tools to handle the extra track count--I think you could get 8FX....third party UA and IK plugs for it....full featured EQ and dynamics on every channel...anyway--I'd venture the 2480 is his best shot and meeting his knowledge of Roland'ese and sounding good. Not to mention those did WAV import/export natively. And I've seen them go for $500-1000 now depending on installed options.

I should also point out for noobs and youngsters.....that when I paid $3600 for it? It was because my DAT was on it's last legs, 8track r2r head died in lapping....and the cost of replacing the DAT and the ANALOG 8 track with a 20bit ADAT (yuck, but only choice)....was about $3k-3500. For what would be a downgrade in tracking quality...and maybe a touch of an upgrade on the DAT converter end....and the Roland allowed me to (right or wrong in retrospect) sell all the rest of my outboard gear (to make the end cost less than half that), and author CDs--not trivial in the late 90s. It's wasn't the wrong call. I mean, it was had I known what was in store for the next gen of hardware audio workstations, but the computer alternative was a $4k Mac 233mhz G3+DigPerformer upgrade(from. Performer I used for midi) and some kind of $1000+ Layla interface or something....so, one needs that perspective.

I was a starving musician at the time....who was in the middle of making an album when those key pieces went south. Today, one could make a trip to GC and pick up a MBAir and some little IO box and keep going. I had to recall midi sequences, print them into the new recorder and recut tracks based on rough DAT mixes I happened to have as reference.

#momentofgratitude

Yeah, I was "out of the market"....it's actually the reason, if you ever see me talking about "my next studio"--like where I would go if something happened? It's because I wasn't paying attention at all--just using my gear, making music...and when it died it was like this panic--"what do you mean they don't make analog recorders anymore? I don't want a fucking adat!"....only professional 24bit DATs that cost $1500? Holy shit....

Yes--terrible time to buy home studio gear, IMO/E.

Once we hit 2000, you have RME based PCs....Akai and Roland did the stand alone thing "right" (DPS24 and 2480)...on the more pro level, TDM mixers went HD and you actually COULD replace your big desk....and go 96khz....

Kids today are spoiled. I posted a while back about how I can basically buy some little interface for the MacBook Air (and Logic) and out do my entire 90s home studio in terms of capability AND sonics....MIDI, samplers, audio--everything....low rent laptop and some 2x2 USB box....really--you could get that Focusrite iDock thing and an iPad and MOSTLY outdo it....

Yeah, I had all dedicated romplers. I had friends with samplers w/floppies....always seemed like too much of a PIA.

I think an Alesis D4 did drums....I had a Voce V3 and midi drawbars for organ...Kurzweil Micropiano and PC88mx for pianos and strings....Roland D70 full of custom rolled "pads"....then there were a few other synths that came and went, but that was the core. A Mac (15mhz?) running Performer and a MoTU midi interface tying it all and syncing to the tape.

Ahhhhh the D4

I took a Remo practice kit, put piezo sensors in each pad and connected it up to the trigger inputs of my D4.  viola E Kit


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