Anyone have experience with the Roland VS-2480 CD

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Member Since: Dec 15, 2002

I currently have a Tascam 424 MKIII and despite my best efforts can't make the bouncing of the tracks come out the way I want, loose too much. From what I have read on the Roland 2480cd it almost looks too good to be true and was wanting feedback from folks that have used it. Is it fairly user friendly, reliable, what effects are built in and does the recordings sound good? I know these are a lot of questions but that is a big investment for me and I dont want to screw up again and buy something I will have trouble with.

Thanks
John

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Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Dec 15, 2002 09:28 am

Well, the roland is a digital recorder, bouncing tracks and processing can be done with almost zero generation loss. This is not possible with the average consumer level tape recorder, generation loss is a natural part of tape recording.

As a whole the digital medium remedies a lot of the common problems of the tape medium. BUT, before buying that unit, have you considered buying a nice sound card for your PC and recording with the computer? That is what most of us here do.

FYI, after you get this response I am going to move this post to the "Gear Gab" forum since it is more appropriate over there.

Member
Since: Dec 15, 2002


Dec 15, 2002 11:12 pm

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes I have considered it and may have been missinformed but it is my understanding that usually you can only record 2 - 4 channels at a time using the computer. I understand that the virtual tracks are limitless though. At this time this really wouldnt be a problem as right now I am the Band so to speak but later will need the capability of 8-10 tracks at least. I must admit that eventhough I have posted for info on the Roland, I know even less about computer recording and understand that the most popular software package is Cakewalk. I have a friend that uses Cakewalk and has had his share of problems with it. It seems that I looked into it a little and determined that not only would I need the program, interface and sound card, I would also need a new computer because mine is an older HP with Pentium III 650 mhz w/128 MB SD RAM and a 30 Gig HD. To Make matters worse we were hit by lightning a while back and the computer can't seem to find the read/write cd rom. If I am incorrect about the system requirements then I would probably give it a whirl but and advise would be helpfull as to what interface and sound card would be best.

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Dec 16, 2002 05:51 am

There are sound cards out there that would allow you 8 to 10 inputs at a time, and actually, I record on my PC and actually have a business doing it and mine is a PIII 600 and it has been a business since I have a K6-2 350. Get more RAM and you could get rockin with it. 128 MB is running on the low end, the more the better when it comes to RAM, and RAM is cheap, espeically SDRAM like you have, you can get 256MB sticks for $20-$30 now.

Here is a couple cards to check out:
M-Audio Delta 1010 PCI Digital Audio System:
service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear

Echo Layla 24/96 Multitrack Recording System:
service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear

Member
Since: May 15, 2002


Dec 16, 2002 01:37 pm

John,

I am the proud owner of the mighty Roland VS-2480 and I can tell you without a doubt that it ROCKS! Like you, I am a one man band. I play guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, vocals, etc. I bought it about a year ago and admittedly, it is a learning curve for a little while. But the versatility cannot be matched and the built in effects are fantastic. There are 16 virtual tracks per channel for a total of 384 virtual tracks. 999 levels of undo. 17 motorized faders. Very user friendly (once you start to get a feel for how everything works, it all starts to make sense). You can hook up a keyboard & mouse and a VGA monitor for easy viewing of multiple screens. It is truly the best recording investment I have ever made. I do not have the VS-2480 version that has the built in CD burner, but I have a separate Roland CD burner. There's so much to it that I can't describe here. If you live near a Roland dealer, check it out. If you want to correspond more about it, feel free to e-mail me and I will answer any questions you may have. Good luck!

Michael Morales

[email protected]

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