Editing Effects - Roland VS-880 Supplemental Notes

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IX. Exploring the Auxiliary Bus
The VS-880's Aux bus can be a versatile problem solver. Of course its most obvious function is to route two mono
sends to external processors. Remember when using it this way to pan the Aux A sends all the way to the left and
the Aux B sends to the right to keep the signals separate. You can also use the Aux bus to send your mix to an
analog destination, such as control-room monitors, at a different level than your DAT or headphone output. Each
internal effect, however, can only be returned to either the Aux or the Master outputs. Here's what you need to do
to get the exact same material including effects in both the Aux and Master outputs.
• First, send all of your tracks and inputs to the Aux bus Post-Fader.
• Next, return all effects to the Aux bus.
• Finally, go to the Edit/Solo button and choose A+B for the inputs to the Master Mode. This routes Aux A and B
material to the Master outputs.
Now all effects and tracks go to the Aux and Master outputs. You can then use the Aux Send knob to control your
control room monitors and the Master Fader to control the digital send level, the headphone output level, or some
other destination. You can use a similar procedure to send vocals with reverb to the headphone out (via the Aux
bus) while only monitoring and printing the vocal dry. To do this, send the vocal to Effect-1, send all tracks and
the Mix bus to the Aux bus Post-Fader, and return Effect-1 to the Aux bus.
X. Editing Effects
The effects in the VS8F-1 card for the VS-880 can be edited and used just like most external effects processors.
In fact, Eric Persing, renowned L.A. studio session musician and a long-time consultant for Roland, often uses a
VS8F-1-fortified VS-880 as a stand-alone digital effects processor, especially for its guitar-amp simulations,
delays, and compression. Eric says he used the VS-880 as an effects processor in the production of his latest
audio sampling CD/CD-ROM, Spectrasonics' Burning Grooves (see Keyboard Report, Jan. '97). Here are a
couple of things to keep in mind when editing a VS-880 effect.
• Once in the editing parameter mode, hold shift and press the Effect button, then use the left Parameter button
with shift to jump to the top of each algorithm block.
• Use the Dial to turn the block on or off. This is also a good way to see how each effect block is affecting the
sound.
NOTE: If an effect is Off, you won't be able to see any of its parameters.
I suggest that you use the Effect Send Level in the Mixer section rather than the Wet/Dry Mix in the Effect itself to
make mix adjustments. This makes it easier to make changes quickly during mixdown.
Make sure you don't mix the original signal with an Insert effect. This will avoid phase problems with the effected and
original signal. You can detect a phase problem if the audio sounds muted because harmonics in the doubled signal
will tend to cancel each other out. As long as you assign an effect as an Insert instead of Pre- or Post Fader, you
won't have a problem.
XI. Backup Safety Tips
#1: Just Do It!
First and foremost, back up your songs often. Hard drive technology has gotten very robust, but Mr. Murphy is
always lurking in the background. If your songs are important, back them up regularly. Use two different pieces of
backup media and alternate them with each backup. If the cat eats one, then you're only one backup session
away from getting back to work.
Backing Up to DAT
When you back up to audio DAT, always use the VERIFY function. Audio DATs aren't checked for errors while
they're being recorded. To be safe, let the VS-880 check for you using VERIFY. It may take longer, but the extra
assurance is worth it.
© 1997 Miller Freeman, Inc. VS-880 Hot Tips Keyboard Magazine Article
VS-880 Supplemental Notes
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