Preparations; About The Package Contents; Main Features; The Latest In Compact Home Studio Environments - Roland VS-1680 User Manual

Preparations

About the Package Contents

The following items are included with the VS-1680. Please
check to make sure you have all the items.
• VS-1680
• AC cord
• VS-1680 Quick Start
• VS-1680 Owner's Manual
• VS-1680 Appendices

Main Features

The Latest in Compact Home
Studio Environments
The VS-1680 retains all of the features of Roland's VS-880
workstation, a revolution in the world of the home studio,
with the disk recorder, digital mixer, and multi effects
systematically and more organically integrated. From when
you start picking mics to when you actually record, to
mixdown, to adding effects, and on to creating the master
data for playing through a PA or mastering on a CD, you can
easily control every aspect of the recording process with the
VS-1680 in your home studio.
Disk Recorder Section
The digital disk recorder section provides 16 playback tracks,
and allows eight tracks to be recorded simultaneously. Each
track features 16 virtual tracks (V-Tracks), providing a total
of 256 tracks altogether. This means that you can record
multiple takes, make temporary mixes when editing and
create songs that require numerous tracks, all with room to
spare.
The VS-1680's recording functions were designed for use
with professional digital equipment—DAT recorders, digital
mixers, digital effects, etc. You can record and edit with top-
quality sound, losing none of that quality in the playback.
You can instantly find the location of sections in a song you
want to hear repeatedly (locator), or places that you wish to
record over by placing marks at such points (marker). These
markers are recalled by a simple procedure, and you will
never have to wait for any rewinding or fast-forwarding.
Sounds are organized in phrases. Copying, moving, and
inserting these phrase units (using Phrase Edit), as well as
many other editing processes, are possible with the VS-1680.
For example, you can create "break beats" by copying a four-
measure drum pattern any number of times, or have the
same chorus both at the beginning and end of a song.
The VS-1680 uses "non-destructive editing." This allows you
to cancel and recover up to 999 previous recording and
editing operations (Undo/Redo).
The internal clock runs on battery power, so it continues to
function even after the VS-1680's power is turned off. This
allows you to manage your songs by "time stamp," the time
and date of recording that is registered in the song data.
Digital Mixer Section
You can store all mixer settings, including fader levels, pan,
and effects. Stored settings can be recalled very simply, a
convenient feature when adjusting balances during mixdown
and comparing mixes with effects.
Changes in settings over time, such as fader levels and pan,
can also be stored (Automix), allowing you to perfect fade-
ins and fade-outs in your mixes.
You can easily set up the VS-1680 for different situations
such as recording, track bouncing, and mixdown using its
handy EZ Routing feature.
Effects Section
The VS-1680 features the optional VS8F-2 effect expansion
board. Up to two of these effect expansion boards can be
installed in the VS-1680. With the VS8F-2 effect installed in
the VS-1680, up to four high-quality stereo effects will be
available for your use.
The VS8F-2 provides not only basic effects such as reverb and
delay, but also effects ideal for vocals and guitar (such as
guitar amp simulator) and even special effects such as RSS
and Roland's exclusive COSM™ speaker modeling that you
can use when the VS-1680 is connected to digital speakers
such as Roland's DS-90A Powered Monitors. These effects
are organized as 34 "algorithms" from which you can easily
create new sounds.
The VS8F-2 provides 240 read-only effects, or "preset
patches," that are designed for various uses. In addition, the
VS8F-2 provides 200 read-and-write effects, "user patches,"
that can be customized and re-saved. As a result, you can
instantly switch between a wide variety of effects simply by
selecting a preset or user patch.
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