1996: The VS-880

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In January 1996, Roland introduced its breakthrough VS-880 Digital Studio Workstation, shown in Figure 1.1. Digital recorders had existed since the 1980s, and the first half of the '90s gave birth to digital tape-based systems like the ADAT and DA-88. Roland's VS-880 provided an affordable, all-in-one recording device, the likes of which had never been seen before.

Figure 1.1. Roland VS-880 Digital Studio Workstation


Highlights of the VS-880

Since the VS-880 really was revolutionary, all of its features could not be listed here. When comparing it to other affordable recording solutions available at the time, the following items stand out as things that made the VS-880 unique.

  • Non-linear digital recording

  • Non-destructive digital editing

  • Eight 'Virtual Tracks' per physical track

  • Four simultaneous recording tracks, eight simultaneous playback tracks

  • Mixer snapshots via scenes

  • Internal hard drive

  • Optional effect processor board

  • Familiar tape-based Transport Control (FF, RW, Play, Stop, Record)

  • 18-bit A/D and D/A converters

All that Jaz

The VS-880 was sold as three different models: the VS-880 (without an internal hard drive), the VS-880-HD (with an internal 540MB hard drive), and the VS-880-J (with an internal 1GB Iomega Jaz drive). Although the Jaz drive received accolades when it first appeared, VS-880 users began encountering problems with the Jaz drive and its cartridges. Roland discontinued the VS-880-J model in late 1996, but offered existing VS-880-J customers the option to replace the Jaz drive with an internal 1GB hard drive.


Software Upgrades

In 1997, Roland introduced a major software upgrade for the VS-880. This upgrade turned an existing VS-880 into a VS-880 V-Xpanded unit. Roland also began shipping VS-880 workstations labeled as V-Xpanded units. The V-Xpanded upgrade offered a number of new features to the base VS-880, including:

  • Increased number of playback tracks in linear mode (from 4 to 6)

  • Onboard Automix function

  • Ability to change Scene and Effects settings via MIDI

  • Ten new effect algorithms with 100 additional presets

In 1998, Roland provided another major software upgrade for the VS-880, dubbed the S2 upgrade. This new software allowed users to create audio CDs via an external SCSI CD writer. With the S2 upgrade, the VS-880 became a truly self-contained production recording system, allowing users to record, mix, master, and now create CDs.

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Roland VS Recorder Power.
Roland VS Recorder Power.
ISBN: 1592008364
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 202

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