2000: The VS-1880

In January 2000, Roland announced its new 18-track workstation, the VS-1880, shown in Figure 1.5. The VS-1880 capitalized on the success of the VS-1680, while adding the features introduced in other recent VS models.

Figure 1.5. Roland VS-1880 Digital Studio Workstation

Highlights of the VS-1880

The VS-1880 looked a lot like the VS-1680, but it was housed in a black case instead of a grey case. The VS-1880 included a dedicated CD Mastering button, and since the VS-1880 can play back 18 tracks, faders 7 and 8 now pull double duty via the SHIFT key in order to manage the two additional tracks. All of the features of the VS-1680 V-Xpanded upgrade were implemented in the VS-1880, as well as the following:

• 24-bit recording mode

• Faster CD burning format

• 24-bit A/D and D/A converters

Software Upgrades

There were various operating system upgrades available for the VS-1880, but no major functionality was ever added to the VS-1880.