Connecting Your Inputs and Outputs

There are a number of connectors on the back on the VS workstation, so let's review them.

Analog Inputs

The analog inputs are used to connect external inputs to your VS workstation. The VS-880 has four RCA inputs and four ¼" inputs, labeled Input A and Input B, respectively. Input A takes precedence over Input B in cases where both inputs are connected. The VS-880EX and VS-890 have six ¼" inputs, and the VSR-880 has eight RCA and two ¼" inputs.

You can connect microphones and instruments directly to these inputs. The Input Sensitivity knobs on the front panel control the amount of gain applied to the input signal. If you are using condenser microphones, you'll need to connect them to an external device that can provide phantom power, as none of the VS-880/890 workstations provide phantom power. Many people also use external microphone pre-amps, instrument pre-amps, and/or mixing boards , connecting the outputs of those devices to the inputs on the VS.

Analog Outputs

There are various analog outputs on your VS workstation. The Master Outputs are normally connected to your monitors . There are also Auxiliary Outputs, which can be used to route one or more tracks to external devices. Finally, there is a standard Headphone Output jack.

By default, the audio going though the Mix bus is sent to the Master Outs, but you can have the audio on the Aux Bus, Effect Bus, or Recording Bus sent to the Master Outs. This can be useful for diagnosing routing or signal overloading problems.

The Headphone Out carries the same signal as the Master Outs. This cannot be changed. If you want to send one signal to the headphones and another signal to your monitors, you could connect your monitors to the Aux Outs and adjust the Aux settings on each track accordingly .

The Aux Outs can also be used when you want to use external effects processors. You can route one or more tracks to the Aux Outs and then to the external device and bring the outputs of the external device back into the analog inputs on the VS.

You can also configure the Master Outs and the Aux Outs as Direct Outs. This allows you to output four tracks at a time via these outputs.

Digital Inputs

The digital inputs allow you to bring signals from external digital devices into the VS. The VS-880 has a coaxial digital input, whereas the rest of the VS-880/890 workstations have both coaxial and optical digital inputs. The VSR-880 includes an R-BUS connector, which can transmit and receive eight separate digital audio signals. See the chapter on the VS-2480 for more information on using R-BUS.

When connecting digital inputs to the VS, the VS will need to "clock" to the external digital device. By default, the VS uses its internal clock. You can change the setting of the VS Master Clock in the SYSTEM settings. When changing the Master Clock, be sure to pull the Master fader all the way down, as a loud click occurs when changing the clock.

Bringing signals into the VS digitally is the only way to bypass the internal VS pre-amps. I've used a number of external devices connected to the digital input on my VS, including pre-amps that provide a digital output, stand-alone analog to digital converter boxes, and CD players equipped with a digital output.

Digital Outputs

The digital inputs allow you to send digital signals from the VS to external devices. The VS-880 has a coaxial digital output, whereas the rest of the VS-880/890 workstations have both coaxial and optical digital outputs.

If you have monitors with digital inputs, you can connect them to the digital outputs on the VS. You can also use the digital outputs on the VS to send signals to devices such as stand-alone audio CD recorders and effect devices with digital inputs. If you want to use an external digital effect device and bring the signal back into the VS digitally, make sure the external device can be configured as the Master Clock.

SCSI Port

The SCSI port allows you to connect devices such as a SCSI CD burner, SCSI hard drives, and SCSI ZIP or Jaz drives . You can connect up to seven external SCSI devices to the VS. The SCSI device most commonly used with a VS workstation is a SCSI CD burner , allowing you to create CD backups and audio CDs. We'll cover the details of these operations a bit later.

Since the VS-880 and VS-880EX can only use 4GB of space on the internal hard drive, external SCSI hard drives are a great way to expand your storage options. If you use a SCSI CD burner as well as external SCSI hard drives, ZIP drives, or Jaz drives, be aware that you cannot back up to the CD burner from these devices. Backups can only be done from the internal hard drive.

You can also exchange song data between different models of VS workstations by using the Song Export and Song Import functions. In general, you can export data from one model via a SCSI device and then connect that SCSI device or medium to the other model and perform the import.

There are some limitations when using Song Import and Song Export, so it's best to refer to the appropriate owners manuals for any compatibility issues.

MIDI Connections

Each VS workstation also contains two standard MIDI connectors: IN and OUT/THRU. You can use these MIDI connectors to synchronize multiple VS workstations, synchronize the VS with external MIDI devices such as keyboards and drum machines, and control certain functions of the VS workstation from an external device.

The chapters on the 1680/1880 workstations will provide details on connecting external MIDI devices with a VS workstation.