Winter NAMM is upon us once again, and Sweetwater Sound has a lot of exciting new gear to tell you about. One product that’s got every one talking this year is the new digital mixer/processor from Roland. Roland’s given you the V-drums and the V-studio, and now, Roland gives you the V-mixer. Just like the earlier "V" gear, theVM series mixing consoles go far beyond their original design. In other words, Roland’s new digital mixer isn’t "just" a digital mixer: it’s an incredibly powerful processing machine that provides the user with enormous control and versatility. You get the mixing power of Roland’s VS units, but without the limitations of a portable system. Yet the VM consoles are easy to carry and set up. With unprecedented capabilities in a digital mixer and easy mobility, the VM mixers are guaranteed to find a home in a wide range of audio situations. This mixer is an excellent example of Roland’s ability to deliver a quality product "and then some." The V-Mixer comes in a variety of different configurations (for example, the 3100 series mixer has 13 faders, while the 7000 series has 25), but its comprehensive list of features and flexibility makes the Roland V mixers definite contenders with some of the best digital mixers on the market.

Roland VM-7200 processor, front (see back)

All the functions that have made digital mixers so popular get great marks on Roland’s V-Mixers. Automatic faders, 999 scene locators, 2 storable positions per fader, total recall, 12 "flex" busses and much more provide the ease-of-operation and total control that audio professionals love and need. You also get complete MIDI controllability, 24-bit A/D, D/A converters, and up to 16 mono effects. But the V-Mixer sets itself apart from other digital mixers with two special characteristics. The first is expandability. The system is modular, enabling you to add on to your set-up as your mixing demands grow and change. When you need more power, you can use (for example) two mixing consoles to control the one processor, seamlessly integrating your "old" gear into a new set-up with no loss of quality. And this is where the second characteristic comes in. You can expand your system to handle up to 94 channels of audio! In fact, the Roland’s V-mixer has more inputs and outputs than any other mixer available. What’s more, there’s no snake needed! The V-Mixer’s AES-style digital connector gives it a run-length of at least 500 feet, making it an excellent control "hub" for live performance or any situation where a lot of gear has to be controlled and monitored. Imagine being able to handle even the most complex sound set-up with total ease, knowing exactly what’s happening in every aspect of the set-up and being able to pinpoint and fix a problem when it occurs. The VM series also has built-in speaker modeling, so you can hear what your sound is like coming from some of the best and most detailed speaker and monitors in the world.

And all this is just the beginning. There’s more to come on Roland’s entry into the big leagues of digital mixers, and Sweetwater Sound will keep you posted on all the new features and functions that Roland has in the works.