Roland Vs880EX Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q.What are Virtual Tracks?
A. Your VS-880EX has 8 tracks for recording and playing back. Each of these tracks has an additional 7 tracks which can contain recorded sound, these are called virtual tracks. There is also an additional set of 64 giving you a total of 128 virtual tracks. You can specify which V-tracks will be used during playback which means you can have up to 16 different takes per track. Later you can choose your best take and use it for playback.
Q. What is Random Access?
A. Music recorded on a hard disk can be recalled and played back immediately, no matter where it is located on the disk. This allows instant access to any place in a song with just a touch of a button. No longer will you have to wait to rewind or fast forward.
Q. What is Non-Destructive Editing?
A. On an analog recorder you need to erase a previously made recording in order to modify it. Also, if you want to change the organization of a song, you must re-record it from the beginning. The VS-880EX allows you to copy or move data to any location in a song without affecting the sound quality or recording over a previously made take. The VS-880EX features 999 levels of undo which can return the data to how it was prior to editing.
Q. What is a Scene and how many are there?
A. A scene is group of mixer settings that can be stored for each song. This allows you to compare different mixes and recall them with a touch of a button. Each song can store 8 scenes.
Q. What is EZ Routing and how many settings can I store?
A. EZ Routing allows you to store settings related to mixer connections, settings for routing inputs to tracks, determining where signals are output, determining which output is to be monitored, and settings related to track bouncing. This allows you to easily recall the settings you use often instead of rerouting the setting each time you need them. Your VS-880EX comes with 3 preset routings from the factory . In addition to these, the VS-880EX allows you to store 29 of your own settings.
Q. What are the four Recording Modes?
A. The four recording modes are Mastering (MAS), Multitrack 1 (MT1), Multitrack 2 (MT2), and Live (LIV).
Mastering provides the highest sound quality, however, if this mode is selected your VS-880EX will function as a 6-track recorder.This mode is suitable mainly when recording and editing 2-track stereo.
Multitrack 1 will still have a very high sound quality, but the recording time will be twice that of the Mastering mode. This mode is best for recordings in which you will be doing a lot of track bouncing.
Multitrack 2 still has a high level of sound quality but offers a longer recording time than Multitrack 1. Normally you should use this mode.
Live Mode has the longest recording time. This mode is suited best for recording a live performance.
Q. How many Songs can be stored in the VS-880EX?
A. The VS-880EX will allow you to store up to 200 songs on one disk drive.
Q. How much Recording Time do I have on my VS-880EX?
A. The recording time will depend on which mode and sampling rate is selected for each song.
The following are recording times for one track on a 2 Gb drive.
Recording Mode Sampling Rates
—————————————————————————
48 kHz 44.1kHz 32kHz
Mastering 370 minutes 404 minutes 556 minutes
Multitrack 1 742 minutes 808 minutes 1114 minutes
Multitrack 2 990 minutes 1078 minutes 1484 minutes
Live 1188 minutes 1292 minutes 1782 minutes
Q. Is there a particular Procedure to turn the VS-880EX Off?
A. Yes, to turn the VS-880EX off safely, you must first make sure you have saved any recorded data to hard disk and that the hard disk heads are parked. Before turning the VS-880EX off, perform the following shut down procedure: Hold down [SHIFT], press [SHUT / EJECT (STOP)], the display will read “SHUT / EJECT ?”. Press [YES], the display will read “STORE CURRENT ?”, press [YES] if you want to save your song, [NO] if you don’t. When shut down is complete the display will read ” POWER OFF / RESTART”. Turn the VS-880EX off.
Q. What kind of External Storage devices can I use with my VS-880EX?
A. The VS-880EX’s SCSI connector allows you to connect external hard disks, removable disk drives, and IDE drives. You can also connect an optional CD-R drive on which you can create your own audio CDs as well as backing up recorded data.
Q. What are Locate Points and how many are there?
A. Locate points are used to memorize points in a song which you will want to access frequently, such as verses choruses, looping points or for punch in recording. You have a total of 32 Locate Points per song.
Q. What are Mark Points and how many are there?
A. A song can have up to 1000 Mark Points. These are similar to Locate Points but there are more of them. You can use Mark Points with Auto mix to set up for a fade in or out, set loop points, punch in recording, etc.
Q. Can I Synchronize the VS-880EX to an External Sequencer?
A. Yes, the VS-880EX can use MIDI Time Code, MIDI Machine Control or MIDI CLOCK to synchronize with your sequencer. Also, your VS-880EX will sync to a video deck by using SMPTE Time Code.
Q. How many Effects are there and how many can I use at one time?
A. There are 210 preset effect patches as well as 100 user effects. There are 34 effect algorithms to create your own effects. You can use up to two stereo effects at one time.
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