Roland VS2000CD Multitrack Digital Recorder

[Blackwiz]

Does anyone have this? I'm thinking about getting either this or the Korg 32 Track Workstation in the future. Its between these two because im looking that certain price range.

Does anyone have any personal knowledge with any of these and have recommendations...without actually giving me a link to the websites for these systems?

thanks

[Richard Monroe]

I don't own VS2000CD, but I wish I did. I recorded an entire CD on a VS1824CD, which in many ways is a pretty good machine. It has some serious problems, though, and as near as I can see, the VS2000 was built to correct the most troublesome deficiencies of the VS1824. The 1824 does 18 tracks, but you only get 12 faders. No USB out, no exporting WAV. files. I think they released the 2000 about a year after I bought my 1824, and it's obvious that they listened to their end users, because the 2000 corrected a bunch of stuff that gave me headaches.
Assuming that the 2000 is similar to the 1824, which it replaced, it is a very good mixer, and is an excellent editing platform at its price point. Some of the FX are really good, especially the clean compression (CLCOMP) insert, which is a noise reduction mastering tool. The machine was (and is) dead reliable, and has never let me down, except when fed cheap CD-R's, which it does not like. Its weakest point is its preamps, which I don't love. Mostly, I use it now for a remote stereo recorder, feeding it a digital signal by S/PDIF, which bypasses the preamps. It has made some excellent remote recordings for me.
The other awful thing about the 1824 is that if you want to use an external CD-R drive, you need an obsolete SCSI drive that no man can find these days. It's a good thing the CD drive in it has been fine. BTW, when I've had to call Roland tech support, they have actually answered the phone, and knew what they were talking about. Hope that helps.-Richie

[MK-Ultra]

They have been discontinued by Roland, so you can get one quite cheap if you are lucky. However, there have been problems with this model, that Roland won't actually cop to, so if you find one in a shop, or online, make sure they have a 30 day return policy, at least.

I have had a 2000CD since September 2005, and it has worked perfectly. With the VGA adaptor (which you'd have to pay for separately), monitor, mouse and ASCII keyboard hooked up, it is light-years ahead of the competition at that price point. Also, you can put in 3rd party plugins that improve significantly on the onboard FX.

Cheers....

[Blackwiz]

Originally Posted by MK-Ultra

They have been discontinued by Roland, so you can get one quite cheap if you are lucky. However, there have been problems with this model, that Roland won't actually cop to, so if you find one in a shop, or online, make sure they have a 30 day return policy, at least.

I have had a 2000CD since September 2005, and it has worked perfectly. With the VGA adaptor (which you'd have to pay for separately), monitor, mouse and ASCII keyboard hooked up, it is light-years ahead of the competition at that price point. Also, you can put in 3rd party plugins that improve significantly on the onboard FX.

Cheers....

Hmm, I was wondering if they discontinued it. I went to the RolandUS site and its there along with the 2400 and 2480. But I had to type it in, where as the other two were in the search results.

Is it stupid to get a discontinued product? Basically, Im gonna have to cop out atleast $1,299. So, is that really even a good price? It seems like it may be, but at the same time...you say it has been discontinued.

Also, I noticed that it has the Harmony Tool, yet the 2400 and 2480 dont list that they have it. Why wouldn't that have to too seeing that they are the newer systems?

[MK-Ultra]

The 2000CD is the last VS model made, so it has the USB interface and the harmonizer. THe harmonizer is not very good, btw, unless you keep the harmonies well in the background. My understanding is you would need a dedicated plugin for serious faux harmonizing (I forget which one).

If you get it for less than 1,500.00 USD, then you are getting a reasonable deal. You should also ask whether or not Roland was still offering a VS8F-3 card and UA 1176 LN plugin free of charge. They were doing so up until December, because they were trying to clear stocks, I guess.

Trust me on the fact of the 2000CD's being discontinued. As far as I can tell, so too are the 2400 and the 2480, although they will still be supported by Roland (it's the law, I believe). If I had a chance for a 2000CD at that price, I'd grab it, with the understanding that I have a 30 day no questions asked return policy, in case of a flukey hard drive, or the other assorted gremlins that have showed up with it. As I said, though, my machine has functioned perfectly for over a year, and mine is loaded with 2 VS8F 3 cards and various plugins. I paid 2000 Euros for the machine alone, without the bells and whistles, and I still think I have a great machine.

Best of luck...

[Blackwiz]

Originally Posted by MK-Ultra

The 2000CD is the last VS model made, so it has the USB interface and the harmonizer. THe harmonizer is not very good, btw, unless you keep the harmonies well in the background. My understanding is you would need a dedicated plugin for serious faux harmonizing (I forget which one).

If you get it for less than 1,500.00 USD, then you are getting a reasonable deal. You should also ask whether or not Roland was still offering a VS8F-3 card and UA 1176 LN plugin free of charge. They were doing so up until December, because they were trying to clear stocks, I guess.

Trust me on the fact of the 2000CD's being discontinued. As far as I can tell, so too are the 2400 and the 2480, although they will still be supported by Roland (it's the law, I believe). If I had a chance for a 2000CD at that price, I'd grab it, with the understanding that I have a 30 day no questions asked return policy, in case of a flukey hard drive, or the other assorted gremlins that have showed up with it. As I said, though, my machine has functioned perfectly for over a year, and mine is loaded with 2 VS8F 3 cards and various plugins. I paid 2000 Euros for the machine alone, without the bells and whistles, and I still think I have a great machine.

Best of luck...

So, basically your saying its a good product. Hmm, I may just get it. Do you have any personal knowledge on the Korg 32 Track recorder? Would the Roland 2000CD be the better machine to buy?

[MK-Ultra]

I researched the Korg before I bought the VS2000, and went with the VS. The VS is the better machine.

Cheers.

[chestwick91]

If You Don't Know Anything About The Machine Or Recording...then They Bothe Will Have A Pretty Big Learnign Curve For Ya
But To Answer Your Question...the Roland 10 Fold..better Sound, And There Is A Little Market Out There For The Computer World

[Blackwiz]

From the previous post back, is the Harmonizer basically pointless? Can it be used for lil lines or is it just not great at all?

[MK-Ultra]

As long as it's in the background, and mixed with real voices, you could get away with it.

[PHILANDDON]

I got a VS-2000. It's a great machine. Takes time to learn though. I do recommend getting the VGA card. Much easier to use with a monitor. Also, get the turbo-start or whatever it's called DVD. Very helpful. I'm thinking of upgrading to the VS-2400. But in one respect the VS-2000 is better than the 2400. The 2000 comes loaded with VS8F2 effects (VERY NICE) and two slots for VS8F3 effects (ALSO VERY NICE). The 2400 only has two slots and, to my knowledge, does not come loaded with VS8F2 effects. My only knock against the VS-2000 is that one can't record at a higher sample rate than 24/44.1. Not that it matters at all today for CD production, but it may be nice to have hi-res files available for the future if something better than CD catches on.

[Blackwiz]

Originally Posted by PHILANDDON

I got a VS-2000. It's a great machine. Takes time to learn though. I do recommend getting the VGA card. Much easier to use with a monitor. Also, get the turbo-start or whatever it's called DVD. Very helpful. I'm thinking of upgrading to the VS-2400. But in one respect the VS-2000 is better than the 2400. The 2000 comes loaded with VS8F2 effects (VERY NICE) and two slots for VS8F3 effects (ALSO VERY NICE). The 2400 only has two slots and, to my knowledge, does not come loaded with VS8F2 effects. My only knock against the VS-2000 is that one can't record at a higher sample rate than 24/44.1. Not that it matters at all today for CD production, but it may be nice to have hi-res files available for the future if something better than CD catches on.

I bid for one of these and I lost. But then then I just got emailed a second offer for my bid of $740. Is it worth taking this offer? Or is this deal too low, leading to the fact that it may not be a legit deal? Im really pondering back and fourth whether or not I should take it.

[chestwick91]

If it has the effects cards in it then it's not a bad price but check vs planet ask there forums and also check ebay you will get better responces....korg (to my knowledge) has no independent fourm