VS2480 vs AW4416

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AVIroger

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Why would you choose one of these over the other, assuming the price was the same? Is there another high-end digital workstation that would be preferable?
 
High !

The assumption that these cost the same seems a little unfair... At least the waves card should be part of the 4416 to make it a little more comparable...

IMO, if you have the waves card, the 4416 seems to be more interesting. Better verbs, better compression, better eq, better expandability...

The stability of both systems seems the same. But if you consider a real system, you might even be getting an additional 16g or 2816 with the 4416 for the same price as the fully loaded 2480 (the effect cards are stil f***ing expensive...)

OTOH, I love my Rolands... The older machines, especially if bought used are quite a lot of bang for the bucks...

aXel
 
Yeah, I've got a 880 now, but have had a real problem getting the oem burner to work...mostly because I actually have NO IDEA what I'm doing...I just as well be a can of potted meat standing in front of this workstation!

I've made my "recordings" (with my level of expertise, I hate to even call them that) and have mixed the tracks down to a stereo pair. When I tell the VS to Write-CD, somewhere along the way (parameter THIS, and cursor THAT...blah, blah, blah) it wants to know what tracks to write to L and R. Is there any literature that I can get (I have the original VS880 XPanded, then upgraded the software) that tells me how to select the tracks and thereby appear to my wife that I have an ability level somewhere above a rock.

Thanks, Dr. Volltreffer
Roger Mc
 
I'm quite sure the topic might have been covered here already. Try a search. If you can't find anything here, have a look over here - and try a search

http://www.vsplanet.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi

There is an 880/880vexp/880ex/890 forum you'll prolly wanna look into. To me it seems that there is more activity on these older machines than in here...

aXel

PS: I might be able to answer your question, if it works the same as with my 880ex. You'll have to do a mixdown to two tracks first. These two tracks (that have to have all effects, EQ a.s.o. recorded to them!!!!) can be burned.

Good luck!
 
VS KICKS ASS

Just wanted to drop in my 2 cents. I have the Roland vs2480 CD. And to be honest i was scoping out all other DAWS on the market. After tons of research, and use of units similar i went with the Roland. It has amazing sound quality, the effects are good...although additional baords are a bit pricey, and the vga monitor output rules...no more squinting. Combining the unit with great out board gear is the key. And a bit of engineering know-how. Emotional Flatline...my band is recording out full length albun on it. So far the results are amazing. You can hear some of our earlier stuff on www.emotionalflatline.com
Buy the Roland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
High Analytical man!

Yeah, if you spend some more bucks on outboard gear, you can get GREAT results. Even with a vanilla 880ex, you CAN have great results, but things like the onboards compressors have a very limited (haha) range of sound... Have you ever heard one of these waves compressors? They're much sweeter.

Don't get me wrong, I like my 880ex and my 1680, and prolly the 2480 is an awsome machine, but I work very much with compression, and I HATE the VS compressors... And working with such a machine with tons of outboard gear isn't too satisfactory either, as you'll only be able to go 1 to 2 tracks at a time, which means you cannot tweak while listening to the mix.

I had the impression that the channel dynamics were a little better than the vs8f1 ones, but they don't kick ass, either. And the EQ - I can only hope that it is better than the older model's ones...

Nevertheless, it is more a matter of the engineers capabilities than of the machine if you compare these two... And of course one of personal taste...


aXel
 
I agree that you should check out the 2480 forum at the vsplanet. There have been a number of major issues, ranging from pre-amps that need to be manipulated before they act according to spec, to loss of data, to buggy OS. The specs of the 2480 are impressive, but if the machine doesn't work according to spec, what good is it? For my money, I'd get two second-hand 1680s, loaded with FX cards, and link 'em. The 1680 has proven to be a very reliable machine, and I think whatever limitations you find will rest with yourself rather than the machines. Just an opinion...
 
... and you'll have a lot of bucks left to buy your external gear (that I consider necessary...)

aXel
 
i like the 4416
only thing i like more about the 2480 is the vga moniter capability and i use to own a 840 a while back and u know familiarity is comforting
 
Like others have said, it's a little unfair to assume they're the same price. They ain't!

But, I've used the AW4416 quite a lot (I don't own one, I borrowed it) - and I recently bought a VS2480 - so I can give a reasonable comparison.

Going on my experience - I would definitely go for the VS2480 (just as well I did then :)).

One major issue for me is the number of tracks - 24 being significantly more than 16 :) Also, Roland's proprietary R-DAC compression algorithm means that you can use all 24 tracks, at 24-bit resolution. In fact, this is the default recording mode!

I also prefer the FX in the roland. Like the AW4416, the VS2480 comes with 2 built in FX processors (however you can buy three additional cards, bringing the total internal FX up to 8). However, the VS2480 has 36 algorithms, and a whopping 250 preset patches. I've found the reverb effects on the VS2480 to be superior to those on the AW4416 (IMHO), in particular. In addition to this, the VS2480 has mic modelling and speaker modelling algorithms - *and* vocoder FX :) That was a particular plus to me, the vocoders. It has 10 band and 19 band vocoders, allowing you to send two separate signals into the FX processor (i.e. an instrument and a vocal).

I've also found the mastering to be superior on the Roland - *though*, the AW4416 does have the option of adding the Waves card. I've never used it, but I've heard very good things (though I think it's pretty expensive).

There are a few other things the Roland has, like for example the waveform display feature (*very* useful for editing), the spectrum analyser, and the option to add a VGA monitor. I tried hooking up a monitor to the 2480 - it makes using it a *whole* lot easier! The user interface you get with the monitor is pretty comprehensive and very intuitive, and in combination with the mouse - is incredibly useful.

I wrote up a review of the VS2480 (as well as comparing to the AW4418) on TalkBass.com - here is the link.
 
I've had the 2480 for a year, and i love it. Although I still struggle with my engineering skills, it's a great machine. As far as the preamps, and software bugs, all has been solved. Version 2.9 OS works great, and fixed everything that has been wrong. If you want an all in one box it'll do ya fine. The preamp distortion issue is easily solved doing the Falcon Eddy Crank, once you learn it, it takes only minutes to perform, or you can send it to Roland and they will fix it for free. True we gave Roland Hell about it, but it didn't mean we loved our machines any less, and Roland did step up and do the right thing.

In retrospect, since i've began building up my front end, pres, clock, and will soon begin doing work on the computer also, I might have chosen another route, but if your looking for the all in one recording solution, the 2480 rocks! Just go to the Planet and listen to some of the tunes created on it. But don't listen to mine, it may scare ya off, and make you go tape.

One in particluar to check out is from Brianomious ( i may have mispelled that, sorry Brian) He did one of the best mixes i've heard to date. Lot's of others from The Muzic, Darth Faderz, as well as others who use other Roland DAWS. Of course these guys could get a great mix out of a 4 track too. Engineering skills IMHO, account for 90% of what comes out of a Digital Recorder, regardless of Brand, Fancy Pre's or Mics. Too bad they don't package and sell engineering skills in a box too.

Abe
 
Buying used?

If I look for a used machine, which OS should I look for and will it offer me onscreen editing with the added VGA monitor?

How can a potential seller check which OS is in use? Which OS is not good?

THANKS !!!
 
get the 2480 or the akai dps24 and add a computer both are good
i have the 2480 fot 3 years no problem/ go to the planet and ask the guys what units are good but i think yo just upgrade it to the latest OS :p
 
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