What Software Do I use For VS-2480

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422david

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Okay, I am a professional musician in Buffalo, NY and I play with the Lance Diamond Band. My name is David H., and I have a few questions about the VS-2480 by Roland. First off, I am building a home studio and just learning to configure the VS-2480 and I am stumbled a little bit by the software for PC's(VST) and the software for the Roland (VS). Is it possible to use windows based VST plug-ins for the Roland VS-2480, or am I confined to the software that Roland makes.

Second, after knowing which format of the software I can use, what would be the best brand to consider using on the Roland VS-2480.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give me pertaining to the Roland VS-2480.
 
You have stumbled apon the real downside to using these all-in-one setups like the VS series: They are completely propietary and they are not very upgradable.

The 2480 will only work within itself and it will only ever be what it is. It even has its own digital interface that is only compatible with other Roland products instead of using ADAT or TDIF, so it's even hard to off load the tracks into a DAW so you can do something with them.

It also has a fixed point mix buss, so it is really easy to overload the main buss. You can't just turn down the main fader if the mix is clipping because the audio clips before the fader instead of after.
 
The 2480 will only work within itself and it will only ever be what it is.
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Does the same apply to the VS2400?
Would the wave files, saved to disc, be compatible with PC based DAWs?
 
Wav files are always compatible with a DAW. I'll have to admit that I didn't know about the software that transforms backups to wav files. That changes things a bit, but not much.

The 2480 doesn't store audio as wav files, so any time you need to get wav files out of it, it has to go through some sort of conversion process.

What I meant by that statement was that you are limited by its hardware. It can't record more tracks than it can and you can't upgrade that. You can get more effects card for it, but you will max it out quickly. (I hated having to choose between a reverb on my snare or an Compressor on my bass)

You can't bypass the preamps (the line inputs are just sent through a pad and then into the preamp), if you outgrow the capabilities of any part of it, you have to throw the whole thing away and start from scratch with a different system, etc...
 
Fair enough but given that this is a Home Recording forum, wouldn't you say that 24 tracks with 16 virtual tracks each, 64 channels at mixdown, 17 motorized faders, and 24-bit recording at rates as high as 96 kHz is sufficient for home recording?
Just pulling your leg a wee bit, Fairview. :)
I do get your point however.
I went with the Korg D3200 which offers a total of 16 inputs, 12 of which are actual XLR or 1/4' lines in.
The 2480 has 16.
The reason that I asked was that I brought a VS2400 home to try it out but it was just too noisy. (Fan) I couldn't get my head past that and no USB out.
I've often wondered whether I should have gone with that machine though.
I was under the impression that you could back the files up to CD and load them into your favourite DAW from there.
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the input it's coming in handy big time. I still am wondering how much software is available for the VS-2480. I have the feeling that the Roland website is the only place to find plug-ins if anyone could help it would be great. Thanks
 
422david said:
Thanks for all the input it's coming in handy big time. I still am wondering how much software is available for the VS-2480. I have the feeling that the Roland website is the only place to find plug-ins if anyone could help it would be great. Thanks
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The roland website is the last place to look. VSPlanet is an excellent resource and will keep you flying. There are a lot of good coders that hang out there, handling all sorts of situations
 
tricky...

You need an RPC card. The thing about th VS units is they talk R-Bus (Roland's proprietary digital bus). Neat...thanks Roland. The R-bus protocol is damn near dead so it's getting very tricky to find compatible products. The RPC card is a must because it can get you 8-tracks talking digitally between your DAW and your 2480 and for me has been way more reliable than the V-Fire thing though that is an option as well. So you can transfer or sync daw tracks or whatever you want to do; including using your PC's VST. I got my RPC with a VM-3100 so that gave me more inputs as well. There are deals to be had you just have to look around. There is a card for the Roland (VS8F-3) that has some plug-in functionality but of course the plug-ins are specific to that card. You can bypass preamps on the 2480 by using either the R-Bus or SPDIF inputs...and you want to. Overall I've enjoyed my 2480 but I find myself spending more time "in-the-box" these days. But you can get good results from the unit and you can use your PC's VST and you can bypass the preamps.
 
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