Yamaha AW16G or Roland VS-1680

[DESSERT DWELLER]

HELLO,

I am debating between purchacing a used Roland VS-1680 or a new Yamaha AW16G. The prices will be similar especially when you take int account the need for a C.D. back-up and effects cards for the 1680. I also feel I would need to buy a larger capacity hard drive for the 1680.

Actually the 1680 would end up costing more. Which is the better machine. Can anyone tell me how they like the sound of the Yamaha reverbs are?

Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Cratinus]

the VS1680 was the "King of the Hill" in it's heyday (2-3 years ago) and is still a good unit. HOWEVER,.. (as with all Roland VS recorders) it uses DATA COMPRESSION which "can" reduce fidelity in certain frequencies ESPECIALLY after bouncing tracks. the AW16G is an impressive little unit. i demo'd one at my local MEGASTORE yesterday. it is built LIKE A TANK with a solid steel chassis. the AW uses ABSOLUTELY no data compression. i was MOST impressed with it's ability to manuever through/to certain tasks and the "mulitifunction" knobs (to the right of the data screen) work BEAUTIFULLY! twist one and you are IMMEDIATELY at the relevant data screen/setttings. "pushing" them toggles through relevant settings as well. it seemed MUCH easier to navigate than EITHER the AW2816 and AW4416. ALAS,..there IS a trade-off...the other AW's record at 24-bits. the AW16G does NOT. ALSO,..there are NO moving faders (as on the other AW's). HOWEVER,............
........it "seemed" as if the AW16G had onboard SCENE/SNAPSHOT automation (as i played the demo song channels muted and unmuted themselves,..fader
and pan levels changed at will..etc)!! i could not find evidence/advertisement of this feature in ANY AW16G literature that i've seen so far. perhaps it was just a "clever" demo,...but i swear it seemed like "scene automation". i'll have to check it out further. by the way,..Roland effects are VERY VERY good. the effects on Yamaha AW's are quite good as well. the EQ and DYNMANICS available for EACH TRACK on the AW16G will provide an advantage over the Roland VS1680. also,..the AW16G comes WITH the CD recorder BUILT IN. cheers.

p.s. the "sample pad" integration on the AW16G seems MUCH IMPROVED over the AW4416. there is also a feature that lets you "doodle/practice" and the recorder is always "listening" and will let you SAVE a bit you've just played and integrate it into a new recording. really cool. me likey.

 

[Dave Brophy]

I want either a Yamaha AW16g,an Akai,or a Korg.The Roland VS isn't even in 4th place.When Tascam makes a 16-track with 8-track simultaneous recording,it will be in with the above 3 brands.

 

[Treeline]

Prices have been dropping on the AKAI DPS16 as it has been discontinued. You'll need a SCSI burner, but the package is still competitive and it seems nothing else in the range can record at 24/96. The OS is reputed to be stable, without "power down hard drive" issues, an essentially open architecutre, 4 aux outs, and AKAI has a good product backing. It's hard to imagine a better bang for the buck.

 

[jeffree]

Thanks, Cratinus, for the very helpful feedback. I'm ordering the Yamaha DAW this week after reading two in-depth reviews (SOS and Future Music) and after hearing from a few new owners who just can't believe how much stuff this relatively cheap little unit packs. Your thoughts only add to the positive reviews. The 16G has obvious limits, but it seems to do a lot right for a little cash.

By the way, folks, shop aroung because you can definitely find the 16g for under $1K, shipping included.

Best,
J.

 

[jp]

This is a pretty stupid question, but while this thread is alive I thought I'd ask. I've been thinking about buying an AW16G myself... I've never owned a recorder with more REAL tracks than it has faders - how this implemented on that AW16G? Are they shared, toggled, or what?

Thanks.

 

[Treeline]

Each track has a series (or subset) of virtual tracks, usually eight. It means that you can do successive takes of any given track, then pick and choose which of them you want in the final mix. But when all is said and done, you have to pick one of the eight. A 16-track unit gives you 16 tacks to mix down, not more, even if it has 144 "virtual" tracks.



------------------------
Seems reality itself is becoming virtual.

 

[jp]

Thanks... but I knew that. Reread the question... I said REAL tracks, not total tracks, virtual tracks, or anything else. The AW16G claims to be a 16 track, has 16 REAL tracks, but only 12 faders. I know a lot of newer units are setup this way or similarly but I've never owned one that doesn't have a fader for every track.

 

[Treeline]

OOPS.

My bad.

The last four faders are stereo faders.

 

[Dave Brophy]

As long as we're kicking this around,the Yamaha blurb says the AW16 has "dynamics" on each channel.What's that? Built-in compression?

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Dave:

If the dynamics are similar to the 2816, you get a choice of programs of compression and limiting for each channel. There are a gaggle of them on the 2816 and 4416; don't know how many they give you on the AG16 as I've never used that unit.

Green Hornet

 

[GordWait]

Yep, compressors etc per channel

You can have a different compression/limiter/noise gate etc per recorded channel, and per input channel.
Very handy. I forget how many built in
libraries ("presets") it comes with, but here's a link to the owners manual

http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/pa/english/recorders/AW16GE.pdf

I've had mine for three weeks now, I'm very impressed on ease of use - except
the sampler thing

I used a Roland 1680 a couple years ago,
this thing is far easier.
I think the roland one had a slightly nicer
reverb by default, but I haven't played
much yet with rolling my own effects settings on the AW16, so who knows..

Gord Wait

 

[mario b]

aw16 editing?

can you separate the stereo tracks so that you can record different instruments on track 13 and 14? Also what kind of editing does the aw16 have. I used to own a Roland VS 1680 and thinking of purchasing the aw16!!

Thanks,

Mario

 

[GordWait]

Stereo tracks can be separated..

Yep, you can break the stereo tracks in to individuals, and combine pairs into stereo too, very flexible.
You can do all sorts of edits on track data, and they do a pretty good job of letting you zoom in on the audio waveforms to nail the edit points precisely. Quite good considering the little display.
The editing feature I really like when
I'm songwriting is that if you set up a
proper tempo and use the built in metronome, and tell it the timing (ie 4/4 timing etc) then you can edit your stuff
based on the music bar.
This means you can cut/paste easily on
verse/chorus boundaries etc, great for working out your song!
IE Hmm I want two choruses here - cut/paste the tracks, done!
Cheers
Gord Wait