Roland VS-1680 V-XPANDED Instruction Manual

1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 1
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The VS-1680 has redefined recording power
since its release in early 1998. Features such as
16 playback tracks, 256 Virtual Tracks, 24-bit
audio recording, nonlinear editing, digital mixing,
and effects processing (optional) packed into a
compact table-top workstation have made the
VS-1680 one of the most popular audio recorders
of all time. The purpose of this document is to
answer some of the questions most commonly
asked of the Roland Product Support department
by VS-1680 owners in regards to its operation.
We will cover the following topics in this document:
I. How do I control the Stereo Tracks independently?
II. Why do I hear my inputs all the time?
III. What is the Fader/Mute button used for?
IV. How do I burn audio CDs?
V. How do I restore the mixer parameters to the
factory settings?
VI. How do I create a Tempo Map?
VII. How do I use Automix?
VIII. How do I create a User Template with EZ Routing?
IX. How do I bounce tracks?
X. How do I bounce tracks with effects?
XI. Why cant I hear my effects?
XII. How do I use the Scrub and Waveform display
features?
XIII. How do I record a stereo signal?
XIV. How do I know how much time is left on my hard
drive? / How many megabytes does my song use?
XV. How do I import VS-880/VS-880EX songs?
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®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
Tracks 9-16 on the VS-1680 are configured as Stereo
Tracks but they can be controlled independently. To do
this, the Channel Link function must be turned off.
Tracks 9, 11, 13, and 15 can then be controlled from
the front panel just as tracks 1-8 are. Tracks 10, 12, 14,
and 16 can be controlled by holding the SHIFT button
and adjusting the desired front panel control. For exam-
ple, holding SHIFT and moving the 9/10 fader will adjust
the level for track 10 but not track 9. The following pro-
cedure will guide you through the process of recording a
mono signal to track 16.
1) Press the TRACK 15/16 SELECT button so that
Track Mixer [TR = 15/16] is displayed (Fig. 1).
2) Use the CURSOR buttons to select Link and use
the TIME/VALUE dial to select OFF.
3) Hold the SHIFT and Track 15/16 STATUS buttons
and press the Input SELECT button for the input you
wish to record (it will begin to flash).
4) Hold SHIFT and press the Track 15/16 STATUS
button until it is flashing red.
5) Use the appropriate INPUT SENS knob to set the
recording level as desired.
6) Press REC followed by PLAY to begin recording.
7) Press STOP when you are finished.
8) Press PLAY to hear the results. Hold SHIFT and use
the Channel 15/16 fader to adjust the playback
volume of track 16 as desired.
The PAN ON/OFF switch is used to determine whether
or not a track or input is sent to the mix buss. This para-
meter should be checked when you are either hearing a
track or input that you dont want to hear or when you
are having trouble hearing a track or input that you
should be hearing. The default setting for this switch is
ON, even for the inputs. This is why it is possible to
hear your inputs even if they are not routed anywhere.
1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 2
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I. How Do I Control the Stereo Tracks Independently?
II. Why Do I Hear the Inputs All of the Time?

®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
Use the following procedure to adjust the PAN ON/OFF switch:
1) Press the desired INPUT or TRACK SELECT button.
2) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight the parameter
beneath PAN (in the upper right corner of the display).
3) Use the TIME/VALUE dial to select ON or OFF as
desired. For example. If you are trying to prevent an
input from being heard at the mix outputs, you would
set this switch to OFF.
4) Repeat steps 1-3 for any additional tracks or inputs
as desired.
The Fader/Mute button (Fig. 2) is used to determine
whether the faders control the track levels or the input and
effect return levels. When the Fader/Mute button is set to
IN, faders 1-8 control the analog input levels, fader
9/10 controls the digital input, fader 11/12 controls the
stereo in level, and faders 13-16 control the effect return
levels. When the Fader/Mute button is set to TR,
faders 1-16 will control the levels for tracks 1-16 respec-
tively. Use the following procedure to set the faders to
control inputs or tracks:
1) Select a song and press PLAY.
2) Press the FADER/MUTE button so that IN is lit.
3) Use the faders to adjust the levels of the inputs and
effect returns as desired.
4) Press the FADER/MUTE button so that TR is lit.
5) Use the faders to adjust the levels of the tracks as
desired.
The VS-1680 allows you to take a project from its begin-
ning stages all the way to a finished CD. What steps
need to be taken to produce a finished CD? A general
description of the recording process might be as follows:
ÜRecording Basic Tracks
ÜEditing your Tracks
ÜMixing your Tracks
ÜMastering your Tracks to a Final Stereo Mix
ÜPreparing your Stereo Mix for CD
This section covers some of the common questions that
arise during the CD preparation phase of the recording
1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 3
Why Do I Hear the Inputs All of the Time (continued)
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III. What is the Fader/Mute Button Used For?
IV. How Do I Burn Audio CDs?

®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
process. If you havent already, you will need to mix
your songs down to a two track stereo format. You can
do this by recording to an external device such as a
DAT machine or cassette deck or by bouncing your
tracks down to a stereo pair within the VS-1680 itself.
If you are unsure of the procedure for bouncing tracks,
refer to section IX on page 11.
How Do I Choose Which Tracks are Burned to the CD?
CDs are a stereo format. This means that you will
always designate two tracks (left and right) to be
burned onto the CD-R. Use the following procedure to
designate a left and right track for creating a CD:
1) Hold SHIFTand press F1 [SONG] and
the Song Menu screen will be dis-
played. If it is not, press F6 [EXIT].
2) Press PAGE until CD WT appears
above F3.
3) Press F3 [CD WT] to display the CD
Write Ready? screen.
4) Press YES and Store Current? will
be displayed. If you have made any
changes to your song that have not
been saved, press YES;otherwise,
press NO.
5) Press F1 [SelTr] to display the
Select Track screen (Fig. 3).
6) Use the TIME/VALUE dial to select the track (and
Virtual Track) that will become the left side of the
CD and press F3 [Sel L]. For example, if your stereo
mix is recorded to Tracks 15 and 16, you will high-
light 15-1: V.T 15-1 and press F3 [Sel L] to desig-
nate Track 15 (V-Track 1) as the left track of the CD.
7) Use the TIME/VALUE dial to select the track (and
Virtual Track) that will become the right side of the
CD and press F4 [Sel R].
8) Press F1 [Back] and the tracks you selected will be
displayed under L-Ch Source Track and R-Ch
Source Track. You can now continue with the CD
Write procedure on page 121 of the VS-1680
Owners Manual.
1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 4
How Do I Burn Audio CDs? (continued)
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®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Set CD Markers?
When writing multiple songs to the CD at once, it is
important that CD markers are created at the beginning
of each song. Otherwise, your audio will be combined
into one long song on the CD. The VS-1680 automati-
cally creates the first CD marker at 00h00m00s00f. You
will need to create CD markers for any additional songs.
Use the following procedure to create CD markers:
1) Locate the VS-1680 to the point where the audio
for your second song begins.
2) Hold PLAY/DISPLAY and press TAP.
3) Locate the VS-1680 to the beginning of the third song.
4) Hold PLAY/DISPLAY and press TAP.
5) Continue this procedure for any additional songs.
Why Does my CD Sound Different than the VS-1680?
If the songs on the CD you burn sounds drastically dif-
ferent than they do when played on the VS-1680,
remember that mixer settings such as fader level,
effects, and EQ do not translate to the CD. Use the fol-
lowing procedure to listen to your song as it will be
recorded to the CD:
1) Solo the tracks that you have selected as the left
and right CD tracks.
2) Press the FADER/MUTE button so that TR is lit
and set the faders for the selected tracks to 0dB
(the bold line approximately two-thirds of the way up).
1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 5
How Do I Burn Audio CDs? (continued)
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®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
3) Press the TRACK SELECT button for the track
selected as the L-Ch Source Track so that the
Track Mixer screen is displayed.
4) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight the Link
parameter and use the TIME/VALUE dial to select On.
5) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight Pan
parameter (under the pan knob icon) and use the
TIME/VALUE dial to select 0.
6) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight the EQ Sw
parameter and use the TIME/VALUE dial to select Off.
7) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight the EFX 1
parameter and use the TIME/VALUE dial to select
Off. Do the same for EFX 2, 3, and 4.
8) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight the EFX Ins
parameter and press YES. Use the TIME/VALUE dial
to select Off for EFX 1. Do the same for EFX 2, 3,
and 4.
9) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight the ATT
parameter and use the TIME/VALUE dial to select 0dB.
10) Press AUTOMIX so it is not lit.
11) Press the TRACK STATUS button for the track
selected as the L-Ch Source Track until it is in
Play mode (green) and set its fader to 0dB. Bring the
remaining channel faders all the way down.
12) Set the master fader to 0dB. Reset your song to the
beginning and press PLAY to hear your song as it
will sound on the CD.
The VS-1680 gives you the ability to revert all your
mixer and system parameters back to their original fac-
tory settings. This is convenient if you want to reset the
mixer and system settings to their original values with-
out having to adjust each parameter manually. This is
also a good function for troubleshooting when you hav-
ing difficulties that appear to be mixer related. Use the
following procedure to initialize the VS-1680 mixer and
system parameters:
1) Hold SHIFT and press F5 [SYSTEM] and the
System Menu page should be displayed. If it is
not, press F6 [EXIT].
2) Press PAGE so that INIT is displayed above F1 (if
necessary).
1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 6
Listening to a Song Before Burning the CD (continued)
V. How Do I Restore the Mixer Parameters to the
Factory Settings?

®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
3) Press F1 and Init Mix/Sys Prm Sure? will be dis-
played.
4) Press YES and Initializing...Please Wait will be dis-
played.
5) Press PLAY/DISPLAY to return to the main play screen.
The VS-1680 allows you to create a tempo map
that controls tempo and meter changes throughout
your song. This is very convenient when you are
integrating the VS-1680 with a MIDI sequencer.
Use the following procedure to create a Tempo
Map.
1) Hold SHIFT and press F5 [SYSTEM] and
System Menu page should be displayed.
If it is not, press F6 [EXIT].
2) Press F6 [SYNC]. If SYNC does not appear above
F6, press PAGE followed by F6. The Sync/Tempo
page should be displayed (Fig. 4).
3) Press F3 [Tmap] to display the Tempo Map screen
(Fig. 5).
4) CURSOR down to the current tempo setting
(e.g. q=120) and use the TIME/VALUE dial to
select the desired starting tempo for your song.
5) CURSOR down to the beat setting (e.g. 4/4) and use
the TIME/VALUE dial to select the desired time
signature.
6) Press F2 [NEW].
7) Use the CURSOR buttons to highlight the
tempo setting and the TIME/VALUE dial to
select the new tempo.
8) CURSOR down to the measure setting and use
the TIME/VALUE dial to select the measure
where you want the new tempo to begin.
9) CURSOR down to the beat setting (e.g. 4/4) and use
the TIME/VALUE dial to select the desired time signa-
ture.
10) Repeat steps 6-9 for any additional tempo and/or
time signature changes as desired.
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1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 7
Restoring the Mixer Parameters to the Factory
Settings (continued)
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VI. How Do I Create a Tempo Map?

®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
Why Doesnt it Change the Audio?
The Tempo Map can alter the tempo and meter of MIDI
sequences. It can not, however, do the same for audio
recorded on the 1680. For this reason, it is important to
create your Tempo Map before you begin recording any
acoustic instruments whenever possible and to record
while listening to the metronome. It is possible to alter
the playback speed of recorded audio by using the Vari
Pitch and/or Time Compression/Expansion functions.
The automix function of the VS-1680 allows you to per-
fect your final mix before you commit to a master DAT
tape or CD. Instead of manually riding the faders while
you are recording to your master tape, automix allows
you to record mixer changes such as level, pan, effects
type, etc. You can even automate the mixer settings for
the inputs which is helpful, for example, when you have
synchronized a keyboard or drum machine and you want
to mix it in with the audio tracks without actually
recording it. There are three main types of automixing
available on the VS-1680: realtime, snapshot, and grada-
tion.
Realtime
Realtime automix allows you to record fader movements
as you make them. This is very convenient for perfect-
ing your track mixes before you record them down to
two tracks. Use the following procedure to create a real-
time automix:
1) Press AUTOMIX so it is lit (Fig. 6).
2) Hold AUTOMIX and press the INPUT and/or TRACK
SELECT buttons for any inputs or tracks that you
want to automix so that they are flashing.
3) Reset your song to the beginning and adjust the
faders as desired for the start of the song.
4) Hold SCENE and press REC to enable realtime
automix mode.
5) Press PLAY and adjust the faders as desired.
6) Press STOP when you are finished. Reset your song
to the beginning and press PLAY to hear the results.
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1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 8
Creating Tempo Maps (continued)
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VII. How Do I Use Automix?

®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
Snapshot
Snapshot automation allows you to recall settings such
as fader levels, effect send levels, effect types, and pan-
ning at a specific point in time. This is useful, for
instance, when you want to change effects during your
song. Use the following procedure to create a snapshot:
1) Press AUTOMIX so it is lit.
2) Reset your song to the beginning and adjust the set-
tings as desired for the beginning of your song.
3) Hold SCENE and press TAP to create a snapshot of
your initial settings.
4) Advance the VS-1680 to the point in time where
you want these settings to change and adjust them
as desired. Then, hold SCENE and press TAP.
5) Repeat step #4 to create additional snapshots as
desired.
6) Reset your song to the beginning and press PLAY to
hear the results.
Gradation
Gradation allows you to designate two snapshots and
have the VS-1680 automatically fill in the mixer settings
between those two points to create a smooth transition.
This a very handy tool for creating fades. Use the follow-
ing procedure to create a fade out using gradation:
1) Press AUTOMIX so it is lit.
2) Advance your song to the point in time where you
want the fade out to begin and adjust the fader
levels (including the master fader) as desired.
3) Hold SCENE and press TAP.
4) Advance your song to the point in time where the
fade out should end and pull the master fader all the
way down.
5) Hold SCENE and press TAP.
6) Hold SCENE and press PREVIOUS and Gradation
Marker #000 - #001? will be displayed.
1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 9
Using Automix (continued)
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®ÂØÒÅÎ Supplemental Notes VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions
7) Press YES and the VS-1680 will create a fade out
between those marker points.
8) Reset your song to a point before the first marker
and press PLAY to hear the fade out.
The User section within EZ Routing can be a huge time
saver. It can greatly simplify the set up process for
recording or mixing configurations that are frequently
used. These user programmable routing configurations
allow you to set up the VS-1680 exactly the way you
need, step by step, for a particular task. Then, when
you need to perform that same task in the future, you
just select that User template and your custom setup
will be recalled automatically. The following example will
show you how to create a User routing template for
recording inputs 1-8 to tracks 1-8 with a compressor
effect inserted on each input.
1) Press EZ ROUTING so it
is lit.
2) Press PAGE so that
INPUT is displayed
above F2.
3) Press F2 [INPUT] to dis-
play the Input Mixer
Settings (Fig. 7).
4) Use the CURSOR but-
tons and the
TIME/VALUE dial
to set the Send for
inputs 1-8 to tracks 1-8.
For example, the Send
for input 1 would appear
as 1/-.
5) Use the CURSOR buttons and TIME/VALUE dial to
set EFX 1 to INL for input 1 and INR for input 2.
6) Use the CURSOR buttons and TIME/VALUE dial to
set EFX 2 to INL for input 3 and INR for input 4.
7) Use the CURSOR buttons and TIME/VALUE dial to
set EFX 3 to INL for input 5 and INR for input 6.
1998 Roland Corporation U.S. VS-1680 Frequently Asked Questions Faxback # 21067 Page 10
Creating a Fade Out With Gradation (continued)
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VIII. How Do I Create a User Template in EZ Routing?