Roland VS2480DVD 24-Track Digital Studio Workstation

No longer available at zZounds
4.7GB per DVD, 24-track/24-bit/96kHz, 80GB hard drive, 24-track playback; 16-track simultaneous recording with 384 V-Tracks

The VS-2480DVD takes Roland's best-selling 24-track workstation and makes it even better with the addition of a DVD multi-drive for storing up to 4.7GB of data. Naturally, the VS-2480DVD has all the great features of the original-including 64-track digital mixing, motorized faders and VGA monitor support. It's also compatible with the new VS8F-3 Plug-In Effect Expansion Board, opening up a world of plug-in effects.

Flagship 24-track/24-bit/96kHz digital recording workstation with internal DVD multi-drive

Store up to 4.7GB of project data on a single DVD-R or DVD-RW disc!

New 3rd party plug-in support via optional VS8F-3 Plug-In Effect Expansion Board

80GB hard drive* for unprecedented recording time

24-track playback; 16-track simultaneous recording with 384 V-Tracks

"Drag-and-drop" control using included mouse; also accepts ASCII keyboard (optional)

64-channel, fully automated digital mixer with 17 motorized faders

Professional-quality connections including 8 XLR/16 balanced TRS inputs

2 stereo effects processors (expandable to 8 stereo, 16 mono) including COSM

Tracks: 24, V-tracks: 384 (16 V-Tracks per each Track)

Sample Rate: 96.0/88.2/64.0/48.0/44.1/32kHz *Adjustable range with vari-pitch function, 22.00kHz to 98.00kHz (at 96kHz), 22.00kHz to 50.00kHz (at 48kHz)

Max. Simultaneous Recording/Playback Tracks:
Sample Rate 48/44.1/32kHz: [16tr.Rec/16tr.Play(M24, M16, CDR), 16tr.Rec/24tr.Play(MTP,MT1/2, LIV, LV2)
Sample Rate 96/88.2/64kHz: [8tr.Rec/8tr.Play(M24, M16, CDR), 8tr.Rec/12tr.Play(MTP,MT1/2, LIV, LV2)
*Depending on the organization of the song data or the disk drive performance etc., the number of tracks which can be simultaneoulsly recorded or played back may be limited.

Slim DVD MULTI Drive Built-in Type

Read speed: DVD-ROM: Max 8X CAV, CD-ROM: Max 24X CAV

Maximum Write speed: CD-R: Max16X Zone CLV, CD-RW: 4X CLV, High Speed CD-RW: 8XCLV, DVD-R: 2XCLV, DVD-RW: 1XCLV

Support Buffer Underrun Free Recording (SmoothLink)

Frequency Response:
96.0kHz:20Hz to 40kHz (+0dB/-2dB),
88.2kHz:20Hz to 40kHz (+0dB/-2dB),
48.0kHz:20Hz to 22kHz (+0dB/-2dB),
44.1kHz:20Hz to 20kHz (+0dB/-2dB),
32.0kHz:20Hz to 14kHz (+0dB/-2dB)

Projects: 200 projects in each partition

Marker: 1000 per project

Locator: 100 (10 x 10 banks) per project

Scene: 100 (10 x 10 banks) per project

Undo/Redo: 999 Undo/1 Redo

EQ: 4-band (2 schelving + 2 peaking) * Useful simultaneously at up to 48ch in both Input Mixer and Track Mixer

Dynamic Processor:
Compressor, Expander *Useful simultaneously at up to 48ch in both Input Mixer and Track Mixer. Compressor+Expander *Useful simultaneously at up to 24ch in Input Mixer or Track Mixer.
*If this type is used at Mixer section, Dynamics cannot be used in the other Mixer.

Effects: Max. 8 stereo (One pre-installed + 3 more optional VS8F-2)

Display: 320 x 240 dots Graphic LCD (with backlit)

Power Consumption: 80W (AC 117/230/240V)

Accessories: Demo CD, PS/2 Mouse, Short Cut Seal, AC Cord

Dimensions (W x D x H): 620 x 520 x 138 mm (24 - 7/16 x 20 - 1/2 x 5 - 7/16 in.)

Weight: 13.4 kg (29 lbs. 9 oz.)

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 323-890-3700

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. (65 ratings)
Submitted August 4, 2005 by a customer from rubywillow.net

"Great and at the same time Clunky"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
It's a good unit - an all-in-one studio, you can do your projects from soup-to-nuts in it without any external equipment (other than mics and monitors). The v-track feature is great! As mentioned earlier, it's kind of a PITA to get around (user interface) - and backups are nearly unbearable. I hope their followup to this unit fixes some of these problems.

Sound
The sound quality is very good. The mic pres are a little noisy, but the overall quality is top-notch.

Features
You really need an external VGA display (640x480 only) for any long-term usage. The built-in LCD is ok in a pinch. This device has some great features. The v-tracks are great. Pretty much everything is good, except for a good way to take backups. The only way to get backups is by doing them on CD/DVD. It is painfully slow and therefore a PITA. Roland missed the mark when they didn't supply a network/USB/FireWire port as a way to back the data up.

Quality
The quality of this unit is very, very good. I wish the faders were a little higher quality (smoother and not quite so thick vertically). All else is good.

Value
I think you get what you pay for here. It's a very feature-rich unit. Hard to get around sometimes which is why it didn't get a 10.

Manufacturer Support
Haven't needed support. The manuals are very complete and the unit hasn't hiccuped at all. read more

The Wow Factor
My Church bought it for putting together album projects and what-not. I came on-board after it was purchased. For an all-in-one system, it is good. My preference would probably be more component pieces, or perhaps a computer-based solution. But it's a good unit and works well.

Musical Background:
Recording Engineer

Musical Style:
Rock/Country/Gospel/Christian
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