Backing Up Files on the BR-864
Dealing with Master Tracks on the VS-2480
CD Write Error on the VS-1824
Transferring Files from a VS-recorder to a computer
Installing a VS8F-3 Plug In Effects Card

QUESTION:
I have a BR864 and just love the thing. Can I Burn the eight unmixed unmastered tracks to CD to make space on the flash card then feed them back into the BR864 if/when I want to re-mix and master them later from the CD? Or is there another means to do this instead of buying a bunch of flash cards or backing all this up to a computer?

Tim Q.

ANSWER:
The BR-864 does not support any kind of Song Backup to CDR. So the answer to your question is NO, you can’t save your song in a multi-track format to a CDR. There is no way to connect a CD Burner directly to the BR-864 to do a data backup.

Instead - back up the Compact Flash card to the hard drive of your computer. Make sure you’ve got a Flash Card reader for your PC. This would actually be *faster* than burning it to a CD. Or, you can use the USB port to Backup Songs. Be sure to follow the instructions with the BR-864 on how to backup songs via USB.

Once you’ve copied (that is, backed up) the songs to your PC by either the Compact Flash method or via USB, then you could use some type of Data CD Burning software to burn the song folders to a data CD from your computer’s hard drive to your computer’s built-in CD burner.

QUESTION:
I have recorded and mixed down my song to a pair of Master Tracks using the Mastering Room in the VS-2480. Now, how can I delete them to do another Mastering session? I can see “ML-16” and “MR-16” in the playlist, but I can’t grab them
or delete them.

Jose M.

ANSWER:
No need to delete them. To mix-down your song again to a new stereo pair, just select a different V.Track destination in the Mastering Room. That is, just change the Virtual Track (V-Track) designation to try recording another Master Track. Go into the Mastering Room, and where it shows “V.Track” 23/24-16 and use the jog wheel to change this to something like 23/24-10. That is, you are mastering to TRACK 23, VIRTUAL TRACK 10, and TRACK 24, VIRTUAL TRACK 10. Since there are 16 different V-Tracks (Virtual Tracks) underneath both Tracks 23 and 24, you can try mastering your mix 16 different ways.

The default setting for this box is 23/24-16. So that is likely the track you've already mastered to. If you change it to any other value, the original Master Track you created will be removed from the playlist and replaced by a blank Master Track.

QUESTION:
When I go to write a CD on my VS-1824, all I get is a “CD WRITE ERROR” message. I tried downloading the System Software update for helping the drive read and write to 80 minute CDRs, but it did not seem to help. Could I have somehow overused the CD burner? I have done Surface Scan and also Initialized the hard drive in the VS-1824. I’m using the correct track pairs when selecting what to write to the CDR. During the process, the drive starts up and I can hear it spinning the disc, but after just a few seconds, I get the error message.

Chris T.

ANSWER:
We need to determine the health of your CD burner. First, let’s see if the CD PLAYER function is working correctly. Put a regular, commercially released music CD in the tray, and use the CD PLAYER mode under the CD/RW button. Does that work? If YES, continue on to step 2. If NO.. then your CD drive needs to be replaced.

Step 2: If CD PLAYER mode works, then try making a SONG BACKUP via CDR.
Pick one song from your list that is maybe 500 MB in size (or smaller) and try doing a CDR Backup. Does that work? If YES, go to step 3. If NO - then your CD Drive may need to be replaced. (Perhaps the player/ reader works, but the burning laser doesn’t work.)

Step 3: If CDR Song Backup works, then chances are your CD burner is fine, and there is some other issue. When you burn audio (i.e. CD WRITE), try not to exceed say 60 minutes worth of stereo mixes, for now. Don’t try to cram 80 minutes onto a blank CD. As far as blank CDRS - use a MAJOR BRAND NAME such as SONY, TDK, Maxell, Fuji, or ProMedia (I bought a stack of 50 of the ProMedia CDRs at Guitar Center, and I have not had any problems with them.) Do not use any blank CDRs that have no printing or label at all on the label side.

When all else fails - when you are just about to press EXEC to burn the audio CD, call the Roland V-Studio Hotline at (323) 890-3741 to have someone check your work. (Monday - Friday).

QUESTION:
What is the best way for me to get my tracks from a VS-1880 or VS-1680 into computer based system like ProTools or Cubase?

Sean R.

ANSWER:
There are two ways: A Hard way, and an Easy way. The hard way: record them in directly into your computer by connecting a cable from the VS-1880s output to your computer sound card's input. You can transfer the tracks analog (8 tracks at a time) or digital (2 tracks at a time) as your Sound Card allows. (How many separate inputs does your sound card have?)

The EASY Way: Back up all your songs to a CDR Song Backup, then find someone with a VS-2000. With the VS-2000, you can quickly import those VS-1880 Songs into the 2000 (via the CDR Recover) then immediately turn around and EXPORT the individual tracks to a CDR as time-stamped .WAV files, which you cn then load into any computer based recording system.

It is definitely worth renting a VS-2000 for an afternoon for this purpose! Just back up all your VS-1680 / 1880 songs to CDR First. Once all your songs are backed up, the process of converting them to .WAV using a VS-2000 only takes an afternoon. And a stack of blank CDRs. Without the VS-2000, there is no way to ‘convert’ the VS-1680 or 1880 song backup to any format readable by computer.

QUESTION:
My VS-2400CD is still at Version 1 operating system. I want to install a VS8F-3 Plug In Effects card, but it sounds scary to upgrade version. Will the card work without upgrading?

Paul C.

ANSWER:
No, the card will not work unless you install the new System Software.
It's not that bad:
#1) Backup all your Projects to CDR
#2) Install the new System Software. It’s on one of the CD ROMs inside the VS8F-3 Box.
#3) Do a full Format of the VS-2400 hard drive. (Instructions, etc... are included with the VS8F-3 instructions.

Then you can load the five free Plug-Ins that come with the VS8F-3 and start using them.