#1792955 - 05/28/22 11:07 AM
vs880ex v new technology
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SHANE HEDLEY
Planeteer
Registered: 05/10/02
Posts: 82
Loc: australia, perth
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Hi all I have recently resurrected my old 880ex from 20 years ago got a new hard drive and going to give it a good working again.
My question is with the new technology around and daws on computers etc is the 880ex still just as good as the software for computers out there today ?
Is this why Roland no longer make similar products anymore
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#1793013 - 05/28/22 08:31 PM
Re: vs880ex v new technology
[Re: SHANE HEDLEY]
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gyorpb
Planeteer
Registered: 05/11/19
Posts: 298
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No. Yes.
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#1804852 - 08/06/22 06:37 AM
Re: vs880ex v new technology
[Re: gyorpb]
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JohnM
Planeteer
Registered: 07/28/08
Posts: 4707
Loc: Massachusetts, USA
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I am just a hobbyist, but I still like using the VS-880EX.
The term "good" is subjective.
I have messed around with many software packages mostly for MIDI, but older ones, and really never had the state-of-the-art computer equipment to be able to handle more than a few audio tracks along with the MIDI composition work.
Using the VS-880EX *with* the older software from Cakewalk was really powerful, as the computer could be used to compose MIDI tracks, and serve as the master clock via MIDI to sync the VS-880EX starting around Cakewalk 9.
That would allow external sound generation units to be utilized and recorded on the VS-880EX, and I like that type of environment to this day.
The newer software, on newer computers, seems to be able to "do it all", but I do not have experience as I ran into some snags with Windows 7 and the current Cakewalk, which does not support Windows 7. And all previously released products by the Cakewalk company were abandoned/discontinued, when Gibson purchased their assets.
So, I was never able to register the newer Sonar LE online that came with a 2011 Boss BR-80 (pocket VS=style studio workstation that also can function as a digital interface) when I finally got around to checking out the software a year or so ago. The online registration for older products was also discontinued, and would stop running after 30 days.
I recently obtained an older version of Sonar branded as "Pro Tracks" from Ebay, as it was formerly sold as part of a bundle with a Digitech RP-400, and someone had the software for sale on Ebay, and accepted a $20 offer. 
I hope to use the software on a Windows XP machine, but I have to solve an issue that I ran into regarding it not supporting the "sound card" in the laptop, and my brief attempts at getting the free ASIO4ALL sound drivers that I previously used on this model laptop did not seem to work for me, and that is where I am as of yesterday.
There are some folks that still use VS machines that discuss their work and fondness in the general "Hooked on 'Zzat Guy's Mixed Up Watering Hole and Grill" forum. One user loved his VS-2480 and has been using it professionally for years, and seems to be reluctant to use much of anything else, and is really knowledgeable and active in that forum.
Anyway, it was nice to see some activity in this sub-forum. John
Edited by JohnM (08/06/22 06:40 AM)
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#1806977 - 08/17/22 03:48 AM
Re: vs880ex v new technology
[Re: JohnM]
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JohnM
Planeteer
Registered: 07/28/08
Posts: 4707
Loc: Massachusetts, USA
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#1807150 - 08/18/22 06:39 AM
Re: vs880ex v new technology
[Re: JohnM]
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gyorpb
Planeteer
Registered: 05/11/19
Posts: 298
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Your drive is dead. The best way forward to keep a VS recorder usable, today, is to swap the internal drive for a CompactFlash card. Actual IDE hard drives are few and far between these days, especially in the sizes needed for a VS.
Alternatively, you might seek out an internal Jaz drive, and install that, instead.
There is a „price of admittance“ to pay when using a VS recorder in this day and age, because they are vintage technology, and as such they are unsupported and obsolete. That price comes in the form of either knowledge and time, i.e. being able to service the device yourself, or paying someone who can do it for you.
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#1807151 - 08/18/22 08:02 AM
Re: vs880ex v new technology
[Re: gyorpb]
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JohnM
Planeteer
Registered: 07/28/08
Posts: 4707
Loc: Massachusetts, USA
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Thank You. I actually have several seemingly compatible hard drives, possibly the same exact Hitachi model used in my VS during manufacturing.
You can PM me for details, as they can be acquired on Ebay at times, as they are used in a particular laptop starting in (Approx.) 1996. I still have a couple of them, and one I use now and then. I tossed one, without removing the HD, as at a time it seemed apparent that my home would be taken away, and I embarked on a rapid downsizing effort.
Some folks were a little disappointed that I tossed (Approx.) 100 books that I retained from the Digital Equipment Corporation R&D and AI Technology Center, when the library was closed down, as part of the company's downsizing effort. The industry faced hard times during some years, but a lot of my co-workers got the books for free.
In fact, there was a cart with books outside the library, placed there when the library was still in operation, but closed for the day. There was a sign reading "Free" on the cart, and one day, when all the books were taken, someone misinterpreted the sign, and took the "free cart".
EDIT: Some of those books were probably the only ones in existence, and were the result of years of engineering efforts in the domain of "image processing", "artificial intelligence", and many others.
There's another funny story, which I may share online here, and elsewhere, about when at that company, an entire organization was to be laid-off. The "higher ups" were not aware that a central knowledge repository was being hosted in one of the computer labs. The employees decided to keep quiet about it, and "man", did that cause some amazing fallout, when the lab was shutdown and the computer disks "recycled".
It took days for folks to complain world-wide, that they depended on this knowledge base to support our customers, and too late to remedy the situation at that time. Anyway, there all kinds of stories like that, one that pertains to a beer factory, and an "efficiency" expert. And another from a different beer factory, that had ramps running across streets, from one building to another.
Anyway, some folks like to feel important by giving people instructions on what is best, and are quick to judge people as "crazy", and I have seen a lot of cases, in which a lot of "trouble" results. 
Most of my friends that have countless stories are older than me, and the stories may never be told and shared, as we are losing many to old age, etc..
EDIT: As posted in the "watering hole" forum post (link above in another post), yes, I understand that the drive has failed. I am very leery about embarking on opening either VS, and I will continue, for the time being, utilizing a Jaz drive. At some point, I plan to possibly open both VS units, but not at this time.
Once again, many thanks for reading and responding...
Edited by JohnM (08/18/22 08:25 AM)
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#1807155 - 08/18/22 11:22 AM
Re: vs880ex v new technology
[Re: JohnM]
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gyorpb
Planeteer
Registered: 05/11/19
Posts: 298
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This is the place for technical VS talk, not the watering hole. People looking for info aren’t going to wander in there.
Old hard drives are old hard drives, and they will fail. The older they are, the sooner they’ll fail.
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