Roland VS-1680 tracks to Protools - is optical interface with Rosetta an option??

[bleckbleck]

I have some select tracks on the Roland VS-1680 I'd like to import into protools. If you clicked on this post, I'm guessing you know that the Roland is uber-proprietary and makes interfacing anything other than itself a living hell.

While I could easily record the audio out in real time via the RCA jacks (with a leveling box), I'm told that finding a way to interface the Roland and my Rosetta would yield the least sound degradation and time drift (at least in comparison to the RCA option).

Problem is, that advice is always offered in the abstract: I've never met anyone who has actually made it work. I've talked to the Rosetta folks on the phone -- they seem to think it SHOULD work in theory, but they understandably know little about the Roland. Likewise, none of my dwindling number of 1680-using friends use/know the Rosetta. Googling "1680," "optical" & "Rosetta" doesn't yield any useful results.

Is this possible? Has anyone made this work before? If so, any specifics on what settings are needed on both the Rosetta and the Roland to make the optical interfacing a success would be most appreciated. If this interfacing isn't possible, any successful 1680-to-Protools techniques (outside of shelling out mucho $ for one of the later WAV-producing Rolands) would also be of great help.

Thanks, and happy new year!

Brent

[99ster]

Would just like to re-surrect this thread as I'm due to start a project that has all been recorded on Roland 1680/1880...

Would very much appreciate any ideas on how to transfer the audio digitally from the 1680/1880 & into ProTools - as I really want to avoid a digital > analog - analog > digital conversion!

Any help or tips gratefully received!

Many thanks.

[lcressy]

There is a website, V planet.com, do a search and there is (was) a program that converts the Roland files to wave. I've used it and it worked fine, but that was a few years back. V planet should be the place to find the answer though.

Sent from my DROIDX using Gearslutz.com

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

The optical output is already digital. Isn't the Rosetta a converter? I've dumped tracks from some Roland box a songwriter friend of mine had, two tracks at a time from his optical output as wave files to my computer via the optical in of my FF800. I would not want to convert it via the Roland DAC converters just to run it through another ADC conversion.

[lcressy]

This is from VS-Planet.com. This method is actually interpreting - not converting the files, so they stay digital, so there is no extra digital to analog back to wav, it's just translating the roland format to wav.

*** FunkyBeat's VS CD Backup to WAV detailed GUIDE *** - VS-Planet Forums

This year has brought about a MAJOR breakthrough for us in terms of connectivity to the outside world. No longer is our only viable method for transferring our VS tracks to a computer a "realtime 2 track only" process. We now have the ability to stick a VS backup CD into a PC and quickly convert all the VS tracks directly into mp3s, 16 bit wavs or 24 bit wavs all at once.

This thread will give you detailed instructions for setting up your system and completing this task. Before I go any further, I must give props where they are due.

This has all been made possible through the dilligent and tireless efforts of vsplaneteers:


Randygo, Danielo and Bear.

There are two methods you can use. The first method was created by Randygo and requires using the Reaper software for conversion. The second method was created by Danielo and it bypasses the need for Reaper. A link to that method is at the end of this post.

Here are the steps for the FIRST METHOD:

1. Download bear's VS Backup Ripper Tool (ver021) here.

2. Download a copy of Reaper which is a multi-track audio editor. You can download it and legally use it for FREE for 30 days. If you plan on using it after the 30 day evaluation period, you are required to purchase a user's license for $60. To me, it's 100% worth it! Download Reaper here.

3. Download the Reaper VS Plugin here.

4. Create a new folder on the "C:" drive and give it an easy name to remember like "test" or "rip." Unzip Bear's Ripper Tool and copy the file "Cd2Roland" to the new folder ("C:\test" or "C:\rip") that you just created.

5. Put a Roland VS Backup CD in your PC cd drive. Open a dos command prompt. In Windows, there is usually one under START > ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > COMMAND PROMPT. If you don't see one there, another way to get a dos command prompt is to go START > RUN > type CMD and press ENTER. For those of you familliar with dos, these steps will be easy.

When you open the dos command prompt, it will likely be open to Documents and Settings. We need to get it to display "C:\test>". The way to do that is by typing "cd.."

That's "cd" followed by 2 periods, then press Enter. Keep doing "cd.." until you get to C:\> That is called your "C" prompt. At the C prompt, type "cd test" or whatever name you used to create your new folder with and then press ENTER.

It should now say "C:\test>"

Now we need to execute or run the ripper program. That is done by typing the name of the program here followed by the drive letter of your PC CD drive. For example, if your PC CD drive is letter E, then here you would type:

cd2roland e

and then press ENTER.

You will now see a bunch of text start scrolling in your dos window. Your PC is now extracting the Roland VS files from the backup cd and placing them in the "test" folder. When it is done, you will get some kind of "finished" or "completed" message on the screen. GREAT!!!

6. Now that we have all the VS tracks safely stored in our test folder, we need to install and open Reaper. So go ahead and do that now.

7. After Reaper is installed, it's time to install the VS Plugin. That's very easy to do. Just extract all the files from the VS Plugin zip file and then copy the "reaper_vs.dll" file to:

C:\Program Files\Reaper\Plugins

Reaper SHOULD NOT be running while you do this.

8. The hard part is now DONE! Time for some fun! Open Reaper and choose "Open Project..." from the File menu and select your SONG file. It will be located in your "C:\test" folder. The SONG file will look something like "SONG.VR5."

The song will then be rendered into Reaper as a number of tracks each populated with the appropriate events. You should be able to play the encoded media directly in Reaper.

9. You are almost done! To convert your track(s) to .wavs, you have to select all the tracks you wish to convert with your mouse while holding down the CTRL key. Then select FILE > RENDER and select the following options:

Sample rate: 44100 Mono
Resample mode: Best (what I use)
Render entire project
Output file: Browse to file you want to put the new wavs in
Render stems
Output format: .WAV
WAV bit depth: 16 bit (or 24 bit if you want the best sounding tracks to edit in your software DAW)

The last two options, "Write BWF text chunk" and "Allow large files to use Wave64" can be checked or not. I usually leave them checked.

After you make your desired selections, press ENTER or RENDER. The tracks will now be rendered to wavs. When done, go to the output file to see your newly converted tracks.

Now wasn't that easy? It really is easy after you get everything initially setup. You'll see. These instructions may seem long, but that's because I tried to explain everything. Many of you already know most of this stuff. So once it's setup, it's a piece of cake.

Happy rendering!!!

You can also set up a .bat file that will automate the ripping process (STEP 5) for you. Here are my instructions for doing so:

______________________________________________________________________________________


CREATING A .BAT FILE:

1. Open Windows Notepad.

2. Type cd2roland followed by your pc's cd drive letter: For example, if the drive letter is E, type:

cd2roland e

3. Click File > Save As... then type rip.bat and press ENTER. (You just created a .bat file. Now the following is what to do with it.)

4. Place your newly created .bat file in the "test" folder you made earlier.

5. Copy the cd2roland file into the "test" folder along with the bat file. Close the folder.

6. Right click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut. Click "Browse" and navigate your way to the "test" folder and select the "rip.bat" file and press ENTER. Rename the desktop shortcut whatever you like such as, "VS Tracks Ripper."

You're done! You have now created a .bat file and a shortcut to it on your desktop. Put a Roland backup cd in your cd drive and double click on the "VS Tracks Ripper" icon on your desktop and watch the magic begin.

***VERY IMPORTANT***Be sure to move all files from the test folder (except for the .bat and cd2roland) to a new folder BEFORE starting a new ripping process. Otherwise all your song files will get mixed together and will cause you major problems.