Roland VS-2480CS User Manual

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VS-2480CD

24bit/24track Digital Studio Workstation

Control Surface Mode

Guide

(For Operating System Version 2.011 or higher)

All product names in this publication are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Roland US Web site: www.RolandUS.com

1—Introducing Control Surface Mode	5
What Is Control Surface Mode? .................................................................................................	..................................... 5
Control and Synchronization ...................................................................................................	................................ 5
Connecting the VS-2480CD and Your Computer ....................................................................................	..................... 6
Preparing for Control Surface Mode ............................................................................................	.................................. 6

2—Preparing Your Computer Software	7
Obtaining the Necessary Drivers ...............................................................................................		..................................... 7
Preparing Emagic Logic 5.X ....................................................................................................	........................................	7
Installing the Control Surface Driver in Logic for Mac OS X ..............................................................................		7
Installing the Control Surface Driver in Logic for Mac OS 9 ...............................................................................		8
Installing the Control Surface Driver in Logic for Windows ..............................................................................		8
Setting Up Control Surface Mode In Logic ......................................................................................	......................	9
Preparing Steinberg Cubase ....................................................................................................	......................................	11
Installing the Control Surface Driver in Cubase ...............................................................................	..................	11
Setting Up Control Surface Mode in Cubase .....................................................................................	..................	11
Preparing HUI Operation .......................................................................................................	.......................................	12
Setting Up Control Surface Mode in ProTools ...................................................................................	.................	12
Setting Up Control Surface Mode in Performer ..................................................................................	................	13

3—VS-2480CD Control Surface Settings	15
Configuring the VS-2480CD as a Control Surface ................................................................................	...................... 15
Arming Control Surface Mode ...................................................................................................	........................... 15
Selecting a Control Surface Template ..........................................................................................	......................... 16
Selecting a Communication Method ..............................................................................................	....................... 16
USER Control Surface Templates ................................................................................................	.......................... 16

4—Working in Control Surface Mode	19
Activating Control Surface Mode ...............................................................................................	.................................. 19
Overview ......................................................................................................................	.................................................... 19
The L5 (Emagic Logic 5) Template ..............................................................................................	................................. 20
L5 Control Area ...............................................................................................................	......................................... 20
L5 Mixer Area .................................................................................................................	.......................................... 21
The S.C (Steinberg Cubase) Template ...........................................................................................	............................... 22
S.C Control Area ..............................................................................................................	........................................ 22
S.C Mixer Area ................................................................................................................	......................................... 23
The VS-2480 (Logic 16-Channel) Template .......................................................................................	.......................... 24
VS-2480 Control Area ..........................................................................................................	.................................... 24
VS-2480 Mixer Area ............................................................................................................	..................................... 25
The HUI Template ..............................................................................................................	............................................ 26
HUI Control Area ..............................................................................................................	...................................... 26
HUI Mixer Area ................................................................................................................	....................................... 27
Known Issues ..................................................................................................................	................................................. 28

Roland VS-2480CD Control Surface Mode Guide

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Table of Contents

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Roland VS-2480CD Control Surface Mode Guide

1—Introducing Control Surface Mode

What Is Control Surface Mode?

Since the initial release of the VS-2480, the VS-2480,VS-2480HD and VS-2480CD have always had the capability of controlling external MIDI devices using V.FADER mode, described on Page 300 of the VS-2480 Owner’s Manual.

For the sake of simplicity from here on in, we’ll refer to the VS-2480,VS-2480HD and VS-2480CD as simply the“VS-2480CD.” All three V-Studios share identical software as well as control surface functionality.

Starting with Operating System (“OS”) Version 2.011, however, this capability has been greatly expanded.TheVS-2480CD OS now includes pre-conﬁgured templates that map the VS-2480 buttons, knobs and faders, to key parameters in popular computer-based sequencing/recording software programs. There are templates for:

•Emagic Logic 5.X sequencing/recording software for Mac or PC

•Steinberg Cubase sequencing/recording software for Mac or PC

•programs that can be controlled by Mackie’s HUI control surfaces hardware, such as Digidesign ProTools and Mark of the Unicorn Performer.

You can also design your own re-usable user templates for other programs.

This means that you can control supported programs directly from theVS-2480 without having to use your computer’s mouse for most major operations. The VS-2480CD makes an excellent control surface with its wealth of buttons, knobs and faders.

Control and Synchronization

While you can control the parameters in external sequencing/recording software using Control Surface mode, you can also synchronize the software’s transport functions with the VS-2480CD’s using the standard synchronization techniques described starting on Page 307 in the VS-2480CD Owner’s Manual. If the external software supports it, you can control the software’s transport using the VS-2480CD’s transport buttons using MMC (MIDI Machine Control) messages.

The Difference Between V.Fader Mode and Control Surface Mode

In a sense, Control Surface mode is actually a form of V.Fader mode, since it’s activated the same way. It simply overrides and replaces normal V.Fader functionality with enhanced control surface features. Whenever Control Surface mode is armed, standard V.Fader mode becomes unavailable.

Roland VS-2480 Control Surface Mode Guide

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1—Introducing Control Surface Mode

Connecting the VS-2480CD and Your Computer

To control your sequencing/recording software from the VS-2480CD, you’ll need to connect the VS-2480CD to your computer. Control Surface mode uses MIDI for twoway communication, so you can connect the VS-2480 to a computer using:

•R-BUS—In order to use R-BUS, your computer must have an R-BUS-supporting PCI card installed.You can use a Roland RPC-1 PCI card, included with the Roland Studio Package Pro, or available separately. Connect the RPC-1’s R-BUS jack to an available R-BUS jack on your VS-2480CD.

•MIDI—To connect theVS-2480CD to your computer, the computer must have a PCI card with MIDI IN and OUT jacks, or be connected to a separate MIDI interface with IN and OUT jacks. Connect the VS-2480’s MIDI OUT jack to the computer’s MIDI IN jack. Connect the computer’s MIDI OUT jack to the VS-2480CD’s MIDI IN jack. (Control Surface mode requires two-way MIDI communication.)

We describe how to select your R-BUS or MIDI jacks for control surface communication on Page 16.

Preparing for Control Surface Mode

Assuming you’ve installed the sequencing/recording software on your computer, and that you’ve connected the computer to the VS-2480CD, you’ll need to:

•conﬁgure your computer for VS-2480CD Control Surface mode.

•conﬁgure the VS-2480CD as a control surface.

We’ll describe both of these procedures in the next two chapters. Once everything’s set up, we’ll discuss activating and working in Control Surface mode in Chapter 3.

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Roland VS-2480 Control Surface Mode Guide

2—Preparing Your Computer Software

In order for your computer-based sequencing/recording software to recognize the VS-2480CD as a control surface, you may need to installVS-2480CD driver software and conﬁgure the sequencing/recording software.This chapter explains how to prepare the software for which the VS-2480CD provides control surface templates.

Obtaining the Necessary Drivers

If your sequencing/recording software requires a driver for the VS-2480CD Control Surface mode, you can download it from the Roland US Web site at:

http://www.RolandUS.com

If you don’t have Internet access, call Roland US Product Support at 323-890-3700.

The control surface drivers are relatively small ﬁles, so any Internet connection should sufﬁce for downloading.

The VS-2480CD’s Control Surface mode uses the same drivers that Roland’s SI-24 uses. For this reason, driver ﬁles are named for the SI-24 not the VS-2480CD.

Preparing Emagic Logic 5.X

Emagic’s Logic Version 5.X is available on both Mac and Windows platforms. On the Mac side, it’s available in Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X versions. Though each Logic ﬂavor has its own driver installation process, the simple conﬁguration process is identical for all three versions.

Installing the Control Surface Driver in Logic for Mac OS X

1.Download the Logic for Mac OS X control surface driver from www.RolandUS.com. You’ll ﬁnd the driver on the VS-2480CD’s Updates and Drivers page.

2.Un-stuff the driver using an un-stufﬁng tool such as StuffIt Expander (available from www.aladdinsys.com). The driver is called“SI-24.bundle.”

3.Locate the Logic application on your Mac.

4.While holding down the keyboard’s ctrl key and click the Logic application to reveal its contextual menu.

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2—Preparing Your Computer Software

5.From the contextual menu, select Show Package Contents—the Logic package opens, revealing the Contents folder.

6.Double-click the Contents folder—you’ll see a collection of folders and documents.

7.Drag the SI-24.bundle ﬁle into the MIDI Device Plug-Ins folder.

Installing the Control Surface Driver in Logic for Mac OS 9

1.Download the Logic for Mac OS 9 control surface driver from www.RolandUS.com. You’ll ﬁnd the driver on the VS-2480CD’s Updates and Drivers page.

2.Un-stuff the driver using an un-stufﬁng tool such as StuffIt Expander (available from www.aladdinsys.com). The driver is called“SI-24.”

3.Locate the Logic folder on your Mac.

4.Locate the folder called“Control Surface Plug-Ins X.XX,” where“X.XX” is the version number of the Logic application.

5.Drag the SI-24 ﬁle into the Control Surface Plug-Ins X.XX folder.

Installing the Control Surface Driver in Logic for Windows

1.Download the Logic for Windows control surface driver from www.RolandUS.com. You’ll ﬁnd the driver on the VS-2480CD’s Updates and Drivers page.

2.Un-zip the driver. The driver is called“SI-24.dll.”

3.Locate the Logic folder on your PC.

4.Locate the folder called“Control Surface Plug-Ins X.XX,” where“X.XX” is the version number of the Logic application.

5.Drag the SI-24.dll ﬁle into the Control Surface Plug-Ins X.XX folder.

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Roland VS-2480 Control Surface Mode Guide

2—Preparing Your Computer Software

Setting Up Control Surface Mode In Logic

1.Launch Logic.

2.Add the control surface driver to Logic by selecting the Install... dialog:

• In Mac OS X, select Install... from Preferences>Control Surfaces>

•In Mac OS 9, select Install... from Options>Preferences>Control Surfaces>

•In Windows, select Install... from Options>Preferences>Control Surfaces>.

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