Roland VS880EX IDE to SD upgrade

[@followyourpassion8378]

Is it necessary to put an operating system and the compiled VS880EX program code onto the SD card?

[@LilHoss]

Does this work exactly the same way for a Roland VS-1680?

[@PaleRider638]

Hello! I asked this question to the other guy as well. How did you get the old hard drive out of the aluminum shielding box? I see it's glued to a foam pad and to the box as well. Thanks! PR

[@nothingbettertodo1]

At this point I can' t remember very well but I think I just slided it out. I don't remember any screws.

[@PaleRider638]

@@nothingbettertodo1 I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear. I'm talking about after sliding it out of the VS, the actual removal of the aluminum box from the caddy. Then the removal of the hard drive itself, from that aluminum shielding box. It is glued in with a foam pad. Thanks for the reply.

[@jaynebonner9775]

@@PaleRider638 just slide it out I used Lexar 32g sdhc (light blue pack from Staples in my Roland vs880ex with GODSHARK 44pin ide to sd adapter from Amazon, works like a charm very quiet operation .. I'm using VS880ex for the killer effects applied to vocals and my trusty Boss Dr670 drum machine.. it breaths life back into my setup as it can sample for days on end.... I use Ableton Live 11, Fast Track Pro, Presonus USB96 Audiovox, Roland VS880ex, M audio Axiom 49 1st gen, M Audio DMP3 mic pre, Casio CTK6250, SM58, Rode NT1A... The VS is always ready to sample and apply effects, also run sound thru outputs or midi control.. Roland really did a great job if you learn the machine..

[@PaleRider638]

@@jaynebonner9775 Thanks so much for your input! I am an older generation rocker trying to learn this new fangled contraption! Yes youre right it seems to do everything but make you dinner! I did eventually get up the guts to dig in and take the hard drive out and replaced it with the replacement valued unit. I saw all the videos and comments about converting it, but all I could hear was my Dad whispering in my ear...."Dont try no tricks", or " Why can't you leave well enough alone ?" 😕 so I did. I put in the effects card a while back. When trying it out I found the flanger, and its perimeters , and scared the crap out of myself. When I breathed into the mic, it sounded like 35 F-14's just blew overhead!! Thanks again for your reply! Take care and God bless!

[@maccagrabme]

Anyone know what adaptor I need if I dont already have a hdd installed? I want to upgrade one of the original vs880s, also does it need a cradle?. Thank you.

[@nothingbettertodo1]

what do you mean by cradle?

[@maccagrabme]

@@nothingbettertodo1 Its the plastic contraption to hold the hard disk in place, also known as the caddy.

[@MASTERU487]

Hey man. I have a VS-1680 Im thinking to do the same...just worried that my IDE die suddenly. Are you using just one adapter or two different adapters. can you help me with this?. Thanks

[@nothingbettertodo1]

I did this because my IDE also died suddenly :/ ...What you´ll need to buy is a process of a 44 Pin MALE. SD CARD to IDE 2.5" adapter wich is cheap and you can buy it in amazon, ebay.......the device you see at 5:29 is attached to the IDE and you´ll need to unplug it from its port to be able to connect it to the 44 pin adapter. As Mark Jennings said in a comment below might present differences depending on the model. In this case what he did is: "I found that the connector board (that you mentioned at 6:02) only supported HDP88 connection, after searching high and low gave up searching for a connector. I bought an SD SDHC SDXC MMC Memory Card to IDE 2.5" 44 Pin Male Adapter Converter and a 4GB SHDC PNY Optima card, and 2.5" 44-Pin Female to Female IDE Extension cable. Then I will cut off the knob with an EXACTO knife and plug it into the 50 pin connector on the motherboard and leave pins 45-50 unused and unconnected. If this works then I'll be super happy for a cheap easy solution, otherwise SCSI2SD is plan B.".

[@MASTERU487]

@@nothingbettertodo1 Thanks a lot... I will try this

[@mark12011972]

What 2 parts did you use? I have a VS-890 and want to try this.

[@nothingbettertodo1]

only a 44 Pin MALE. SD CARD to IDE 2.5"adapter and of course an SDHC card.. They are cheap and you can easily get one at amazon, ebay or any online store. You´ll probably need to keep the port that is attached to the original drive and use it to connect the adapter to the system. At 5:29 that´s the adapter you´ll need to buy, At 6:02 that is the port that was attached to the original IDE drive and you´ll need to remove that from the hard disk.

[@mark12011972]

On the VS890 I found that the connector board (that you mentioned at 6:02) only supported HDP88 connection, after searching high and low gave up searching for a connector. I bought an SD SDHC SDXC MMC Memory Card to IDE 2.5" 44 Pin Male Adapter Converter and a 4GB SHDC PNY Optima card, and 2.5" 44-Pin Female to Female IDE Extension cable. Then I will cut off the knob with an EXACTO knife and plug it into the 50 pin connector on the motherboard and leave pins 45-50 unused and unconnected. If this works then I'll be super happy for a cheap easy solution, otherwise SCSI2SD is plan B.

[@nothingbettertodo1]

hope it does the job. please shar and comment your experience and results. good luck.

[@maccagrabme]

@@mark12011972 Did it blow up or work?

[@mark12011972]

@@maccagrabme no it did not. I use the VS for vocal or drums effects processor only. Fantastic distortion and vintage radio station type effects. But the VS is like starting an old tractor you gotta be able to finagle it right for the effects to engage. Once I push the button to load the template its fine and ready to apply effects processing.

[@dvarve]

I was so excited for this. I spent about $25 for the SD to IDE adapter and a new SD card. I removed the HDD and put the new set up in place. It fired right up and asked to initialize the new card. Within minutes I was ready to record a song. I was really excited about this option. Then reality set in. I turned off the VS880EX and fired it up again. It asked to initialize the drive again. The little bit of work I had done was gone. I tried it a few times and the same thing happened. Has anyone had any luck using an SD card without having to initialize and subsequently losing any prior work? This could be so cool if we could get it to work. Please let me know if there is a step I'm missing. Thanks!

[@ujaksokol]

No, you're not missing anything. Its a cute idea, and works so long as you NEVER turn the machine off. Once the machine is turned off you'll be back to square one, all data will be lost, and you must go thru an initialization process.

[@kidlargo1]

You need to use 4GB compact flash. It works. The CF adaptor I bought cost like 2 bucks on ebay.

[@kidlargo1]

www.ebay.com/itm/IDE-44-Pin-Male-to-CF-Compact-Flash-Male-Adapter-Connector-K3K3/183380948091?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

[@picksalot1]

@@kidlargo1 - Thanks for the the link! Have you tested the CF any more? I have a VS-890. Do you have any problems with the CF at all? For instance: 1) Are there any speed issues - is it fast and quiet? 2) Does it crash? 3) Does it retain all the data that was save to it even after the VS Unit has been powered off? 4) Was it easy to Initialize and set up the partitions? 5) Are there any weird problems that have cropped up since you started using th CF?

[@kidlargo1]

@@picksalot1-It's super fast and very quiet. I've not had any crash issues. It works as your internal drive does. Turn it on and off all day long brother. Your shit is all still there. You initialize it like you would the HDD. When you open it in your software it shows up as 1GB partitions. I don't know how that works though. The roland is pretty fussy about what cards it will take. If I had tried just the first two I did I'd swear it was junk. I pulled an 8GB SanDisk out of my camera bag and it fired right up and asked to be formatted. You can go here to find the .zip file to convert to .wav files. You either need to run in compatibility mode or on a Win7 machine. You won't see a huge bonus of record time because it will always read in 1GB partitions. In my honest opinion you'd be better off running a zip drive or find a Roland CDR and run a tricked out Win7 rig and drop your .wav files to DAW. It's been fun messing with this thing and the recordings are unreal. But.... It is a lot of trial and error work. Let me know if You need any help and I'll see what I can do. Joe www.thegoodlibrary.com/VSWaveExport.php

[@thirty2able]

Yeah I agree it is definitely not a tutorial .

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Helpful video! I bought my vs880ex in 1999 and my hard drive just died. It reads Sys Init. No DRV! So I am going to attempt this. Which sd card did you get. I saw some really old posts that say you can only use things like Lexar Platinum II 4GB.

[@nothingbettertodo1]

I used a Lexar SDHC 4GB card and the machine has been running smoothly since then. I've read about having issues with some brands too but I've had no compatibility issues so far.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

@@nothingbettertodo1 So I finally did the upgrade. It works, but when I shut down the vs880ex, I lose all my data/songs. When I start it up it reads SYS Init.Drive=E. Answering Yes is the only option, then it wipes out my songs. I'm using a Vertabim 4GB SD card. Guess I'll try a Lexar SD Card. Any suggestions?

[@nothingbettertodo1]

@@geoffreymerrifield5666 have you partitioned your drive? Have you formatted it? You can also double check that the adapter and sd card are firmly and properly connected ( I had some trouble at first because of this)..you can also scan your drive and see if any error is found.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

@@nothingbettertodo1 Thanks for responding! Partition the drive meaning 1000mb or 500? I selected 1000. I think the format occurred (took over an hour). An in-depth scan was done with no errors.

[@nothingbettertodo1]

@@geoffreymerrifield5666 the only other thing I can think at the momento is: have you specified wich partition Will be used? ...I suggest you read the manual's chapter about drive use. Also you can google "planet vs" that"s a huge forum/knowledge base about the whole vs series, maybe you can find some answers there.

[@josemarques7795]

Olá, também funciona nos gravadores korgd16, aproveitei a idéia e fiz no meu.

[@nothingbettertodo1]

I have no idea, good luck

[@motre1881]

Drive card sphc now in

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

Imagine thinking people are so stupid as to think IDE would work on a proprietary firmware this is not a windows system 🤣

[@williamsuggs2822]

I wish I did not have to listen to the music

[@kichoforrest]

HAHA!!!