A classic, rare and originally extremely expensive piece of kit, from the era of the System 700 and JP-8. Roland proudly advertised it alongside those two giants, with equal billing. Automation system for audio mixers were not reliable at the time, so Roland saw a gap in the market.
This actual VCA-800 has been modded for particular studio use with classic MCI gear. It has two large 30-pin (Fujitsu?) sockets, presumably carrying 15 channels of VCA information to a mixer, and DIN plugs for SMPTE and MCI start/stop.
MCI gear was American and expensive, and was used in only a few top studios in the UK: The Mill, Chipping Norton, Lansdowne, Strawberry and Ronnie Lane's mobile. The odds are that this came from one of those.
it has now been re-discovered as a powerful automation system for modular synths like the System 700 - which is stylistically very close, but of course the 15 VCAs will work with any modular. One proviso: nothing lower than 15Hz can be controlled, so you can't automate LFOs. But there is a lot of potential for this system.
See http://artoftravelogue.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-roland-cpe-800.html - it can basically be adapted as a 15-channel CV recorder / automator. The author of the blog added a 19-inch 2U rack with 15 attenuators and 15 outputs, and also a gate control to start and stop the CPE-800's onboard timecode 'so it can be used as a 99 hour, 15 channel, arbitrary envelope generator'.
This set switches on OK, but has not been tested. It has a pair of new plugs but no cable yet to connect the units up.
It is not in excellent cosmetic condition: the CPE-800 has eight blue switch-tops missing (though the switches underneath seem fine, and spares are widely available - from e.g. Syntaur) and quite a lot of rust on the panel, and the VCA-800 is missing the outer bit of its power button.
UK voltage, with new plugs. Manual printout thanks to Dr Zee. Packing 24GBP - 24kg or more, better in two packages.
