A few days ago I asked about connecting a Shure Beta 57A mic to my HP
Pavilion ZT3000 laptop but somehow the thread disappeared from my Outlook
Express before I had a chance to follow up.

First of all big thanks to those who responded. Basically I was told that
the preamp in my laptop is crap and I should get a console in between. So
far so good.

My sister has offered to sell me her Roland VS1680 for that purpose and it
is apparently fully functional DAW as well, including a CD-burner and 2
optional sound effects modules. She says it'll be in perfect shape and "real
cheap" because she's getting a $$$$$ Yamaha with higher resolution.

Now the questions a

Will it do the job with the microphone?

What is the best way to connect such a device to a laptop?

If I get it, I also want to be able to record any source that comes out of
the laptop's headphone output. But I suppose a digital stream would be
preferable but my laptop only has an analog audio out, USB and firewire
connections.

Is it an obsolete piece already?

What's a "real good" price for it?

Sorry if I'm a pain in the ass.

Thanks again!

Pete