I wouldn't totally discount it, Roland actually makes some pretty decent pro-audio gear. The SDE-1000 delay unit for instance is a classic that many recording studios still covet today. Quality wise I think they're pretty good. However, what I noticed is that feature wise you might want to be careful. Right away I noticed there are only two mic channels on that board. The other 6 1/4" input only channels are unbalanced connections. So make sure it's fit for your purpose.
Honestly it looks like a pretty straight forward and basic digital console. Roland makes some pretty good all-in-one multi-track recorders, so I'd expect this unit would operate similarly with similar quality. While I haven't used the VM3100, I have used the 1680 recorder and really liked it. This review (
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul99/a ... vm3100.htm ) says they're in a similar family so you might be very happy with it. Again just make sure it's features fit your purpose first.