V-Tracks and Bouncing

After performing a track bounce for the first time, many new BR users are alarmed to discover that their original tracks seem to have disappeared and they are left with only the resulting target tracks from the bounce. Fortunately, this is not the case. The original tracks are still there but, to find them, you have to understand how V-Tracks and Bouncing work on the BR.

8 tracks or 64?

The BR has 64 separate tracks (32 on the Micro BR and BR-532). You create a multitrack recording by recording a different instrument to each track. But the output of the BR (headphones or Line Out) is stereo, meaning it only has two separate channels - left and right. So you need a way to combine the 64 channels of audio from the 64 discrete tracks into 2 channels. This is done with the BR's built-in mixer. Ideally, the mixer should have 64 channels (one fader control for each track), but imagine how big the BR would be if it had 64 faders! And the cost of a BR with a built-in 64-channel mixer would probably be well over $1,000 instead of just a few hundred.



Obviously, a compromise was needed to reduce the size and cost, so Roland included only an 8-channel mixer (4-channel in the Micro BR and BR-532). Unfortunately, this means that, although you can record up to 64 discrete tracks, you can only play back 8 at a time (4 on the Micro BR and BR-532). So we need a way to select which eight tracks of the 64 available will be played back. This was done by permanently assigning eight tracks to each channel of the mixer, and allowing the user to select any one of those eight tracks for playback. To distinguish these eight tracks from the eight playback tracks, they are called "v-tracks". The BR has a V-TRACK button which allows the user to choose which v-track is currently selected for each channel of the mixer.

The 64 tracks can be represented by an 8 x 8 grid. When a new song is created, v-track 1 is selected on each of the 8 tracks and all 64 v-tracks are empty:

Track Terminology

Beginners are often confused by the terms "track" and "v-track", wrongly assuming that they somehow refer to two independant recording locations. In other words, they think that they can record either to a "normal" track or to a v-track. This, of course, is incorrect. There are 64 recording locations in the BR. The terms "track" and "v-track" are merely used to specify the coordinates of a single location in the 8 x 8 grid. One, and only one, v-track is selected per track at all times. So, no matter which track you select for recording, you're recording to a v-track. It's just a question of which of the 8 v-tracks for the selected track will be used for the recording.

To refer to any one of the 64 recording locations, you have to specify both the track number and the v-track number (column and row of the grid). I use the convention of "Tr" and the track number, followed by "v" and the v-track number. For example, Tr3v2 refers to v-track 2 of track 3 (column 3, row 2 of the 8 x 8 v-track grid). A similar convention is used in the BR Owner's Manual, and in the display of the BR. For example, when using the BR's Track Copy feature, you'll see something like this in the display:

  TRACK COPY   [<]
  Tr: 1V1  Tr: 2V1

In this screen, you'd specify the source and destination tracks for the copy. You can move the cursor to the track number or the v-track number in either the source or the destination and turn the TIME/VALUE wheel to change its value.

When specifying the destination track(s) for a bounce, you'll see something like "3V1" in the display. This has the same meaning as "Tr3v1" (track 3, v-track 1). They just left out the "Tr" to save space in the BR's limited display. If you turn the TIME/VALUE wheel, you'll eventually see something like "12V1". This does not mean v-track 1 of track twelve (there are only 8 tracks, so there can't be a track twelve). Rather, it means v-track 1 of tracks 1 and 2. So, "12V1" specifies a pair of v-tracks for the bounce destination (stereo), while "1V1" only specifies a single v-track (mono). In most cases, you'll want to bounce to a stereo pair rather than a single mono track.

Changing V-Tracks

To change the selected v-track number of a track, press the V-TRACK button. The v-track selection screen will appear, which should look something like this:

  V-TRACK 12345678
  Tr1-V1  ■□□□□□□□

The screen is too small to show all of the v-track information for all eight tracks simultaneously, so it only shows the v-track info for one track at a time. The track number currently being displayed is indicated by the first three characters of the second line. In the example screen above, we can see that the screen is displaying the v-track info for track 1 ("Tr1"). To see the v-track info for a different track, press the CURSOR < or > buttons, or press the corresponding REC TRACK button located directly below the faders.

The numbers "12345678" on the top line represent the eight v-tracks for the currently-selected track. The eight squares below these numbers show the current status of each v-track. Filled (dark) squares represent v-tracks that you've already recorded. Empty squares represent empty v-tracks which are still available for recording. One of the eight squares will have a cursor (horizontal line) below it. This indicates the v-track which is currently selected for the track shown. The last digit of "Tr1-V1" on the second line also shows the currently selected v-track number. To change it, turn the TIME/VALUE wheel.

Bounce Mode

So, how do we record more than eight tracks? If we record eight tracks, then select eight empty v-tracks to record some more, we won't be able to monitor the first eight tracks we recorded while we're recording the new tracks. Furthermore, there's no way to mix more than eight discrete tracks simultaneously. These problems are solved by Bounce Mode. In bounce mode, the 8 selected v-tracks are played back while the 2-channel output of the mixer is recorded to an additional two empty v-tracks which the user specifies. After the bounce, the BR automatically adjusts the v-track selection so that the two destination v-tracks are selected for playback, along with the next empty v-track on each of the remaining six tracks. Now we can record to these six empty v-tracks while monitoring the mix of the original eight tracks on the other two tracks.

After we've recorded the six new tracks, the bounce process can be repeated to record the stereo mix of the eight current v-tracks (the six new tracks plus the two tracks containing the mix of the original eight tracks) to an empty pair of v-tracks. Again, the BR will automatically adjust the v-track selection after the bounce so that the two v-tracks containing the result of the bounce will be selected for playback, along with the next empty v-track on each of the remaining six tracks. But this time, the two v-tracks from the bounce will contain a mix of 14 tracks (the mix of the original 8 plus the 6 new tracks). If we now record another six new tracks, we'll have the equivalent of 20 tracks playing back through the BR's built-in 8-channel mixer. And, if desired, you can continue bouncing tracks in this manner until all 64 v-tracks have been recorded.

Your original v-tracks don't disappear after a bounce. They merely become un-selected because the BR automatically changes the v-track selection of each track to either an empty v-track or the two v-tracks containing the result of the bounce. So, to return to your earlier tracks, simply press the V-TRACK button and turn the TIME/VALUE wheel to change the v-track selection for each track back to one of your earlier v-tracks. Don't forget to change the two bounce v-tracks back too. Otherwise, the other six v-tracks you've selected will sound doubled since they are also contained in the 2-track mix from the bounce.

Example

Let's assume that we've started a new song and recorded on tracks 1, 2, 3 and 4. I'll represent recorded v-tracks with a plus sign:


Now we'll perform a track bounce. After setting the desired levels and panning for the four recorded tracks, press the REC MODE button to select Bounce mode. The BR-864 prompts us for the target track(s) and v-track. You can use the CURSOR < and > buttons to select the track or v-track, and use the TIME/VALUE wheel to change the value. For this example, we'll select tracks 7 and 8, v-track 2 for our target (the defaults). Press ENTER to accept this target.

You'll notice that we weren't prompted for the source tracks. So, how does the BR-864 know which tracks to include in the bounce? The answer is, it includes all 8 tracks, plus the Rhythm Guide and the Input. To exclude individual tracks, you need to lower the faders for those tracks. For example, if you don't want to include the Rhythm Guide in your bounce, be sure to lower the Rhythm Guide fader. And, to avoid unnecessary noise, disconnect any microphones or instruments from the input connections, or lower the input level control -- unless, of course, you want to record something "live" while bouncing.

Press the ZERO button to reset to the beginning of the song. Now press REC to enter Record Mode, then PLAY to begin the bounce. When the bounce is finished, press STOP.

Press ZERO again to reset to the beginning of the song and press PLAY. What you'll hear is the result of the bounce which is on tracks 7 and 8, v-track 2. Tracks 1 through 4 will be empty. That's because the BR-864 increments the current v-track number on those tracks after the bounce:


The green circles indicate the eight currently selected v-tracks and the plus signs indicate recorded (non-empty) v-tracks. You'll notice that v-track 2 is selected on all tracks except tracks 5 and 6 which are still set to v-track 1. That's because we didn't record anything on tracks 5 and 6, so those v-tracks are still empty and available.

If, for some reason, you want to go back to your original tracks (perhaps to re-do the bounce with different levels or panning), press the V-TRACK button to set tracks 1 through 4 back to v-track 1. Also, be sure to set tracks 7 and 8 to something other than v-track 2 (otherwise, you'll hear the original 4 tracks plus the bounced result in 7/8 at the same time).

To continue with this example, let's assume that we've not changed the v-track settings and so they remain as shown in the previous illustration.

Now we'll record something else on tracks 1 and 2 (v-track 2).


If we reset to zero and press PLAY, we'll hear the eight selected v-tracks (shown in green). Tracks 1 and 2 are our new tracks. Tracks 3, 4, 5 and 6 are empty. And tracks 7 and 8 contain the result of our first bounce (a copy of tracks 1 through 4, v-track 1).

Let's do another bounce. This time, we'll choose tracks 7 and 8, v-track 3 for the target.


After the bounce, tracks 1 and 2 are incremented to v-track 3, tracks 3 and 4 remain at v-track 2, tracks 5 and 6 are still on v-track 1 (because we still haven't recorded anything on tracks 5 and 6), and tracks 7 and 8 are on v-track 3 (the result of our second bounce). Notice that our original four v-tracks, plus the two new tracks are all still there -- they're just not selected. Also, the results of both bounces are still there, but only the v-tracks from the second bounce are selected.


NOTE: My choices of v-tracks in this example are for illustration only. In practice, you probably wouldn't be doing a bounce at all after recording only 4 tracks. After you've performed a bounce, you can no longer adjust the levels or panning of those tracks (unless you revert back to the original v-tracks) so bouncing should only be performed after you've run out of tracks (you've recorded to all 8 tracks and still want to record some more), or when you've finished the song and want to create a final stereo mix to export as a WAV or AIFF file.

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