DON'T PANIC (got "card read error"? .... relax)

[s.w.goatlips]

Thanks Geir, I'll have a go some time later tonight or tomorrow. I just don't have enough energy left at the moment. But thanks for the help.

[s.w.goatlips]

A new day and a new awareness.
Firstly, a big thankyou to Geir. I have now managed to back the files up to my pc, format the sd card, and load the mix back on to the recorder. Reading the info left by Geir was so much more simple than anything I have seen to date. So thanks.
Geir, if you're ever holidaying in Oz there's a spare bed here.
The problem as I see it was not "card full" but "memory full". Two distinctly different animals.
Every time you tinker with any of many different settings in song mode (pan, eq, rhythm, etc.) the recorder stops to memorise any change.
I had done only 8 tracks on V1 with a mix (bounce) to V2 but in amongst all this had made many changes to various settings including the rhythm track which alone had exactly 50 "steps"( the allowable total according to the manual.) Obviously all this stuff is memorised internally by the br800.
Also, because I'm a pretty crappy vocalist I was using the "retry" constantly for a few tracks on V2.
It was during this phase (continued retry on vocals) that the br finally said "memory full" or because I took it personally I felt that it was BR800 speak for : "F#@K off, I'm full".( See Monty Pythons "The meaning of Life")
I just asked it to remember too much stuff. Lesson learned.

So now I guess for one thing I'll be leaving the drum track until last.
Again, thanks to Geir for saving my temporary sanity.
As a foot note, the irony of all this is that the song I'm working on is about my lifelong battle with depression. Yo ho. First one I've been able to write in ages- because of it.
I don't post my music on here much simply out of fear, but I guess I'll share this when it's done just by way of thanks to this site, and the fact that I need stuff like this to help me. Thanks.
  Goatlips. (Andrew.)

[64Guitars]

The problem as I see it was not "card full" but "memory full". Two distinctly different animals.
Every time you tinker with any of many different settings in song mode (pan, eq, rhythm, etc.) the recorder stops to memorise any change.

Actually, the settings are stored on the memory card in files which are created when you create a new song. The files which hold the settings (including the drum arrangements) have a fixed size, so they take up the same amount of space whether they're empty or you've saved your settings a thousand times (each time it just overwrites the previous settings so no extra space is consumed).

I felt that it was BR800 speak for : "F#@K off, I'm full".

SD cards are waffer thin. 

I don't post my music on here much simply out of fear, but I guess I'll share this when it's done just by way of thanks to this site, and the fact that I need stuff like this to help me.

Don't be afraid to post. I'd love to hear your song, and I'm sure others would too.


What brand is your SD card? In the FAQ on their website, Roland says they've tested the BR-800 with the following brands and confirmed that they are compatible:

Panasonic, SanDisk, TOSHIBA, HAGIWARA SYS-COM, and Kingston

Other brands will probably work too, but maybe not. If the BR-800 says you have 1,000 MB free (1GB) and you're getting Card Full errors, something's not right. I suspect that your card may not be fully compatible.

Did you initialize the card (see page 139 of the BR-800 manual) in the BR-800 before using it? Most cards nowadays come pre-formatted. That might be fine for your camera or PC, but you shouldn't use it in your BR-800 until you've initialized it in the BR. Of course, initializing erases everyting on the card, so don't do it now unless you're certain you have a good backup of the card's contents.

When you're accessing the card from your computer, either with a card reader or via the BR-800's USB connector, it's important to properly close the connection before removing the card. Otherwise, the card's data could become corrupted, leading to errors when it is subsequently used in the BR. The procedure for stopping the connection is described in the "Using USB" chapter of the manual. It's different for each operating system.

[OsCKilO]

G-man!


You Preach the truth!!!

[Geir]

Ahhh lesson learned

Memory full!
The song size exceeded 1 GB. Erase unneeded tracks. p. 106
The song arrangement exceeded 50 steps. A song arrangement can contain no more than 50 steps. p. 96

And Andrew, I'm really looking forward to hearing this song, so please post it when done !!

[s.w.goatlips]

Thanks for the onfo again 64g's. The card I'm using is a fujifilm 4gig, but I paid a bit more and got a class six just in case. But yes, I guess it could be the card.
And yes, they are only wafer thin. Now that did make me lol. But still.....it was the wafer!
I have a few 1 and 2 gig cards, all Verbatim and have never had problems with them, and the good thing is that the local supermarkets sell them fairly cheap. (however I have found that they fill up pretty quick on an 8 track when most of the recording is in stereo).

[s.w.goatlips]

Ok so it looks like it was the card. I switched to a Verbatim 4 gig and everything is good.
And the song is now finished, mastered etc, and on my computer in wav format.
And I'm reasonably happy with the result. This is the first song I've finished in over 6 or 8 months.
All I have to do now is find an easy way to turn it into mp3 and load up.
I have to say I'm very happy with the 800. It's so easy to use. The patches seem to me to be so much more user friendly than the micro in that they are so easy to tinker with. Vocal patches also.
All I need now is a button that makes me a good singer!
On creating MP3 files, I'm not really sure how to go about it. My pc can only make wma files I think.
Does anyone know if a wav file from the br800 can be loaded into the micro br? If so, it would be so much easier to convert to mp3.

[64Guitars]

Ok so it looks like it was the card. I switched to a Verbatim 4 gig and everything is good.

Too bad about the card but at least you know now. And the bad card might be okay for some other application like a digital camera, or just for transferring files between computers.

And the song is now finished, mastered etc, and on my computer in wav format.
And I'm reasonably happy with the result. This is the first song I've finished in over 6 or 8 months.
All I have to do now is find an easy way to turn it into mp3 and load up.

• Download and install Audacity version 1.3.12 (Beta).
• Download and install the LAME MP3 encoder for Audacity.
• From Audacity's File menu, select Import - Audio to import your WAV file.
• In the lower-left corner of Audacity, make sure the Project Rate is set to 44100 Hz.
  
  
• From the File menu, select Export...
• In the File Export dialog, type the name for your new MP3 file and select the folder you want to save it in.
• At the bottom of the File Export dialog, make sure the file type is set to MP3 Files.
  
  
  
• Click the long Options bar. The MP3 Export Setup dialog will appear:
  
  
  
• Set the Bit Rate Mode to Constant, Quality to 192kbps, and Channel Mode to Stereo then click the OK button.
• Click the Save button, then enter your Metadata in the dialog that appears. This is optional but highly recommended. You want to take credit for your work and make sure that the correct song title is displayed in people's iPods.
• After the export process finishes, find the MP3 and check its size. If it's too big to upload (bigger than 6MB), then repeat the export procedure but use the next lower bitrate setting (160kbps). This will produce a smaller file with a slight reduction in sound quality.

[s.w.goatlips]

Thanks for all that 64G's. The offending card is now in Mrs goatlips' camera.
I should have thought about this earlier, but last year i was using a fuji 1 gig in my micro and had the same problems. So I guess the answer is that fujifilm cards are not compatible with br recorders.
I already have Audacity but it is a slightly earlier download : 1.3.10. I did use the mp3 converter but from what I could see it gives me no other option than 128 kbps. (or at least, that is what it automatically converts to). To get the "lame" thingy that you are talkin about, do I have to upgrade Audacity, and if so do I uninstall what I have and then install the newer version?
One interesting thing I just discovered yesterday. I was cleaning up my music room and sorting out a bunch of sd cards, many of which I hadn't labeled. I had to put them in the recorder to find out what was on them and by chance put a couple into the br800 that had tracks which I had recorded on the micro. And they played. The sound levels are markedly different-heavy clippping, as in the levels are much higher. But still, they did work. So at some stage I'm going to load a track or two that I record on the micro (at low levels) into the wave converter and try them in the br800. It could be useful at some stage.
Oh, and lastly, the song I finished is still too big at 128 kbps. Once I have a bunch of stuff that I'm happy with, I'll go somewhwere else (soundclick or weebly or something) and just link them. Again, thankyou very much for all your help.

[64Guitars]

I already have Audacity but it is a slightly earlier download : 1.3.10.

That's fine. You can update if you want to but it won't make a huge difference. The main thing is that you've got 1.3 rather than the older 1.2.

I did use the mp3 converter but from what I could see it gives me no other option than 128 kbps. (or at least, that is what it automatically converts to).

It's only showing 128 because that was the last setting selected (it saves the setting each time you change it). Either that, or you haven't changed it yet and that's what it's set to when it's first installed.

If you click on the Quality button in the Specify MP3 Options dialog, you should see a long list of bitrate value options, like this:

To get the "lame" thingy that you are talkin about, do I have to upgrade Audacity, and if so do I uninstall what I have and then install the newer version?

If you've already converted a file to MP3 in Audacity, then you already have LAME so don't worry about it. If you want to update Audacity anyway, I think you can just download the latest version and install it. If you specify the same installation directory as you used before, it should overwrite the old version. If not, you might end up with both versions installed, in which case you can remove the older one in Windows Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs.