A request for info from a good buddy of mine....
Do any of you good people know of a standalone multitrack recorder, such as the Micro BR, that is capable of replicating 3/4 or 'waltz' time signatures? I've had a quick geek* on google but can't seem to find any...
henwrench
*geek...Cornish for 'have a look'.
MBR-80. Tho there's no presets in 3/4, you can make your own (midi) and import them. I've tested it, created 2/4, 3/4, 5/4, and 7/4 patterns and imported them. I'm sure there's a gazillion sample midi files that can be imported easily.
Quote from: Geir on August 14, 2012, 09:16:19 AMMBR-80. Tho there's no presets in 3/4, you can make your own (midi) and import them. I've tested it, created 2/4, 3/4, 5/4, and 7/4 patterns and imported them. I'm sure there's a gazillion sample midi files that can be imported easily.
Nice one Geir, but I was thinking more of something that is more 'inbuilt', with no need to bugger about. My buddy doesn't own a compooter or anything like that.
henwrench
The br900 has every time signature in it's metronome and if you don't mind creating the drum part (with the pads live,easy to do, OK sound,or the other way I've never done,) you can make them any time you want. The 900 is pretty cheap now, you can get one for under $400, I would assume the br800 and the br600 can do the same? I haven't even explored the drum machine on the mbr so I don't know about that one. As for pre-set rhythms, you probably have to go loop or midi.
Also check out garageband for Ipad or Iphone, he might be able to at least get loops with it, maybe midi?
Good luck!
I think the Zoom R8 (http://www.zoom.co.jp/products/r8) can do it, although I'm really not familiar with it so it might be best to ask in a Zoom forum or go to the music shop and ask for a demo. A quick look at the manual seems to indicate that you can specify the number of beats per bar when creating custom patterns. I don't know if any of the preset patterns include time signatures other than 4/4.
Any Boss recorder that includes onboard pattern editing can do it too. The only current models that might have that capability are the BR-1200 and BR-1600. But your friend might be able to pick up a used BR-600, BR-864, or BR-900CD. They all have the ability to create custom patterns in any time signature without the aid of a computer. The BR-600 might be especially good for the job since it includes velocity-sensitive drum pads. Then again, the Zoom R8 might be even better and it's a current model with plenty of cool features not available on the older BRs.
If any recorders exist with preset patterns in 3/4, I suspect that they'll be limited to just a few pattern choices. The majority of the presets are always going to be 4/4. That means that your friend will likely have to create his own custom 3/4 patterns, regardless of which recorder he buys. That takes considerable time and patience.
Depending on budget, another option is to get a recorder with midi and buy a separate drum machine with good 3/4 support. By connecting the drum machine to the recorder via midi, you can stop and start it with the recorder's transport controls just as if it were built-in. Off the top of my head, the only recorders I can think of with midi support are the BR-1200, BR-1600, BR-864, BR-900CD, TASCAM DP-24, and Fostex MR-8 MkII (http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/MR-8_MkII.shtml#3). I don't think any of the current Zooms have midi, though older models did. The TASCAM DP-24 (http://tascam.com/product/dp-24/) looks like a fantastic recorder for the money. As far as I can tell, it has no built-in drum machine and may be limited on effects compared with Boss and Zoom, but it has midi in and out and lots of great features not available on other recorders. Combined with a good drum machine via midi, I think the DP-24 would make a great studio.
http://www.andertons.co.uk/multitrack-recorders/pid23941/cid602/tascam-dp24-24track-portastudio.asp (http://www.andertons.co.uk/multitrack-recorders/pid23941/cid602/tascam-dp24-24track-portastudio.asp)
Of course, you could use an external drum machine without midi, but you'd have to record the drum machine to an audio track via Line In. Once you started recording your other tracks, you wouldn't be able to make changes to the drums easily.