Songcrafters.org

Finally got the Br-80 and I am loving it.  This one box alone has the potential to replace a lot of other stuff I have acquired.

One issue: When using it as an audio interface with my amp sims (mixcraft and reaper) I hear the original clean signal along with the amp.  Is there a way to mute the clean signal?  For example, my Zoom G3 has a DAW-input balance knob that allows to go all wet (vst effects) or dry.  Thanks

In Reaper, I believe you need to uncheck Monitor Input.

(http://www.m-audio.com/images/image/DAWconfiguration/Monoinput.jpg)

When I uncheck monitor input I lose my effects and it's an all clean signal.  I want plug-in (wet) only.

Can you describe the problem exactly? I use Reaper quite a lot but not with the BR-80, so I'm not familiar with what you are describing. I may be able to help if I understand what is going on.

Cheers

Sure.  I'm using the BR-80 a an audio interface.  On my daw I am selecting my amps and other VST on effects then I click on 'monitor input' or 'monitor incoming audio' depending on the daw.  This allows me to jam using my software. 

Most audio interfaces that are designed for this have a mixer that allows you to cut the clean signal out of the device (just a clean guitar) so you ONLY hear sound coming from you amp sims and vsts.  On the BR-80, while jamming with vsts I hear the good sound from the computer (monitor audio) AND the clean sound through the BR-80 simultaneously.  If I play back a  recording it sounds good because the clean signal isn't recorded.  It's just bad while recording or just playing.

I'm thinking their idea of using this as an audio interface was to put a pod or sansamp in front of it and not a direct-to-computer thing but I am hoping I am wrong.

Ok, just so I understand, you are playing your guitar into the BR80 which you have patched the output of into reaper, I'm assuming over USB?
And you cannot mute the clean signal, it's mixed with the processed signal through Reaper?  Have I got that right? 

Correct.  For example, this is from the Zoom R8 Manual (which I don't own, i'm just looking for better ways to ask my question and couldn't find anything in the BR-80 or 800 manuals)

Comprehensive built-in mixer
Using the mixer, you can make a mix for monitoring. When simultaneously recording guitar and vocals, for example,
you can adjust volume balance, panningand reverb levels.
Moreover, you can also adjust the balance between the built-in mixer and the sound sent from a computer.

Right now it sounds like two different guitars playing together when I use Amplitube.

Another question .... Are your phones connected to the br or computer?

The BR.   The Br-80 to computer via USB, headphones/monitors connected to BR.  All soundcard settings on computer a daw changed to the BR-80.

If you want to record the wet signal, see section 3.38 on pages 74 & 75 of the following document:

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/userguide/ReaperUserGuide430C.pdf (http://www.cockos.com/reaper/userguide/ReaperUserGuide430C.pdf)

Following those directions should insert the effects into the input signal path. Then when you enable Monitor Input, you should hear the effected signal only.

As mentioned in those directions, recording the wet signal is not normally advisable since you can't change it later. If you record the dry signal instead, you can experiment with different plugins on the track later.

Anticipating your next question "How can I record dry while monitoring the wet signal?", I don't know but it should be possible. It's just a matter of understanding REAPER's monitoring options. I'm not very familiar with REAPER so I can't tell you how to do it. Maybe Flash Harry can. If not, then I'd suggest asking in the REAPER forum: http://www.cockos.com/reaper/forum.php (http://www.cockos.com/reaper/forum.php).

I don't think there's anything unique about the BR-80. It's just a simple audio interface which sends its stereo output to the computer and plays back the computer's stereo output. Unless I'm mistaken, it doesn't mix the input and output. What you hear from the BR's headphone jack is only the signal coming from the computer. So, if you're hearing a mix of wet and dry sounds, then something isn't set right in REAPER's monitoring options.

Thanks,  I'm not able to run test on it tonight but will soon.

What I think is happening is its letting me monitor the signal straight from the BR and then sending to the computer and back wet.  When I change my daw latency settings it doesn't effect the dry sound but delays the wet signal.  The Behringer interfaces have a hard 'monitor' switch that let you toggle this, the line 6 stuff does it with it software and the new Zooms have a soft knob that mixes the sounds like a balance knob.

Basically it's just an option to mute the audio of the device but still send the digital data through the usb.

Have you tried monitoring from the computer instead of the BR? If you get a mix of wet and dry when monitoring from your computer's headphone jack, then the BR obviously isn't the problem. In that case, you'd know it has to be something in REAPER. But, if the sound from your computer's headphone jack is wet only, then it may be the BR that's mixing the dry signal with it.

Wow, great call 64.  I set Mixcraft up to have the BR-80 as my input soundcard and then set my computer's card as the output and it works great.  Not sure if there is a downside to running dual cards but so far it works good enough to use.
I have a friend that willing to trade a new Zoom R8 for it and I may bite, just to make things easier.  But I really beginning to like this little thing a lot.  And besides, I bought it to break away from the computer.... 
Thanks again for everyone's help.

Ah! Bingo, I hadn't realised you were listening to the output on the BR, latency should have given it away. I hope you're sorted

Okay, I've done a bit of research and found the answer to this question.

Unfortunately, the BR-80 mixes its input signals with the USB audio coming from the computer and routes this composite signal to the Line Out and headphones jack. There is no way to separate the signals or control their relative levels.

The diagram on page 53 of the BR-80 manual shows that GUITAR/MIC IN, the built-in microphones, LINE IN, and USB audio are all hard-wired together with no switches or controls to separate them.

(https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=18215.0;attach=19485)

Additionally, the text below the diagram says...



I checked with Roland US support and they confirmed this. "There is not a function to turn off hardware monitoring on the BR-80 (i.e. the guitar signal being sent to your computer via USB will always also be sent out to the LINE OUT of the BR-80). This apparently a hardware issue, so it can't be changed."


I also checked the BR-800 manual to see if it has the same problem. Fortunately, it does not. The BR-800 has a USB SETTING screen with parameters for Direct Monitoring (on/off), Input Mix (on/off), and separate parameters for USB Input Level and Output Level. So the BR-800 user has full control over USB monitoring.

Here's a diagram from the BR-800 manual which shows the DIR MONITOR switch. I modified it to show the INPUT MIX switch as well.

(https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=18215.0;attach=19487)


I also modified that diagram to show how it works in the BR-80.

(https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=18215.0;attach=19489)

The BR-80's inputs are hard-wired to the USB in and the LineOut/headphone out. So there's no way to separate the signal being sent to the computer via USB from the signal coming back from the computer via USB. They will always be mixed and appear at the Line/headphone outputs.

Nice one 64Guitars, that's the definitive answer.

You would have to listen to the computer out signal - get the buffer sizes down low to reduce latency.

Thanks again.  I may move up to the 800 or R8 but right now using the computer's output is a good enough work around.