boss launch the micro br80 to replace the micro br

[cuthbert]

Congratulations, Kari! Can't wait to read more about your experience with the BR-80 (and to hear some recordings).

I placed my order today at J&R Electronics...they say I'll get it next week. Being able to record eight tracks without bouncing is going to be sweet. 

[The Reverend 48]

Way to go Kari!
They are quoting me the end of the month in the UK!.......

[BuleriaChk]

Well (much against my better judgement), I just reinstated my order for the BR-80.  My understanding is that the "songs" now replace "patterns"; that is, there is just the one entitiy.  I am interested in using the BR-80 for backing, but need my own backing tracks, since the BR-80 doesn't have Toneload, and its native sounds are not going to be good for my application (I am a Flamenco guitarist, and NONE of the units on the market have the sharp, clear handclaps that I need - not even Maschine.... so I sample the sounds off of CD's and arrange them into loops in Ableton live)..

So - I imagine I will be importing complete "songs" - one or two measures each - into the BR-80 and looping them as backing tracks.  Depending on how good the time stretching is, I will either import them at their performance tempo, or at 100 BPM so the percentage will be a good indicator of the acdtual BPM.

That said, I have two questions:

1.  How good is the looping.  That is, if one loops a song, is there any pause in the loop, or is it seamless? (in the old .mp3 files, there used to be a pause, but I think that has been corrected in most audio programs now.)

2. How easy is it to switch from song to song (i.e., how quickly does a new song load?)  with the understanding that in my case, each "song" will be very short....

Thanks for advance info, before the unit is actually on its way....

Chuck

 

[chip]

Is this unit an 8 track recorder or like the others not 8, br 800, br 600 for example. Just making sure!!!!!

[64Guitars]

1.  How good is the looping.  That is, if one loops a song, is there any pause in the loop, or is it seamless? (in the old .mp3 files, there used to be a pause, but I think that has been corrected in most audio programs now.)

Looping? I haven't seen anything which suggests that the BR-80 has any special looping features. It has A-B repeat like all of the other BRs. I expect it will work the same as the others, including the noticeable gap between loop iterations. Or you can use Track Copy to make many consecutive copies of a section of a track. In that case, the gap will be almost imperceptable. See this message.

It certainly doesn't have the looping capabilities of the BR-800.

It's possible that the eBand mode may have some looping capabilities, but I'm not familiar with that mode as this is the first BR to include it. The only mention I could find in the manual of rhythm looping was on page 94 where it describes the different ways of selecting songs in eBand mode.

Search type: RHYTHM

Only short phrases (RHYTHM LOOP) contained on the card included with the BR-80 are listed.

*    By using the included eBand Song List Editor (p. 107) you can use your computer to add your favorite audio files as rhythms.

It sounds like it just loops the same rhythm pattern endlessly. It doesn't sound like you can create complex arrangements of these rhythms. If you need that, then you'd have to create the arrangement in Ableton or whatever and load the entire arrangement into the BR, in which case, looping isn't needed.

2. How easy is it to switch from song to song (i.e., how quickly does a new song load?)  with the understanding that in my case, each "song" will be very short....

In eBand mode, you can create a "BEST 30" list. This would allow you to create a setlist in the desired order without actually moving any of your songs. As long as you're in the BEST 30 list, changing songs is simply a matter of turning the dial and pressing ENTER.

[64Guitars]

Is this unit an 8 track recorder or like the others not 8, br 800, br 600 for example. Just making sure!!!!!

Like most BRs, the BR-80 is a 64-track recorder with a built-in 8-channel mixer (the Micro BR and BR-532 are 32-track recorders with a built-in 4-channel mixer). There are no faders. You adjust levels by turning the dial. You select recording tracks in pairs initially. Then you choose whether to record to just the left channel, just the right channel, or both. In this way, you can record to 8 mono tracks, 4 stereo pairs, or a combination of the two.

[BuleriaChk]

Yes, I realize it (probably) will not loop in MTR mode - all I want is to loop the same pattern/song endlessly while I jam against it.  I am primarily looking at eBand mode, where one can import a "song" and then repeat it (hopefully without a pause).

Of course, I can make an very long audio track of a LOT of the same pattern for each rhythm, import it to a track, and play it in MTR mode.

I am trying to see if the workaround in EBand mode (where I can slow or speed up the song as a percentage of the original recorded tempo) has a chance in hell of working for me.  I am NOT impressed with Boss's preset loops, samples, etc. for backing tracks (I use 3/4, 6/8 extensively)  In fact, I don't even know if eBand will work in triple time signatures (it will probably loop, but the percentages will probably be way off, even if I record at 100 BPM).

Oh well, MF has a money back guarantee, but it is really getting boring sending stuff back to them....

[cuthbert]

That said, I have two questions:

1.  How good is the looping.  That is, if one loops a song, is there any pause in the loop, or is it seamless? (in the old .mp3 files, there used to be a pause, but I think that has been corrected in most audio programs now.)

2. How easy is it to switch from song to song (i.e., how quickly does a new song load?)  with the understanding that in my case, each "song" will be very short...

I've been playing around a bit with this, and here's what I've found so far:

1. In eBand mode, looping is seamless, at least with the loops BOSS provided.

2. Again in eBand mode, switching between loops seems instantaneous. Using the jog dial, you can switch loops while playing, and go to the next selected one. In MTR mode, you have to use the menu system, and you can't switch songs while playing.

Hope it helps,
cuthbert

[BuleriaChk]

Thanks, Cuthbert,

Looks like it might work for me after all, if I can use my own "songs" ...
(was there any difference between .mp3 and .wav looping in eBand mode?

[cuthbert]

...was there any difference between .mp3 and .wav looping in eBand mode?

Haven't tried that yet - got some other tests I want to do first, but once I get to this I'll let you know what I find.