Micro BR-80

[KKerrick]

This was the main reason I bought the thing. It makes a great mp3 trainer. The recording aspect of it is just a bonus!

Have been playing with this little gadget all day now.
And what i least expected turned out to be the most fun: the eBand mode
I have to say the provided sound clips and songs are really first class and invite you to play along almost instantly.
I barely ever play covers or songs from other people but i just could not resist soloing away with these backing tracks. 

[cuthbert]

Got a 32 GB Transcend Class 10 SDHC for the BR-80 yesterday, and ran the import/export speed tests again today - results updated here.

[Gnasty]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all this advice before i even have that baby in my hands which will be Thursday so they say to me. If not i`ll go hunting elsewhere. The 32GB SD sounds like the way to go. Thanks Cuth!

[BuleriaChk]

I tried out the BR-80 as a backing rhythm machine last night at my gig.  (The fact that MTR mode doesn't support 3/4 is almost a deal breaker for me (since I do Flamenco).   I am VERY close to returning it for my money back.

That said.... the E-Band is very handy for importing audio loops.  I may export (or record) existing backing tracks, and edit out the last beat for 3/4... don't know how that will work, but it is worth a try.  I discovered one of my existing loops got corrupted in the import process (I hadn't verified it at the time), but I re-imported it this morning, and it seems to be OK now...

That said, this would be a perfect backing machine if one could separate the playback from the input (as one can separate the rhythm from the input in the BR-800).  Trying to adjust the balance between input parameters (rec level, input sens, patch gain and level) and backing track volume is difficult and chancy under pressure.... (the knobs are tiny and the menus awkward to navigate)....

And if the input turns out to be too difficult, I have all my loops recorded on my iPaq, and I can loop seamlessly in .wav format....

But the restriction to 4/4 in new songs is a HUGE limitation for me.....

[KKerrick]

I agree. If I meant to use this live I would just employ something else. This things rhythm and backing options are a bit limited. I have a BOSS DR-880 that can do really amazing backing tracks with a synth bass built-in. You can run your guitar through it as well with COSM effects. 4 big dials for Master/Guitar/Bass/Drum. Really intuitive to use live and can take smf for the Drum and Bass lines. Only catch is they do not run on batteries. I think they aren't that much on e-bay.

I tried out the BR-80 as a backing rhythm machine last night at my gig.  (The fact that MTR mode doesn't support 3/4 is almost a deal breaker for me (since I do Flamenco).   I am VERY close to returning it for my money back.

That said.... the E-Band is very handy for importing audio loops.  I may export (or record) existing backing tracks, and edit out the last beat for 3/4... don't know how that will work, but it is worth a try.  I discovered one of my existing loops got corrupted in the import process (I hadn't verified it at the time), but I re-imported it this morning, and it seems to be OK now...

That said, this would be a perfect backing machine if one could separate the playback from the input (as one can separate the rhythm from the input in the BR-800).  Trying to adjust the balance between input parameters (rec level, input sens, patch gain and level) and backing track volume is difficult and chancy under pressure.... (the knobs are tiny and the menus awkward to navigate)....

And if the input turns out to be too difficult, I have all my loops recorded on my iPaq, and I can loop seamlessly in .wav format....

But the restriction to 4/4 in new songs is a HUGE limitation for me.....

[BuleriaChk]

The problem with the DR-880 (I own one already) is that I can't use my own sounds - I need a sharp clear handclap for Flamenco, and NO rhythm machine (including Maschine) has appropriate samples - they all sound like drunken crowds in bars or generated by noise..... This is true of all of them; Boss DR series, Zoom, Alesis, Akai  -- ALL of them..

Also, there is no pattern play mode OR global tempo (the tempo is assigned to each pattern).  That is not a deal breaker, but the lack of a decent handclap sample is, which is why I went to the BR series where I can use handclaps I sample off of Flamenco CD's....

I agree. If I meant to use this live I would just employ something else. This things rhythm and backing options are a bit limited. I have a BOSS DR-880 that can do really amazing backing tracks with a synth bass built-in. You can run your guitar through it as well with COSM effects. 4 big dials for Master/Guitar/Bass/Drum. Really intuitive to use live and can take smf for the Drum and Bass lines. Only catch is they do not run on batteries. I think they aren't that much on e-bay.

[Speed Demon]

When I needed a handclap track in a song, I played the bed track back and listened to it through headphones
while I did the handclaps using a live mic and recording with the eBand. I added a bit of chorus effect to
it using Audition then added it into the mix. Only took a few minutes and sounded quite nice.

[BuleriaChk]

Getting samples of handclaps is NOT the issue.  I have tons of them sampled from my Flamenco record collection, including 8 meticulously processed versions I recorded myself.  It is finding a programmable playback device that is the issue (in loops).  I create loops in Ableton Live using drumracks, and then can either export audio loops as .wav files (for use in eBand) or samples + Midi for use in the BR-800 via Toneload in a user drumkit.

But in all the drum machines I mentioned there is not even one in firmware (on a chip) that even approximates a good Flamenco handclap (much less sordas and secas), which was my point.  

So I guess the secret is to use the BR-80 as a poor man's Ableton Live where one can't set tempo precisely except for the original loop (where the time signature is set), and the BR-800, where you can set tempo and time signature precisely, but are limited to the imported sounds in one of 5 user kits....

I would send one of them back, but can't decide which one.......... (which is what Roland probably planned, come to think of it) :-)

When I needed a handclap track in a song, I played the bed track back and listened to it through headphones
while I did the handclaps using a live mic and recording with the eBand. I added a bit of chorus effect to
it using Audition then added it into the mix. Only took a few minutes and sounded quite nice.

[Beowulf63]

   Oh what fun it would be if the BR-80 rhythm could be manipulated by the BR-800's rhythm software! You'd think the software would be compatable (and available) for both since the systems are somewhat similer....?
Has anyone tried that yet?

[BuleriaChk]

It can't; that's the issue....

  Oh what fun it would be if the BR-80 rhythm could be manipulated by the BR-800's rhythm software! You'd think the software would be compatable (and available) for both since the systems are somewhat similer....?
Has anyone tried that yet?