BR800 or similar plus DAW. how do you like to record?

[Glenn Mitchell]

So far I have gotten good results recording just with the BR800 and that's great. but
The DAWs allow so much more tweaking and cleaning up that I couldn't possibly do in the BR800.
I'm using Sonar and still use Audacity a bit and really enjoying it. I believe it allows me to take it to the next level.
My question is:
Do you:
1. Just use the Hardware recorder for record and mix.
2. do you track on the recorder and then export WAVs and import them to the DAW or
3. do you track direct to a DAW using the Recorder or other as a controller?
4.other?

[64Guitars]

I record my tracks on the BR-864, then export everything to WAV files using BR Wave Converter, and import them into Audacity for final mixing. I prefer mixing and editing on the computer because it's more visual and precise. I wish I had a control surface though. I'm not too keen on adjusting virtual faders with a mouse.

One big advantage of mixing on the computer for Micro BR and BR-532 users is that you can do your bounces in mono so that they only take one track instead of two, leaving THREE tracks available for recording after each bounce. Since the bounces won't be used in your final mix, they don't need to be stereo. They only need to be good enough for monitoring while you record more tracks. When you're finished, you export all of the individual tracks (but not the bounces) and import them into your DAW where you can mix them in stereo. Anybody tried this?

[Hook]

I love my BR900! I use audacity  for fade in/outs and trimming the edges but recoding to mixing to mastering I use the BR! I've used a zoom 16 track machine before and I found it very difficult and confusing while boss just knows how to make it so very user friendly. I really need faders to mix, at least I think so since I've never tried on audacity.Truth be told I just don't want to work/create in front of the computer, but am very comfortable with the work station and I think the the effects on my BR are outstanding. I will say the eq capabilities are quite limited but i don't feel like I have a very nuanced ear for the subtleties of that aspect of recording. I usually eq the bass but I try to record the sound I want as much as possible.
 As I've said before I really want more tracks, I'm tired of bouncing tracks like the percussion and background tracks of "A chorus a verse..." that I just did. Many times on my last "kids music" cd I really felt I compromised some of the mixes because I didn't want to go back and re-bounce tracks and try again & again. I really want to upgrade to the BR1600 but alas so many wants.
I also use 2 condenser mics- mxl 990 &991, Dean exotica acoustic (I have others but that's the one I record with),Occasionally my boss ME50 for the wah, Peavey Milestone bass,crappy casio keyboard(mostly kids stuff), Tyler mountain banjo and a plethora of percussion odds and ins and other instruments I've collected.
I do feel there is something about my recordings, I can't put my finger on it but it just sounds "homemade" to me. There seems to be a slickness that I can't achieve, I'd love suggestions. I am however overjoyed at how easy it is to create my music with this amazing little box!
Rock on!

[64Guitars]

As I've said before I really want more tracks, I'm tired of bouncing tracks like the percussion and background tracks of "A chorus a verse..." that I just did. Many times on my last "kids music" cd I really felt I compromised some of the mixes because I didn't want to go back and re-bounce tracks and try again & again.

That's one of the nice things about mixing in a DAW. You can load all of your individual tracks into it for complete control over your entire mix without any bouncing. You only need to bounce on the BR so that you'll have something to monitor while recording your tracks. But then you can load just the individual tracks into your DAW. You don't need the bounces. Most DAWs can handle at least 32 tracks. Some are only limited by your computer, so you can mix as many tracks as you like.

In Audacity, you can access the mixer by selecting "Mixer Board" from the "View" menu. Here's what it looked like when I mixed my cover of "I'll Find My Way Home", with 16 tracks being mixed simultaneously.

(Click to view full size)

Notice that you can label each track so you know what's on it. That solves one of the challenges of mixing on the BR. It's hard to remember what's on each of the BR's tracks and the BR provides no way to label them.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with mixing on the BR. It does a good job but mixing on the computer offers a lot of advantages.

Give Audacity mixing a try. I think you'll like it and it will cost you nothing to find out.


You can also buy a control surface for as little as $59.99.

http://www.sweetwater.com/c808--Mixing_Control_Surfaces/low2high


(Click to view full size)


(Click to view full size)

I don't think they'll work in the current version of Audacity but they will work in many other DAWs.

[Hook]

Thanks for the advice 64, I think I'll give it a try!

[Oldrottenhead]

when i have a lot of tracks i import them to cubase, but not to master but mix to get ideas,  it may be because i have a crap soundcard on my pc but, mastering in cubase or audacity for that sake never matches the quality of a master on  the mbr.

 for tha campfire song that had lots of parts as so many folk contributed. i made stereo mixes of backing vox only,  the various instruments and parts.

and reduced them to 4 seperate stereo parts/tracks 8 tracks in all, then imported back into the mbr, part 1 and 2 to tracks v1 tracks 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.
then bounced that to v2 1 and 2 and so forth until i was happy then mastered on the mbr.

mastering in the daw didnt come anywhere near the  quality i had on the mbr.

other than that i often start in a daw to create drum tracks, then import that into the mbr. but am looking forwad to getting the br80 so i can interface with daw and get best of both worlds.

[Glenn Mitchell]

I find I am going back and forth.
I'm recording on the BR and exporting as per 64's comments
I have taken to doing several virtual takes with different instruments and then bringing them all in for the cleanup, cut and paste and selection process.
Then, when I know what tracks I'm using and am happy with the editing, I bring them back in to the BR for final touch-ups and mastering. Sometimes just the final mix , sometimes several individual trax along with a bounce which gives me lots of room on the BR800.
I do find not being able to see and label tracks on the BR is confusing.
I agree the computer sound card is nowhere near as good as the BR but it does give a different take on the sound- sort of like playing it on a cheap stereo to check that the mix is clear.

[thouston]

Although I have Reaper, Ableton Live LE & Cakewalk SONAR LE, I still prefer to record on my BR-800 and export the tracks, usually to Reaper for more tweaking, usually to add drums using DrumCore drum loops.

I did this for the Surf Ohio track


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1xCizqPVuc

Also, since I had SONAR LE, Reaper scanned and found the Cakewalk VST plug-ins, for example the 'Tape Sim' plug-in. I used it on the master to 'warm up' the audio.

[T.C. Elliott]

I run a similar system as 64. I record on the br900 and use the wave convertor to put the WAV files on the computer. Then I use Reaper (like 60 bucks, it's cheap) to mix and render. Simple things like panning is so much easier in a DAW. That being said, there is a learning curve. If you just want to slop on a preset and make a track sound decent, the br900 (or other BR) does a good enough job. Actually, I was pretty happy not even using the mastering. But the more I get into and learn about mixing the more I like Reaper. Audacity was great to start on, but I found getting into Reaper sooner rather than later was a bonus.

There are a lot of free VST and VSTi plug ins and reaper comes with a bunch of very handy capable plug ins as well. Simple eq tweaking can help a track a lot, imo. That's very hard for me to do on the br900 (of course if I spent time doing it I probably could be come more efficient.)

[Speed Demon]

I record all tracks, including drum tracks on the DR-880, into the eBand. Then they are copied
to a flash drive and transferred to the computer. I use Adobe Audition for editing and synching.
I have a number of VST plugins for fine-tuning audio tracks.

I installed Nuendo recently and it looks like the learning curve for it is straight up, with the far end
not even visible. Musical masochists will love this one.