Micro BR-80 review

[Oldrottenhead]

sounds like the song i'm currently working on andy, scrapped three versions already, it's either gonna be a masterpiece or a draught excluder.

[64Guitars]

Great review, Geir! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Bouncing - I agree that Roland made a stupid mistake in not allowing level changes during a bounce. I hope they'll fix that in an update. However, for me, it wouldn't matter much because I always mix in Audacity. I only use my BR-864 to record the individual tracks. Any bounces I might do on the BR are only temporary for the purpose of monitoring while I record new tracks. The bounces aren't used in the final mix - just the individual tracks. Audacity lets me mix an unlimited number of individual tracks simultaneously, which gives much better control and freedom over my final mix.

(click to view full size)

And I can use its Envelope Tool to automate level changes non-destructively on a track. For example, the following screenshot shows a gradual level reduction from 9.0 seconds to 11.0 seconds, then increasing from 11.0 seconds to 11.5 seconds. This doesn't change the track at all. It merely adjusts the levels automatically at those points on playback or mixing.



I highly recommend that everyone try mixing in Audacity, especially Micro BR and BR-80 users. The freedom and control it gives you over your final mix is much better than the BR. And it makes bouncing unimportant, so the BR-80's inability to change levels during a bounce really doesn't matter if you're going to do your final mix in Audacity.  Try it - you'll like it!

Effects - Whether a patch is stereo or not depends on the effects that are used in that patch. The original Micro BR only has two stereo effects - Auto Pan and Tap Delay. The BR-80 has at least four - Pan, Chorus, Pan Delay, and Double/Harmony. The Flanger effect might be stereo too but I can't tell for sure from the manual's description. Since the BR-80 has at least twice as many stereo effects as the original Micro BR, it will have a lot more preset patches that are stereo because they use those stereo effects.

[Oldrottenhead]

i often do the same thing in cubase.and import the individual wavs from my mbr to cubase,  but despite seeing all my tracks etc it doesn't compare to mastering on my mbr.

rather than say mixing 8 tracks in cubase as a final mixdown. i break them up into 4 seperate stereo tracks then mix down each 4 stereo tracks and then reimport the individual mixdowns to my mbr and get far superior results than mixing in a daw alone.

i know that soesnt make sense but it does to me.

8 tracks in mbr into cubase.

track 1 and 2 mixedown
track 3 and 4 mixdown etc
all in cubase.

then i have 4 stereo wavs
reimport into mbr
still have a couple of bounces and it seems a lot of work but the mbr just is so much better sounding than any daw.

my main impulse for purchasing the br80 is i wont have the bother of having to import stuff to a daw. as it has 8 tracks. but not being able to change in mastering and bounce modes imho is a major flaw. perhaps i will be better of buying another mbr and doing the osckilo infinity chain thing.

[64Guitars]

i often do the same thing in cubase.and import the individual wavs from my mbr to cubase,  but despite seeing all my tracks etc it doesn't compare to mastering on my mbr.

rather than say mixing 8 tracks in cubase as a final mixdown. i break them up into 4 seperate stereo tracks then mix down each 4 stereo tracks and then reimport the individual mixdowns to my mbr and get far superior results than mixing in a daw alone.

You don't need to do all those mixes to master it in the Micro BR. Try this instead. Mix everything in cubase down to one stereo pair. Import that stereo pair into the Micro BR on tracks 1 and 2. Set the levels of tracks 3 and 4 to minimum so whatever's on them won't be included in the mix. If you've already included your drum track in the cubase mix, then set the BR's drum machine levels to minimum so it won't be included. Now master as usual using your favourite mastering preset.

[Oldrottenhead]

i know i didnt explain myself very well.
and i know what you mean.
but the way i describe is a 1000% better. even if i cant explain it in english it is and always will be.

there is a something inside the mbr, a ghost in the machine or something, but everything sounds better in it.  could be that my pc has a crap soundcard. tho i dont think so. turtle beach make reasonable cards.

the wee silver box has magic in it.

[Gnasty]

That`s a great review Geir!! It`s a perfect explanation.

I have said this before and in case anyone missed my opinion i think the br-80 is a lot better than the mbr. My track recordings just sound better and i think it is less effortless. The downfalls are not being able to bounce
effects after recording and like Geir said about the drums the default to break is very
annoying especially when they made it a way which is so much faster. I really don`t want to
use br drums anymore but if its 4/4 time i like to use them as a template for getting a feel for how i want my
drums and song to sound. The condenser mics are the plus for me. They just pick up more detail and it
took me a bit to figure a good way to use them. When it comes to live recordings it is 10x better than mbr so i think you`d love that Greeny. The reverb on this machine kills the mbr as well. I would like to go into more detail too but i have not much time right now.

When it comes to the whole mix, i do the same as 64 and use DAW. I just find it easier to look at my tracks and can change and tweak at anytime. I think the reason why they don`t let you bounce levels is because the br-80 comes with sonar lite i guess. They want you to use it and maybe upgrade so they make more money. There`s always some kinda niche to why in the business world. If it`s too good to be true it always is, but my feeling is that this is the greatest smallest recorder on the market right now.

I say BUY IT!! to judge yourself.

[64Guitars]

there is a something inside the mbr, a ghost in the machine or something, but everything sounds better in it.  could be that my pc has a crap soundcard. tho i dont think so. turtle beach make reasonable cards.

But your soundcard doesn't affect the mix in cubase. It's done digitally by the computer and will turn out exactly the same whether you have a crappy $10 soundcard or a top-of-the-line Turtle Beach card. It might not sound great when you listen to it through a crappy soundcard, but when you import that same mix into the BR, it should sound the same as if you'd mixed it on the BR.

I can understand someone wanting to do their mastering on the BR in order to use its mastering effects. But mastering effects should only be applied once to the final mix. Whether you create that pre-mastering final mix in the BR or in a DAW shouldn't have a noticeable effect on the sound quality.

[Oldrottenhead]

the mbr has magic in it

it does

the fact that soundcard is irrelevant in daw

convinces me further of magic in mbr.

i think i might start a new religion.

first collection buys 64 an mbr so he can experience da magic.

back me up mbr owners

[Oldrottenhead]

I can understand someone wanting to do their mastering on the BR in order to use its mastering effects.

bouncing in mbr is crystal clear compared to a daw despite not being able to see the wav. it is so hard to explain, but to my ears daw doesnt compare.

[Gnasty]

the mbr has magic in it

it does

the fact that soundcard is irrelevant in daw

convinces me further of magic in mbr.

i think i might start a new religion.

first collection buys 64 an mbr so he can experience da magic.

back me up mbr owners

Oh geez you drinking again? Get tae ur bed!!!