Any advice on whether to go with BR80 or BR800 ?

[Geir]

Three words: portability, portability and portability!

Oh and the drum machine as well is better and more flexible.

[Neo]

You're probably right. Best not to jump in with both feet. Perhaps I should at least keep the 80 for a month or so and see if I use it first ?

With the drum machine, is it just a different way of doing it, or a complete pain that you never get the hang of ? Is the Rhythm Editor a bonus or just a workaround ?

Cheers,

[64Guitars]

With the drum machine, is it just a different way of doing it, or a complete pain that you never get the hang of ? Is the Rhythm Editor a bonus or just a workaround ?

They're pretty similar. The biggest difference is in the way that you specify the length of a step. In the BR-800 and all previous BRs, you had to specify a Starting Measure for each step in the drum arrangement. For example, if you wanted a 2-bar count-in followed by a 12-bar verse and an 8-bar chorus, you'd set the starting measure of step 1 to "1" (this the default and can't actually be changed). Then you'd set the starting measure of step 2 to "3" so that the length of step 1 is 2 measures. You'd then set the starting measure of step 3 to "15" since step 1 is 2 measures long and you want step 2 to be 12 measures long (total=14 measures, so step 3 starts at measure 15). And so on. As you can see, there's a bit of math involved and this is not a very intuitive way to think about your drum arrangement.

With the BR-80, Roland finally got rid of the Starting Measure parameter. Instead, you just specify the length of each step in measures. So the previous example would look like this:

Step	Length
1	2
2	12
3	8

This is much easier for musicians to relate to. And there's no math. Of course, you also have to enter the pattern number and tempo for each step, just as you do with all the other BRs. That hasn't changed.

The BR Rhythm Editor solves the length problem a different way. It displays your arrangement graphically and you can change the length of any step simply by dragging its right edge with the mouse. The BR Rhythm Editor works with the BR-800 and some of the earlier BRs, but not the BR-80 (it doesn't really need it because arrangement editing on the BR-80 itself is easy).

Another minor difference is that the BR-800 and all earlier BRs allowed for 5 separate drum arrangements per song. The BR-80 only allows one arrangement. But I think most people only ever make one arrangement per song anyway, so it's not a problem.

The BR-80 can import standard midi files into a drum pattern. The BR-800 can do that too, but only via the BR Rhythm Editor software.

[Neo]

Thanks 64 for the superb explanation.

I actually think that doesn't sound too bad. So the arranger on the 800 always works from the start of the song and the length of each step is determined by the starting position of the next step.

What happens when you get to the end? Say you picked an 'End' pattern that was one measure long and you wanted to repeat it twice, would you insert a 'Break' three measures on?

[64Guitars]

With the BR-800 and all of the earlier BRs, the last step in the arrangement will always repeat endlessly until you press the STOP button. There is no Stop or End command to end the arrangement. So what you have to do instead is set the pattern of the last step to BREAK. This is a preset pattern that makes no sound. It will still repeat endlessly until you press STOP, but because it's making no sound, the arrangement is effectively ended.

With the BR-80, however, I believe the arrangement will normally end as soon as the last step has completed its specified number of measures (the length parameter). Although, it is possible to make it behave like the older BRs by setting the length parameter of the last step to "---" which will cause that step to repeat endlessly until you press STOP. I think that's how it works anyway. I don't have a BR-80 and I don't have time right now to check the manual as thoroughly as I normally would. So, if I've got it wrong, I hope one of the BR-80 users will correct me.

[Neo]

Three words: portability, portability and portability!

Oh and the drum machine as well is better and more flexible.

Yes yes, ok. I admit I was wrong.

Sold the BR80 (for a profit ), then about 1 month later, bought another - dirt cheap.

Portability, portability, portability.

With the BR800 as well, it's the perfect combination and covers all the angles.