Playing MP3/WMA backing tracks on a BR800 ?

[wyvernwood]

Hi,

following some good advice here, I purchased a BR800 and am just starting to feel my way around with it.

I have a number of MP3 (some with WMA alternate versions) backing tracks that I purchased a while back - is there a way of bringing them onto the BR800 and assigning them to a channel ? - or even to simply have them playing as a backing to allow me to play over them ?

Thanks,
Martin

[64Guitars]

Congratulations on your new BR-800. I'm sure you'll gets lots of pleasure from it.

I have a number of MP3 (some with WMA alternate versions) backing tracks that I purchased a while back - is there a way of bringing them onto the BR800 and assigning them to a channel ? - or even to simply have them playing as a backing to allow me to play over them ?

Not directly. The BR-800, like most other BRs, can only import WAV or AIFF files. But that's no problem. There are plenty of programs around that can convert your MP3 and WMA files to WAV or AIFF format. Many of us here use Audacity because it's a great program and it's free. You'll also need to install LAME and FFmpeg to work with MP3 and WMA files. Then just import your MP3 or WMA file into Audacity and export it as a 16-bit, 44.1kHz WAV file.You can then import the WAV file into the BR-800 using the BR Wave Converter software.

There are other conversion programs that might be more convenient (Switch or fre:ac, for example) but you'll need Audacity (or something similar) anyway to trim and normalize your finished mixes, so you might as well use it for MP3/WMA conversions too.

Backing tracks are a great tool for learning and practising. But when it comes to recording songs, I'd recommend skipping the backing tracks and doing everything yourself. It's a lot more fun and far more rewarding, and the BR-800 makes it fairly easy with its built-in drum machine and Guitar-to-Bass effect. If you own a bass guitar, that's even better. But the point is that the BR-800 has everything a guitarist needs to be a one-man-band and record their entire song themselves. That's really the whole point of owning a multitrack studio, isn't it? And, if you post your finished songs here at Songcrafters, you'll find that people are more supportive of the work you've done entirely yourself than they might be if you use backing tracks in your recordings. Personally, I'd much rather hear a simple, repetitive drum beat from the BR drum machine and a simple bass line from the BR's Guitar-to-Bass effect than elaborate drum and bass tracks played by uncredited professional musicians on a backing track. And don't forget that there are lots of people here who will happily collaborate with you on your music. So, rather than using backing tracks to record with, you could collaborate with other Songcrafters who could provide bass, drums, keyboards, vocals, or whatever you need.

[wyvernwood]

Many thanks for the reply and information.

Managed to get a few tracks into WAV format (used WMP and ripped to WAV format) - and got them onto the BR800 - so thank you for the pointers.

I'll download Audacity later on - it seems to come highly recommended - it will be much handier to convert MP3s directly.

I dropped the WAV files onto the SD card - under 'sketches' - the only way I seem to be able to access them is then via the 'song sketch' option on the BR800. Is there a way of dropping a WAV onto one of the tracks and therefore being able to control the mix / level in comparison to the input - and also record/add other tracks with it ?

The backing tracks that I have are all based around learning / tutorials - not really for mixing / making my own tracks. I'll certainly want to get hands on it putting my own stuff together (it's why I went for the BR800). The bass effect (I don't have a bass guitar) is great - the bass effect isn't perfect, but it certainly adds some punch to simple songs.

I have a couple of other queries on the BR800 - but for ease of other people finding them - I'll put them in another post.

Thanks again for the information,
Martin

[64Guitars]

I dropped the WAV files onto the SD card - under 'sketches' - the only way I seem to be able to access them is then via the 'song sketch' option on the BR800. Is there a way of dropping a WAV onto one of the tracks and therefore being able to control the mix / level in comparison to the input - and also record/add other tracks with it?

Use the BR Wave Converter software. It's included on the DVD-ROM that comes with the BR-800, or you can download the latest version from the Roland website: http://www.roland.com/support/article/?q=downloads&p=BR-800. It can be used to export tracks from your BR songs to WAV files, or to import WAV files from your computer to a BR song. When a WAV file is imported to a track or track pair in a song, it can be used exactly like any other track. You can record other tracks along with it and mix them all together.

Here is the BR Wave Converter manual: http://lib.roland.co.jp/support/en/downloads/res/62121891/BR_Wave_Converter_Manual_Win_E.pdf

You can also import WAV files from Song Sketch mode to a track pair. See page 108 of the BR-800 manual.