using boss micro with iMac

[Ted]

Ted,  I'm hoping to hear this when you finish it.  Is it an original or is it the spirit of Yip coming back?

Actually, it's an original in the spirit of Francis Scott Key.

[Tony]

Somehow Francis Scott Key and Yip Harburg don't go together in my mind.  But this is definitely something I know very little about.

[Tony]

Further to 64Guitars introducing the LMMS (which I still haven't got working on the Mac), I've been giving drum tracks some thought.  One way of using Garageband would be as a compiler for drum tracks that you develop with the BR-900CD Rhythm Editor.  I thought the Rhythm Editor was too laborious until I started fooling with it again tonight.  The trick is (as in all things) knowing what sound you want to make.  After an hour I thought is was quite good but not having a BR-900CD means that I can't save the edits I make. So ...

I want to make eight bar drum patterns.  I take a 2 or 4 bar pattern from the Rhythm Editor as a model, fool around and develop a 2 or 4 bar sequence that I like and record it into Garageband. Go back to the Rhythm Editor and develop the other six or four bars and then record them into Garageband.  And in that way I build up the drum track for the song as a whole.  The advantage is that I can hear the whole drum track for the song before I transfer it to the MBR.  I can also add other percussion/whatever instruments that are not in the Rhythm Editor but are in Garageband and save them all as one mp3 file for transfer to the MBR and then they only take up one track of the MBR.

I haven't done a complete song yet but it shouldn't be a problem and it should allow you to get a good sense of the whole song before you've finished the Rhythm Editor/Garageband stage of the proceedings. 

I agree with the general sentiment here that working with the BRs is preferable to working with a computer but this way allows for the computer bits to have some continuity and completion rather than just be used for developing fragments.  I like the idea and it seems to be working out.

[Yuri]

Hi Folks

I have tried to connect my BR to my (wifes!) iMac, with the result that it ALWAYS freezes.  It's a G5 PowerPC model (soon to be updated I think).

Is there any routine that should be followed to ensure the mac continues to operate properly?  I'm connecting through a 4 port USB hub - perhaps I should cut out the middle man?

Advice appreciated.

[Tony]

Cutting out the usb hub would be the first thing I tried.  I have never had any problems but I always follow the same procedure - connect all the cables and then start up the Micro BR, wait until it tells you that it is idling and then begin.

Other than that I have no advice because it has always worked for me.

What OS are you running on the G5?  Although it is supposed to run with OS 9.1 as well as OSX.

[Yuri]

Thanks Mate - I WAS trying to connect with the BR running.

I'll cut out the hub, and try it that way.

Using OS10.something.something...

Cool!

[Yuri]

Tony - thanks mate - the combo of direct connection and your start up routine seems to have resolved the problem.

Chris.