Who has a BR900CD?

[Kody]

Hello, I've been in this here community for awhile....I've yet to find anyone here who has a BR900!! I bought mine when they were fairly new~ before the invention of the micro br... I'm very happy to say I have them both now.  I thought it would be cool to see who has a BR900~So we could do collabs or share recording techniques, etc... So, do YOU have a BR900cd???

[Bluesberry]

So what is the deal with the 900CD.  I am thinking of getting a bigger unit, either the 600, or 900cd, or maybe even the 1200CD?  I am just thinking about it right now.  What makes the 900CD a better unit than the 600, is it worth the extra money?  Do you ever wish you had the next one up (1200CD).  What do you think Kody?  If money was no object which one would you have?

[Kody]

Well, one of the biggest differences are inputs~ The BR900 has 2 XLRs, 1 TRS, 1 HZ Guitar Input, and RCA Line in...You still can't mic up a whole drum kit and track each individual drum/mic, but I like having atleast 1 XLR.(also includes Phantom Power)  I know the br600 doesn't have XLRs. The BR900 also has more effects.  I'm totally in love with mine.  It can actually be powered by batteries, but I never go that route.  I'm not sure on the br600, but the br900 uses Compact Flash cards instead of SD. Only 1 GB of course.  I got mine before I bought a computer, so the ability to make a CD right in the machine appealed to me, and was worth the extra money at the time.  You can also use the CD drive to backup Song Data so you can recover it later~ Very cool... It saves all of your tracks and settings right on a CD. Then you can delete you tracks~pop the CD in~ And recover your stuff very easily... 

But, with a PC and cable adapters, etc...you can work around alot the stuff I have mentioned above...

The screen displays get bigger as the price tag goes up w/ the BR line~ I'm satisfied with the BR900's display~ some people think it's too small, but the br600's is even smaller..

If money was no object~ I'd go with something that has more inputs, so you could mic up a drum kit...Even if you think you won't ever need to do that, if the chance comes along, your screwed(unless you have electronic drums). I went ahead and purchased a Firewire mixer with 12 channels and some recording software for serving that purpose~ If I had thought myself through better, I should have bought the BR1600 to start with...

I can see how you personally would love the BR1200~ Though it doesn't have many more inputs, it has a more in depth Rhythm Arranger...Not only drums, but full out Grooves w/ bass lines~ But, theres always that fear that as soon as you spend that much money, Boss will come out with something better, or it will break down, etc.. All I can say is I bought my BR900 in 2005, I said some prayers that it will last forever, and so far so good~ These machines have got to be better than what alot of famous bands had in the old days...

The one thing that remains in my mind while I'm writing all of this is the Micro BR~ It really holds it own against the big boys, and I think it's the only one that handles MP3s~ But if you want to step up, I'd say the bigger(the more expensive) the better~ More inputs, more effects, more options, and little better sound quality than the MBR. If money was no object, I go get myself a BR1600 right now!!

[hewhoiscalledj]

I just have my MicroBR but my next purchase will be a Yamaha AW1600 or AW2400. 8 or 16 inputs (8 w/ XLR and 48v), 24bit output w/ 32 bit internal processing, a USB2.0 port for uploading to a computer for further mixing/mastering, actual faders (100mm moving faders for automation on the 2400), a 40gig built in drive (upgradeable) and some pretty sweet built-in preamps and individual compressors for each channel... Hello gorgeous.

I'm just torn between the 1600 and 2400 because of the huge price difference and my desire for upgradeability and flexibility. At the end of the day, the 1600 can do what i need (mic a whole drum kit or have more detailed live band recordings)

No way I'll ever get rid of the MicroBR though. Like you said, it holds its own very well.

[Kody]

It does sound like they'd be good~ They have good reviews too I see....Seem to be made of high quality...

I don't know about motorized faders though~I can just see them wearing out quickly~skeptical I guess...automation would be great though~ you could produce some great stuff!!

[hewhoiscalledj]

yeah, i considered the issue with "more" moving parts but come on!, automated faders man! it's like a touch of black magic to my already dark laboratory of noise.

i'm not so far gone that i think better gear will get me a better recording. only better music can really do that. but, i have gone beyond the limits of my precious MicroBR. if anything else, i want a piece of gear that i can hook all my mics to in one shot.

we'll see what happens.

[Frank53]

Hey, Kody! Looks like you've finally got company with the '900. I've had mine for a couple years, and it serves my meager purposes quite well. Kinda wish I had a '1200, but it's a little priey for an upgrade at this point.

I've noticed that they aren't really promoting '900's and '1200's anymore. I wonder if Boss is preparing to release a new line.  )

Later,
Frank

[T.C. Elliott]

I'll join the club. Another BR-900

[SteveB]

And me as well 

Although I do have the Br1200 also. But the reason is here, as I've said elsewhere, is that the 900 & the 1200 also have the RCA ins/outs, so if you link this to the Boss880 drum machine which also as the RCAs - linking is as sweet as a nut, and yer not fiddling around with all sorts of other cables. So IF you upgrade to the 1200 keep yer 900 too. The 1600 doesn't have the RCA ins. 

I've kept my eye on the news from Boss for years - and I wouldn't bet on them bringing any new (Larger) BRs out. I think they'll just upgrade the Versions/Software etc. Unless a rival introduces something radical. And as I've also said, at some point, the technology becomes defeating, there's only so much you NEED. The rest is Talent, Luck, Perseverence etc.

[SteveB]

So what is the deal with the 900CD.  I am thinking of getting a bigger unit, either the 600, or 900cd, or maybe even the 1200CD?  I am just thinking about it right now.  What makes the 900CD a better unit than the 600, is it worth the extra money?  Do you ever wish you had the next one up (1200CD). 

BB - I know that these things eventually come down to personal preferences etc, but I have the 900 & the 1200, and I wouldn't swap them both just to get some extra tracks with the 1600. Both the 900 & the 1200 have RCA ins & outs, as does the Boss880 drum m/ch (RCA outs) and it makes connecting these machines together a dream. With the built-in drum machine, the 900 effectively becomes a ten-straight-track recorder - and then you've got the 64 V-tracks. Y'know, at some point someone's gotta say, whoa, do I REALLY need 64 tracks just to make one song? Imagine all the great songs in rock/pop/blues history that have been recorded on 1 or two tracks? If you do want to move up then the 900 is a great machine, and there's a version upgrade available via the Boss website which gives more effects patches. Good luck with your decision.