Workaround to apply COSM to a prerecorded track on the BR-80?

[norlesh]

So I think the title is self explanetory - Ultimately I would have loved it if I could select which tracks in MTR are routed to the effect unit as I playback and optionally record/bounce to a new track. After going through the manual obviously that aint happening short of a Roland firmware update / the apocolypse... So that being the case is anyone aware of a workaround short of exporting everything to a DAW?

One possibility I am consiering is to make a patch cable from the line_out to the mic_in to atleast be able to bounce to a mono track as the effects destination (unfortunately line_in/aux doesn't seem to be a candidate for the effects unit so stereo is not an option with this method)

Anybody got a better workaround that doesn't require an external cable? Even better could sombody correct me if I misread the manual and what Im after is actually possible - would love to hear it!

[Oldrottenhead]

I don't have a br80 I have amicrobr and a br800. I imagine the br800 is similar. I am not home so not sure if this is possible. Could you master the track or tracks & reassign the mastering effect to a guitar effect or other effect you need. Then treat those tracks as a bounced track. Not sure that makes sense. But on microbr you could change effects to any input even use mastering effects. Like I said not familiar with br80 & still getting to grips with br800.

[Geir]

Sadly it is not possible on the br80. Roland did a few mistakes on the br80 and this is one of the most serious ones imho.

[norlesh]

Oldrottenhead: the BR80 doesn't allow general purpose effects to be applied during mastering - it has a seperate set of mastering patches which all seem to be variations on the one effect.

Geir: always bugs me that hardware manufacturers manage to convince there customers to accept that the boat has sailed as far as software design blunders are concerned given that pretty much every product brought to market since USB arrived on the scene has been firmware upgradable [if they could be assed].

While I am realistic enough not to expect updates once they stop selling them, as far as I can tell there isn't any immediate plans for Boss/Roland to stop selling the BR-80 so it would just make for good customer relations for them to fix any glaring omissions in there fimware since there still making money on the product.

but why do that when they can sell an entirely new 'EX' version with the same hardware in a different box? [SP-808EX i'm lookin at you!] ... appologies for the rant folks

[64Guitars]

I would forget about using COSM effects on pre-recorded tracks and just process the track on your computer instead. There are lots of great effects available as VST plug-ins and standalone programs, and there are several excellent programs available for amp simulation. So just export your pre-recorded track from the BR as a WAV file and apply effects on the computer. Then you can import the processed WAV file back into the BR for mixing. Or you can export all of your tracks from the BR to the computer and do your mixing on the computer. The BR-80 comes with SONAR X1 LE on the DVD. It should be excellent for mixing your tracks, and it may be very good for effects too (though I've never used it as I don't have a BR-80). If SONAR X1 LE can handle VST plug-ins, there are plenty of great effects you can find online.

[norlesh]

64Guitars: What your saying makes complete sense - It just makes me sad though since I really dislike using my computer! The fantasy of the BR-80 was that I would be able to take this thing out of my pocket on the train with some headphones and stuff around creating sound collages - having to rerecord if I decide a different effect really burst that bubble

[64Guitars]

Yes, it's a shame that Boss chose to allow COSM effects only on the guitar and mic inputs of the BR-80. All of the other BR series recorders allow you to apply insert effects to any input, any track, and even the drum machine. The LOCATION setting allows you to select where the effects will be applied. For example, see page 58 of the BR-800 manual.

http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/BR-800_e04.pdf

If you want to avoid using the computer, the only thing I can suggest is to consider trading the BR-80 in for a BR-800. It's bigger than the BR-80 but still quite portable compared to most other recorders, though it requires six AA batteries versus the BR-80's two.

I should point out that being able to apply effects to a track after it's recorded isn't quite as practical as you might hope. For one thing, you have to record your track dry if you want to apply effects to it later. This sounds okay in theory, but in practice it can affect your guitar playing because the sound you hear while you're recording affects how you play. Think about how differently you might play through a distorted, hi-gain amp versus how you'd play through a clean amp or unamplified. With the hi-gain amp, you get lots of sustain and a different feel than you'd get through a clean amp, so you play differently. Many guitarists (myself included) find that it's better to record with effects so that you can adjust your playing accordingly. Also, it requires a fair bit of extra time and effort to apply effects to a track after it's recorded. You have to re-record the track in bounce mode if you want to write the effected signal to a new track. So it takes at least twice as long to record your tracks, and you'll use up more tracks. Most of us think it isn't worth the time and effort. It's something to think about before you rush out to buy a BR-800 or some other recorder just to get that capability because once you get it, you might just find that you can't be bothered using it.

[norlesh]

I understand what you mean with the guitar playing styles. I have it more in mind for vocals (my voice needs all the help it can get) - as for the BR800 - If I were to make the change (the BR80 was meant to be a replacement for my DP-008 which doesn't have effects) I think I would look at the Zoom R8 instead since it has a built in drum machine (with pads to make your own beats), sample looping and proper control over where effects are applied... Oh well the BR80 can sit in the guitar bag for headphone practice