Upgrade to '1200?

[Frank53]

I posted this in the BR-1200 forum as well. I currently have a BR-900CD that I've been using for a few years. I have an opportunity to buy a '1200 for 20% off, or about $720US. I'm sure I can sell my '900 (with some extra 1GB cards) for $300-400. Is it worth the upgrade???

Frank

[Pine]

Having never owned a 900, that's hard for me to say Frank....but personally i would tend to shy away from yet another possible learning curve for the sake of a couple extra tracks. perhaps there is more than that though. i seem to recall somebody on here who has both...perhaps they will read this and post. perhaps there are more and different effects and the whole drum /bass thing could be different as well. Guess i'm not being much help here...
   I know that i am very happy with my 1200 and would never consider upgrading to a 1600 for my situation.

[64Guitars]

How long do you have to decide? Roland is announcing some new products on September 1, 2009 (just 2 weeks from today). The Roland UK website says that the new products will include "desktop home-studio gear". That could very well mean new recorders. If the features of the new recorders are way better than the BR-1200's and at a very attractive price, you might regret it if you don't wait. I wonder if the BR-1200s are being discounted because they're about to be replaced?

See: https://songcrafters.org/community/general-discussion-b8/summer-namm-2009/msg46049/#msg46049.

The BR-1200 certainly has some nice features. I especially like the three rotary controls under the display. These can be used for adjusting effects parameters. But, personally, I'd wait to see what's coming from Roland in two weeks.

[Frank53]

Thanks, guys. I have a 20% coupon from MF, expires 8/31/09 (figures). I'll see what I can find out about new models. I've been kind of waiting that out, but NAMM after NAMM I've seen nothing. LOL!

Charlie, I like the extra tracks, the HD vs. those little cards I have to keep swapping out, and the the parameter controls, and 64 said. Also, if I upgrade, I assumed this would be the easiest learning curve; as opposed to going to another brand or a software based system. I guess I'll ruminate a bit, and see what happens.

Frank

[64Guitars]

Thanks, guys. I have a 20% coupon from MF, expires 8/31/09 (figures). I'll see what I can find out about new models. I've been kind of waiting that out, but NAMM after NAMM I've seen nothing. LOL!

I know how you feel about the NAMM shows. I've been expecting new recorders from Roland for a couple of years now, but every NAMM show they let me down.

But I think the Sept 1 announcement could be different since they specifically said "desktop home-studio gear" on the UK site. Of course, that could be interpreted a number of ways (mixers, audio interfaces, microphones, etc) but the first thing that comes to my mind is new recorders. I hope they don't let me down again.

I like the extra tracks, the HD vs. those little cards I have to keep swapping out

Personally, I prefer memory cards to hard drives. The only problem is the 1GB limit. I can't believe that Roland would be stupid enough to release a new recorder with that same limit. I expect that any new machines will use SDHC cards. According to Wikipedia, "the current standard limits the maximum capacity of an SDHC card to 32 GB. It is expected that the SDHC specification will be revised in the future to allow card capacities greater than 32 GB".

[hooper]

I have a 20% coupon from MF, expires 8/31/09.

MF sent you a coupon worth 20% off?  MF must consider you a better friend than me...    They sent me a coupon worth $20 (no strings attached) expires 8/31/09.  Not really in the buying mood right now so I bought a $19.95 Yamaha recorder (you know, like a little flute) Working on seranade for a cukoo....

[Geir]

I have a Korg D16, and one of the main reasons I don't use it much is the hard-drive. If I'm recording vox I have to use a 5m mic cable and go in another room to avoid the noise from the HD. I guess a BR1200 is more quiet, but still a thing to consider I guess