New BR model - the BR-800

[64Guitars]

Sorry. I was talking about the BR-80 on the midi clock issue, not the BR-800. I'll try to find the demo video.

[64Guitars]

Yes, there is a rhythm editor that runs on the pc that allows you to create patterns and even use your own sounds (in five drumkits).  You can run the rhythm editor directly connected to the BR-800, or use the rhythm editor independently and copy the directory over later (the "ROLAND" directory should be in the root directory of Drive C:)

And, when this new update becomes available, you should be able to create and edit custom patterns directly in the BR-800. At least, that's one of the new features that Roland Germany says will be included in the update.

You can then arrange these patterns into a song (but each song has a single time signature, although odd time signatures are allowed).

Although I haven't tried it, I think multiple time signatures are allowed. The time signature is specified when you create the pattern and it's stored in each step of the arrangement. I don't see any reason why you couldn't have a 4/4 pattern in one step, a 3/4 pattern in the next step, and a 7/8 pattern in the one after that. But, as I said, I haven't tried it so I can't promise that it will work. Although, if it doesn't work, I find it very strange that they'd store the time signature in each step if they all have to be the same. That would be a waste of space.

An easy way to test it is to create a test arrangement with the metronome patterns since they are the only preset patterns that have non-4/4 time signatures. If it will play an arrangement where step 1 is Metro 4/4 and step 2 is Metro 3/4, then I'm sure it will work with custom patterns too.

[64Guitars]

Well, I just watched about nine BR-80 demo videos and didn't hear anything about midi clock. So maybe I'm mistaken. I thought I heard it somewhere. If I stumble across it again, I'll let you know.

[BuleriaChk]

I the JS-8 documentation is pretty consistent with what Roland says about the BR-80.  And in my experience with Roland, if they don't brag about it, it ain't there....

(The one exception in my experience is the GT-10, where the manual doesn't mention you can move the USB output to the front of the effects chain, so you can record dry while monitoring the effects and then re-amp....).....

They are always so near.. and yet so far....  Nevertheless, the BR-800 is very, very good, although I wish they hadn't gone to the touch screen....

[kc2ine]

Nevertheless, the BR-800 is very, very good, although I wish they hadn't gone to the touch screen....

you can touch the screen actually.

BTW, I'd rather have old fashion way buttons like in BR1600 for transport ect then
those touch flat buttons. Do they have at least click or something so you know you actually pressed them?

[kc2ine]

also why there is a 6 faders for 8 track??? for mixing down that can be a pain,
why roland couldn't add 1 or 2 inches to the unit width and include those 2 faders?
Smaller not always is better...

[RickoRockoFull]

I`ve had my BR800 for a week now, it`s OK....BUT! it is NOT an eight track--tracks 5/6 and 7/8 are sterio tracks and cannot be separated,,and I`ve tried EVERYTHING,,,so disappointed,,,I really needed an eith track not a SIX track, so be careful ,,so I`ve gone back to my BIG old reliable Fostex VL-8, and just use the BR800 as an in line effests loop to the Fostex,,,gonna complain to ROLAND!!! false advertizing, I`d gladly take my money back!

[Bluesberry]

Hi RickoRockoFull.........glad to have you aboard.......lots of folks on here reasonably happy with their BR-800......I say give it a chance, do up a song on it......it seems like BOSS does that a lot with all the BR machines, bundle the last two or 4 tracks as stereo only, no way to separate them....my BR-1200 is the same way.  I use the 9/10 for drums and 11/12 as my bounce destination.  It works out fine for my needs.

[pjd1]

With regards to the "not an 8 track machine" , i had some issues with that as well when i purchased the unit , thought i could split the stereo track and pan left and right but no joy ,, it is to me and 6 track and always will be , but that is a minor issue with regards to the sounds/patches and usability,

Dunny 

[64Guitars]

The BR-800 is a 64-track recorder with a built-in 8-channel stereo mixer. All 64 tracks are mono. There's really no such thing as a stereo track. When you record in stereo, you're recording to two tracks, not one, and it makes little difference whether the levels of these two tracks are controlled by one fader or two. So, the fact that four of the mixer section's input channels are controlled by only two faders should not be seen as a limitation. It would be very unusual to record 8 tracks with none of the inputs being stereo. The BR-800's built-in mics are stereo and must be recorded to two tracks to get the benefit. Many of the BR-800's guitar effects are stereo and must be recorded to two tracks to get the benefit. Many input sources such as keyboards, electronic drums, etc. are stereo and must be recorded to two tracks. So, whenever you record in stereo, use mixer channels 5/6 or 7/8. This offers the convenience of controlling the level of both channels simultaneously with a single fader. When you record in mono (guitar with mono effects, bass, vocals, etc.), use mixer channels 1 through 4.

As you become more familiar with your BR-800 and learn more about mixing and bouncing, you'll realise that the fader assignments are not a limitation and are actually quite practical.

If Roland is guilty of false advertising, it's for claiming that the BR-800 has only 8 tracks when, in fact, it has 64 tracks. I think this confuses end users. But we can hardly criticise Roland for giving us more tracks than they advertised, can we? And an 8-channel mixer is still an 8-channel mixer, regardless of how many faders it has.

I think that most beginners who regard channels 5/6 and 7/8 as a limitation are making a couple of mistakes. Firstly, I think they're often recording everything in mono despite the fact that many of their input sources are stereo. Stereo input sources should almost always be recorded to two tracks, and channels 5/6 and 7/8 are ideal for this. The most often overlooked stereo input source is the BR's effects. Delay and modulation effects (phaser, chorus, flanger, pan, octave, etc.) are stereo. If you only record them to one track, the two output channels of the effects are combined into a single channel and the rich stereo panorama is lost. The other mistake which I think beginners often make is that they ignore bouncing. In doing so, their 64-track recorder effectively becomes an 8-track recorder since they cannot make use of the other 56 tracks without learning about bouncing. This, combined with their desire to record everything in mono, leads them to see channels 5/6 and 7/8 as a limitation.

See this page for more info on v-tracks and bouncing:

https://songcrafters.org/64guitars/BR/Tutorials/V-Tracks_and_Bouncing.html

It was originally written with the BR-864 in mind, and then the BR-600, so it's a bit out of date. But everything there still applies to the BR-800. Just the display images and button names may be slightly different.

And experiment with the BR-800's effects. Read the effects section of the manual and pay attention to which effects are stereo and which are mono. Then try recording some stereo effects both in stereo and in mono and note the difference. I think that will convince you that you need to record in stereo a lot more often than you might have thought. And channels 5/6 and 7/8 are ideal for this.