The Pusher

[jimsz]

Hi Folks,

First of all, I want to thank everyone here and especially 64Guitars for helping me understand the BR900 so much better. I haven't had a lot of time to look at the software provided by 64Guitars as I've been working on a tune, "The Pusher" by Hoyt Axton.

I was hoping to present the tune in its entirety but have had a couple of stumbling blocks thrown at me recently. Firstly, I was not happy with any of the guitar effects of the BR900 for what I wanted to accomplish in the song using slide guitar, they just didn't cut it. I'm currently looking at alternatives to recording that track most likely setting up and 'mic'ing my amp. As well, there is supposed to be a saxophone solo between verse 2 and 3 and some smaller sax additions throughout the song, but when our sax player came over to record the track, he found his sax had problems with sticking pads and has to take it in for repair. We also learned he has to transpose his sax charts to the guitar tracks.

So, at this time, I have a drum track using the BR900 for as close to the sound of drums I wanted, a bass track, a guitar rhythm track and a vocal track that I'm fairly happy with. The drum track will eventually be replaced by our drummer. And, it will sound fantastic as he is one of the best amateur drummers in our part of the world. We are very lucky to be working with him.

I would like to download this version here for all to listen and maybe play around with themselves and give me some feedback, but am not sure what steps to take to get it here. Once again, I ask for a little help.

This is an entirely different version than Steppenwolf's which has always been floating around in my pea brain for some time, but it is also only recently I learned how to play the chords in the song correctly. Thanks to Siggi (on YouTube) for that.

[64Guitars]

See these messages to learn how to post your song:

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3609.msg94354#msg94354

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3609.msg94851#msg94851

[jimsz]

Thanks once again, Sir! I should probably stop searching the site and just search under your userid.  You've got all the answers.

One thing I noticed is that the majority of tutorials are for the Micro BR. Can I follow any given set of these instructions for the BR900? Are there any differences or issues I should be aware? If not, then the tune should be up and running in no time.

[64Guitars]

All of the BRs are very similar and most discussions here can be applied to all of them with some very minor adjustments. The BR-900, BR-864, and BR-600 are especially similar and have nearly identical file layouts, effects, presets, etc. The Micro BR and BR-532 are somewhat less similar since they only have 4 playback tracks and their drum machines don't support pattern editing. But, apart from that, they're very similar to the other BRs in features and usage.

[jimsz]

That's great news. Did a quick mix to tracks 7/8 and put those on 4shared, converted to mp3 and have it up in the Covers section. Once I get the rest done, I'll delete the file there and put a finished product up. Now, this is starting to get fun. Thanks for all the help. Cheers.

[jimsz]

Sorry to be such a pain, but what does it mean when I get the error message, "Disc Not Ready" whenever I put a disc into the BR900? Any disc, blank or with music. It never did that before.

[64Guitars]

It means that the BR-900 thinks there is no CD in the drive. Since this just started happening, it's possible that the CD drive has developed a defect and will need to be repaired or replaced. But it's also possible that some dirt or a tiny piece of paper, etc. is blocking the optical disc detection mechanism. Try opening the CD drive tray and, with no disc in the tray, blow into the slot to dislodge any dirt, etc. If that doesn't solve the problem, phone Roland tech support and ask their advice. If they want you to send the BR-900 to them for repair, ask the cost and time required to repair it. If it's too expensive or will take too long, consider using your BR-900 without the CD drive - it's not necessary. You can copy songs to your computer via USB and burn them to CDs using your computer's CD burner instead. Alternatively, you might be able to replace the BR-900's drive yourself if you're good with that sort of thing and can find one of the same type (or order it from Roland).

[jimsz]

Blowing into the slot didn't seem to do anything. On closer inspection with a magnifying glass, everything inside looks pretty clean and okay, but I keep getting that error message. I also noticed the drive spins round several times making a bit of clunking noise before I see the message. I used the drive some time ago where it worked fine and only tried to use it again now. Not sure what might have happened since then...

Roland said it would be close to about $150 by the time the dust settles to replace the disc drive. They're about an hours drive from here and said if I made an appointment, they could replace it while I waited. They think the drive is hooped after asking me some questions and doing some testing.

I think I'll go with your suggestion for now and use a computer to burn discs. Thanks for the help!