Audacity: How do I start

[JMD2010]

Having heard of Audacity on the Songcrafters site I have downloaded it onto my pc.
Now what?
I have absolutely no idea what to do next.
I don't know how to plug in, where to plug in or what to plug in.
I don't even know what the plug would look like if I had one to plug in.
I record with a BR-1200 and I also have a Micro-Br.
I burn my stuff straight to CD but I feel like I'm missing out on something.
Your help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

John

[64Guitars]

There's nothing to plug in (other than a USB cable) unless you plan to do all of your recording on the computer. What most BR users do instead, is record their tracks on the BR and import them into Audacity for final mixing and editing. Here's how:

• Download and install the BR Wave Converter, if you haven't already. You'll find it here:
  
  http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=699
  
  
• Connect your BR to your computer with a USB cable, then start the BR Wave Converter. Follow the directions in the BR Wave Converter manual to export your BR tracks to your computer as WAV files.
  
  
• Open Audacity. From the File menu, select Import/Audio (or just press Ctrl-Shift-I) and import all of the WAV files you converted in the previous step.
  
  
• Click the Play button in Audacity to hear your tracks. If you want to mix them, select Mixer Board from the View menu.

If you want to start with something simpler, you can mix your tracks on the BR and just export those two tracks as a stereo WAV file using the BR Wave Converter. Then import that WAV file into Audacity and use it to trim/fade the ends and export the finished song as an MP3.

[JMD2010]

Thanks for the info, I'll give it a go.

John

[henwrench]

Yea just do what 64 says. With this invaluable help, I really started getting the best out of everything...

                                            henwrench

[Pine]

I don't think there is any need to download the converter as the BR1200 is already set up to export/import WAV files directly. The BR1600 is a similar set up.

[64Guitars]

You're right. The BR wave converter is not strictly necessary because most of the BRs can export their tracks directly to WAV files. However, most people find it easier and faster to use the BR Wave Converter for this task. For one thing, when exporting directly from the BR, you have to do one track at a time. This can take a while if you're exporting a lot of tracks. But, with the BR Wave Converter, you can select all of the tracks at once and it will export them all to individual files as a batch operation. Much faster and easier!

[Kevin Mammoth]

You're right. The BR wave converter is not strictly necessary because most of the BRs can export their tracks directly to WAV files. However, most people find it easier and faster to use the BR Wave Converter for this task. For one thing, when exporting directly from the BR, you have to do one track at a time. This can take a while if you're exporting a lot of tracks. But, with the BR Wave Converter, you can select all of the tracks at once and it will export them all to individual files as a batch operation. Much faster and easier!

Gold!!!  Having gone through the "one track at a time" process with my BR1600, I will be downloading the BR wave converter for sure, thanks for the tip 64G.

[64Guitars]

Gold!!!  Having gone through the "one track at a time" process with my BR1600, I will be downloading the BR wave converter for sure, thanks for the tip 64G.

Unfortunately, the BR Wave Converter is not compatible with the BR-1600 and BR-1200. According to the manual...

"Wave converter 2.0 is compatible for use with the MicroBR, BR-532, BR-600, BR-864, and BR-900. It will not work with hard drive based BR recorders such as the BR-1200 or BR-1600."

I think the file and folder names are different with the hard drive based recorders. Also, they support some data types that aren't available in the memory card based recorders, and the BR Wave Converter doesn't support those data types.

You can buy a program that will convert your BR-1600 or BR-1200 tracks to WAV files.

http://www.topsoundproductions.com/products/wav-maker-1600/index.htm

It costs US $39.99 plus shipping and handling.

You might want to contact Roland and ask them why they don't supply a free wave converter program for their flagship recorders. Maybe if enough BR1600/1200 users asked for it they'd make one available for download.

[64Guitars]

I forgot to mention that there is also a free wave converter program for the BR-8...

http://www.rolandus.com/support/downloads_updates/eula.php?FileName=br8wavconvert.zip

And the BR-800 comes with a wave converter program on the included DVD-ROM, although it is not yet available for download. I don't know if it's any different from BR Wave Converter 2.0 for the Micro BR/532/600/864/900.

[Pine]

i guess it's easy to see that i have yet to integrate by BR1200 with my PC other than to upload files via CD for conversion to MP3 and posting. Someday, i'm gonna get some software and a pc or laptop for my studio...which is at the opposite end of the house from where i am sitting right now. Thanks for all the good info 64. You know your stuff.