The Official BOSS BR-800 Thread

Did you figure this out? I used an audio tape portastudio decades ago and it had a simple switch for adding reverb after recording so in the mixes I have from those times the added reverb at key points sounds really cool. Not sure how to accomplish this with the BR-800 though. I've just had to set the reverb up front for whole songs.

Punch-in/out when recording is one way. Might be easier to copy the (vocal) track in question to a new track, add the FX, then during bounce/mixdown, use the faders to go from the non-FX track to the FX-track (and back).
 
Try re-reading the manual, page 38: http://lib.roland.co.jp/support/en/manuals/res/39599043/BR-800_e04.pdf

After selecting the source(s), you select which tracks you want to record on. IF recording from two sources (as mono sources), your only choices are 1&2 or 3&4. If you have two sources and want to record them as stereo, you can choose 1&2 or 3&4 or 5/6 or 7/8.

I know that the BR600 had 8 virtual tracks per channel, and you could select which one of those you wanted to use - I assume the Br800 has the same virtual track capability.

I SEE! Now I'm getting somewhere. Thank you! I got in a muddle. You're right I should have read that section over and over. A lot of it goes over my head because it's a totally new lingo. I had it in my head that the default lights on 1 and 2 were fixed.

I've just recorded something using tracks 1 & 2 for the guitar and vocals (completely wrecked my most beautiful song!), then selected 3 & 4 for some lead guitar which means I could only use one of those tracks and the other is wasted - or is it possible to use both for stereo even though the guitar can only go in one input? Then I added some djembe drum using 5 & 6 but it's not in stereo - it only played in the right speaker of my headphones. I then added more vocals using 7 & 8 and had to turn the recording level up.

So the BR-800 is neither a 4 or 8 track recorder but somewhere between? Virtual tracks are discussed on the next page of the manual but, again, it's lost on me. Does it mean that if I keep rerecording over a track I can search for previous recordings and select the one I like best?

I don't understand the difference between 'mono rec,' 'stereo rec' and 'simul rec.' Does it mean that if I'd used tracks 3 & 4 for the drum I could have panned them to make the drum stereo? i.e. using 1 input for 2 tracks makes it stereo whereas 2 inputs would be mono because taking a track each? Why didn't the drum in 5/6 come out in stereo anyway? [Update: OK this was discussed earlier in the thread. I've just recorded another song and added the djembe drum to tracks 3 & 4 making sure that the input source I selected was no 4 in stereo as opposed to mono or simul. As it happens the drum sounds awful anyway so needs to be scrapped. Haha. I probably need a bigger drum although I'm thinking of trying a snare and brushes at some point].

Thrilled to know that I can press 3/4 and actually ADD those tracks to what's been recorded on 1/2 as it plays. :)
 
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Punch-in/out when recording is one way. Might be easier to copy the (vocal) track in question to a new track, add the FX, then during bounce/mixdown, use the faders to go from the non-FX track to the FX-track (and back).

Now that's a cool idea! I can't see me using the mechanical punch in/out function. Right...so that means I can copy the vocal track and have two playing to fill the sound out as well? Then just make the more reverby one louder at those key points. I haven't really found a vocal effect that sounds as radical as that yet though.
 
I SEE! Now I'm getting somewhere. Thank you! I got in a muddle. You're right I should have read that section over and over. A lot of it goes over my head because it's a totally new lingo. I had it in my head that the default lights on 1 and 2 were fixed.

I've just recorded something using tracks 1 & 2 for the guitar and vocals (completely wrecked my most beautiful song!), then selected 3 & 4 for some lead guitar which means I could only use one of those tracks and the other is wasted - or is it possible to use both for stereo even though the guitar can only go in one input? Then I added some djembe drum using 5 & 6 but it's not in stereo - it only played in the right speaker of my headphones. I then added more vocals using 7 & 8 and had to turn the recording level up.

So the BR-800 is neither a 4 or 8 track recorder but somewhere between? Virtual tracks are discussed on the next page of the manual but, again, it's lost on me. Does it mean that if I keep rerecording over a track I can search for previous recordings and select the one I like best?

I don't understand the difference between 'mono rec,' 'stereo rec' and 'simul rec.' Does it mean that if I'd used tracks 3 & 4 for the drum I could have panned them to make the drum stereo? i.e. using 1 input for 2 tracks makes it stereo whereas 2 inputs would be mono because taking a track each? Why didn't the drum in 5/6 come out in stereo anyway? [Update: OK this was discussed earlier in the thread. I've just recorded another song and added the djembe drum to tracks 3 & 4 making sure that the input source I selected was no 4 in stereo as opposed to mono or simul. As it happens the drum sounds awful anyway so needs to be scrapped. Haha. I probably need a bigger drum although I'm thinking of trying a snare and brushes at some point].

Thrilled to know that I can press 3/4 and actually ADD those tracks to what's been recorded on 1/2 as it plays. :)

Mono rec - 1 input, going to one track. This is what you shoudl beusing when recording your guitar plugged directly into the recorder.
Stereo rec - 2 inputs, each going to a separate track. Or going to the stereo 5/6 or 7/8 tracks - this would be where to send the stereo output of an external drum machine.
Simul rec - this is what Boss calls it when recording 4 inputs into 4 separate tracks.

Virtual tracks - more places to record your tracks. So, record your guitar track into track 1, virtual track 1. Not sure you liked your playing? Record another take on track 1, virtual track 2.
During mixdown, you can select which virtual track to send to the mix-down track.

The BR800 is the same as any other stand-alone recorder in that you have multiple inputs you can record at one time (4 in this case) and you can send the inputs to various tracks, mono or stereo. During mixdown, you really have 4 mono tracks and 2 stereo tracks (so they call it '8 tracks'). You can do more tracks than that, but you have to 'bounce' to submixes, and it doesn't sound like you're ready for that.
 
Hello everyone, I bouth a used Br-800 a week ago because the "loop recording" that automatically copies the last record 200 measure I found it very nice feature.
I was guessing and searching, is there no soft Daw that do this automatically? seems pretty simple and seems rare to me that only the Boss does it.
Thanks in advance.
 
Hello everyone, I bouth a used Br-800 a week ago because the "loop recording" that automatically copies the last record 200 measure I found it very nice feature.
I was guessing and searching, is there no soft Daw that do this automatically? seems pretty simple and seems rare to me that only the Boss does it.
Thanks in advance.

Not sure what you're referring to, but it's very easy to copy and paste loops in any DAW. Not sure why you would want to do it 'automatically'.
 
BR-800 CD content

Hi,
I hope I can get some answers in this thread.
I bought an used BR-800 and it didn't come with the CD.
Could someone list the content of the CD here?
Is everything on the CD downloadable from BOSS site?
I tried to find it on the official website, but I don't think they sell replacement CD.
Thanks.
PS.
 
What CD? The manual is on the Boss site if that's what you're looking for.

I guess you also bought a used one.
I found a picture of the DVD that comes with BR-800BR800_57.JPG
I think I can get the drivers, Rhythm Editor and Wave Converter from BOSS website.
I don't know if I can get the Audio Phrases and I would need to buy Cakewalk Sonar Artist.
Is there anything else in the DVD besides what is listed in the DVD cover?
Thanks,
P.S.
 
I guess you also bought a used one.
I found a picture of the DVD that comes with BR-800View attachment 94651
I think I can get the drivers, Rhythm Editor and Wave Converter from BOSS website.
I don't know if I can get the Audio Phrases and I would need to buy Cakewalk Sonar Artist.
Is there anything else in the DVD besides what is listed in the DVD cover?
Thanks,
P.S.

You don't need to buy Cakewalk Sonar Artist. I hated it as a DAW when I tried it. Just download Reaper from the Reaper site.
 
I have nothing further to add. I just got sick of seeing Bubba's name as last commenter on a thread in this forum. Been there for months...

Time for a change.:D
 
Hi,
I bought my BR800 at the end of November 2015 (couple of weeks back), new, from my local Music Store. It did not come with a DVD. Instead, there was a packing note saying Roland no longer supplied the DVD. They say that all necessary files are available to download from the Roland site. This was also noted in the accompanying BR800 User Manual.
There is a problem that I am having connecting the BR800 to my laptop(OS Windows 10) as the driver is NOT on the Roland site. When you download their link for Windows 10, you get a word instruction saying that you PC or Laptop will auto download the BR800 driver when using Windows 10. I can assure you this didn't happen for me. I contacted Roland UK by phone, they logged my contact details and they sent an email saying they have requested the Windows 10 driver for the BR800, from their facility in Japan. Once they have it, they will call me and talk me through the set up. Current problems are that the Drum Pattern Editor, WAV convertor etc. can't detect the BR. After hours of investigation, there were some intermittent connections but when I disconnected the BR and reconnected, the laptop could not find the BR. Very frustrating. When I get the Windows 10 driver and have the setup 100% working, I will share the solution and driver with people who have the same / similar problems using this Windows OS.
 
WinX-64 driver OK

...they have requested the Windows 10 driver for the BR800, from their facility in Japan. Once they have it, they will call me and talk me through the set up. Current problems are that the Drum Pattern Editor, WAV convertor etc. can't detect the BR. After hours of investigation, there were some intermittent connections but when I disconnected the BR and reconnected, the laptop could not find the BR. Very frustrating. When I get the Windows 10 driver and have the setup 100% working, I will share the solution and driver with people who have the same / similar problems using this Windows OS.

i am running the BR800 connected to a WinX 64-bit machine with no trouble*. Used this driver...

Driver Provider: Microsoft
Driver Date: 10/29/2015
Driver Version: 10.0.10586.0
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows


*When I said "no trouble" I do have an unresolved issue that I doubt is related to the USB: The playback via USB is not dry audio -- it appears as if the Master FX or some COSM Effects (very slight reverb that can be heard to continue after playback is stopped) is still in the signal chain even though both have been disabled. I have a support email logged with Roland, but have not yet received a response. Suggestions?
 
Hi...started using my Boss ME 25 again...still find that when I change parameters...the change doesn't kick in until I roll the rotary control back and forth. Any fixes for this yet? thanks...sorry if wrong forum!
 
I recently purchased the BOSS BR800. When I plug in my guitar and mic at the same time I cannot get sound through the headphones or external speaker. The mic is not a phantom but the instructions for plugging both mic and guitar simultaneously were to plug the mic into Input 4. The sound is almost non-existent. What am I doing wrong? Thanks
 
I recently purchased the BOSS BR800. When I plug in my guitar and mic at the same time I cannot get sound through the headphones or external speaker. The mic is not a phantom but the instructions for plugging both mic and guitar simultaneously were to plug the mic into Input 4. The sound is almost non-existent. What am I doing wrong? Thanks
There is no speaker on a BR800, is there?
Can you hear anything in headphones when just using either the mic or the guitar (but not both)? Are you selecting the inputs correctly? You have to select them in the track(s) itself, right?
 
Hello everyone. I'm Logan. New to home recording. Have a bossBR800. Still a whole lot to learn. Currently recording on tracks 1-4 and mastering-7/8. Unfortunately can't figure out how to record 2 additional tracks for song. Just became a memember here. I'll spend some time tonight reading through the threads for some answers. Great to be here.
 
I use the BR 800 with the BOSS Rhythm Editor, so far so good, but I really don´t get where the BR800 stores my arrangements... I mean I create arrangements, all good, and then click "write arrangement" and store it to let´s say SOng 001, then close the connection and everytime I want to use the arrangement on the BR800 its---gone. Any help anybody? Thanks!!!!
 
I use the BR 800 with the BOSS Rhythm Editor, so far so good, but I really don´t get where the BR800 stores my arrangements... I mean I create arrangements, all good, and then click "write arrangement" and store it to let´s say SOng 001, then close the connection and everytime I want to use the arrangement on the BR800 its---gone. Any help anybody? Thanks!!!!
It's not on tracks 7/8 when you recall that song? If not, then not sure what to advise, but I'm not familiar with the BRE.
 
This device is worthy of a bump.

I found a BR-800 for $100 the other day. Being 1/3rd of the sold listings for used, this seemed a good move.

Although the build quality leaves something to be desired, the device seems to work fine. The only oddity I encountered so far is it doesn't always like to boot up when switched to USB, and plugged into a PC. It will however function normally with the PC while turned "on".

Features-wise, this thing is perhaps even beyond one's wildest Tascam dreams of the 80's. The orange monochrome display looks straight out of that decade, and pretty sexy opposite a black case with a few knobs and what looks and functions like a TNG LCARS panel.

Probably the most noteworthy feature is having 4 inputs, and able to do full 4-track recording. Even just the option of 3, for stereo piano + vocal, is something most MTRs of this niche can't do.

I've made a few recordings with it so far, and it's come in extremely handy for work projects. This is one of the best songcrafting sketchpads out there.

The FX are also a strength here. While the build quality is not pro, the FX are. You can make anything from quick demos, to perfectly acceptable completed works, with this device. An expression pedal can be connected to use in conjunction with the FX.

About the only thing it lacks is a MIDI sync capability with loopers.
 
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