boss 1600/roland

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jtourangeau

jtourangeau

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In the market to buy a dig rec.Need 8 inp. will be recording live and studio.Like the ability to rec 8 tracks at once.Is this a good unit/whats comparable?Ease of use?Im looking around the net.The Boss 1600 is going for around 500-600$ used.Thats about the top of my price range.Thanks JT.
 
Br1600cd

These units are great for what they do - record multiple tracks easily, quickly and with pretty decnt quality.

I started with four-track tapes and graduated eventually to DAWs. I still do a lot of DAW recording and editing, but the BR1600 is just plain fun to use. There are BOSS effects to use for guitar, bass vocals and mix downs, and drum tracks to toss in the song as you choose. I hate it when recording equipment doesn't include phantom power. You have to go some other route, drag out some more equipment and cables to deal with it. Not with the BR1600! Eight mics at a time if you want and with phantom power so you can use your best mics!

Editing is, well, compared to DAWs, a drag on these machines, though it is possible and I've done it, it's limited. My standards are low by some opinions, but completely adequate in mine. Don't get me wrong - I don't like cheesy, sloppy recordings, but I don't spend 100 hours on four measures of a bass line to get it perfect either (my bass-player friend does that. Drives me nuts, just do your best and let's move on!).

I did an indie CD a year ago that included four songs done completely on the 1600 with bass, keys, multiple guitars and vocals. They sound good to the perfectionist and great to the casual listener (and me! That's why I do it.).

So, yeah, for the money I think they can't be beat. Plus the learning curve is no where like professional recording and editing software. The BOSS units are fun and sound pretty dang good, too!

Pablo
 
JT

I kinda got on a soap box for BOSS there, huh? Let me address a couple more things in your note.

As far as studio and live recording the 1600 definitely has the capability to handle it. It records to a hard drive (should be either 40 or 80G)so you don't have to get DATs or ZIP disks, or anything like that. Eight inputs at a time, 1/4 inch or xlr, your choice. Record stereo or mono. Does it have the built in CD burner?

Price, if it's the 80G with the CD player/burner $600 sounds like a fair price. The 40G, $500. I spent $1100 for a new 40G with CD burner.

Cool thing is, you can record your band's new song on a track or two at practice or live, take it back home and use it as a scratch track to build the song in studio quality. Or add a different keyboard or bass part for a different idea, burn it to a CD and share it with the band at the next practice. Or take the unit itself back to practice - it's portable, though you don't want to just throw it in the back seat.

There are Tascam and Yamaha units out there, but I've been happy with BOSS/Roland stuff and have stuck with them over the years.

The 1600 is easy to use and should do exactly what it sounds like you want to do with it.
Pablo
 
Hey, thanks man.I,m just pricing them on ebay and such now.The info you gave will help {w/hard drive size and options}.By your opinion this sounds like what I am looking for.Do they have bolth XLR and 1/4" for each individual channel ?
 
I actually purchased the BR-1600CD years ago with the same intention, to have an all-in-one rig that was easy to take out for live shows and such. My band broke up soon after that so the live recording became very unimportant to me. It served as the mothership of my studio for quite a while and, recording/singing/playing skill not withstanding, gave me some pretty decent recordings.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=2524208

That song was all produced within the BR-1600. One of the first times I was happy with a production :)

I had also always planned to start recording live drums with the unit but just never got around to it. I still plan on setting it up as such eventually.

I'd say if you truly plan to take it out and record live shows with it, you can't do much better than it as a dual home/live rig. I'd be very cautious lugging a laptop to a live gig, it has much more "thief radar" potential than what really just looks like a mixer.
 
recording from CD into the BR1600

All you have to do is insert the disk, select the 'Audio CD Write/Play' button on the lower right part of the unit and follow the menu. Some limitations on what the unit will recognize and record: has to be .WAV or .AIFF format, bit depth of 8 or 16 bits, sampling rate must be 44.1 kHz. This is all on page 210 of the owner's manual. Otherwise, the on-screen menu should be all you need.
pablo
 
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