Boss BR-8...is it what I want??

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Volks

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Hey!,

I'm lookin' to get a Boss BR-8, but I'm not sure if it's what I need to do what I want. I want to do remixes for people. I want to be able to combine sounds from a sampler, keyboards, synths, etc and make a track. Would the BR-8 work? I would just send an out to a regular old tape recorder or cd burner after I've made my mix through the BR-8, right? Basically what I want to know is: Can I get sounds from different keyboards and mix them through the BR-8 to make a good sounding track?

PS: Also, If I record a sound on track 1 on the BR-8, and then I go to record a sound on track 2 while listening to track 1 and I decide that track 1 is not long enough, what can I do??
 
I use a keyboard with my br8 and it gives me great sound, They say its for the solo guitarist but it records pretty much anything. I would recommend it . I dont get your question about making track 1 longer, You have the undo /redo option but that only lasts until your next edit and then what you did is unretractable. Lemme know if oyu have more questions
Shana
 
I too have the BR-8 and love it! Just as long as you know its limitations going in (for example, records only two tracks at a time) it's a really useful machine that's kinda easy to learn.

Will you be recording your keyboard sounds in stereo or mono? Using the 8 tracks, you can obviously record 8 different mono tracks. As for stretching the track length, I know some makes (Akai) do offer some time stretching capabilities.. the BR-8 does not. However, it does offer a very useful cut/copy/paste editing feature. For a machine of this price/size to have scrub preview is pretty cool for editing. The Br-8 also has analog and digital outs for dumping down to CD burner or analog tape equipment.

and does it ever sound good! My band recorded a bunch of stuff using only two people and some keyboards... http://www.mp3.com/merrycherry

oh yeah, also keep in mind that the zip disks limit how much music you can record.. usually about one/two songs per disk, depending on how many tracks you use.
 
Hey...

Thanx for respondin'. I just went to the store the other day and was lookin' at the BR-8. Well, how much CAN you record on those disks? If I wanted to record 8 tracks all the way through the whole song, how long of a song could I get on one disk? I believe I will be recording in mono. You said 'using the 8 tracks you can record 8 tracks, mono.' Does that mean that I can only record 4 stereo tracks? It has pan on it doesn't it?

Andrew! :)

PS: Good songs on mp3 by the way!
 
Hey Andrew! How much can you record on a ZIP? Depends on how many tracks you use.. I've got some disks that only fit one song, where I used all 8 tracks. Using the Virtual tracks for multiple takes also uses lots of space. But most of Zips hold between 2 and 4 songs.. and they're not using all 8 tracks.

I hope I can explain the 8 tracks mono/4 tracks stereo thing ok here... For instance, when I record a drum track from my drum machine, I use two inputs (L and R) going into the BR-8. So, one instrument takes up two tracks in this case... it's really a matter of personal preference, I just like the fat stereo drum sounds I get recording it that way. Instruments like the bass go onto one track, as do the vocals. If you're going to be recording in mono all the way, you're looking at 8 tracks available. The Br-8 does indeed have a pan on it (along with a ton of other stuff).

Also, for space considerations, if the type of music you're doing has lots of repeating segments, using the Cut/Paste/Copy technique will save tons of disk space. For instance, if you have a "verse" of music that is repeated three times throughout the course of the song, you only need record it once. Then, when that verse comes up again in the song, just copy the verse to that point as many times as needed. You only use the disk space for one verse though.. hope this didn't totally confuse you further!

Thanks for listening to the mp3's! Let me know when your music is available online.

Rancher
http://www.mp3.com/merrycherry
http://www.sinlimo.com
 
Hello!,

Thanx! Your helped out alot in that one little response!!! That's what I've been wondering. So now I know that I can record just one verse(that is any kind of sound, right?) once, and then repeat it again later in the song exactly where I want it! That's good then.

I understand perfectly about the mono/stereo tracks too. I'd probably always record in mono though, so I wouldn't take up two tracks with one sound. If I did record in mono and used the pan it would almost be like stereo anyway. Doesn't mono just mean it's on the left and right sides equally?(or does it mean you are on one or the other?). Thanx so much for respondin' though!

Andrew! :)
 
Hey Rancher
Im trying to understand here. You actually cut and paste vocals? You gotta be kidding. Like how on earth do you get it in the right place? Ive had the br8 for 8 months and i havent gone near those options. Let me know if you can a bit more details.
Shana
 
Hey Shana! Yeah, it works (the cutting/pasting of vocals).. it's a pain in the butt but it works. I learned out of neccesity cause my singing/writing partner lives two states away... so getting together to fix vocal tracks and re-do bad takes wasn't always easy.

Instead, I'd find a portion of her vocal track that I wanted repeated somewhere else.. (and make sure the original was really good) and copy/paste it to another point in the song. I used this feature a lot on the chorus's. If I remember correctly, I had to use several virtual tracks to cut/paste everything where I wanted it so it stayed in sync with the rest of the song.

Using the scrub/preview function, and listening to the instruments, I could find the exact spot where I wanted to dump in the new vocals. It took quite a few hit or miss trys (and erases and undo's) but eventualy I got the vocals in the right place. My band with Chris (Merry Cherry)was at the time we recorded only the two of us, so obviously we had to overdub everything like crazy. Listen at http://www.mp3.com/merrycherry and hear for yourself... and seriously, good luck.. it can be done and it can sound really good when you get it! (You'll be fine, Roland did a decent job on the manual) It just takes time and patience.. neither of which are my strong points.

Andrew - glad I could help! And you're right about the panning/mono thing. I recorded an entire CD with a digital 4 track once... obviously couldn't do the stereo thing for all the instruments, so the music went down in mono.. I panned stuff during mixdown and it came out great.. http://www.mp3.com/crowmusic has great examples of that.

rancher
http://www.sinlimo.com
 
Hey, Rancher...

MerryCherry...good stuff. I like it. A lot.

Quick question: What are you using for drums? If that's a machine, you're really good at making it sound like a live drummer.

Thanks in advance...best to you and success to MerryCherry.

Julia
 
Thanks Julia! I (we) appreciate it! Have you any music available to listen to? (like to return the favor)

As for the drums? I guess 8 years of drum lessons wasn't a waste? (ha ha) I've managed to make a machine sound like a real drummer... that's quite a compliment. Yes, it was a machine.. the drums off of a Yamaha keyboard. I just got real good at hitting the 'fill' button. :)

Have fun and good luck to you as well!

Ranchfield
http://www.sinlimo.com
 
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