Boss BR1600 - Convert VR8 files to WAV with software ?

mattkw80

New member
It would be much easier to fly many tracks into the computer
at once, instead of one at a time. (The BR1600 takes a long time to
process).

Once in USB mode I can grab any folders I want, but once I get all that
info onto my computer, does anybody know how I can convert
VR8 files to Wav ?

People all over the Internet are trying to do this. Somebody please help !

Matt
 
I have solved a small part of the puzzle !

If you rename the VR8 files to .RAW you can then play the file !
However, it sounds about x4 times too fast !
 
If you know how many bits and what sample-rate the VR8 recordings are, and if they are uncompressed, use an audio editor "open as" function. You can then enter appropriate details for the file. Roland/Boss usually use Motorola data format (the two bytes of a 16bit word are in reverse order to that used in a Windows/Intel PC) and whether it's a stereo or mono track.
So, if the song is 44.1Khz and used 16bit recording and the track mono, then the file is...
16bit Raw pcm.
Motorola byte order.
44.1Khz.
Mono.

Having opened the file, and checked it plays correctly, save as "Microsoft PCM .WAV".
 
Converting VR8 files to WAV

If you have a VR8 file you can use Audacity (free DAW and very simple) to convert the files to WAV. In Audacity main menu, "File">"Import">"Raw Data". Browse to your VR8 file and select it ("Open"). An "Import Raw Data" window will open. Use these settings:
Encoding: Signed 16-bit PCM
Byte order: Little-endian
Channels: 1 Channel (Mono)
Start offset: 0
Amount to Import: 100%
Sample rate: 44100

Click "Import" you now have a file that you can export as an MP3, WAV, OGG, etc...

With a little PC skill, you could write a macro to do all these operations with one click.

Good luck
 
Is there a way to bring the files back into the BR-1600 & have them editable? I just want to pull them into Protools to add about 4 bars of click track to the beginning of the song.
We started the recording with 4 drum stick clicks that were not picked up on a mic.
 
Last edited:
Converting VR8 files to WAV

If you have a VR8 file you can use Audacity (free DAW and very simple) to convert the files to WAV. In Audacity main menu, "File">"Import">"Raw Data". Browse to your VR8 file and select it ("Open"). An "Import Raw Data" window will open. Use these settings:
Encoding: Signed 16-bit PCM
Byte order: Little-endian
Channels: 1 Channel (Mono)
Start offset: 0
Amount to Import: 100%
Sample rate: 44100

Click "Import" you now have a file that you can export as an MP3, WAV, OGG, etc...

With a little PC skill, you could write a macro to do all these operations with one click.

Good luck
Hi, I tried to do this but all I'm getting is a hiss / noise. Also, Audacity doesn't have a RAW file import option, so I turned on "all files" to see my VR8 files. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? FYI the tracks in question were recorded in an ancient VS-840
Any help would be great! I need to somehow get this to work
 
I'd be very surprised if Audacity currently has this feature (assuming it really did have all those years ago) - support of old file types on fast evolving software like this is very random - selecting RAW only works if the format is the same. Unless you can find the real file spec and find somebody who can cross convert it, I suspect you will remain stuck - this topic is 18 years old now and had very little response when it was new? I wonder if the current Audacity developers even kno the old format?
 
I'd be very surprised if Audacity currently has this feature (assuming it really did have all those years ago) - support of old file types on fast evolving software like this is very random - selecting RAW only works if the format is the same. Unless you can find the real file spec and find somebody who can cross convert it, I suspect you will remain stuck - this topic is 18 years old now and had very little response when it was new? I wonder if the current Audacity developers even kno the old format?
Thanks. Yes, I'm slowly giving up on this. I spent so much time and money on trying to retrieve the tracks, no luck.
 
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