pitch correction feature on BR1200

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Bob C

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I own a BR532 and am thinking of upgrading to a BR1200. Boss sales literature says it has built-in pitch correction for vocals. Is it any good? Does it work? Does it sound natural? And are there parameters to adjust, or do you just "turn it on"?

For that matter, are the BR1200's mastering and effects better than on the BR532? I know "radio ready", as they hype it is a stretch. But how close does it come?

Please spare me the comments about "just learn to sing". An article (I believe from this web site) on why you should use pitch correction asks how many songs on the radio have noticeably off-key vocals. The answer is VERY few. Do you think everyone from George Thoroughgood to Britney Spears has perfect pitch?
 
I have the BR-1600 and I LOVE it. The only knock I have on it is the Vocal Tool Box (which includes pitch correction). I think it's horrible. So to answer your question...if pitch correction is a concern, you need different equipment.
 
huis14,

Thanks for the input. Well, I wouldn't be buying the BR1200 just for the pitch correction, but I thought it would be a great pro feature to have if I did some "serious" recording. I suppose you get what you pay for, right?

Anyway, what do you hate about the vocal toolbox? And what do you like about the rest of the unit? Again, I'm hoping that the sounds as well as the features will be a few steps up from my BR532. Early on, I thought the effects and guitar patches on it were perfectly fine (and they ARE, for starting out, and for the price), but I've kind of outgrown them now.

I really want to know if the mastering features on the recorder are anything to write home about. As I said, I don't really expect it top rival top studio procuction that you hear on the radio, and so on. But how much polish and professionalism can you milk out of it?
 
The guitar patches are all real Boss pedals in COSM, the same as the GT6 and GT8. They're as good as you make em'.

The mastering patches are like the guitar patches, they're ok stock but you most likely need to play around with the typical stuff, reverb, bass, treble to make it suit your sound. Not too much or anything to be affraid of, but a few tries for sure ti'll you're pleased with them. Just one opinion.
You can hear what I did on my soundlick with them
 
Bob C said:
I really want to know if the mastering features on the recorder are anything to write home about. As I said, I don't really expect it top rival top studio procuction that you hear on the radio, and so on. But how much polish and professionalism can you milk out of it?
Click to expand...

If you want to have a listen to "One Of These Days", "Hyperactice Wah Wah" and "Withdrawal Symptoms" on my Soundclick page, they were all recorded on the Boss BR1600. I used the Mastering tools available on the BR1600. You can use the pre-sets but after awhile it is advisable to start tweaking to suit your needs.
 
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Okay, hate is such a strong word so I shouldn't have used it. I'll just say I'm not a big fan of the Vocal Tool Box, and I have never used the pitch correction. I have tried it a few times, but it just sounds ridiculous to me. (I'll throw this in as a reason: the pitch correction runs automatically when you turn it on and it seems to want to fix every note...I mean, even the ones that are good) I hope that makes sense.

I should point out that I have been really pleased with the way our vocals have sounded on a few recordings. We just record the vocals without the tool box. Like Dumby said above: It's all about the right amounts of reverb, delay, eq, ect...but if pitch is a problem, you're gonna need to spend more money cause this isn't your answer.

On a brighter note, I have been really happy with my 1600. I would recommend it!

I hope that helps a little.
 
Bob C said:
I own a BR532 and am thinking of upgrading to a BR1200. Boss sales literature says it has built-in pitch correction for vocals. Is it any good? Does it work? Does it sound natural? And are there parameters to adjust, or do you just "turn it on"?

For that matter, are the BR1200's mastering and effects better than on the BR532? I know "radio ready", as they hype it is a stretch. But how close does it come?

Please spare me the comments about "just learn to sing". An article (I believe from this web site) on why you should use pitch correction asks how many songs on the radio have noticeably off-key vocals. The answer is VERY few. Do you think everyone from George Thoroughgood to Britney Spears has perfect pitch?
Click to expand...

Take it from a fellow Minnesot'n. The pitch correction is fun for effect, but sounds totally unnatural.

All you will get out of this machine is amature recording. Yes it can sound good, yes it will sound balanced, yes you could play it on the radio, but is it a real pro studio sound ?? Absolutely not.

The mastering tools in this machines is just more of what is already offered in it. MEaning more compression, more EQ, more limiting. The same as just bouncing your final mix while using the same effects that are availible.

It does have a multiband compressor though which can be a good tool if your mixes are not that good, but generally you really have to know how to use it to get what you want out of it.

Here is a example of a band I recorded with it. Real drums, real bass. I would just call this a good demo. Vocal harmonies are all real voices, with no pitch correction. Listen closely at the end to the really cool harmony the vocalist actually sang.

http://www.metaljohnson.com/Man in a Box-MarkVoc.wma (copy and paste the entire link to the left including the ending part that is not included in the link for some reason.

Here is an expample of using the built in fake sounding drum machine, and the vocal processor, using pitch correction, and the harmonizor on vocals. You can totally here a difference in natural sounding vocals between the two examples. Of course the first singer is way better, but still what sounds real to you ?


Good luck, feel free to roast :)
 
Mark,

I was unable to listen to your songs. The first link didn't work, and the second one wouldn't play in full - probably due to my computer's shortage of resources. I could probably successfully download it and burn it to disc.

Anyway, I get what you guys are saying, and you've answered some of my questions. To clarify again, I'm not expecting big time studio sound at a $1000 price point. Mainly, I'm wondering if the sound quality and flexibility of the unit and its effects are a few notches above those of the BR532.

The BR1200 allows you to eq tracks individually, correct? The BR532 isn't set up that way. Also, to add compression, etc at mixdown - Is it a matter of doing a bounce with insert effects routed in "master" position? That's how my BR532 works (very poorly, I might add).
 
Bob C said:
Mark,

I was unable to listen to your songs. The first link didn't work, and the second one wouldn't play in full - probably due to my computer's shortage of resources. I could probably successfully download it and burn it to disc.

Anyway, I get what you guys are saying, and you've answered some of my questions. To clarify again, I'm not expecting big time studio sound at a $1000 price point. Mainly, I'm wondering if the sound quality and flexibility of the unit and its effects are a few notches above those of the BR532.

The BR1200 allows you to eq tracks individually, correct? The BR532 isn't set up that way. Also, to add compression, etc at mixdown - Is it a matter of doing a bounce with insert effects routed in "master" position? That's how my BR532 works (very poorly, I might add).
Click to expand...

BobC. Not sure if you were asking me, MetalJ ? Mark is just the guy that sang.

try this

http://www.metaljohnson.com/Man in a Box-MarkVoc.wma (Dont click on this, you need to copy and paste the entire link into your browser due to me accidentally putting spaces in the name of the song.) It should work just fine as it did for me.

let me know if it does not work, you can send me a personal email and i can email you a copy if you want.

MetalJ
 
Metalj,

Yeah, I don't know where I got Mark. It must have been on the link or the wav title or something.

Anyway, I did hear a little of the second song - screamin' guitar, by the way.

Edit: PS: That new link didn't work. I got a "file not found" message, or something like that.
 
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Bob C said:
Metalj,

Yeah, I don't know where I got Mark. It must have been on the link or the wav title or something.

Anyway, I did hear a little of the second song - screamin' guitar, by the way.

Edit: PS: That new link didn't work. I got a "file not found" message, or something like that.
Click to expand...

It works fine on my end. I hope you did NOT click on the link in my previous thread. then it wont work due to the spaces in the name.

If you click to the far right of where it says wma, and highlight the entire link, then copy it to your webbrowser and hit enter, it will work.

http://www.metaljohnson.com/Man in a Box-MarkVoc.wma
 
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