BR-600 Tutorial Part 1

[polytwobeers]

Hi man Love the videos! I'm having a hard time getting the vocals to sound more professional when I'm recording a song, is there a way to add compression to the vocals before bouncing a mix? I'm using the mics on the recorder should I buy a external microphone? any opinions? Thanks so much

[thouston0]

Oh, yeah, you really need an external mic, I only used the internal mics for recording a rehearsal session, or when I wanted to record an idea very fast and not have to setup a mic.

[gwugluud]

I was in LOVE with this thing...UNTIL it started locking up and saying "Drive Busy" right in the middle of a project! This is with a Boss maxed flash card, NOT just the demo card. And this is when the card still has over 500 track minutes left! It doesn't matter how great this BR-600 is, if it can't EVEN HANDLE ITS' OWN MEDIA, then it sucks...The Boss crew must still have radiation poisoning of the brain or something. A Lamborgini would suck if the steering wheel kept falling off...

[thouston0]

I never had problems with CF cards maxing out, and this was after recording over 100 songs. Mine you, not 100 songs on a card. The most you can record is about 16 songs, figuring that songs are about 55MB. Also, one should always run the 'Optimize' feature. This removes all false stops/starts which also counts as data.

[joab302016]

Hi there! How do you append parts of the song. Lets say I first record the intro (Gtrs+Bass+Drums) and then after that I make a new track for the Verse part(Gtr+Bass+Drums+Vocs). And then Chorus... Verse...

How do I append those parts together so that I can assemble them later to make a new song?

[thouston0]

I've never recorded that way, but what I think is that you would record the sections, as you posted, and than bounce each as a stereo pair, export each section, and than use a audio editor such as Audacity to combine the tracks as one.

[JohnLennon100]

Hi ... I wanted to know if the BR600 is able to produce a final song in mp3 or another format I'd be able to convert to MP3. I need a simple recorder and to be able to get to the finished product (whole song) either from the device directly or with some software with a PC. Thanks!!

[thouston0]

Yes, the BR-600 tracks are in .wav format, than you can use any audio software, like the free Audacity Audio editor, to convert the finished stereo tracks to MP3.

[JohnLennon100]

@thouston0 Thanks for your reply! How good is the BR600 dealing with keyboards? Also, I'm being sold a unit without the power adaptor. Will any 9V will work or I'll need to buy one from Boss? Thanks again!!!!

[thouston0]

I used my keyboard with the BR-600 quite a bit, Plug the stereo l & r out from the keyboard to the BR-800 stereo Line-in, and than adjust the record levels. I would buy a BOSS adaptor, I seem to remember someone trying another adaptor and burning out their unit.

[JohnLennon100]

@thouston0 Thank you so much for such valuable info!!! ..final question: will I be able to send tracks for somebody who works with Froot Loops so he could work with them and add track to create a song? Thanks!

[thouston0]

That, I don't know..but, if you can import wave files in to Froot Loops than you can.

[bledinparadise1]

@thouston0

...just a question was wondering if you could help with...i was curious if the Boss BR600 Digital Multitrack Recorder

is compatible with the roland td3 vdrum kit,...it has midi inputs and so forth..i just got the vdrum kit and was wondering if i can record tracks on the multi with it,..i dont know much about any of it, and i know your a wizard in this stuff,...so yeah any help with this question would be greatly appreciated.

thanx......

[thouston0]

The V-Drum's sound module has 1/4" stereo output jacks, you plug a Y cable that has 1/4" male jacks on one end, and as male RCA jacks on the other. The RCA jacks would plug into the BR-600's stereo Line-in. Than you select Line-in as the record mode on the BR-600. Play your drums, adjust the record & peak levels on the BR-600, arm two tracks ( I would use tracks 5/6 since they're already a stereo pair), and record.

[stegemanpatrick]

Hey thouston0

thanx for your video, I used this video to start and in no time I could finally make a blues song (with all the instrument in my room....Patrick from the Netherlands....

I attached this song as a present for your effort..ciao

[jamontoast323]

hi.

I have a acoustic guitar and i know that with an electric you can plug it in to make it sound acoustic, or other styles..

can you do the same with a pickup on an acoustic. Could i make it sound electric or something? thanks.

[thouston0]

I'm not really sure, but I think by tweaking a COSM amp patch FX, you may get it. The guitar will most likly sound like a hollow body electric.

[MoshinOut666]

How do you change the 'P to an S'? @ 3.47

[thouston0]

You turn the data wheel.

[Imogen316x]

ok this may sound REALLY dumb but ima complete beginner...

I don't understand how to hear back a song? Do i need to plug it into my computer? I just am confused...sorry!! Please help! :L :) 

[thouston0]

There's a headphone jack in the front, use the individual track faders to adjust the volume of a track, the Master track fader will adjust the volume of all the tracks.

[Baby6att]

what's a good memory card for this recorder? because the one it came with doesn't have enough memory and i bought one and it wasn't reading it.

[thouston0]

OEMPCWORLD has 1GB CF (Compact Flash) Card Hi Speed 40+ for $9.85/ea - UPC Code: 710348911189. These should work in the BR-600. I would order at least two cards. I only had three CF cards that I used for recording. 

[fawkthescene666]

@Baby6att theres a video that shows how to update the firmware so it takes another 1gb card. From what I understand, you cant use bigger than a 1gb.

[thouston0]

That's true, nothing over 1GB. I recorded over 100 songs just using 1 card, I simply backed up the tracks to my PC.

[SullivanJesseJames]

Thanks for the tutorial. I have been watching as many as I can in an attempt to learn how to use this thing. I just uploaded my first my first song from the BR 600 called Abstract.

[thouston0]

Cool, it's really easy to record with the BR-600. I understand that a lot of users aren't used to recording. I started with a 4 track cassette recorder, and had the same learning curve with it, but when I got a BR-8, it had the same transport (controls) as my 4 tracks, and found it easy to use.

[SullivanJesseJames]

@thouston0 I liked how you didnt just show what this thing can do but you explained it good. Other peoples tutorials are not very tutorial, more like demos.

[987wexford]

hi, just wondering about vocal effects on the br 600 i cant seem to get a very good reverb on vocals and when i master it ,its dry with little or no reverb that you would notice anyway or when i bounce to track 78 and set uo a reverb its gone when i master it ,i have also tried the mastering tool kit nothing great in there either, for vocals anyway, mabey you can help thanks

[thouston0]

Did you try adding reverb to the track using the 'Pan/EQ/Loop FX' feature on the track you recorded the vocal? For example, if you recorded a vocal on track 1, press the 'Pan/EQ/Loop FX' button, scroll to Reverb, select the track recorded, press the Play button, and turn the 'Time/Value knob to apply more reverb to the track. Also all the effect, even for vocal and be tweaked and saved as a user preset.

[987wexford]

thanks,that did work,thanks again

[5Spekter]

dude doese your BR get a TON of hiss and hum? thats the only thing i hate about mine. let me know this has been bugging me forever.

[thouston0]

@5Spekter

Only when I use one of Strats for recording, and than I turn 90 degrees to the recorder.

[johnchang7]

In your opinion are you pretty happy with it? I'm fairly new to recording. I play guitar but want to record drum and bass tracks. Are you pretty happy with it?

[thouston0]

@johnchang7

Oh yeah, I've recorded over 200 songs that are on Soundclick with my BR-600. I do have four 1GB CF cards, which are still being sold....but the new BR-800 will be released soon. It will record to a 32GB SD card, and has advance features.

[MrSkippylen]

hi there,great vid .had my br about 3 weeks now.thanks to you i can now start recording something.could you tell me if it is possible to alter the individual drum sounds volumes,many thanks.

[thouston0]

@MrSkippylen

You mean using the nine pre-programmed drum kits? You can create your own drum kit, I've never done it.

[MrSkippylen]

this video is brilliant,saved me from throwing my br out of the window.cant thank you enough.keep em coming.

[damageinc721]

used this Vid to help me learn my used BR600. Very very helpfull.Thank you!

[ColAsterson]

Good stuff...very helpful vids.

[tsmitty6]

thanks so much for making this video. i just got one, and the dvd that came with it wasn't very helpful. u do a much better job.

[NERDFREAKINGPOWER]

Thanks for the video man learned alot from it, i just got a boss 600 its great, btw. you sound like darth vader lol

[SKIZINGDRUG]

he sounds like darth vader on the video of chad vader, watch it if you haven´t jaja

[thouston0]

No, I don't think so.

[Krazydave9]

can you use this as a mixer with dj decks?

[NathanRyanAllen]

Is it possible to play 2 virtual tracks (that are on the same track) at the same time for more instruments?

[Joshpunksk8]

thanks for makeing the vid man, helped me lots with my new BR-600.

[thouston0]

Cool, have fun recording. The more you use it, the easier it gets to record.

[sloapyslick]

Can you send all what you recorded on a single track to have more free tracks ? (excuse my bad english !)

[thouston0]

Yes, that is call 'bouncing' track, press the Record Mode button mode until the red LED is lit, and than chose a track(s) to 'bounce' the other recorded to.

[ProDiago]

Hi

I was going to get the RC-2 so I could play over some loops, but I like the BR-Series. Could I use the BR-600 as a loop pedal too by recording a section and have like 4 bars on continuous loop to play over in the same way as the RC-2 would?

Thanks

[thouston0]

Yes, you would use the 'A'-'B' buttons.

[ProDiago]

Thanks for your quick reply! I think I am going to get the BR-600 as it seems brilliant.

One question though, are the bass simulator effects for guitar good enough that I can sell my left handed bass and make do with the bass sound simulations in the BR-600 and still get decent recordings?!

[thouston0]

I would keep the bass, I used to use the 'bass' guitar sim, but brought a Squier P-Bass. I use the P-Bass all the time now.

[thouston0]

No.. in order to use the guitar FX, you have to have the record 'guitar' input selected. You can't have the record 'mic' and 'guitar' inputed selected at the same time.

[thouston0]

You need a patch cord that has a mini-stereo jack on both ends, you can find one at any Radio Shack.

Plug one end into your PC soundcard-out, and the other into the BR-600 Line-in. Change the BR-600 record to 'Line-in' record mode. Arm a track, play the YT clip and record to the BR-600, than use the slow down feature.

I'm guessing at all this, so it may not work, but I think it will.

[Chord5]

Thanks for the reply man! I'll try that. What about if I wanted to somehow connect the BR into my amp and play it through that. I have a drum machine and mic and my guitar. I would like to jam with my friends, using the effects on the BR and also record the jam. Is that feasible at all?

[Chord5]

Just say i wanted to use the 600 to learn fast and or difficult songs. Am I able to play a youtube tune on my pc, record with the 600 somehow and then use the slow down feature to work out the licks? Thanks for doing these tutorials, they are very helpful!

[tonelord]

awesome piece of equipment

[ramones654]

is this worth the money? Im looking into getting one and was wondering... How good is the recording quality?

[thouston0]

I love my BR-600, not in a physical way, but in a musician way. I have over 300 songs on SoundClick that I've recorded with BR-600.

[NathanRyanAllen]

Have you tried recording an entire band at once before? (for example, invite some musician friends over and play as a band?)

[thouston0]

Yes, I have recorded my band. I setup two mics, armed two tracks and recorded. I did change the record mode to the lowest rate.

[tubenoobster]

Thanks for this . It will save me so much time - The manual is f***ing useless . May as well be written in chinese .

[NikDonaghy23]

i agree man.

[konorob]

Coincidentally my name is Rob and I've been looking for something like this for quite awhile, hahah. Great tutorial.

[skarekrowkomplex]

Does anyone know how to activate the metronome on this device?

[guitarlovenjc]

Are there egg shakers and tambourines? I couldn't find them when I scrolled, thanks!!!

[guitarlovenjc]

Oh never mind!! Turned the time/value knob!! Thanks!!

[thouston0]

Ok, cool, the time/value knob will change settings, it's very useful, along with Enter & Exit buttons.

[guitarlovenjc]

sorry how to change P to S?

[AngelicaAcoustic]

Thank you!!! I am clueless about how to work mine!! Thank you!!!!

[thouston0]

I guess it's because I've been using BOSS recorders since the BR-8, that I found the BR-600 so easy to use. But, I started using a 4tr cassette recorder a Fostex X-14, before I got a BR-8.

[NathanRyanAllen]

I heard that the manuals suck. Is that true?

[thouston0]

No, I thought the manuals were well written. I originally made this video(s) for a friend who has dyslexia that's how this all got started. But I'm finding that there are people who have never recorded, and don't know the recording terms/steps. They tend to blame the manual for not explaining all that. I feel that a user should also look for answers.

[Song66]

This is a stupid question but where do you plug speakers in? Because i've had them plugged into the headphone jack with an adapter but someone told me your not supposed to do that.

[thouston0]

The Line-out(s) on the back.

[BluesRocker52]

I owned a BR600 for a couple of months and read the manual at least twice. I learned from you video what it would have taken me a day to read in the manual. Great job on this video. I'd really like to see more from you. I might even buy another BR600 after seeing your video

[thouston0]

I can't think of anything else I didn't cover.

[NathanRyanAllen]

So you CAN loop with this device? I currently don't know anyone who can play but I can play drums/guitar/piano so I was wondering if you could make a complete song by looping each individual instrument?

[thouston0]

I don't quite understand your 'loop' question. The BR-600 is a multi-track(ing) recorder. You can either record your drum playing, or use the BR-600's drum on tracks, than record piano on another track, record guitar on another, than record another instrument. So yes, you can build a song, with just you recording. I record all my demos, with just me playing all the instruments.

[NathanRyanAllen]

Thanks, that answers my question. What I meant by 'looping' was playing each individual instrument, then putting it all together for one song.

[drugdrunkker]

two questions... if I want 2 guitars on one track (rythm and lead) should I first record one track and then record on it with the other track? and the second: how much distortion can that take and still sound good?

[thouston0]

Yes, you would record two separate tracks, I always record a rhythm guitar track first.

How much distortion, depends on how much you want! If it sounds good to you, than it sound good :).

[MandyMcPandy85]

Thanks for all your tutorials, really helped me :o)

[TheeReturn]

Thanks for these!!. Good work.

[thouston0]

Well, if your want to record to a computer, than the Fast Track will work. I have a Edirol UA-4FX that I use with Reaper. But to me it's a PITA to set up amp models and drop in drum loops. The BR-600 works great fro me.

[tourettesyndrome]

What do you recommend? A Fast Track Ultra or a BR-600?tks!

[s0uthw3st19]

another question.. were can i find the usb cable for this so i cud transport files to my computer??

[hopeinathought]

I just went to radioshack (assuming you're familiar with the store) and found out that the name of the USB cord is "USB B" or something of the sort. The guy who helped me said that the cord is the same USB cord used for printers. Try it. :)

[apetit43]

hey good tutorial, i was wondering how you convert your exported wav files into mp3's my computer wont play the songs at all

[s0uthw3st19]

on the sample song that comes with the b 600 caled lydiia, on the 7/8 track there are some cool sounds. how do i get 2 those sound effects????

[cokeaddict08]

I could listen to this guys voice all day lol

[guitarlovenjc]

Thanks for your vids! I'm so lost in figuring out how to record with this thing!!

[seanoco7]

sorry to bother you with all this but my drum track doesn't seem to record, why? i've basically recorded a demo all the wau thru but the drums are absent on the playback after i finish, they are there when i play additional guitars and vocals but not there when i finish the song.

[thouston0]

You have to 'Bounce' the tracks to get the drums to 'print' (record) with the other recorded tracks.

[seanoco7]

hi ,me again, i am a beginner at this. my card was full after one night!! 2:25 song!. i optimized as i went along as you suggested. what happened? is this card one like a digital camera where they hold very little until you buy another from roland? anyway i may be a regular on your page, hope you don't mind.

sean

[thouston0]

You need to buy a 1GB CF card. You should get about 15 songs on a card. Than when the card gets full, use the USB or BR Wave Converter and transfer the files to your computer.

[seanoco7]

what do you press to change from P to S on the drum arrangment. it keeps saying it's a preset and i cannot change it?

[thouston0]

Turn the TIME/VALUE knob to change from P to S.

Also, see my other video on drum arrangement.

[thouston0]

Very cool, thanks! I used a cheapo $29 SD camcorder, but it turned out better than what I expected.

[sidslad]

Thanks for taking the time to do this its very informative and easy to follow