BOSS BR-1600 CD VERY FIRST TEST, Please critique!

[quigonreturns]

I have a 1600 also, a pro mixed my songs for me and it proves this is a great machine if you can learn it lol. Btw, you stuff sounds great! Also, it only seems logical that if you can make your songs sound good on pc cheap speakers that should sound great everywhere else. Think im gonna try that for sure. Keep on keepin on man!

[unclearless]

@quigonreturns Thanks! Yes, the "old small speaker" trick I put in the description, rally does work! Send a video response of your work, if you want, and keep rockin! Thanks again for watching ~Kev~

[jsingrievous13]

What up dude?!?!

[unclearless]

@jsingrievous13 Are you kidding me??!! How the hell are you, J??? Your guitar playing is getting awesome! PM me on this channel, would love to catch up! Thanks for stopping by, brotha! ~Kev~

[panasony23]

this song was recorded on this holy crap the sound quality was balls to the wall good keep it up, the music was sweet to

[unclearless]

@panasony23 Tanks for the compliments! Had to move and sell a lot of things, but hope to have more up in the future! ~Kevin~

[warriorxtman]

you CAN record 7 mics at a time. I know for a fact because I do it. I have phantom power on with two condenser drum mics and 5 other drum mics all recording at the same time. the phantom power doesn't keep my other mics from working just fine. there is a setting to pick under the input area of the board (forget which one) and 7 or 8 record buttons will all turn red instantly

[spottedliver]

Put some delay on the lead guitar,.seperated in stereo

[pinfinity]

not bad for a first recording. I modified a BOSS GS-10 and run the headphone out straight to the #1 input on the br1600 for all my guitar tones and it absolutely screams. I found the onboard COSM effects a little sterile for my tatse. I use a bass guitar plugged straight to the unit works best and i use Fruity Loops EZ drummr with drumkit from hell and export to the br for my drum tracks. I agree that mixing is a little bit of a pain but for 6-7 hundred bucks...?well worth the pricetag \m/ \m/

[PabloPancho100]

There's nothing wrong with Old School Brother

[unclearless]

@PabloPancho100 ...Amen.

[auto4union]

Thought it sounded pretty awesome ! Especially for your first recording ! Can imagine as you`ve become better at using it, you`ll be sounding even cooler ! Peace Ye`all !!

[zzerovisibility]

I found the br 1600 very frustrating, it was suppose to be easy too use.

[progrocker9]

This is pretty good for the first time. Have you tried a mic on an amp yet?

[LUKE82603]

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS OVER TASCAM, FOSTEX, ETC. ??

[plonker00765]

i fid it so complicated i've put mine aside and not used it at all,it pissed me off that much.

[BROCKLANDERS93]

can you make hip hop beats on it?

[Ron10567]

I have 10 songs on myspace using the boss 1600 , you can check them out at ronald arsenault on myspace

[MidgitNbikini]

ive had my br 900 for years,now they're the same price.grrr!great machine though

[Michael55443]

Sounds good, but the drum track is a little buried. That's common when a guitar player mixes a song. It's all guitar. ;-)

[alasotso]

I know this is a great tool, i quickly browsed on the comments here ,'not sure if the virtual tracks topic's been covered, How the hell can that be utilized.?'am same as most, a lazy manual reader ,lolz. Thanks.

[zagreusdioniso]

Hi, I want to buy a recording device but I don't know what's best. Your device sounds good: should I stick to cubase and midi soundcard? I'm looking for something that is easy to use and have a good sound quality and zero latency: is a daw digital recorder better than computer recording (cubase or other sequencer + midi soundcard)? Thanx for help

[econoroller]

Sounds good...I also have this unit, it is INCREDIBLE for the price!

I recommend SHORT cords on the guitar (less humming noise)

I use a korg mini kaoss pad to richen up the vocals and drums using it's cool slapback delay and reverse reverb-lik effects. Also don't be afraid to max out your levels and go into the RED, coz when you bounce it, it will lose a bit of gain (to be put back during mastering phase) The vocal section on the BR1600CD is superb quality, get a good lg diaphragm condenser mic

[thehal698]

@phantomf4j I haven't even used mine yet, so I have been reading the "Basic Operation" manual. This is not just a simple plug and play recorder, it is essentially a whole recording studio. It has effects, compression on the mixdown ect so if you don't receive any instruction by someone who knows the in's and out's you will have some reading to do. It is the most user friendly unit on the market, and unlike everything else that fades away quickly, Roland has been selling them for 6 or 7 years.

[IbanezArtist13]

dude your comments helped me out a lot.. one question. is the sound quality better to mic up to the amp or to just go straight through the input from the amp to the BR 1600?

[unclearless]

@phantomf4j

Thank you. Yes, the bass with help "Even out" the highs to some degree. But if there are irritating highs, they still need to be EQ'd out. Having learned by ear, it can be very difficult when programing original bass lines (or drums for that matter) when you don't read music, know keys, or time signatures. We have to create all of our music while having a massive learning curve. Heck, there is a learning curve even if you read music! Thanks for the comment, ~Kev~

[reduser2010]

Does anybody know why when I move a selected piece of audio from one tract to another I end up with 3 seconds of dead space after which everything comes in out of sync?

[zzerovisibility]

@reduser2010 This br unit Is a pain in in the butt.... There is always some kind of problem with them...(trying to use it)

[thegreenway1994]

Wow. this is very good quality.

[TheLowLifeGang]

nice i only been playin guitar 3 years i have the boss 1600 opened a whole new world for me but it is a pain in the butt tryin to figure things outvercy cool song sounded kick azz 2 me

[diamonddust22]

Great job

[rubyredrhapsody]

YEAH TOTALY AGREE.. I HAVE THIS AND ALTHOUGH MADE SOME GREAT STUFF.. STILL FEEL THEIRS MORE TO IT... DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO CLEAR THE HARD DISC ONCE THE HOURS RUN DOWN..SO YOU GET IT FREED UP

[MarkCheetah2]

@rubyredrhapsody To clear up space on the hard disc, you need to erase one song at a time, and it takes a while. From the on-screen menu, pick "song," then press the right arrow to pick "erase." A menu will pop up showing all the songs you have stored. Use the jog wheel to scroll up & down, and pick a song you want to delete. Press "enter." It'll say "erase song ok?" Then press enter or "yes" again.  It'll take a while for the thing to reload, then repeat the process to erase another song

[unclearless]

@rubyredrhapsody

If you want ALL the hard drive cleared out to start over, here is the sequence

1. Press UTILITY.

2. CURSOR to "HDD," and press ENTER.

3. CURSOR to "Initialize," and press ENTER.

4. Use the TIME/VALUE dial to change the FORMAT MODE to "Surface Scan."

5. Cursor to "GO," and press ENTER.

6. The message "Are you sure?" will be displayed, press ENTER.

NOTE! ALL songs will be erased from the hard drive! Make sure to have CD backups of your songs prior to initializing the hard drive!

[MarkCheetah2]

You got a great sound, especially for having the unit for such a short amount of time! I never use the RCA output jacks; I mix & master everything inside the unit, then burn a CD. There's about 15 presets in the mastering tool kit, but I've only found three to be any good for my particular application, which is recording vocals. I've found presets #1 (mix down), #7 (hard comp), and #12 (vocal comp) to be the most effective. I've had this thing for several years, and I'm STILL learning! LOL

[unclearless]

@MarkCheetah2

Thank you very much! And thank you for telling us about the presets you use. Do you know a good mix down preset for voice over work?

Now...onto you and your vocals, brother, you've got some nice pipes!! Priest was great, Def Leppard was killer, and I can't believe your version of 'When I'm with you" by Sheriff! Holy damn! That last note brings singer to tears, and even though you cranked the reverb and/or delay, you still got it! Sounds GREAT in the mix! You have a new fan here!

[MarkCheetah2]

@unclearless Hey, nice to meet you! I'm going to subscribe & add you as a friend so we can keep in touch. My favorite mixdown preset is #12, "vocal comp." It smooths out the peaks & valleys in the volume, without altering the overall sound very much. Also, the presets can be modified, so you can "custom tailor" them, but it's very confusing for me. There's expanders, limiters, compressors, etc. that have a whole bunch of options, and I'm really not sure exactly what they do.

[MarkCheetah2]

For that Sheriff song you're right; I used a long delay & plenty of reverb. But I couldn't have done it without the BR1600's pitch shifter. I'd never be able to hold that high of a note for that long, so I sang a lower note & held it, then activated the pitch shifter to raise it. Sometimes it sounds like helium when you do that, but that particular time it worked out great. I know it's "cheating," lol; but I was very impressed with how well the unit processed the effect. Thanks for the props!

[elmiquelo]

Check out my blues solo, why I can´t play like this??????!!!

[believin13]

thats pretty good. i have the 1180, but i believe the 1600 is better

[SpacexAce]

Good! Sounds a bit like Van Halen! :)

[zFilmuAktoreczka]

would this be good to home studio ? for vocal?

[MarkCheetah2]

@zFilmuAktoreczka The BR1600 is great for recording vocals. Check out my "Red Barchetta" sub. All the music was from a backing track, but the vocals were done on a BR1600 ONLY... with no other outboard equipment (except the mic).

[TodayAt420]

can you record an amp with just a cable with these (im leaning towards the new 800) idk if ots a stupid question or not but its alot of money haha

[mazzo99]

I think it sounds good Kev,, Im in the process of getting a multitrack recorder.

I Wonder if the Tascam 2488 neo is any easier to use ? How about sound quality between BR 1600 vs 2488 neo?

[MarkCheetah2]

@mazzo99 I'm not familiar with the Tascam, but the BR1600 was easy to learn & use. The only thing that gave me problems was figuring out how to best use the compressor settings when recording vocals.

[TheCobafi]

ye dude... you got it ! good clean record

[WilliamStenner]

I see you ised the first rock demo with the bass and drums thats pre-programmed in the pedal....

[MrKellii]

Sounds fucking 80's. Love it!!! wish i could afford one of these!

[madcheshire77]

nice playing!!!

[arneybro]

hey on the top right hand of u br1600 is the undo/redo button if u want to erase the track press that button and then the enter button

[LAparanormal]

i bought a br-1600 and so far its just been an expensive headache how do i erase everything and start over?

[3251900]

Just got a BR1600 yesterday as a less-portable upgrade on my BR600 (which I'll keep for gig recordings). Yours sounds great, even better for a 1st try. Gimme a few days to test mine and I'll be back for advice!!! Cheers

[oppedx]

Kevin, Zendro here. is it you who are playing the solo?

[decychap]

will tis work with a mixer or if you want to make your own beats?

Plz write back!

[MrFiddlepatch]

SOUNDS GREAT! I love my BR1600

[unclearless]

@MrFiddlepatch, thank you! You work is AMAZING! People, please check out what MrFiddlepatch is doing! You will be inspired!

~Kev~

[MrFiddlepatch]

Thanks Kev, i appreciate it!

[SixHarvest]

Good Song Idea, well played, reminds me of the old Def Leppard Music...

Regards, Sigi

[unclearless]

@SixHarvest, thank you friend! Best commpliment I could recieve, in my book.

I can't WAIT to record more, and take more than a few minutes with this recorder! (I am moving, and things will be in storage for a while).

Thanks again, and happy recordings!

~Kev~

[bigdaddy1382]

Great tune dude.

I've just got a br1200 myself. I'm looking for a set of monitors for it. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[unclearless]

Thank you. Yes, if I were you, I would buy the small new "White-coned" Yamaha's, if cash permits. They are very flat and give you an "Honest" replication of your work...as opposed to the KRK's which are heavey on the bottom end. Read the "More info" on the right side of the screen under my name "Unclearless", I explain more there. I wish you great recordings! Thanks for watching,

~Kev~

[plonker00765]

i've had my br1600cd for about 3 weeks,you need a university degree to use it properly,i got so frustrated trying to use it i've just left it alone and not bothered,good recording on yours by the way.

[unclearless]

Thank you. I feel your pain!! This thing can do so much, you just want to record! (Or throw it in the trash, lol). Please read what I said on the right of the screen under "More info" under my name unclearless. You really have to treat this like an old 4-track at first. Just get a decent recording volume, and go for it. I wish you well, don't give up!

~Kev~

[chrisz29]

Just wondering if you have any problems with step drumming. I imported a lot of drum samples, no idea where they went....and then moved on to step drumming and every time i get something together it erases. And to add my br1600 is only 8 months old never dropped or hit.

[unclearless]

@chrisz29, I feel for you. I HATE to program, so I used a loop-preset for this. Did you read the "More info" under my name unclearless? I play drums, so I bought an Alesis DM5, then put a Roland TD-6 module on it, sounds good! Sorry about your problems, after I move, I will put up more vids.

~Kev~

[djdjany]

I know it has 8 inputs, but can it really record 8 tracks at the same time?

[tiddlywinks98712]

no, maximum of 2...go analog dude, sounds way better

[djdjany]

Any suggestions? I can't believe it , any damned recorder records two tracks !!!

[unclearless]

@djdjany, yes. Make each track count.

LOL, just kidding. (Kind of).

I am moving, and my stuff is put up for a while. Google BOSS BR1600 multi track recording, you may find something there. If not, I will put up a new video soon. Good luck friend,

~Kev~

[unclearless]

@djdjany, "There is a multi track button on the panel which activates all 8 tracks on the br1600 for simultaneous recording on all 8 or less if you prefer. " - designerx2006 (If you did not see their post here).

~Kev~

[djdjany]

Thanx !

[designerx2006]

There is a multi track button on the panel which activates all 8 tracks on the br1600 for simultaneous recording on all 8 or less if you prefer.

[unclearless]

@designerx2006, thank you very much for your help!

~Kev~

[KEVIND215]

Hey man that sounded good. Pro job for sure. I just got a BR900 and instead of headphones, Im tryin to play it through my home stereo system. It didnt come with a manual. Do you have any suggestions ?

[unclearless]

@KEVIND215, thank you very much. This was just a test, and I hope to have much better up soon! Yes, I have a suggestion, look up the manual on the Roland USA site (Google it) I know there is a copy somewhere on the net! Happy recordings,

~Kev~

[warriorxtman]

@KEVIND215 buy hundred dollar audio technica headphones

[onetondrumbum]

Sounds good. Have you ever recorded an amp with a mic or acoustic guitar or vocals? It sounds good as is, but to me, no matter what brand or what price range you can always tell it's not an authentic sound, as in cosm and mod amps instead of the real thing. No offense, just wondering if you've mic'd anything up and recording it, old shool like.

[unclearless]

@onetondrumbum, thank you. No offense taken. I agree, the warmth of that ol' 2"tape with everything analog sure is missed!

I will be miking this Fender Deluxe 112plus amp as soon as I get the polarity problem in the amp fixed. I am going to run the mic(s) through an ART tube studio pre to warm and fatten up the tone and harmonics.

I have a new MXL990 condensor mic that sounds great on vocals and acoustic!

Most everything packed up now for our move to AZ. Thanx 4 the comment!

~Kev

[butchman73]

they have a DVD out that is much more detailed than the instruction manuals. i love my br1600. and have recorded quite a few different songs, ideas, riffs...........much Fun!!!

[THESARGE994]

Sounds awsome dude, I got the BR600 and to be fare I thought the instructions kinda sucked and didnt really cover everything clearly, These are great and I would be lost without mine im saving up for this one as I love doing recordings and stuff.5*

[designerx2006]

@THESARGE994

I started with the BR 600 and after learning how to do the basics it was very easy to learn the BR 1600 and understand where everything was.

[bolijack]

@designerx2006 Interesting: I got a 600 too, and am on the verge to buy a 1200. The 600 is too limited, i hope, the 1200 woll solve this :-))

[unclearless]

@bolijack, I think the problem that all aspiring producers have is a simple one. If Mutt Lang (AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Cars, Shania Twain, etc..) could kick all of our asses with an old 4-track cassette recorder and a stale bag of tortilla chips, then it is not ONLY the recorder we are using, but the basics. And all of the BR series and (And most other recording gear nowdays) is ANYTHING but basic!

Happy recordings bro!

~Kev~

[bolijack]

@unclearless Hey, tx a lot, Very thoughtful answer :-))

[ampitup64]

How about adding the how easy to use and some leg work on the next one. I am looking for a good recording set up. Sounded good so far.

[woodwired1]

Bro, that was great!

When do we get more?

Encore!

Encore!

[goohber1]

yes, i meant good things on your video. none negative. i think more people should make, as far as music is concerned, more instrumental samples. so, those of us who want to mix, can use samples like urs 2 mix into our own.

[goohber1]

i like how u don't talk but let us hear ur samples of what u made on the machine. that way, if we want to, we can use line out jack to record ur sample. nice job. more please

[unclearless]

Interesting comment. At first, I thought you were saying I have no understanding of copy write law, and how it is clean so I could not prove "Proof of access" via Youtube, etc... under the United States Copy write act (Which I could, as I date and label any and all materiel with witnesses) But then, I thought you may just enjoy the riff, and like "Working" with it, for no monetary gain. I like to believe the latter. So, thank you very much!

~Kev~

[threebobs]

I use my BR1600 nearly every day.

One thing, I wish there were step-by-step instructions on how to create a professional mix.

[unclearless]

I could not agree more, threebobs! As I get to the point to where I think I can mix correctly on this unit, I will put a vid on it! ;-)

~Kev~

[threebobs]

That would be fantastic!

Please do. And if you remember, please reply this comment so i know you've done it.

[redstrat8]

FORUM FOR BOSS BR 1600 -FIND THAT SITE

[BLuEsHayZee]

nice stuff there Kev.

[unclearless]

Hey, thanks shane!

[albooher1]

Great Post! I've got the 1600CD also, and it may take "years" to learn all this thing will do....but I have made several mediocre recordings so far and it actually does a good job. I'm constantly reading trying to learn more options with it. I'm jamming along with it in my vids. I have the actual recorded mp3s on my MySpace page and they dont sound too bad quality wise. I have made some mistakes during mix and had to do a re-mix, because like you said, sometimes you don't hear things just right.

[DannyOLeary7]

Thinking of buying br 600 OR 900 in local shops...both have different features please advise me on your choice plz!

[unclearless]

Danny, I am not sure. I knew the 1600 was the best, and waited to get it. I have heard incredible recordings off of all of them, even down to the "Boss micro." I love local shops, but I am not rich, so my best advice is buy one off of e-bay. I saved over $600.00 (US) dollars on this machine! No matter what you choose, I hope to hear your work. Please let me know how it turns out for you bro. And ty for watching! ~Kev (PS, I will have more songs up soon, waiting on my Roland drum kit).

[DannyOLeary7]

thanks man will do!

[ibek1200]

I don't know about br 900 but I use br 600 and am really pleased with it. The insert efects are not the best when it comes to distortion sound, but acceptable. Clean guitar is very very good. And you have a chance to edit a track the way you want. It is a good machine and so compact. But I think about 1600 anyway.

[axxman68]

nicely done. I'm fairly new to recording but i also have the br1600cd version 2 with 80GBHDD. The DVD was very useful to me as was reading the manual...lol!!!! Seriosly, this thing will do almost everything except go down on me, but it 's in training..lol j/k. Best money i've spent in a long time on equipment, but the fostex 8 track was not cutting it.I also have a "First Go At IT" song on my channel. I'm not that good but you can hear some of the capabilities of the Boss.

[axxman68]

Read descriptions of songs on my page to see how it's recorded. I have tried several different setups. I have included the failures as well so you no what not to do...lol. Right now I'm working with building drum and bass tracks...woohoo...very time consuming til i get it figured out!!! \mm/ <to much metal 4 one fist. hahaaa.

[alyin363]

Jayson here: Hey man! It sounds Great! You've got it goin' on! Are you still interested in collaberating? I'll send you some of my stuff to see what you think. I'm thinking later today on the BTV thing too.

[woodwired1]

Sounds really great bro.

[matsaw]

Awesome Kevin keep rocking dude!!!!

[TcroftY]

Kev.. thats quality ;)

[unclearless]

Thank you Crof, I think this unit may be the beginning of some ok albums.

[TcroftY]

Get it done man, i see BIGG things ahaa ;D

[BeBeBeelzebub]

I urge everyone who owns this unit to buy the DVD put out by Roland.....It is amazing and walks you thru everything on this fantastic unit.....The only thing I haven't figured out yet on the BR is midi. Great job with the recording.....once you start playing with vocals it gets ten times more fun.....check out my vids....I have a few there done with my BR1600.

[unclearless]

I heard your stuff, very cool bro! TY for the props. I can't wat to do vocals (It would just be cool if I could sing, lol)! I have heard about the DVD, the problem I heard was that it may teach you the units abilities, but never just say "Hey, here we go, one song start to finished CD, step by step." ...Just what I heard. Ty for the post, and keep rockin' bro!

[woodwired1]

I had some issues with low end note rattles for a while. The slightest screw up with comp and EQ can cause major problems that may not show up on the monitors, only on the CD.

[BLuEsHayZee]

good stuff kev.

[unclearless]

Thanks bro, just got it, and learning how to use it. I want to get the mix and quality right first, then I will get a "Real" song and solo that I will rehearse. Just made the guitars up in 5 min, then took 1 hour mixing the EQ, lol.