Roland BR-1600CD Recorder

[Gompers]

http://www.guitar.com.au/effects/boss/recorders/BR-1600CD_O1%5B1%5D.jpg

 

Very nice device. I have been using this to record music with some friends. What I really want to do is move the files over to the PC as wavs then start multitracking along with cleaning up songs. The problem seems to be that the USB function does not transfer files as wavs readily. Each wav track takes about 5 minutes to create and send to the PC. If you have many tracks you can understand that this gets tedious. There are folders that can transfer the entire song tracks over at once but they are VR8 files and are not read by the PC.

 

So this may be a futile plea, but does anyone know of any software that can convert these files readily?

 

 

 

[Sir Lerxst]

http://www.rolandus.com/products/productde...9&tab=downloads

 

Personally never tried it, but it seems worth a look.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Sir Lerxst

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

This app still has to convert or extract waves from the proprietary Roland files. Doubtful it will be appreciably faster. This will be dependent upon resolution of the output.

 

One more point against such devices...

[Gompers]

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Jun 7 2011, 04:02 PM)

This app still has to convert or extract waves from the proprietary Roland files. Doubtful it will be appreciably faster. This will be dependent upon resolution of the output. One more point against such devices...

Well, it's all we have for now. What other device is out there that works as well to PC? I saw some Zoom models but haven't done enough research on them.

[launchpad67a]

It has an internal cd burner, right?

Use the Export to Wav feature and burn all the tracks to cd at once. This will still take some time but at least you don't have to usb each of them.

Then import the tracks into your audio editor.

 

(granted that unit has this feature)

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 7 2011, 05:01 PM)

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Jun 7 2011, 04:02 PM) This app still has to convert or extract waves from the proprietary Roland files. Doubtful it will be appreciably faster. This will be dependent upon resolution of the output. One more point against such devices... Well, it's all we have for now. What other device is out there that works as well to PC? I saw some Zoom models but haven't done enough research on them. Field recorders are not really meant for multitracking. The Zoom device is technically a field recorder. The biggest issue with stand alone digital recorders is that once you are in that's it. There is no upgrading. The limitations begin to emerge. If you get a DAW of any kind you can always upgrade both software and hardware, such as A-D/D-A converters, I/O, effects plugins etc. Plus you are limited to whatever onboard effects are there, if any and/or limited outboard routing to external devices. If there is a resolution cap there is no going up from there. In theory they are a nice idea and some people get some good sounding recordings on them but I would imagine at this point that even Garage Band has more capabilities than any stand alone digital multitrack recorder.

[Gompers]

QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 7 2011, 08:23 PM)

It has an internal cd burner, right? Use the Export to Wav feature and burn all the tracks to cd at once. This will still take some time but at least you don't have to usb each of them. Then import the tracks into your audio editor. (granted that unit has this feature)

I big time consumer is the export to wav feature. I have no idea why this is used. Instead they opted for something proprietary. This device works well but is confusing. We record three instruments at a time were only the drums are ambient. The guitar and bass are place holders for the songs so when one gets rerecorded there is some framework established. We are new at this type of thing but it works. On board mastering isn't to bad, but the onboard effects are difficult to work with. I prefer something visual which is why I want to send the files over to PC.

[launchpad67a]

QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 8 2011, 04:05 AM)

QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 7 2011, 08:23 PM) It has an internal cd burner, right? Use the Export to Wav feature and burn all the tracks to cd at once. This will still take some time but at least you don't have to usb each of them. Then import the tracks into your audio editor. (granted that unit has this feature) I big time consumer is the export to wav feature. I have no idea why this is used. Instead they opted for something proprietary. This device works well but is confusing. We record three instruments at a time were only the drums are ambient. The guitar and bass are place holders for the songs so when one gets rerecorded there is some framework established. We are new at this type of thing but it works. On board mastering isn't to bad, but the onboard effects are difficult to work with. I prefer something visual which is why I want to send the files over to PC. So the unit cannot burn wav files to cd? That seems odd. You might be stuck with usb transfer then. Don't bother with a converter, just take the time and transfer as raw wav's. No conversion also means exact transfer from your recorder to computer. This is what you want.

[Gompers]

QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 8 2011, 01:46 PM)

QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 8 2011, 04:05 AM) QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 7 2011, 08:23 PM) It has an internal cd burner, right? Use the Export to Wav feature and burn all the tracks to cd at once. This will still take some time but at least you don't have to usb each of them. Then import the tracks into your audio editor. (granted that unit has this feature) I big time consumer is the export to wav feature. I have no idea why this is used. Instead they opted for something proprietary. This device works well but is confusing. We record three instruments at a time were only the drums are ambient. The guitar and bass are place holders for the songs so when one gets rerecorded there is some framework established. We are new at this type of thing but it works. On board mastering isn't to bad, but the onboard effects are difficult to work with. I prefer something visual which is why I want to send the files over to PC. So the unit cannot burn wav files to cd? That seems odd. You might be stuck with usb transfer then. Don't bother with a converter, just take the time and transfer as raw wav's. No conversion also means exact transfer from your recorder to computer. This is what you want. Actually it may burn the converted sound file as wav to CD. I have tried the individual transfer as wav to PC, which does work, but it is a long grueling process. I am going to have to breakdown and get special software to accomplish what I want in a timely fashion.

[ghostworks]

^ all of this kind of hoo-ha is why I'm glad I dug my feet in and waited

 

since 1989 I've been 4-tracking via cassette

 

over the last 22 years, I amassed a nice rackmount full of processors, a tidy mixing desk, and some clever skills useful in exploiting the 4 track environment, despite its literal and perceived limitations

 

many stand-alone digital recorders have come and gone, and I've been tempted by them all

 

I resisted

 

finally, early this year I invested in a Mac w/Garageband

 

my world is suddenly 100x full of potential... just like it was in '89 when that 4-track was brand new

 

do yourself a favor, G - get a piggybank!

 

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

I would take the Roland over Garage Band personally.

[YYZ Working Man]

The BR 1600 cd is the unit I work with to do all our recordings ..

I know this unit very well used it for 8 years

 

We use the advanced functions all the time and get prestine CD burns off it. It is a great unit.. you should be able to get everything you want to hear - burn a cd then insert it to a pc if you want to further tweak it

 

There are 2 good ways to record here depending on what you like.

Multitrack mode or stereo mode.

 

Multi track you can record all the instuments simutainously. At that point you go back into each track and pan it out or put the on board effects on the tracks you like - -bounce it to track 9/10 to master -then bounce it to 15 /16 to remaster if neccessary. this will free all the tracks up once again so you can double up or just keep adding

 

We usually do the guitar and drums together track 1/2 and 7/8 then go back do the bass on 3/4 second or 3rd guitar track /vocals and maybe a second drum track

 

we have some songs that have 18 tracks

Stereo mode is meant for recording individual instruments - be careful here because the effects you choose will affect the whole band. dont use this for recording everyone together because volumes will cut in and out

 

these are all stereo tracks track 1/2 is a left right etc

 

The only issue I have with this product is that its good to preamp it to play loud through your speakers or PA system.

 

* I have a ROLAND TD9 and I run through a 4 port headphone amplifier to the BR 1600 the guitar players use the headphones too - this way you hear exactly what you would hear over the big speakers on playback -- you can patch the last unused headphone port to preamp the br 1600..

 

 

what every we hear through those phones is EXACTLY what we hear over the speakers and on the final product of the burnt CD .

 

If you have any specific questions on this unit let me know

 

 

[Gompers]

QUOTE (YYZ Working Man @ Jul 18 2011, 05:44 PM)

The BR 1600 cd is the unit I work with to do all our recordings .. I know this unit very well used it for 8 years We use the advanced functions all the time and get prestine CD burns off it. It is a great unit.. you should be able to get everything you want to hear - burn a cd then insert it to a pc if you want to further tweak it There are 2 good ways to record here depending on what you like. Multitrack mode or stereo mode. Multi track you can record all the instuments simutainously. At that point you go back into each track and pan it out or put the on board effects on the tracks you like - -bounce it to track 9/10 to master -then bounce it to 15 /16 to remaster if neccessary. this will free all the tracks up once again so you can double up or just keep adding We usually do the guitar and drums together track 1/2 and 7/8 then go back do the bass on 3/4 second or 3rd guitar track /vocals and maybe a second drum track we have some songs that have 18 tracks Stereo mode is meant for recording individual instruments - be careful here because the effects you choose will affect the whole band. dont use this for recording everyone together because volumes will cut in and out these are all stereo tracks track 1/2 is a left right etc The only issue I have with this product is that its good to preamp it to play loud through your speakers or PA system. * I have a ROLAND TD9 and I run through a 4 port headphone amplifier to the BR 1600 the guitar players use the headphones too - this way you hear exactly what you would hear over the big speakers on playback -- you can patch the last unused headphone port to preamp the br 1600.. what every we hear through those phones is EXACTLY what we hear over the speakers and on the final product of the burnt CD . If you have any specific questions on this unit let me know

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you really know your way around this recorder. My desire is to get all the tracks into Adobe Audition for the mix down. I finally broke down and purchased WAV-MAKER-1600. Link

 

Any tips on getting compression right on the recorder? This seems to be the biggest issue right now.

[YYZ Working Man]

You have to bounce the tracks to 9/10 then 15/16

in mastering mode..At this point we are generally happy with the Cd burn and if we want to go further put the Cd into a PC music software program (Acid Pro)

 

If you are interested in doing the single tracks -You have to master each one seperately the same way - ( a little more time consuming because you may have 4-7 seperate CDs to put on your computer and use your program

 

- we have tried doing this through a USB to a MIdi unit with some complications

 

- also straight USB to the lap top - worked too. We had to convert the file to a mp3 file

 

- if you experiment a bit more with the mastering tools on this unit you may not need the other program ...

 

[jdouglas]

We had that unit for 2 years. Sound quality is pretty good, but the manual is tyipcal boss pain in da arse to understand. We somehow got tracks to pro tools or something for final mixing and effects etc, but that wasn't me for sure. I've no patience for things that are not plug anf play across other devices or formats.

[Cowtothesky]

QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 8 2011, 12:46 PM)

QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 8 2011, 04:05 AM) QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 7 2011, 08:23 PM) It has an internal cd burner, right? Use the Export to Wav feature and burn all the tracks to cd at once. This will still take some time but at least you don't have to usb each of them. Then import the tracks into your audio editor. (granted that unit has this feature) I big time consumer is the export to wav feature. I have no idea why this is used. Instead they opted for something proprietary. This device works well but is confusing. We record three instruments at a time were only the drums are ambient. The guitar and bass are place holders for the songs so when one gets rerecorded there is some framework established. We are new at this type of thing but it works. On board mastering isn't to bad, but the onboard effects are difficult to work with. I prefer something visual which is why I want to send the files over to PC. So the unit cannot burn wav files to cd? That seems odd. You might be stuck with usb transfer then. Don't bother with a converter, just take the time and transfer as raw wav's. No conversion also means exact transfer from your recorder to computer. This is what you want. I used to have a Roland VS2000 and I used the export to wav feature and burned a cd, then uploaded it to my computer. Yea, it's a pain, but it works. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that anymore.

[Gompers]

QUOTE (Gompers @ Jul 19 2011, 07:21 AM)

QUOTE (YYZ Working Man @ Jul 18 2011, 05:44 PM) The BR 1600 cd is the unit I work with to do all our recordings .. I know this unit very well used it for 8 years We use the advanced functions all the time and get prestine CD burns off it. It is a great unit.. you should be able to get everything you want to hear - burn a cd then insert it to a pc if you want to further tweak it There are 2 good ways to record here depending on what you like. Multitrack mode or stereo mode. Multi track you can record all the instuments simutainously. At that point you go back into each track and pan it out or put the on board effects on the tracks you like - -bounce it to track 9/10 to master -then bounce it to 15 /16 to remaster if neccessary. this will free all the tracks up once again so you can double up or just keep adding We usually do the guitar and drums together track 1/2 and 7/8 then go back do the bass on 3/4 second or 3rd guitar track /vocals and maybe a second drum track we have some songs that have 18 tracks Stereo mode is meant for recording individual instruments - be careful here because the effects you choose will affect the whole band. dont use this for recording everyone together because volumes will cut in and out these are all stereo tracks track 1/2 is a left right etc The only issue I have with this product is that its good to preamp it to play loud through your speakers or PA system. * I have a ROLAND TD9 and I run through a 4 port headphone amplifier to the BR 1600 the guitar players use the headphones too - this way you hear exactly what you would hear over the big speakers on playback -- you can patch the last unused headphone port to preamp the br 1600.. what every we hear through those phones is EXACTLY what we hear over the speakers and on the final product of the burnt CD . If you have any specific questions on this unit let me know Thanks for the info. Sounds like you really know your way around this recorder. My desire is to get all the tracks into Adobe Audition for the mix down. I finally broke down and purchased WAV-MAKER-1600. Link   Any tips on getting compression right on the recorder? This seems to be the biggest issue right now. OK. I have installed the software and it transfers and coverts the files fairly quickly. I do recommend this rather than painstakingly transferring tracks one by one. I have been able to bring my tracks into ProTools 7 SE as well. Now I just need the time to do some mixing.

[Gompers]

QUOTE (jdouglas @ Aug 2 2011, 11:32 PM)

We had that unit for 2 years. Sound quality is pretty good, but the manual is tyipcal boss pain in da arse to understand. We somehow got tracks to pro tools or something for final mixing and effects etc, but that wasn't me for sure. I've no patience for things that are not plug anf play across other devices or formats.

Amen to the instruction manual. Very hard to understand.