BOSS BR-1600

[longrider]

Was wandering what the community though about the BR-1600CD? Do you all thing it would be a good workstation to be used for creating songs ? I did notice that its 24 bit and has a USB connection for your computer.Was looking at studio equipment and this caught my eye.Here is the website to see it.http://www.rolandus.com/products/produc ... jectId=574

[mazz]

I don't know about this particular unit but in general I recommend to people with little or no recording experience that they use a product such as this rather than a computer based system, at least to start out. I'm not sure how much experience you have with recording so I"m not assuming that you are in that category. Nowadays, the choice for recording devices usually comes down to: dedicated hardware (BR-1600, etc.) or computer (Mac, PC, Pro-Tools......)A computer based system is more flexible but comes with all of the associated "issues" inherent in a general purpose device that can be used to surf the web, write letters, design graphics, pay the bills and, oh yeah, write and record music!Devices such as the Roland and units from Korg, Tascam, etc. are designed to do one thing and generally don't crash. They also boot up pretty quickly and are ready to go with relatively few obstacles to actually laying down tracks. The downside is if you want to do micro editing of tracks the small displays can be frustrating. As you said, most have a USB connection so you could shoot a track over to the computer for some massaging and then back to your recorder for mixing.Hope this helps,John

[arkjack]

My studio is a BR-1600.... I really like the unit. I've had it about a year after upgrading from a BR864. I use the 864 as a master control to the 1600, and midi that to a Fantom xa... as a result 8 tracks plus drum machine on the 864, 8 mono, 4 stereo on the 1600(with bass, loop and drum machine..), and 16 midi tracks in the xa.... I don't consider myself a very good engineer, and I've agonized over the mixes, but thats a matter of ear training. The one key element I've said before is that you need to have some time committment to learning the software interface inside out to maximize your efficiency. I spent a solid week with my units doing recordings of cover tunes and learning where all the bells whistles buttons switches and spagetti maker is.... and wrote a notebook of my own interpretation of the manual for each major procedure. I am now (after about 10 months of working at it) at a point where I can go downstairs, turn on the power, pull out the instruments, program a rhythym track and start laying it down. fisnished a recording last night for an upcoming listing in about two hours, including arranging the progression.... I would recopmmend checking it out and see if its right for you. Like mazz says, you need to weigh the choice between PC and dedicated machine. Exporting to a laptop or pc is very doable, and I have to transfer final files anyway to submit them through broadjam. I also do clean up editing in my mac and pc before converting to mp3 192 with itunes. The one other element that is nice about the 1600 is expandability. I have started experimenting with layering and doubling tracks to fatten up the sound. With PC based soft consoles, you can have unlimited tracks. with the dedicated unit, you run out of tracks and its bounce time.... however, with a second or third 1600 connected through midi, I can sync the recorders, and double my capacity with each new unit.. already contemplating how to fit it in the room..... You can check out my recordings on my braodjam page ... see my thread in reviews.... these are mostly demo level, and some that I am still trying to bring up to broadcast level but have had no forwards yet. that might be my fault in working too fast or not using the equipment up to its full potential...That much verbage better be helpful!!!!Best...Arkjack