Boss BR-800?

[hendrik84]

Any of you guys have one? Or tried it out?

I've been looking a for something a little more portable than my BR-1600CD, and since I really like the 1600 I figured the new 800 would be the obvious choice but after surfing the net a bit, it seems the 800 is getting really mixed reviews! Some really bad ones even.

Anybody here who could chip in? Maybe even recommend something else? I've been reluctant to buy a Tascam or some other brand since I don't know the quality of the effects but I always know what I'm getting with Roland/Boss.

[gimme789]

I own one, and have recorded quite a bit with it. I think it is a decent machine. It is small and lightweight, so it is portable.

items of interest :

1) Touch Screen : It works pretty good, but if you prefer hard buttons you may not like it. I have noticed that sometimes I inadvertently select something when I did not mean to, and have also had the opposite problem where sometimes I need to select something 2 or 3 times before the unit acknowledges it. But overall, the touch screen works pretty well, and this is not really an issue for me.

2) No MIDI out. This is not a biggy for me, but for some it is a showstopper.

3) Although the drums sound pretty good, I think the Drum editor kind of sucks. Basic copy and paste functions within the pattern editor do not exist, and frankly the logic they used for saving and overwriting patterns seem bass ackwards to me. But, again, this is not really a big deal once you get used to it.

4) Bass and guitar effects are quite good IMHO.

5) SONAR LE. I think this is great, and where this unit shines. Recording and editing using SONAR and the BR800 as your front end via USB works really well for me.


The unit does have some other nice features too. Built in mics are decent, and it is really easy to set up a nice practice jam with a full band sound with just your guitar.

Overall - I have been pretty happy with it. If you can get a 10%-20% discount like I did with Musicians Friend, I think its a great buy.

Check out the tracks in my signature under Mostly Electric.

Shoot me a PM if you have any other questions, and good luck.

[RustyAxe]

I have a BR-600. I'm considering a BR-800, the only features missing seem to be the drum pad (never use it anyway) and track editing (other than basic copy, move, erase functions). Since it's likely to be used with some sort of DAW on a computer, the absence of track editing is no big deal ... it was a PITA on the BR-600 and other Boss units with the small screen and no decent way to see what you're doing.

Otherwise it seems to be very much like my BR-600 ... but better. More inputs, phantom power (only on one channel, though), USB connectivity for audio, control surface, and file transfer. Boss includes a utility to run on a PC that converts the proprietary Boss/Roland MT2 format to WAV (works great with my BR-600) for editing on PC (I use Reaper). The extra storage capacity (up to 32 gb SDHC) is great. I wish that rhythm tracks could be saved as midi files, but not so in this iteration. I wonder if the mastering effects and/or COSM effects are changed from the BR-600. Won't know until I try one.

The phantom power limitation is no issue for me, I run everything through an analog mixer and then to the line in on my BR-600 anyway.

The only negative reviews seem to come from those who no experience with MTRs, little or no DAW knowledge or those who expect a full featured DAW in the little box. I ignore reviews from people whose (unrealistic) expectations aren't met ... and pay attention to those who find that a device doesn't work as advertised, is unreliable, or otherwise at fault. With the availability of manuals online as PDFs prior to purchase there is no reason to have unmet expectations.

[hendrik84]

thanks for the replies!

gimme789 what about the vocal effects? Are they not good?

Can you add effects before and/or after recording?

[gimme789]

Haven't used the vocal effects much, but I did try the pitch correction, and I think it was good.

You can insert effects during recording, and you can also apply effects to the sound of each track during mixdown.

You can record "dry" and then try out various effects after recording too.

I have done almost all my recording using the 800 as a front end to SONAR, and the only real effects I have been using are on SONAR ( reverb, and EQ )

You can get the BR800 users manual here in PDF format. The manual is pretty good, I would advise you have a look at it.

http://www.bossus.com/backstage/product_manuals/

[hendrik84]

pitch correction as in auto-tune(t-pain, kanye west..) or as in correction an off pitch?

thanks! I'll check it out!

[gimme789]

not sure lol, I thought it was to correct pitch but not really 100% sure

[hendrik84]

ok no problem

thanks for the help!