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You're welcome Brian!

Thanks Tony - Exactly! That's how I approach it too, and what I tried to get across on the video. Pick a single pattern that is typical of what you are going for - this can be preset or user pattern, lay down some guide audio tracks to sketch out the song and then go back and make an arrangement to follow the guide audio. I probably made it sound way more complicated than it really is. Hopefully it doesn't deter anyone from trying it out...

I actually find it quite logical to use. If you take the time to learn how it works, it's actually pretty straight forward - no need to be a scientist! :) It's no different to if you are new to using a DAW - you still have to learn how it works to use it properly. I may have made it seem more complicated than it is in the video, but that's because I wanted to show *all* of the features and how they work. You don't have to use any of them if you dont want. They are just there as an option. You can always record the drums using one of the other 5 options I mentioned in the video.

Thank you - appeciate the comment.

You're welcome!!!

No problem! Glad to help.

The BR1600 will boot even without a drive installed. Remove the current HD and restart the machine. If it boots, then replace the HD and you should be good to go again. I have seen similar failure before and the cause was most often the HD. Formatting the CD is done by whatever software you use to burn the CD. I've always used Nero, but whatever software you use should have settings (in properties for the complitation?) to change the format. The firmware is in a zip file. No special software required. To open in Windows, click on the zip file in the left hand pane of windows explorer. You will see the contents on the right hand pane, which you can then copy to where ever you need. Good luck!

@@masteringtoolkit hey thanks a lot for all that. It powered up to the br1600 logo screen so that's a good start. I've found a few hard drives that should work and are advertised to work in the unit but they're 2-4 times the cost of an 80G Western Digital IDE HDD I found online. All the listed specs match. Can you foresee any reason why it might not work? I was trying to get Maxtor, Seagate or IBM because they're recommended but the expensive drives are not these anyway and the western Digital drive is only about $20US. Thanks again for your help.

@@eternity8811 No problem - glad to help. If it booted without a drive, then all should be good when you put a new one in. Do not worry about specs for the drive. ANY standard 3.5" IDE HDD will work. They shipped with 40GB drives originally and then later on with 80GB. You can use any size, but the BR1600 will only be able to use a maximum of 80GB. A Western Digital will work fine.

@@masteringtoolkit thanks. I just noticed some differences in the configuration of the middle set of pins (the group of 8/9) and thought this might cause problems. But if I remember correctly there were only 2 cables connected to the HDD, ie only the 4 pin and 40 pin connectors are utilised when installed in the br1600 anyway... Cheers. Really appreciate your responses. All the best.

​​@@masteringtoolkithey there I'm on another account now. I got it working again though I think the hard drive I got was "refurbished" perhaps. Is there any way to tell? There are slight marks around the mounting screw holes and signs a sticker had been removed from the metal casing underside. Haven't figured out how to extract the files yet. I have to open it in internet explorer right..? Thanks

Hey Dan, Yes it is. Assuming your 4 bar guitar part is located at bar 1-4 On your BR1180 go to Utility/Track and Copy Enter in the Track and V-Track for both source and destination (the same if you want them on the same track) Highlight "LOC" and press Enter Enter the Start and End of your 4 Bar section - bar 1 - 4 "To" is the where you want the 1st copy to go - bar 5 Number of copies is x2 to get the 8 bar extension Set "From" to match the Start location - bar 1 Highlight GO and press Enter.

@@masteringtoolkit thanks so much for the reply. Is it the same process if my section is at 4-8?

@@l33tyeet Yes - just change the Start and End location to match what you want to copy and adjust your copy location to suit.

Hello Gerhard. Is your BR1600 firmware up to date? The Vocal Toolbox was updated in version 2 to get more a few more options - its well worth updating. There is quite a detailed explanation on how to use the Vocal toolbox in the Version 2 update manual which might help: www.boss.info/global/support/by_product/br-1600cd/owners_manuals/6ab702e6-6cc3-48af-a870-3ff0f79fdea3/

@@masteringtoolkit Is the Vocal Toolbox usable at all, or do the voices just sound like a vocoder?

@@user-ny7jn3xx1r For backing vocals that have a healthy amount of reverb and are not upfront in the mix, I think they are quite usable, but obviously that's very subjective. Give it a try on a track yourself and see what you think.

Hey Mitch - Currently working on a video covering the inbuilt drums. I'll add MIDI fader to the list, Cheers!

No, not really. I think they may even have the same thread as the ones going into the frame, just a little shorter with a washer underneath. You create partitions from the "Initialize" menu under Utility/HDD. Selecting "Normal" mode will divide the drive into 40GB partitions (up to a max of 2), while using the DIV2-8 modes will divide the drive in equal sized partitions (up to a max total of 80GB). A helical scanning drive is for writing data to magnetic tape? The BR1600 uses a standard IDE HDD. Using partitions will not extend the life of an IDE drive. This is only relevant when using a SSD and using un-partitioned space for "over provisioning".

@@masteringtoolkit ok thanks.

I was incredibly luck to find this one. I've seen them for sale that were "like new", but this one has never been used (ex display stock from a (drum!) music store). I started on 4 track tape Tascam Porta Two (HS). I still have it and it's still going strong! It was a great way to get into home recording. Thanks for the comment Albert!

The Discrete drum loops work for both the BR1200 and BR1600 (the BR1180 loops also work). Formatting the HDD has no effect on being able to import them back onto the machine. If you have the Loop Phrases saved as WAV files, or if you have the original CD, then use the Loop Phrase Import function. If you have them backed up as data, then use the Data Save/Load function.

@@masteringtoolkit Thx for replying. I've had this machine for several decades now. I re-initalized the 40G hdd once because I got error hdd full and it wasn't full. This time I bought a new hdd 80G. The loops that I reloaded up easily after the first re-initalization didn't load up with the new Hdd. It stopped at 6 on A & B and both those letters had 50 loop phrases in them from the factory, they loaded up when I initalized the Hdd a few years ago. But they're are not all uploading on the new hdd for some reason. There is a slit in the plastic at the top of the new hdd, the ebay seller said it doesn't effect the hdd function. That part I'm not sure of. I think the hdd shouldn't have any defects. So I asked them to send a new one.

@@bqktwcommentary No problem - glad to help! It does seem unlikely that the HDD is faulty, but you never know. Try switching to the 2nd partition on the drive and see if that works. If you still have the original 40gb drive, try putting that back temporarily and see if you can load the loops. If you have no luck, it could indicate a fault with the backup CD (you don't mention if you are using a data back up or the original Drum CD?) or the CD drive? If you run through the above, it should at least narrow down the cause of the problem hopefully.

@@masteringtoolkit i have the original discrete drums cd and I used the import loop/ phrase button to import. Like I said earlier its only uploading part of the loops. The loops were already uploaded to the 40g hdd when I tried initialize function to reset the hdd after getting the message hdd full when I tried to record. That worked to record for a while but it didn't last. It would let me reupload all the songs I had on the hdd before and the hdd wasn't even close to full. This is problem lots of folks have had. So I decided to replace the hdd

@@bqktwcommentary Ah yes, having the "HD full message" appearing when it's not, is definitely a sign that the HD may be on the way out. As you've noted, a format works for a while, but the issue will return. Replacing the HD is the only real fix. What firmware do you have installed? The last version (v2.20) addressed an issue where "the remaining capacity of internal drive may be lost atypically", so it is worth updaing if you havent already.

It should work fine as the VS 880 is able to sync with a MIDI MTC signal for syncronisation.

Cheers Iain! They do seem to be creeping up in price - could be a wise move! :)

If everything else is working well, there is no reason you cant keep using it. It has a Digital Out (Optical) which you can use to get your tracks/songs off the machine in lieu of the CD drive. You can also use the Line Outs like I explain in the video, but this will only be an analog transfer. You may also be able to find a replacement CD drive (or another donor BR1180) and you can swap it out too if you want, which is a very simple job.

@masteringtoolkit never thought of that I tried to remove the hard drive and download the data but if course it's proprietary and can't be used

I have replaced the HDD on twelve BR1600's, and never had an issue. They are standard IDE hard drives, so no need to deal with Roland at all.

@@masteringtoolkit I've searched and was unable to find any new other than from Roland. who did you buy them from.

You can them on Ebay: www.ebay.com/itm/374686700928?itmmeta=01HT4BQDBZXJP90M5352YT6RHB&hash=item573d115580:g:Ap0AAOxyMxpRqLAI&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8Evf4FeTuL3xGRXGPIiFwXKmCJXvLtNjh%2B5%2F7oQanrUMsL7eq8Hr7dWKZTF24%2B69N00mzFr9myqcxYQ5rf5LCgv7QIs%2B%2BjR9iv1ZnSVj86ZLx4e%2FmrnphvMOFvdeBXM6V8zCfDqD9rVXe1G%2FqxNrF0bX%2BDLuTqns4f4yb9KDFD%2B3buirwqtYrkxEeILfT5sWt8BcpSWkMkTsVRtWPL7VSpJLqXOplkLvb3nulIcyRBZ8%2FVj1s2yaec5eG19COILGvW6Bk0EPABbNc%2FSHXraxdJ5ftRi%2Bo%2B8Nci542nLnRnTOQZWH4urHQnd64tlsYhqlWw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4zW3YvRYw

@@masteringtoolkit they are always second hand.

@@aceventura5398 Did you look at the link?? They are brand new drives, not used ones.

The purpose is so that you can have your song start on Bar 1 of the song (and still include a count in - without having to delete it) or if the song has a "freefom" section before the song, you can have Bar 1 be when the actual song starts.

My home recording started on BR 8 (only after the famous tascam 4 track) I still have my 1200 and use it for reverbs and delays and effects essentially but also the faders as midi controlling plugins. I love it but the 2 inputs were very limiting. It will always have a place in my heart

They are definitely a bit of gem, even in this day and age of DAW's. Thanks for the comment Alex!

25 yrs ago there was roland ..with vs 840, 880 , 1680 and a little later with 2480 ... i had 3 vs 1680 slaved to a master ... later i bought a 2480 and had 4 together ... for life registration .and later to make a demo of that

Thank you Chris! I wasn't sure how much this video would appeal, being a very specific topic. Glad to hear that it will be of use to you. Recording a band in a live situation is the most common use for doing this, with the drums being a great example too. For someone who just records by themselves, this aspect doesn't really hold much appeal I guess. However, even forgetting the ability to record 16 tracks simultaneously, it still affords you double the amount of playback tracks too. This has a two fold advantage of both allowing you to record double the amount of tracks that you can playback at the same time (obviously), and have double the faders to work with. You can mix up to 32 channels of audio on the fly without having to bounce anything! This comes is particularly handy if you like to use something like backing vocals/doubles and harmonies. You can get some really complex, even choir like vocals using this and not have to worry about the track count.

Hey Chris - I got notification of your comment, but it did show up here for some reason? To answer you question: If you are using digital audio between the two BR 1600 recorders, the flow of audio MUST go from the Master to the Slave (the opposite to how Roland says to do it), so all your bounces end up on the Slave, not the Master. If you are using analog connections, it can go either way. Yes, you can expand your track count by adding the BR 1200 to the BR 1600. Digital audio on the BR 1200 is optical not coaxial cable and is only an OUT, so you will need a converter to get the signal from optical to coaxial (and will again flow TO the Slave BR 1600) or use analog connections. I didn't test it out with the BR 1200, so let us know how it goes if you do!

@@masteringtoolkit Thanks! I had a long post/question but figured it out so I deleted it. Sorry for confusion. Your response above further clarifies. Specifically, the difference between digital and line for audio transfer between units.

It is normal (and desirable) for the input peak light to come on. This represents an input signal of -6dB, so you want it to flash "occasionally" while you record your track. If this is the case, then it is not overloading the signal. As for the scale on the faders, the mark in the centre of the darkened area is "unity" and is the point at which the signal is neither cut or boosted. The scale on the faders is non linear, so it's ideal to aim to have the faders at, or close to this location as it allows the finest control of the volume in this area. To make sure you don't clip using the faders, you need to check the level on screen and make sure that it doesn't reach the very top, which would indicate clipping. Aim to have the peak level fall just below.

Yes, MIDI is great to have and sadly missing on a lot of modern equipment unfortunately. Combine that with the digital I/O and effects as you say, and I completely agree - it's a killer package!

Cheers Tony 👍

Tony! Mr. Blues. I learned how to use my BR-600 from your videos and some of my BR-800 too! Thank you! Are you still recording DAWless these days? Do you have or are you considering getting a BR-1600?

@@Fezzler61 I have a BR1600, I was one of the first to have one due to my brother working at Roland in L.A. I just never got around to doing a video on it because my band was consistently playing. I still record using the BR-800, as well as the BR-1600. I do transfer the stem tracks to my PC and use Reaper, for adding drums and mastering plug-ins.

My pleasure! I'm glad to hear you find them useful.

You're welcome Paddy - Glad to help 👍

Cheers Don! Its a small tip, but it can have a big impact on the quality of your recordings.

That's great to hear Steve - thanks for the comment and happy recording!

Cheers Rick, much appreciated.

Thank you Dermot - that's very kind! Hopefully it can help folks to get their BR1600's back up and running when the HD fails.

Thanks Mitchell - I appreciate the comments! Me too, and I totally agree that you can get fantastic result from them. I haven't done a video on using the digital input, but it will be touched on in the next video which is on syncing two units together (and connecting them via the digital In/Out) Having a digital In and Out is fantastic and something I use all the time. It's great for trading audio between the BR and a PC/Laptop. With regards to bit rate, it can be either 16 or 24bit, but must have a sample rate of 44.1kHz.

Cheers Phil - much appreciated. I'm currently working on another video as I type this, so more to come. Thanks for commenting

Hey Cris - You could certainly use it as a mixer. It has very usable preamps and phantom power for the 8 simultaneous inputs. I have seen it used for live recording - even linking two together to capture 16 tracks. The only thing to consider is what you will do with the recordings afterwards. Typically you record the full set which means you have a single large file. There is no way internally to split this into separate songs and with it only having a USB1 output, it can take a long time to transfer off the machines. You can buy 3rd party software to speed up the process, but out of the box, transfering is very slow, especially for "set size" files.

@@masteringtoolkit Thanks for that useful response. After I watched your vid, TH-cam algorithm suggested a vid about the Boss Gigcaster. That looks like it would be better suited to my needs

@@CrisPearson No problem - glad I could help. Best of luck 👍

Sure! You don't have to use any of the built in effect or drums if you don't need them, and it will happily record exactly what you feed it - just like the old 4 track tape machines.

Ha! I have been working on one covering the Insert Effects, but it's quite an involved topic and is taking some time to put together. Syncing two (or more BR's) is actually quite straight forward. Not sure how many folks it would appeal to, but I'll see what i can do 👍

Yes, its a shame they were discontinued. Midi is so often missing on hardware recorders these days, and is something I use all the time. I'm not familiar with the Zoom MRS, but it looks very similar in features to the BR1600. I have a few of the Zoom Drum machines (RT-223, SB-246 and RT 323), which are fantastic. The Boss recorders can be modernized too, to a degree - my main BR1600 is fitted with a removable SSD, which makes it completely silent and vibration free as well as being really convenient (and fast) for backing up and transferring to and from a PC. Thanks for the comment 👍

Thank you for taking the time.You are totally right about the lack of MIDI in today's tech too.Love your channel and appreciate your thoughts.The SSD is amazing.👍

Great stuff I’ve just bought a BR1200 cd (I’ve previously had the 532 and 900 units) - can’t you do a video on how you manage to use the removable ssd if it can be done on the 1200?

Thanks SD! Is there a specific issue your having with burning CD's?

@@masteringtoolkit i just don't know how, i thought you might make a vid on how to, cheers.

@@speeddemon9555 Ah OK, thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely add it to my list to do.

@@masteringtoolkit thanks 👍

Thanks for the comment Mammsie - much appreciated! Unfortunately, it's a common problem with these machines especially if they are well used. The tactile switches have a finite lifecycle and the most commonly used buttons - like the ones you mention - are usually the ones to fail first. I picked up another machine last week, which has 36 which are either dead or failing. I believe it may be one of the very first BR1600s from around 2004, as it is still on firmware v1.1! Another one I have, I replaced 33 of them. Fortunately, if you are handy with a soldering iron, it is not a difficult to fix. The most time consuming part is actually getting to the switches. You need to dismantle the unit to take out the main board, but if you take your time, it is pretty straight forward. It takes me about 1/2hr to strip it down (and about 20mins to put back together). The OEM switches used in these recorders (which are also the same ones in the BR900, BR1180 and BR1200 and a lot of other Roland hardware) were Panasonic EVQ-11A05R (Roland part No 01340290). These were discontinued as of Dec 31st 2020, but if you search them up, you can find alternative switches that have the same/similar specs that will work fine (you can also find a seller on Ebay (US) - with a premium added to the price. There are 68 tactile switches used in the BR1600. You simply need to de solder the ones on the board that are faulty and replace them with new ones. Once you have it fixed, you can combine the two BR's you have and sync them via midi. I did think about doing a video on how to do that, but was unsure how much many people actually had more than one BR... For interfacing with the PC, I'd suggest using the digital in/out rather than the RCA, which will give you a lossless transfer. I use a NI Komplete Audio 6 (Mk1 or Mk2) which is USB powered and works perfectly to transfer signals to and from the BR to PC. I have a few copies of the David Wills tutorial DVD too, but no, that's not me ;) Merry Christmas Mammsie, and happy recording :)

Thanks for the comment Gerho! The BR1600 *should* work on Windows 10 I believe. This is the advice from Roland if you are having trouble getting the BR1600 to be recognized by the PC: Be sure to log on as a user with administrative privileges. Close/turn off system monitoring/anti-virus software. If system monitoring software such as anti-virus programs are installed on your computer, close them while troubleshooting. Connect directly to your computer via USB. Do not connect to a USB hub while troubleshooting. Be sure that you are connecting to a USB 2.0 port on your computer; or a USB 3.0 port with backwards compatibility. Try a different USB cable and different USB ports on the computer. I personally don't transfer audio via the USB, being USB1 it is very slow. Some alternatives to using USB: - Use a R/RW CD. If it is just for a mastered song or one or two tracks, then it is actually quite quick. If you use a re-writable CD you can use it over and over again. - Connect the digital out of the BR1600 to your PC via an audio interface that accepts an SPDIF input. I use this all the time to transfer to and from A DAW on my PC. (you can also record directly from the output of the headphone too, but that is less desirable than a digital transfer as it is not lossless) - If you need to backup the entire content of the machine, or a few songs, then you can remove the HD and connect directly to your PC with an inexpensive HD Dock. This is *much* faster than transferring via USB too. See my video on replacing the HD to see how it is removed. It is pretty straight forward to do.

Thank you very much for your answer and tips, I will try it out. Wish you a Merry Christmas. Many greetings Gerhard from Tyrol (Austria)😀

Thank you Gerhard and a Merry Christmas to you and your family too! Many years ago I worked at Talkaser in Westendorf! A beautiful part of the world :)

Yes, that's really nice. Greetings Gerhard

I have another question: There is a tool in the BR 1600 to create polyphonic singing (2-3 voices). I'm not familiar with this either, so I haven't tried it yet. Do you have any advice? Maybe you even have a video for it. Thanks for your answer in advance

You're welcome Roscoe. Happy recording!

Glad to help - they don't make them like they used to! Thanks for commenting.

Great to hear Joey - thanks for the comment! Once you start using it, it's quite logical, especially if you're coming from other Boss recorders. It wont take you long to get the hang of it.

I assume it didn't recognize the CD? If the disc is not recognized by the BR 1600 then it is either the disc type it *must be* IS0 9660 Level 2, Mode 1) or it may not be able to read the brand of CD you're using. If you have a CD-RW that you use and know works, try again with that. Just make sure that the update file is in the *root* of the CD, not in a folder (extracted from the zip file).

Yeah, its a shame Boss abandoned the line. Not sure about a CD burner though as they are pretty much obsolete these day (not for me personally as I have a 1300+ collection and listen to them everyday!) but having removable media like an SD card would be great!

You're welcome Manu! I'm glad it was helpful, and thanks for the comment 👍

Hey Paul - When you bounce, the output of the tracks, EQ, effect and reverb at the output (what you hear through the monitor or headphomes) is bounced to your destination tracks. There are no other steps you need to take. The bounce should sound exactly like the original tracks. None of the settings will be transferred over to the bounce track though, as these are now "baked" in to the recording. If you set the bounce track to Unity (in the center of the black area on the fader), that should be exactly the same as your original tracks. Make sure that you do not have an effects, EQ or compression on the bounce track, which could affect how it sounds. Try copying the bounce track to another stereo track to see if its ths ame (and rule out any issue with the track). Best practice for the original tracks is to keep them in case you decide that you want to re do the bounce later. Assuming you recorded to V track 1, then simply switch track 1 - 7 to V track 2 to record more tracks!

Thanks!! Seems simple enough. I think I’m confused with the whole “V Track” thing though. Right now I have tracks 1-7 used with the drum tracks. What is V track? I believe in the video you may have done something with it? I may have to review that section again.

V tracks are virtual tracks - each physical tracks has 16 virtual tracks, of which you can choose which one will play. Take a look at this video for more of an explanation: th-cam.com/video/tQL3LfRHRZs/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=MasteringToolKit