Boss BR 8 - Digital Recording Studio [2020]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- My home-spun review of the Boss BR 8 which i have owned and loved for about 15 years, but it doesn't get much use in the age of computers! It's time to dust it off and make recordings of the music i made on it - maybe with a view to selling it. In this video i play around with some of the recordings to show what it can do and that the disks do hold their audio quality over time.
It seems to me that with this recorder is best suited to songwriters who want to construct a song by layering parts individually. The Rhythm Guide is there to create a pattern that you can play along to, and the sounds are fairly dated and can't be recorded onto the disk, but you can chain multiple patterns and have them play alongside your recordings. The COSM effects are a lot of fun and the overall audio quality is good but this machine does have some major limitations. For example it can only record the mic inputs OR the RCA inputs but not both together, and you can't record more than 2 tracks at a time because of this.
This is a ZIP DISK recorder with a FIBRE OPTIC OUT (as well as 2 x RCA OUT) that can play 8 tracks and store 8 virtual tracks per track in each song. Data memory is limited by the 100MB disks that are required. It can only operate as the Master Clock if you want to sync it to other machines.
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Facebook: Dazza Phrom Downunder
Email: theintergalacticfederation@gmail.com
Warning: Audio levels vary across this video - be careful with your hearing !
File: BOSS BR8 Review video 4 remix 2
This video popped up in my feed..I had one of the first BR-8's sold in Ohio. One of my brothers worked at Roland, in 2000 I went to the Winter NAMM show and demoed the BR-8. He ordered one for me. I was recording all my original song demos for our first album on a Fostex X-14, 4 track cassette recorder. Recording with the X-14 taught me how to bounce tracks, and set up recording inputs. When I got the BR-8 I was ready! It blew my mind how easy it was to record, bounce tracks, and punch-in overdubs. Later when the BR-600 was released, I sold the BR-8 to my bass player. He used it until his death in 2009.
that's great to hear - u might be able to help answer some of the queries in the comment's section...
I’ve got one of these and had it since new. It’s really a performance based singer/songwriter machine, and pretty good at what it does. Don’t forget, this was pre DAW, so far less editing capability. What it does do is capture “the moment” and it does that very well. With a bit of patience you can record some pretty decent stuff.
yes, that's true but i haven't been using mine for while and should probably sell it on... DAWs are just so much more versatile. Have fun with it!
Excellent summary of what it is and does. The simplicity and being up and running, ready to record within a very short time. Having faders, fingertip control feels like a real desk. Still an amazing machine.
Gosh, what a memory. This is how recording for me began in the early 2000's. Not a lot of space on those zip disks though. It was the start of a long tradition of recorders that i all owned 😉
Good to hear!
I’m thinking of buying one of these - the vocal effects sound Kool 👍
COSM effects are available in their other products of that period too...
I got a br900 I give you for 75 it got a burner right on it
I've used one of these before - they are annoy as F ... However, it is cool to play with retro gear and it's a cool window into the past :)
yeah - i think i did a pretty honest review :P ...and created a time capsule that i can refer back to at a later date. Now i'm going to work with all my old recordings to store them for posterior-ity... ;)
It has 8 track and each track has 8 virtual tracks. It has a fiber optic cable on the back that you can run to a CD burner to record your final mix. I've had mine since 2000 when I purchased it brand new.
yes - good to hear!
Hi. Would you take me through the following steps please…. . So three tracks are complete, but the fourth bass track has errors & has to be erased as there is no space left & also track 5 & 6 should be erased to free up additional space. What are the best steps to take to do this without erasing the tracks I wish to keep?
@@watchmaster968 From what you explained it’s a little difficult to understand how to answer. You said Tracks 1, 2, & 3 are fine but your Bass track (I’m assuming track 4) is messed up. Each track has 8 virtual tracks which gives you 8 tries on track 4 to get your Bass line right. You can also leave track 4 out of your recording and use track 5 for instance which would give you 8 more virtual tracks. On your disk you should be able to get at least 15 minutes of record time if you don’t have other music recorded on it. So I’m not sure if you are running out of disk space, or used up your virtual tracks on the BR8. or how your running out of space. You can also choose a track and scroll through settings and delete the whole track
@@TheNewenglandboys Hi 👋🏻 Thank you for your reply. Yes Tracks 1-3 are complete & most of the limited 100mb disc space has already been used up. Basically took a few takes writing something & had better ideas each take & never used virtual, so space was used up.
First. If I use Virtual & like one of the four takes I record, do I then have to transfer the track over to normal record mode, or do something else?
As I’ve already recorded tracks 1-3 & didn’t use Virtual, then am I’m now unable to free up space on tracks 4-8 to record on those tracks again? Cheers.
@@watchmaster968 You do not need to worry about any recorded virtual tracks you had previously recorded. You just pick the one virtual track you want out of each track. For instance, on track 1 you may want to use virtual track 4. Track 2 you can choose any virtual track you want. And so on. None of the unwanted virtual track will be recorded.
This is aost like watching "complicated drumming" and "this is spinal tap" entertained me anyway! 🙌😃🎛👽
*wrings hands together* ...my work here is done...
Awesome music👏
thanks
I made two whole albums on this after boring from a neighbor. Yeah they are Lofi, but I want to get one again. I also saw a photo of Kevin Parker’s old studio and he had one of these, not sure what he was using it for but pretty cool.
cool man - i still have mine but have not used it...
I used to be the proud owner of one of these, great sounding machine even at 44.1 compressed audio quality.
yes true - i still have mine but it has been usurped by more modern tech!
@@TheInterGalacticFederation I also have an old Roland VS2480 but prefer Studio One and PreSonus mixer at the mo.
@@sunsetradioeurope3367 can't bet modern tech!
I also liked the fact it had a SPDIF at the back, which I plugged into an external CD burner machine!
@@sunsetradioeurope3367 and the fibre optic cable port does great audio quality too
Bought one of these for $89 usd on amazon this week. My 3rd one owned. Had my first one in 2004.
I just use it for writing songs pretty much. The guitar effects are good
cool - good to hear your story. I'm glad this one is still in working condition...
@@TheInterGalacticFederation sorry if this comment messed you up on getting any decent offers. Lol
i'm happy to keep it at this stage - i still need to get my recordings bounced down from the zip disks...
@@TheInterGalacticFederation you just need the external ZD drive to do that right?
@@jessejafrnd i just bounce them as audio into cubase...
I've had one of these since 2002. Had a ton of disk with songs from old bands. The disks had always played until recently about 1/2 of them had an error saying disk not initialized. It's sad cuz those are the only copies of some old songs that seem to be lost forever due to a malfunction. My fault for not transferring them I suppose.
yes - i have been recording what's on my disks so i can delete and sell them but it's not a perfect art-form, and those disks deteriorate with every use
I resurrected mine recently and found the same message "disc not initialized" although they all have been . If you follow instructions and either attempt yes or no to initialize? it just ejects. Is it a fault in the BR-8 or are the discs affected by age? They have been carefully stored. I have not yet got a new, clean disc to test the machine. Maybe an independent Zip disc player into computer would help sort this out?
Miracle of miracles! With power off and unplugged, I used a torch and pencil to look inside the disc player. Avoiding contact points, I noticed the contact apparatus can be pushed back but stayed there. I made a small hook on a thin wire and pushed and pulled it a few times. I had previously tried all my collection of discs but none worked. With nothing loaded I tilted the machine back and forth and could hear that piece moving. Thinking it may have been something physical with loading, I stood the machine on its back and loaded a disc. It loaded and all my discs work now with the machine on the flat.
I would like to buy this setup, disks and all. I’m in USA. What could I get it for, shipped? Thanks!
what if i said $500AUD including postage? I'm just in the middle of initializing all the disks.
Great sounding music btw!
cool - thanks for the feedback SRE!
Perfeito. Show 👏👏👏👏
The BR-600 is my BR of choice.
wow - that's about 592 times even more better than the BR 8 though - so it must have even more extreme ! i Like. Let's have a BR-Battle dude... :)
just looking at the specs there - it's got 128MB flash memory! So you probably have to collect flash memory cards per song like this zip disks ? - looks like a very similar but more stream-lined design though i've never used one.
I'm just using it for FX, but I might sell it soon for money. It has 1 extra effect than the br 8 it's a COSM compressor/limiter.
Can i run my synthesizer and guitar pedals alongside this? I want to use the fx as a vintage part of my chain.
yes, of course!
@@TheInterGalacticFederation Thanks!! I was just gifted one and wanted to put it in my chain.
@@A5h3n. the COSM FX are great
Hi, do you have any idea where i could pickup another Disk Drive for one of these?....mine stopped working.
No, sorry, You can buy mine if you want?
If you want to re-record a guitar or bass part, how do you delete that part not needed so you don’t use up all the disc space which will prevent you finishing the song? Cheers
after editing there is a function in menu to clean up space on the disk
@@TheInterGalacticFederation Thanks not sure of this process. So three tracks are complete, but the fourth bass track has errors & has to be erased as there is no space left & also track 5 & 6 should be erased to free up additional space. What are the best steps to take to do this without erasing the track you wish to keep?
@@watchmaster968 there is a function to OPTIMIZE TRACK (I'm not sure if that's what it's called tho) and u need to find that in the menu
Can anyone help me out with this? I just bought a boss and got brand new in the wrapper Zip disk iomega 100mb for it. I tried putting in a disk and when I insert it, it says, initialize? So I hit yes, and then it hits me with a Error and ejects my disk. What does this mean ?
not sure. could be a faulty disk or the wrong type of disk
They are probably Mac formatted zip disks
Your video is very helpful and I need one of those zips how much
where are u for postage ?
Wow 😳,I have it's too.
cool!
I use effects in out sent return with metric halo it amazing Sound.,I Love it,.🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
@@l-maerecord1205 that's good to hear - have fun!
Nice machine but do this machine have a U.S.B????
no - too old for usb
Hi are the zip disks still for sale ? If so price for all????
geez - i dunno - if i sold them i would have to sell the BR8 too [which might not be a bad idea]. i know they are getting rarer. Also they lose quality with repeated use. i have 21 and they all work. Make me an offer:
@@TheInterGalacticFederation What would you consider a fair deal for the lot?? Are you in Sydney? Incidentally well done on the BR8 video.
@@normancastelli3546 sorry for the late reply - i just saw this message - what do you think is a fair price at the moment? Maybe $400aud ? i'm based near Sydney...
FLAAAANGE!!
lol - yes indeed...!
I need a zip
Do you want to sell it
YES - i think i should...make an offer...