Customer Reviews

Roland (Boss) BR-1200 DVD Video Training Tutorial Help

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I purchased a BR-1600 digital recording studio about a year ago and made a few demos with it for my band. I already had some experience with home 4 track cassette recorders and previously owned a BR-8 ( also by Roland )
I was not too thrilled at the price of this DVD , but after reading about it in a Yahoo group for BR-1600 users I figured I'd get one.
I have learned alot of new tricks and tips from this video. The "how to program the drums and Bass loops" section is worth every minute. The narrator of the video is the demonstrator and he is very good with this thing. The instruction manual is very good , but you know how they go... 500 pages of "tech talk" and section after section after section of comfusing pages.... After watching this video I now have a better understanding of the unit and can program it much better. If you have a BR-1600 and are not a "whiz" at it yet... you should get this. Overall useful to beginners and experienced users alike !!

Scot - Boston , MA

I recently bought the BR-1600 and as I am a musician and NOT a technician, I thought I could do with some help getting the most out of this machine. It takes you step by step through all the features but you should not discard the written manual as some basic knowledge is required. This DVD was not available through Amazon.co.uk although it plays perfectly well on my (British) DVD player and TV. Just check that you TV takes NTSC format. Anyone who wants to know the BR-1600 should get this DVD.

I purchased the BR-1600 machine about four years ago. I am still trying to gain proficiency on this machine. It is a very, very complex recording device. As DVD presenter/audio engineer, Mr. David Wills says, "It is far from being a little demo machine." The BR-1600 machine includes a 71 page introduction manual and a 300 page directions manual that reads like original Japanese, translated into English. The pages of both my manuals are worn, dog eared from usage. I purchased the BR-1600 DVD Training Tutorial to aid my failed attempts and frustrations with trying to master this monster. This DVD compresses all the BR-1600 features and functions into 110 minutes. I've seen the entire DVD three times, and studied selected chapters. The end result is the DVD is really a complete usage overview, rather than a thorough training course for BR-1600 owners. BR-1600 features are visually articulated with more emphasis rather than repeated efforts made to educate the user. As for "training", it's far to compressed to cover all technical aspects offered by the BR-1600. Prior education is required before successful handling can be achieved.
At twenty five minutes into the show, things get complicated with a brief explanation of the "auto punch in/out features." V tracks explanation is brief. At forty minutes, Mr. Wills uses the "step method" to explain how to input drum parts of which you would need to be a sound engineer/drummer to comprehend. At forty five minutes, Mr. Wills describes the "bass input editing" as a "piece of cake." From this point, Mr. Wills speeds up his speech and runs sentences together all the way to the end of the DVD. At around fifty eight minutes of video time, you need to be in sound engineer school mode to make useful the flow of data being presented. As Mr. Wills states, "there are so many acronyms here."
My honest evaluations are that I am glad I purchased the DVD. The visual overviews and operations will aid your confidence in knowing it is possible to fully appreciate all the technical marvels offered by the BR-1600. The DVD just confirms what I have learned over the years when I read marketing slogans like "It's easy to record your band." That translates into, "With hours and hours of study and practical applications, you will be able to successfully achieve satisfactory recording results." Bottom line, this pricey DVD should be included with the purchase of the BR-1600 machine.

I will make this short and sweet. You can buy one of these recorders now for very cheap. Think on-line auction. It doesnt matter if you have the best gear if you can't use it. This guy on the DVD will hook you up and allow you to use an EXTREMLY affordable piece of equipment and make some quality recording. This is worth every penny. It helps if you have a computer close or a laptop.....just set it up next to each other and have a professional teach you how to record....Just awesome!

If you own a BR 1600, this is an absolute must have item. I can't stress this enough.

The instruction manual that comes with the BR-1200 is good but not enough to master it. After going thru the DVD quickly as a 1st run, I feel it will help me as a beginner, master it in a fraction of the time it would have taken me otherwise. That is of course unless you're a professional & know your stuff already. I think it's worth every penny for me.

I bought the boss digital 1200 digital recorder. The manual is great but I needed a push to get started so I bought the dvd manual and it's just what I needed to get me off and runnin.I own and use it with a small dvd player in my studio and watch as I work.When I get stuck I stop the machine learn the presedure and go on.It works out very well. John C.

I believe the DVD was worth the money and it helps the process of getting started with this complex digital recorder become much less daunting. (suggestion for the DVD's producer) I would have liked to have had a 'putting it all together' section towards the end of the DVD which covered all aspects in the creation of a song with custom rythym/bass in one LONG example rather than just the various sections where that info is available. In its absence I still believe the DVD was more helpful than not having it and I would recommend it to anyone purchasing a BR-1200 who is not already familiar with a similar system.

I found the dvd to be very helpful. I'm new to home recording and the owner's manual that came with the 1200 wasn't all that clear in some cases. This dvd explained at lot of stuff the paper manual doesn't cover or doesn't cover well. The only negative would be that the dvd went through some material a bit quickly, but with the combination of the two, I'm sure I can do what I want with the 1200. It's one cool machine!

I like most bought the 1600 recorder a year ago and wanted a more simpler understanding of the unit. So the video was what to get. It did help me start to understand the unit as to what things did and why. I wished he went into deeper explainations other then saying mess with it your ears will find the best setting. But after putting a good year into the unit he was right hes not gonna tell you what sounds best for you.
If you think your going to watch it and blow out recordings like a pro its not likley. True you will have a better understanding and I will have to say its great to go back to the video to reference things in the begginning. Time and more time and trying different recording projects will build up your experience with the unit. I am now working with a sequencer and other midi keyboards and drum machines all sync together with the unit and its wonderful now. The video bearly touched on any of that stuff. I would suggest buying a good drum machine that flam and rolls and midi it to the BR the drum sounds. The BR drums sound great but having more controll over sensitivity and effects help create better drum patterns to play into unit using BR drums. But time on the unit will get you their and experimenting will get you better at finding the level of sounds and realizim you want, it also depends on what type of music your trying to record.
He also does not cover the need for a good sound proof booth to record in how it makes a world of difference or a very good mic and headphones can make a world of difference. You cant blame the BR1600 for you not getting great recordings if you dont have the toolls to record.
Its putting the time into trying and experimenting. I took me a good year before I was able to feel confident with how to produce a good sound and thousands of dollars to get the room setup to record.
The guitar sounds are so so in the unit and I find mic-ing a amp to beat all the programed guitar sounds. So dont beat yourself up it will take practice to get a good sound and the video only outlines what each thing does. Some things he breezes over so fast youll find your self rewinding the video to catch it. But most of the stuff he explains is good. I would say you will need the video to break through the learning process. The Booklets a bit deep at times with the video it really helps. But in time it all makes sense if you keep on keeping on it.