Klarinet Archive - Posting 000390.txt from 2001/07

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Boss BR8 Digital Recording Studio
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 20:03:03 -0400

>
> Just wondering if anybody on the List has had any experience
> recording with
> the Boss BR-8 Digital Recording Studio.
>
> According to the Roland/Boss website, the BR8 offers better/finer
> recording
> abilities than DAT (although I have not confirmed this). In fact, it is
> supposed to be very close to high-end digital recorders which are utilized
> in the best studios. Features, 8 track recording with a 100meg zip drive
> builtin.
>
> Thanks for any recommendations.
>
> Best,
> mw

While I don't have experience with this exact unit, I took a look at the PDF
on the Roland website.

>From what I can see, I would stay away from this unit at all costs. It is a
complete and total waste of money.

Where to begin.... First of all, the storage medium. Zip disks hold 100
megs of info and they aren't exactly known for reliability. 100 megs of
storage will get you this:

stereo 16 bit 44.1 KHz sampling (CD resolution)- roughly 10 minutes.
stereo 24 bit (they advertise their 24 bit converters although it doesn't
say the word length stored) 44.1- roughly 6.5 minutes

8 tracks of 16 bit 44.1 KHz- 2.5 minutes...

need I say more?

Second-- It can record up to 2 tracks at a time!!! They'll let you do
stereo, but no more. Why bother if you have a multi-track recorder.

Third- Doesn't even have microphone preamplifiers. Limits you to a dynamic
microphone with an impedance transformer on it to get from XLR to 1/4"

Fourth- THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) at 0.15%... You can do better with
analog tape... Studio electronics will be at 0.0001% THD, prosumer stuff
will be at 0.01%... This is HORRIBLE!!!!

5th... Truncation. It uses 24 bit converters, most likely storing a 16 bit
word... Truncates, doesn't dither (induces distortion), mixes with 24 bit
precision outputs 16 bit.. More truncation. I won't get into the technical
stuff, but truncation is *really* bad. Dither is good (even when poor
quality).

Those are the biggies.. I'm sure I could find more with it if I looked
enough...

It may be based on some of the same technology as a studio recorder, but it
is far from a piece of studio gear. Chances are the only way files can fit
on there is through massive data compression, that will harm the sound.

Why do you need a multi-track? Are you running a band? For classical work,
you're rarely going to go over 2 track anyways. If you want to edit, get a
mini-disc for rough work or get a dat machine and a computer sound card with
a digital in. Do you have a budget in mind...

The cheapest way to go is a little Sony MD recorder and a $99 sony
microphone. Sound isn't great, but it gets you on tape. To get better, you
can go for the $250 (?) Audio Technica stereo microphone and a portable
(i.e. Sony) DAT machine. To get even close to the realm that you would
consider "studio," get a Mackie 1202, a Tascam DA20 or Sony R300 DAT, and a
pair of condenser mics (mics out there in the $200-$300/each range include
Marshall 2001, 2003, V67, 600, Shure SM 81, Audio Technica 4031...) If you
want to do it "right" for a true studio quality recording, count on spending
$5,000-$10,000 or so for a good setup.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Fifth Circle Audio
Los Angeles, CA
benmaas@-----.com
http://www.fifthcircle.com

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