Boss BR-1600CD

Very easy to use - Programming bass and drum tracks is a multi-step process, but you're going to have that with any bass/drum machine. Recording 1, 2, or 8 tracks couldn't be easier to setup and intuitive.

Sound is great - I love the effects, they are very high quality. Pre-amps are pretty good, just keep single coiled pickups away from the unit and watch your gain settings.

Built like a tank - okay just don't drop it and you should be fine.

I haven't had to call Boss/Roland for support on this.

Features are great - best platform there is for mobile recording of live audio events. Can't beat 1/4 inch jack/8 XLRs with phantom power all inputs with compresion and EQ on every input! USB function is limited (one mono/stereo track at a time), but can be overcome by using WAV-MAKER-1600 software utility which is now available. Bass and drum machines are a definite plus. COSM amp models means you can build a whole gig around this thing and play live without a backing band or extra effects.

I like it and don't regret my purchase one bit. I'd buy another one if this thing got hit by a meteorite and destroyed.

Very user friendly. If you're used to BOSS products, as I owned a BR-8 prior, it even that much easier. However, even if youre a total newbie to all-in-one digital units, youll find this thing is pretty easy to use. Im not going to get all technical and try to explain every single feature - Let's just say that the machine is friendly enough, that the manual doesn't have to become a bible. You can use it for reference - no need to study the thing. You can plug in and start right away, and use the manual as needed.

Incredible, simply incredible. I use a seperate unit for drums, but the sounds ive heard coming out of this machine are very impressive.

I trust BOSS products. Im sure it's very reliable. Ive only owned it for a week now, but Ive never had a problem with BOSS in the past, and I dont expect any less from this machine.

Haven't needed it. Not sure.

10

Before getting the Br-1600 I had the 1180 (STOLEN from me at a show)which is very similar in layout. It was virtually identical, so my learning curve was minimal. This recorder is extremely easy to use. The manual is easy to use and clearly written. You don't have to be a rocket scientist. If you have used the 1180, you will find the 1600 less cluttered and more sensible in layout.

Im basically using this machine as a portable recorder to take to practice and record ideas at home with. There are a lot more involved digital recorders out there (Roland VS, Korg 32, Yamaha-44, Tascam etc.) but I have found that this recorder to be suffice for what Im using it for and the price. I looked into the Roland VS 2000, and found that the only differences really were the plug ins, bussing, and USB-2.0 versus USB. I do all my editing using a PROTOOLS set up,Soundforge/Acid, Fruity Loops (for beats and other stuff) so I really have no need for onboard graphical editing or onboard plug ins. The sound quality is great for recording live drums, instruments and vocals. There are plenty of effects (insert and stereo) to make anyone happy. Especially guitar players. I also like that the parameters are easily tweakable and the layout is not as cluttered as its predoccesor 1180. USB also saves me a ton of time and disks when bouncing traks to the computer or importing/exporting files in WAV format. Vocal tool box is very cool with the auto pitch correction and harmonies. I seldom use the onboard drum machine/sequencer but it can come in handy just to get an idea out. Nothing you would want to demo. The only drag is that there are 8 mono tracks and 8 STEREO tracks. In other words, you can only record one imput into tracks 9/10 -15/16 at a time. There is one fader for 9/10, 11/12... However, it really doesn't matter because there are so many virtual tracks (16x16)and you could always bounce your tracks, copy, or send to a computer for infinite editing ect. I find that having 8 simu. tracks at once with the option of XLR or 1/4" is very useful versus the 1180 which only has two imputs.

Although a bit slower than the 1180 (not by much though. Seconds maybe)I have not had the 1600 long enough to know how reliable it is, but if it is like the 1180, I can say it will last. The ONLY problem I ever had with the 1180 was losing an entire song after spending hours recording it. The name of the song was in the menu, but when I went to open the song, the default demo song would open. This only happened one time, so it must have been user error. I don't know. The 1600 is light in weight, and the faders are very sturdy. All knobs seem to be nice and stiff, and the quality seems to be very good. Boss generally makes pretty durable gear. Ask any guitar player, Im sure at one point or another, they have owned a BOSS/Roland pedal or drum machine. I have not had a chance to put the 1600 through the mud, but I did beat the hell out of my 1180. It was dropped, dragged to and from many shows and recording sessions as well as tweaked and prodded to the max. It never broke down on me and always turned on when I needed to use it. The CD tray seems pretty flimsy (Boss should use a regular cd-rom port like a normal pc or mac) but it seems to work flawlessly. There is no gig bag available for the 1600 yet so Im sort of hesitant just to stuff it into a back-pack or lug it around in the original box.

To be honest, I have only had good experiences with Roland. I have heard of their support team being complete jerks, but I understand that they must talk to a whole lot of dummys on a daily basis. I have only called them one or two times, and the people I spoke to were pretty informative and answered all my questions. I have never had to return an item, so I don't know how they are with all of that.

I play a myriad of different musical styles from Reggae, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Afro beat (Likes of Fela Kuti) to Punk and Classic Rock. I like it all. Don't want to sound like a tech geek, so I'll spare you about all my gear and just say that this machine is used to record practices, record ideas and to drag around to my friends houses to record their stuff. If this machine were stolen (A-gain) I would be "VERY UPSET". I love the fact that the 1600 has 8 simu. tracks at once including 8 XLR's and that it is layed out the same as the 1180 which is extremely user friendly. The only thing I dislike is that it is really not a true 16 track recorder, although like I said, tracks are really not that much of an issue for me. It has all you would need to get a CD quality demo and for recording live music. The mastering tool kit is cool too. I compared this machine to the Yamaha AW16G and Roland VS-2000. The VS was like 700 more dollars and really didn't have THAT much more than the Boss. You have to buy an interface card to do the VGA editing (350 bucks or so) and buy all the expansion cards (also expensive) to get the full range of plug ins that the VS 2000 is capable of. Outside of that, the overall functions are almost identical. Eg- COSM, 40 Gigs, Vocal Tool Box, Mastering Tool kit etc. I have no need for bussing right now and the extra outs are nice, but not needed. I do all my graphical editing if needed on the PC. The Yamaha seemed to be real confusing but had some nice features. The Aw16g is 400 bucks cheaper, but only has two XLR's and 6 mic line imputs. It only has half of the memory and the sound effects were just OK. The BR 1600 is worth the extra bucks.