Boss BR-900CD

I'm writing this short review to rebut the review below that
claims that the rhythm track tempo is lost once a track is
recorded. I originally had this problem myself with the BR-864
(which I've reviewed on Harmony Central) and thought others might
have the same problem. Apologies for the slight abuse of this
space.

The problem is that the tempo of a rhythm pattern is not stored.
So if you set the pattern tempo, record a track, and then come
back to your song later, the tempo you used when recording is
lost, and the default 120 bpm tempo is used.

The solution is to create a rhythm *arrangement* for your song.
It is very easy to create an arrangement that contains just a
single pattern. The tempo must be set as desired for the arrangement.
The arrangement and its tempo will be stored as part of the
song data, so when you return to your song the tempo will restored
correctly.

Well, I consider myself fairly good with looking at a machine for 5 minutes and figuring out the buttons right away and making things work the way they should, but this one is definitely not one of them. Reading the manual helps, but it's still not very easy. You're gonna need the DVD manual to really understand what's going here. I wouldn't recommend this machine to people who are not familiar with recording techniques/terminology and people who are not patient.

Effects are great and they sound fairly clean, overrall. The drum machine sounds pretty realistic and have a thick sound to them. However, I wouldn't recommend this drum set for musicians into techno, new wave, or dance music. The drum set seems geared for rock and r&b musicians.

I've only had it for 2 weeks. So far, it hasn't done anything strange or give me errors.

I play all kinds of music, but I'd say that this machine seems geared for guitarists. I compared this machine to other products and I'm very satisfied with my purchase, and I think I made the right decision. This is definitely helping me write more music and even inspires me, but I would definitely recommend that you get the DVD manual and learn all the features and techniques before you can truly appreciate what this machine could do.

This product does take a little time to become familiar with and appreciate all the bells and whistles provided. The manual is well written and explains things clearly - at least for me it did. This is my second recording product from boss the first was the VS-880 so I do have experience with these types of manuals. After a little practice things will become much clearer. I give this an 8 because it does take time to understand the machine especially with all the possibilities it offers.

For me the sound and effects are perfect. I have recorded a few songs within 2 weeks and I am very happy with the quality. If you use good quality equipment you get good results. If you input junk then you get junk in return. I was able to borrow a $1000 mic and I couldn't believe the quality this recorder is capable of for the money. The effects are great and can be manipulated to your hearts content. Distortion effects sound really good, as well as the vocal, drums and other effect simulations - remember this is Boss. I did burn a MP3 CD and yes it sounded great. I give it a 9 because a 10 would be for home studios more expensive than this (i.e Br 1600cd)

I have owned it for 2 weeks. I do baby it - no jerking, banging, shaking or dropping the machine - it's digital. If you fail to treat it with care and respect your asking for trouble. I give it a 10 - no problems thus far.

Never had to deal with the company. So I really can't leave an opinion.

I used it to record acoustic guitar and vocals - which it did beautifully. I used it to record hard rock, again it did it beautifully. I recorded with a Yamaha LL6 and Godin Sdxt - not only was I impressed but my friends as well with the sound quality. If it was stolen I would definitely purchase another one - it has motivated me to record my music and made it very easy and convenient doing so. My only wish for the Br 900 is that it had larger and dedicated drum pads. In order to access the other drum sounds you must push a button which is inconvenient - but nothing major. When I donwn load to my computer the file is transferred in wav. format - a large file - luckily I have freeware that converts it to MP3 for burning CDs or down loading to my website. I give this a 9 - I am personally very happy with this machine and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to record their own music.

i found this very simple to use except for the drum machine.i bought a boss dr-5 drum machine for a hundred dollars off ebay and programmed the bass and drums on it.you can use the 1/4 inch outs to the line in on the br900 and it sounds great and its way easier to program the drums and bass.

the sounds are good but they all seem to have reverb.i haven't figured out how to turn them off yet.i use a cheap ibanez rx120 guitar but it sounds good just plugged straight in the br.i haven't heard any noise out of this thing it's super clear

iv'e only had it for two weeks but it seems reliable.i would trust this on a gig because i think boss equipment is reliable

never dealt with the company or had repairs yet

rock/blues/funk ive been playing for twenty years.so far i really like it.if it were stolen i would replace it.or i might get the br1200 cause it has easy compose on the drums.since buying the boss br900 and the boss dr-5 i have came up with so much music in the past month i don't know if i can ever get it all recorded.boss equipment is super insriring.

I'm actually reviewing the earlier model of this which is the br 864, but is essentially the same. It takes a while to wrap your brain around this thing if, like me, you've never recorded before. But once you get into this thing the sounds are nothing short of amazing. It should be required to by a recording book ahead of time because I got stuck in a couple of spots until I broke down and got one. If you want an example of what it can sound like go to cdbaby.com/cd/bcgarner

I think eventually I got all the sounds I wanted to get so I would have to say the sound quality is excellent! The amp models and effects are great. You just have to take a certain sound and tweak it till your satisfied. I sometimes would have as many as 20 tracks going. I would just use the v tracks for storage and when I was ready to start mixing down I would just take the first 8 tracks and bounce those, over and over again if necessary,(the redo button is so awsome!). I used an alesis sr16 drum machine because the on board drum machine was a little tough maybe this new version is easier.

I could really depend on this unit a lot. Sometimes it would do a little wierd thing but I would just turn it off and on again, once in a while, and everything was fine. I would definately get a 1 gig flash card. That really helped a lot. I also got a computer type of battery backup surge protection to prevent spikes after a power outage or for just "dirty" electricity. It's a small but worthwhile investment.

boss is a mish mash. most of the time you get decent help, but sometimes you get someone who is personality challenged.

The style I did on this cd was southern rock, blues, and jazz. I was able to plug in my electric guitar, bass, acoustics and classical direct and get a good sound. I was also able to master on this. It helps if you have a direction to go in. I studied classic rock songs for a year before I recorded anything because I wanted to hear how those producers were getting those sounds. Obviously you can't tell which buttons they pushed and what not, but I figured a lot out just by listening closely. I used to listen to chet atkins and leo kottke records to play their music note for note. I was always a fanatic for getting every note even the mistakes. Yes even great players make mistakes. If you decide on this product I can tell you you'll get your monies worth. If you have any musical inclination though you may want to spend a bit more and go for the 1600. I wish I had a few more tracks when I was mixing down. It would have made things so much easier. But If you're just doing a couple of instruments and a vocal or 2 you'll be fine, but don't underestimate the power under the hood.

This machine is described as being "intuitive". Well I can say that it most definately is not, it has a tiny screen to view things on, and a funny orange backlight that hurts your eyes after a while. The manual is very hard work, I'm sure there are chunks missing out of it, I found actually recording things quite easy, however programming drums, and stuff is nigh on impossible, however I have resigned myself to not really using these(see later comments). I hate the way that even when you are using the metronome function just to keep you in time with a view to overdubbing percussion , the fact that the rhythm track doesnt actually "record", and then resets iteself automatically to 120bpm, means that when you overdub the next instrument, the metronome is out of sync with what you have recorded. The only solution is to run a drum/rhythm/metronome and record it onto one of the tracks, but then you lose one of your eight tracks, when the machine was sold as one where you didnt need to do that. You also cant even "bounce" the metronome track onto another track to preserve the sync!

This is where the unit has at least some redemption. The modelling sounds are good, if a bit repetitive. I mainly wanted to record acoustic instruments, and many of the sounds are geared towards the rock and metal side of the spectrum, but even these have their uses. The good thing is that if you record an acoustic guitar part, with a capo, to record the bass track, you can use the same guitar, with the same capo position, run into the bass simulator, to give a creditable bass sound, in the right key without having to transpose onto another instrument. The vocal effects are ok for recording percussion, from even non-instruments! Some of the death metal guitar sounds have their uses as an effect mixed low on some tracks too. Running obscure instruments like dulcimers and mandolas through these simulators is a bit of fun too. Trouble is its back to staying in time, what do you do with naff stadium drums, and a metronome with a mind of its own.

Trouble is any kind of creativity is severely stifled by this machines lack of useable features which were marketed heavily as being essential. You keep hitting proverbial brick walls, and getting frustrated, by which time the creative spark has gone.

The drum sounds are naff for anything subtle, they are too loud and lack any kind of finesse or ability to be changed. Even changing to the jazz kit preset gives over the top, repetitive drum sounds. Even the 15 year old Alesis SR16 has got the ability to change/customise drum sounds! And theyre selling for #80 new!! Great for doing rock covers, but for owt else, the BR900CD is nigh on useless. They are also nigh on impossible to program. This machine would be ideal for producing Karaoke backings for aspiring rock singers or air guitarists, there are some cynical programs in it, there is a preset 70s rock song drum sequence which when coupled with the 70s guitar sounds could give you a note perfect version of All Right Now, if that was your thing.

But I bought it as a compact recording studio, to get down acoustic tracks in time, to experiment with overdubbing acoustic instruments and percussion, which as an 8 track digital studio should be well within its capabilities. Had I known what the reality was I would have bought a simpler machine (probably from one of Boss competitors) and a simple drum machine as a time keeping device. I would have had more fun and I would probably have had spare money to invest in something else fun too.

I have noticed that there is interference on the machine, from other sources, it is prone to picking up hum and hiss, especially through the mains.

Seems well built, my "recording studio" is a breakfast bar in a kitchen, I suppose it would survive a fall off this, I'll just be careful with it.
The squishy buttons do seem like they are the sort of things that might give trouble with age, the knobs seem tough enough, but the faders feel a bit delicate too.

Plastic case scratches easily, but metal chassis redeems things.

Contacted Roland by email twice, ignored at first, then got an email explaining a certain problem in techno-speak, which didnt really solve it. Finally they referred me to a more local shop, where the guy there was very helpful. Trouble is that seeing as that shop wasnt the place where I bought it from in the first place [bought mail order from Turnkey in London, who gave me little help at all :-(], technically it was not their problem, it was only their goodwill that managed to at least get me started with this thing [thanks Sound on Sound, Leeds;-)] Plus I had to get myself and BR900 over there in the first place too, a 50 mile round trip. Its Rolands problem with the operation of their machines first and foremost, they should be providing better support, they have been less than helpful. I currently have an email query with them over the timekeeping of the rhythm track, I am still awaiting a reply.

Music- Acoustic based using a variety of guitars in bth standard and open tunings(slide too), odd instruments such as appalacian dulcimers, bouzoukis, mandolas,lap steel, hand percussion. Plus an old Telecaster for electric sounds and a bass too. World/bluesy/acoustic influence in my playing, but listen to all sorts, including guitar driven rock/indie stuff too. Playing for years on and off, family commitments forced a retirement from being a gigging musician, now play mainly for relaxation/fun and also the joy of collecting/repairing/learning new instruments. I thought this bit of kit would enhance this. It didnt!

Dont get me wrong, as a tool for a working rock based musician, this would be great, the sounds would suit you a treat, the drums would be just fine (yould take weeks to learn how to program them though). It would make a good demo machine. The trouble is that you could do the same with a cheap drum machine and a four track cassette portastudio. I was looking for quality sound recording, ease of use, and a wide variety of sound modelling. Above all I wanted to enjoy making music again. This promised this but didnt deliver.

Stolen/lost? Id buy something better/more relevant with the insurance and probably have some change.

Love about it? The acoustic sounds/the bass modelling sounds/the vocal modelling. I could live with just these, its just that I paid extra for the stuff I hate such as;-

a)The drum/rhythm section is awful, hard to program, naff bombastic sounds, and now I find that even the metronome is useless. b)The over excess of distorted rock sounds (it would have been nicer to have has some actual guitar modelling sounds rather than just amp/tone sounds. I could have used turning my Tele into a Les Paul or a 335! What use can I make of Aussie Rock presets!?). c)The small orange screen that gives you migranes. d)The instruction "manual" which has not only lost something in translation but seems to have lost something, full stop. e)the support from Roland(or lack of it). There should be better backup for what is a complicated product, I know that ther are other manufacturers of product far less complex, whos support is ten times better.

Before I bought this I did much research, I comtempleted the Zoom products which were cheaper and the Tascam products which had less features, I went with Boss because of their reputation for quality and ease of use. Not my wisest decision! This is a jack of some trades, a skivvy of the others, and the master of none of them.

Does it help me make music. No, it makes creating music much more complicated and frustrating, more than I ever thought it would. Dont get me wrong I was prepared to have to do some work and put time in to learning to use it, but it was sold as an easy "intuitive" machine, to "plug in and play", I didnt anticipate the hassle and the dissappointment that the BR900CD has given. #100 odd more would have got me a lap top, which would have done a better job and been more versatile.

Its funny that the ad for the machine, shows a chap in a sparse bedroom, with his head buried in the wall, and a trashed Strat in the foreground. Never has an ad been so true to life for a product, the BR900CD he was probably using is nowhere to be seen, hurled out of the window no doubt, before he smashed his guitar and his head!!!!!

Sorry Boss, this machine promised so much, and had delivered so little, certainly to this particular type of musician.

Considering the incredible capabilities, the ease of use as a new user is reasonable. It may be intimidating at first, but anything complex whether this unit or a Boeing 747, requires a lot of study and experience before the operator's skill matches the machine's capabilities.

The manual could be clearer, but all of the information is there, and by following the sometimes-confusing English, every operation can be learned.

Have not yet edited patches, but it seems to be easy. I enjoy the presets!

Very low noise, and excellent patch sounds.

No problems so far.

n.a.

Jazz and Blues player. 20 years. A stand-alone recording studio of high quality.