Boss BR-1180 User Manual
  1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Boss Manuals
  4. Recording Equipment
  5. BR-1180
  6. User manual

Boss BR-1180 User Manual

Digital recording studio
Hide thumbs Also See for BR-1180:
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

See also: Owner's Manual , Function Manual
The BR-1180 Digital Recording
Studio.
Part I.
Part II.
Part III.
1
1
2
3
4
11
12
14
14
15
16
17
21
23
24
25
27
28
29
31
32
36
37
37
37
38
39

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading
Need help?

Need help?

Do you have a question about the BR-1180 and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Related Manuals for Boss BR-1180

Summary of Contents for Boss BR-1180

  • Page 1: Table Of Contents

    The BR-1180 Digital Recording Studio. Part I. Getting Started Record Modes Inputting a Signal Outputs Microphones Signal Flow Gain Structure Recording a Track Bounce Mode V-Tracks Punch In/Punch Out Effects Equalization Panning Compression Track Editing Scenes Mixdown Mastering Burning a CD Part II.

  • Page 2: Getting Started

    Getting started with a new song. All of the BR-1180’s menus that are not CD or effects related can be found under the UTILITY button. That includes SONG and TRACK menus as well as menus that take us to SYSTEM related and many other functions.

  • Page 3: Inputting A Signal

    BR-1180. The ¼ inch MIC inputs are also balanced inputs that can be used instead of the XLR •...

  • Page 4: Outputs

    Output Connections. To monitor a signal or to send the signal to an external destination such as a cassette recorder, CD recorder or computer interface there are 3 different types of connections. The PHONES output is a ¼” stereo output for headphones. The volume is controlled •...

  • Page 5: Microphones

    BR-1180’s inputs and a dynamic to the other. To turn on the phantom power supply use the following procedure: 1) Press UTILTY 2) CURSOR to “System”...
  • Page 6 Microphone Directionality. A mic’s directionality helps determine its usefulness in a specific recording environment. You can tell how a mic will “hear” by noting its pickup or polar pattern. There are three basic types of pattern. Omnidirectional An omnidirectional (or omni) microphone is sensitive to sound a full 360 degrees around the head of the mic, its capsule.
  • Page 7 A Few things to consider when selecting the right mic for the right situation. Use a microphone with a frequency response that’s suited to the frequency response • of the sound that you are recording. Place the microphone at various distances and positions until you find a spot that •...
  • Page 8 The emphasis of “s” and “sh” sounds, called sibilance can be reduced by cutting the high EQ for the vocal channel around at 8kHz. The BR-1180 also has a de-esser as part of its vocal multi effects.
  • Page 9 Guitar and Bass Amps It is possible to plug a guitar or bass directly into the GTR/BASS input on the BR-1180 but if you wanted to capture the color of your favorite amp you can record it by miking it.
  • Page 10 Woodwinds For most woodwinds, aim a microphone about 1 foot away from its key holes. If you are miking a section try pointing a bidirectional mike down over the section. For miking a single flute place the mike a few inches away from the head joint between the mouthpiece and the left hand.
  • Page 11 Again, experiment with positions to get the best sound. Stereo Microphone Techniques As mentioned earlier, the BR-1180 is capable of recording one or two channels at one time. We could record two different signals at one time or we can actually employ stereo mic techniques if a situation calls for it.

  • Page 12: Signal Flow

    BR-1180’s inputs. For guitars and basses use the GTR/BASS input. For Keyboards and modules and drum machines use the stereo line inputs as most of these instruments are stereo.

  • Page 13: Gain Structure

    Gain Structure. A signal’s level or volume or gain is controlled by knobs and faders at various stages in its path. It is a crucial part of the recording process to be aware how these are set as they will affect the quality of your recording. For starters we will discuss gain structure as it applies to INPUT MODE.
  • Page 14 Digital distortion is the type of distortion that can happen on any digital audio device, such as the BR-1180. It occurs when a signal goes above digital 0db on your meters or the signal overdrives the inputs themselves. It is a most undesired effect as it sounds like a static crackle or pop.

  • Page 15: Recording A Track

    7/8. That will allow you to record new tracks on 1-6. Because the BR-1180 is digital and records in a linear mode (when using LIN) it is possible to bounce tracks without any degradation. In the days of tape based recording...

  • Page 16: V-Tracks

    If you were working with tape then you have to go to new track number. On the BR-1180 you can record on an alternate V-Track on the same channel. You could record the second take on V-2 the third on V-3 etc.

  • Page 17: Punch In/Punch Out

    3) Press REC at the punch in point 4) Press REC to disengage record at the Punch out point. With a foot pedal. To set up your BR-1180 for doing punch in and punch out using a foot pedal use the following procedure: 1) Press UTILITY...

  • Page 18: Effects

    The pedal processes the guitar sound then outputs the signal to a guitar amp or a mixer or a recorder. You can insert an effect using the BR-1180’s internal effects processor by simply pressing the EFFECTS COSM button so that it is lit. By default, turning this on inserts an effect in the path of whatever INPUT is selected.
  • Page 19 A post fade send is what you would typically use for sending signals to effects processors. The individual sends for the LOOP EFFECTS on the BR-1180 are post fade sends. To apply Reverb to the MIC 1 input, use the following procedure: 1) Press REVERB.
  • Page 20 A reverb effect essentially simulates the sound of a room. On the BR-1180 you can select the type of room (ROOM or HALL) and you can select the simulated distance of the source and the surfaces (REVERB TIME).
  • Page 21 Time Based versus Dynamic effects All of the above mentioned effects (reverb, delay, chorus) are said to be time based effects. These types of effects create a change of the signal over time. Dynamic Effects Dynamic effects are effects that manipulate volume in some way. Dynamic effects are typically insert effects.

  • Page 22: Equalization

    The two band equalizers on the channels of the BR-1180 are of the shelving type. To boost or cut frequencies on a track in the BR-1180 use the following procedure: 1) Press the EQ button.
  • Page 23 When and why should I use EQ? EQ can be used in different ways. • To “fix” a problematic track or mix. Ideally, if you have great sounding instruments and the right microphones and techniques and the tracks are recorded well, then you will never have to “fix”...

  • Page 24: Panning

    Panning Any CD is a two track recording. One track represents the left channel and the other track represents the right channel. For clarity, most music is mixed so that the listener gets different sonic “images” from the left and right sides. We refer to this effect as a stereo image.

  • Page 25: Compression

    There are two places that you will find compressors on the BR-1180. There is a compressor that is part of the effects chain for the vocal and guitar multi effects and there...

  • Page 26: Track Editing

    (or tracks) and region that you want to edit and then tell the recorder how you want to edit it. Because editing on a BR-1180 is “non-destructive” if you decide that you don’t like the edit you can UNDO that edit. To access the track edit menus press UTILITY, CURSOR to TRACK and then press ENTER.
  • Page 27 After you have all of your values entered CURSOR to GO then press ENTER to perform the edit. Always go back and listen to your edit. If you don’t like what you hear press UNDO. The BR-1180 Owner’s Manual has a step by step walk through for every track edit on pages 66-74.

  • Page 28: Scenes

    Scenes. It is possible to store up to fifty SCENES on the BR-1180. A scene is basically a “picture” of your current settings. Scenes “remember” all of your fader positions as well as pan and EQ settings, effects send levels and insert effect parameters. You can call up a scene manually or have scenes change automatically while a song is playing.

  • Page 29: Mixdown

    CD. Any audio CD is a two track recording. The mix down mode on the BR-1180 is the BOUNCE mode. Press the REC MODE button so that BOUNCE is lit. Then press the 9/10 REC TRACK button so that it is flashing.

  • Page 30: Mastering

    Once you have created the perfect mix its easy to assume that the only step left to is to burn your mix to CD. With the BR-1180 you certainly can take your mix down tracks straight to CD but if you really want to refine that two track mix so that is sounds as loud or dynamic as a song on the radio or a commercial CD the you will want to master your song.
  • Page 31 If you really want to tweak the mastering tools to suit your music CURSOR to EDIT then press ENTER. If you CURSOR to any of the effects in the MTK EDIT CHAIN you can press edit to access parameters for that effect. •...

  • Page 32: Burning A Cd

    How do I burn a CD? Once you have mixed down your tracks or mixed and mastered your tracks there are two different methods that you can use to burn an audio CD of your music. Track at Once is for writing one song at a time onto a CD. 1) Place a blank CD-R in the disk drive.

  • Page 33: The Rhythm Arranger

    With most of us not having access to a live drummer whenever we want to write a song, the STEREO RHYTHM/LOOP on the BR-1180 is very useful tool. You can create arrangements from preset drum patterns or from patterns that you create from scratch or from imported midi files.
  • Page 34 Creating an arrangement. To start with an empty pattern CURSOR to ARRANGE in the main RHYTHM ARRANGE screen and use the TIME/VALUE wheel to select S 1. Next, CURSOR to EDIT and then press ENTER. Listed are the parameters that you will be working with for putting together an arrangement.
  • Page 35 8) After the count in, begin “playing” the round TRACK buttons below the faders to make a pattern. Or you could play in notes using an external MIDI controller plugged into the BR-1180’s MIDI IN jack. The pattern will continue to loop around so that you can overdub drum parts in real time.
  • Page 36 CD ROM, WAV or AIFF files that are burned on to CD ROM from a computer or from tracks that you have recorded on the BR-1180. The BR-1180 has its own internal memory to store audio loops. When a sample is imported it can be assigned to a track or it can be imported to one of 8 banks of 50 for use in the rhythm arranger.

  • Page 37: Synchronization

    Connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI OUT of the BR-1180 to the MIDI IN of a sequencer or drum machine. Put the sequencer into its external midi sync mode. (The terminology will vary on different sequencers and drum machines.

  • Page 38: Drive Maintenance And Data Management

    Drive Maintenance and Data Management. The BR-1180 is a hard disk recorder. It records directly to a 2 ½” IDE drive. The same as you would find in a laptop computer. As a computer hard drive is a spinning magnetic media it is very important to take care of the drive as well as what is on it.

  • Page 39: Formatting A Drive

    Once the drive has been initialized recover your songs back onto the hard drive To Initialize (format) the BR-1180’s hard drive: 1) Press UTILITY. 2) CURSOR to HDD.

  • Page 40: Wave And Aiff Files

    Suppose that you recorded some tracks on your BR-1180 but needed to have a musician lay down some tracks for you that lived in another city. If that person uses software to record music then you could mail to them a CD with wave file versions of your tracks.
  • Page 41 Tony Bray Product Support Boss Corporation US (323)890-3741 9/2003...

Table of Contents