BR-800 Rhythm Editor Manual Copyright © 2010 BOSS Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of BOSS Corporation. * Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. * Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. * Mac OS is a trademark of Apple Inc. * All product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
1. Introduction 1. Introduction BR-800 Rhythm Editor is a convenient tool that makes it easy to edit and create BR-800 rhythms using a personal computer. This Rhythm Editor can only work with rhythms. You can not use it to work on effects or data recorded to audio tracks. * A Step is a grouping composed of the same pattern repeated at the same tempo and beat. For more detailed information, see What is Step ? (p. 14).
1. Introduction ～ Procedures from Starting Up Rhythm Editor to the Finished Rhythm ～ 1. Make the connection to the BR-800, then start BR-800 Rhythm Editor. Connect the BR-800 to your computer via USB cable. Start up BR-800 Rhythm Editor. For more detailed information, see 2. Connecting / Disconnecting the BR-800 (p. 4). 2. Read in a song from the BR-800. Read in a song from the BR-800. Click the SONG READ button! * This allows you to edit data saved to the BR-800 with Rhythm Editor.
2. Connecting / Disconnecting the BR-800 2. Connecting / Disconnecting the BR-800 Do not disconnect the USB cable connected to the BR-800 while BR-800 Rhythm Editor is running. Doing so may cause malfunction or loss of data. 2-1. Connecting with the BR-800 1. Turn on the power to the BR-800. 2. Connect the BR-800 and your computer with a USB cable according to the instructions in the BR-800 Owner’s Manual, then select [MENU] - [USB] - [RHYTHM EDITOR]. 3. Press the BR-800’s [ENTER] button. 4.
3. Introduction to the Various Sections 3. Introduction to the Various Sections COMMON Section DRUM KIT Section PATTERN Section ARRANGEMENT Section COMMON Section Use this section to adjust the playback volume and tempo and make other settings that apply to the overall sound. For more detailed information, see 5. COMMON Section (p. 6). PATTERN Section Use this section to create/edit patterns and write them to the BR-800. For more detailed information, see 6. PATTERN Section (p. 7).
4. Read in a Song from the BR-800 4. Read in a Song from the BR-800 Data that you’ve edited cannot be saved in the preset data in this Rhythm Editor. This means that you need to first import the song saved on the BR-800, and this then allows you to save the song on the BR-800 from Rhythm Editor. * A song can consist of up to five drum kits, 100 patterns, and five arrangements. Executing a SONG READ operation causes any data being edited to be discarded. 1. Click the SONG READ button in the COMMON section.
6. PATTERN Section 6. PATTERN Section 6-1. Basic Operation Preset pattern data cannot be saved. Never rename, move, or delete any file being used by BR-800 Rhythm Editor. Doing so will make it impossible to perform operations such as Save within BR-800 Rhythm Editor. The total number of drum sounds that you can input into song patterns is a maximum of 4,999 per song. Exceeding this upper limit makes it impossible to save the edited data.
6. PATTERN Section To play back the currently selected pattern: 1. Click the PLAY button; playback of the currently selected pattern repeats. 2. Click the STOP button to stop playback. Clicking the STOP button a second time returns the playback-start position to the beginning of either the leftmost measure currently visible, or the measure immediately following the leftmost one. Clicking the STOP button yet again returns the playback-start position to the beginning of the pattern.
6. PATTERN Section To delete a drum sound that has been input: 1. Right-click on the desired square and select “Delete” from the menu that appears. 2. The drum sound is deleted. * You can also press your computer’s Delete key to delete the drum sound. To adjust the velocity of the drum sound input in the currently selected square: * Immediately after Rhythm Editor has been started, the velocity of newly input drum sounds will have the default value (100).
6. PATTERN Section To set the resolution: What is Resolution? This is a value that shows the precision of the timing with which sounds are played. In Rhythm Editor, you can divide a single beat into as many as 96 segments as required. 1. Use the Zoom bar to set the resolution. Each click on [+] makes the resolution finer, and each click on [-] makes it coarser. 2. The resolution that has been set is displayed to the left of the Zoom bar.
6. PATTERN Section 6-2. Entering Drum Sounds and Creating Patterns Use this procedure to create patterns, entering drum sounds in individual squares in Pattern View and specifying the timing for the input drum sounds. 1 2 Select the drum kit to be input. Set the number of measures. Click on the LENGTH field, then use the computer’s keyboard to directly type in a value from 1 to 999. 3 Set the time signature. Select the pattern’s time signature with the TIME SIGNATURE Selection button.
6. PATTERN Section 6-3. Importing SMFs and Creating Patterns Before attempting use as a pattern, be sure to save them on the BR-800. When importing GM/GS/XG-compatible SMFs, MIDI Channel 10 is generally assigned as the channel used for rhythm performances. Thus, only the data on MIDI Channel 10 in the SMF is isolated and imported by the Rhythm Editor.Note that the data on other channels is disregarded. You cannot import SMFs containing more than 999 measures.
6. PATTERN Section 6-4. Writing Created Patterns to the BR-800 Preset pattern data cannot be saved. You cannot use a pattern in an arrangement before the pattern is saved. 1 Click the PATTERN WRITE button. * If a song is protected, an overwrite confirmation message is displayed. To go ahead and overwrite, click [OK]. To cancel the save operation, click [CANCEL]. The Pattern Selection screen for the save destination appears. 2 Select the save destination and click [OK].
7. ARRANGEMENT Section 7. ARRANGEMENT Section 7-1. Basic Operation Preset arrangement data cannot be saved. Never rename, move, or delete any file being used by BR-800 Rhythm Editor. Doing so will make it impossible to perform operations such as Save within BR-800 Rhythm Editor.
7. ARRANGEMENT Section What is Step area? This is where you make the Step settings. You can make settings for each pattern individually, including changing the pattern used in the Pattern, setting the tempo in the TEMPO row, along with other settings. The Step area at the current location is displayed in pale orange. (Step area diagram) Pattern TEMPO row TIME SIGNATURE row STEP row * The beat value for the pattern used is displayed in the TIME SIGNATURE row.
7. ARRANGEMENT Section 7-2. Using Drag & Drop to Insert Patterns You can drag and drop a pattern to directly insert it at the desired point in Arrangement View. You cannot use a pattern in an arrangement before the pattern is saved. 1 Select a pattern in the PATTERN section. The content of the currently selected pattern is shown in Pattern View. 2 Click the DRAG symbol, and then drag and drop the pattern on the desired point in Arrangement View. The currently selected pattern is then inserted.
7. ARRANGEMENT Section 7-4. Changing the Pattern To Be Used This procedure changes the patterns used in arrangements. 1 Double click the desired Pattern in Arrangement View. * Click the part within the Pattern that is surrounded by the frame. 2 Enter the desired pattern number using the computer’s keyboard, then press the Enter key to set the pattern. * The ranges in which you can change patterns are as follows.
7. ARRANGEMENT Section 7-6. Deleting Patterns This procedure deletes unneeded patterns from the currently selected arrangement. 1 2 Right-click on the desired Step area in Arrangement View. Select “Delete” from the menu that appears. The pattern is deleted. * At this point, the arrangement after the deleted Step area is moved forward, filling in the space previously occupied by the deleted Step area, and then all step numbers are updated.
7. ARRANGEMENT Section 7-8. Writing Created Arrangements to the BR-800 Preset arrangement data cannot be saved. 1 Click the ARRANGEMENT WRITE button. * If a song is protected, an overwrite confirmation message is displayed. To go ahead and overwrite, click [OK]. To cancel the save operation, click [CANCEL]. The Arrangement Selection screen for the save destination appears. 2 Select the save destination and click [OK]. * You can also establish the save destination by double-clicking on it.
8. DRUM KIT Section 8. DRUM KIT Section 8-1. Basic Operation Preset drum kit data cannot be saved. Never rename, move, or delete any file being used by BR-800 Rhythm Editor. Doing so will make it impossible to perform operations such as Save within BR-800 Rhythm Editor.
8. DRUM KIT Section To check the sounds of each tone pad in the currently selected drum kit: 1. Click the desired tone pad in the Tone Pad field. The name of the currently selected tone appears in the Tone Name field. 2. The sound of the clicked tone pad is played. If drop-out occurs during sound generation, go to the “Setup” menu, and under “Audio Device Settings,” try changing the output destination (Windows version only). To adjust the stereo position of the sounds played using the tone pads: 1.
8. DRUM KIT Section 8-2. Loading Drum Sounds from WAV/AIFF Files (Tone Load) You can import WAV and AIFF files on your computer and load these as drum sounds. When the file loaded using Tone Load is large, saving it on the BR-800 may take several dozen seconds. Depending on the amount of free space on the SD card in the BR-800, you may not be able to execute Tone Load. Wave data in the following formats can be imported.
8. DRUM KIT Section 8-3. Copying Drum Sounds from Other Drum Kits You can copy drum sounds from other drum kits and assign them to tone pads in the currently selected drum kit. The drum sounds that you can copy are limited to a maximum total of approximately 13 seconds per drum kit. 1 2 Select a drum kit. Click the desired tone pad to specify the copy destination. The name of the tone for the clicked tone pad appears in the Tone Name field. 3 Click the TONE COPY button.
8. DRUM KIT Section 8-4. Deleting Drum Sounds Assigned to Tone Pads If the SD card in the BR-800 runs low on free space, you can delete tones that are no longer needed. After carrying out the procedures described below, be sure to write the data to the BR-800. Once the data has been written to the BR-800, unneeded tones are completely deleted, enabling you to increase the amount of free space on the SD card memory. 1 Click the desired tone pad in the Tone Pad field.
8. DRUM KIT Section 8-5. Writing Created Drum Kits to the BR-800 Preset drum kit data cannot be saved. You cannot use a drum kit in a pattern or arrangement before the kit is saved. 1 Click the WRITE button in the DRUM KIT section. * If a song is protected, an overwrite confirmation message is displayed. To go ahead and overwrite, click [OK]. To cancel the save operation, click [CANCEL]. The Drum Kit Selection screen for the save destination appears. 2 Select the save destination and click [OK].
Error Messages Error Messages Not connected to the BR-800. Cause: An attempt was made to import a song without being connected to the BR-800. Solution 1: Press the CONNECT button and make the connection to the BR-800. Solution 2: Redo the connection to the BR-800. Could not connect to the BR-800. Cause: Connection to the BR-800 failed. Solution 1: Check whether songs can be imported on the BR-800. Solution 2: Redo the connection to the BR-800. Multiple connections are available.
Error Messages Up to 50 steps can be handled. Cause: Solution: The upper limit for the number of Steps that can be included in an arrangement was exceeded. Delete any unneeded steps. Too many drum sounds. Delete any unneeded song patterns. Cause: Solution: The total number of drum sounds input into the respective song patterns exceeded the upper limit (4,999). Delete unneeded song patterns to reduce the total number of drum sounds. The SMF could not be imported.
