User Reviews at zZounds

"BOSS 1180 is the perfect home studio tool" submitted January 6, 2004

By a customer from aol.com

Overall

Sound

Features

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Music Style: Hip Hop

Back to Product Information

Sound: The sound on the Bos 1180 is great. Be sure that when you load a beat or play it live that your tunes and the pre-recorded beat is mastered or atleast sounds clean. Feature: There are tons of features, over 300 effects. Quality: The product is great. No problems with any nobs, controls, nothing, just great. Value: I think it's worth $1000.00 but make sure you get your full use out of it and learn by reading the instruction manual. A video comes with it and thats helpful. Manufacturer Support: Nope, never dealt with the company. The Wow Factor: It looks space like. Nice look to it. Overall: I feel that this product will last me quite sometime. I was working with a Tascam 424 for about 3 years and it was time to upgrade to digital. I read about Tascams, Boss/Roland, Yamaha, Korg, and Fostex and came to a conclusion. I was only producing rap songs and didn't need 24 or 16 channels and with the 80 virtual tracks and the bouncing effect I could have upto 24 tracks if I wanted. So I went for the best 8 track Digital and it was the Boss. Every review had this product as the best one to purchase. I don't think I'll get any new equipment for awhile. If it were stolen or lose I'd replace with the same product, hands down. It helps alot when it comes to making music and if done right and mastered correctly, you'll never have to pay $25/hour to record music at a studio for a Great Demo or even a Independent Album release.

6 of 6 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"This Is the Hook-Up" submitted January 30, 2005

By a customer from yahoo.com

Overall

Sound

Features

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: Funk-Rock Fusion, R&B, some Jazz, some Power Rock

Back to Product Information

SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

VERIFIED BUYER

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.

Sound: The sound reproduction on the recorder is just great. There are plenty of effects available which offer a huge array of sounds. I've had good luck with vocals recordered directly into the unit, but I've found that the bass tracks sound best when the signal runs through my amp first, then into the unit. (I'm sure that's true for plenty of folks.) Feature: The unit is loaded with all the features you'll need and then some. The on-board drums are fun and once you get the hang of editing them, you're off and running. (That takes some time.) The display is simple to read and the dials and buttons give the user the sense that a musician must have had a hand in developing this. It's fairly straight forward. Quality: I bought a floor model and there's no question it probably took a little knock here or there, but after all that the only thing wrong is that one of the one knob is just slightly loose. That's it. The thing seems solid enough with all the components fitted neatly into the package. Value: I got my floor model about a year ago for the current retail price, so the price has come down on what I considered to be an affordable unit. Manufacturer Support: If there were an eleven available to rate support, Roland would get it from me. The personnel were simply great. I called a few different times and each representative was patient and thorough. Ultra high marks from me for customer relations. The Wow Factor: How can a man get excited about a recorder? It's not easy. It's supposed to be a job doer and this is it. Maybe a bigger screen would convince me to give the unit a '10' but then again, that might make it more expensive. Overall: This recorder will meet the needs of a wide variety of musicians. Beginners can record quasi-studio quality material. Advanced players can produce solid demos. It stomps out CDs effortlessly and cleanly. It's quiet, functional and practical. A friend with an older version convinced me to kick out the cash for the recorder. I'm glad I did. I was fortunate to have guidance from a buddy, because -- let's face it -- the sheer amount of recorders available can be a tad intimidating. If you can make the leap of faith and get this, I think you'll be pleased.

5 of 6 people (83.33%) found this review helpful. Did you?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"A sheep in sheep's clothing"

By a customer from ceauto.com.tw

Overall

Sound

Features

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Music Style: Contemporary

Back to Product Information

Sound: I suppose for a "home" unit you can't ask for much more. Feature: I think most people who find themselves in a position to be spending a grand on a recording tool, already has stomp pedals (I own a gt6) coming out their ears, so the huge effects list is a bit redundant. Yet vocal effects are so limited, the one feature guitarists won't have an abundance of. Value: If you don't own the competition and have only "played" with them as opposed to working with it, then this unit is not the cheapest out there, you can get the same features for a lot less $ elsewhere Manufacturer Support: Not needed it yet, but contrary to some I think the manual was written by a techno wizard. The Wow Factor: No different to any other in the class Overall: If I can sort out MIDI recording it should be fine 8/10 if I cannot then 2/10

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"The Boss is the Boss!" submitted January 8, 2004

Overall

Sound

Features

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Music Style: I make the music as I go along.

Back to Product Information

Sound: The sound quality is excellent, but I plan to buy a compressor/ limiter to refine the sound quality to 10. Feature: The most useful features I find that are "must haves" are panning, equalization, the COSM effects and especially the CD burner. A great feature to finish off the BR-1180 CD would be a quality Compressor/Gate/limiter to be built in. Quality: I'll give it an 8, because I have some reservations with the Br-532.So far the Br-1180CD seems to be made well. However my previous Br-532 was dropped once and the guitar input jack became loosened. Value: I feel it can be dropped by 200.00 dollars Manufacturer Support: Don't send it back to Roland for repairs! When I called Roland for repairs on my BR532 they were going to charge $70.00/hr! This can become higher than the product itself. If you need repairs send it to a reputable music store. The Wow Factor: None of the digital recorders on the market appeals to me. I would rather see them in a rack design. Overall: There's more than I'll ever need, except an extra 2 tracks wouldn't hurt either.

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"I would recommend a different brand or a more durable recorder" submitted November 6, 2010

By a customer from yahoo.com

Overall

Sound

Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: 30 + years of classical piano training, Drumming 6 years guitar 19 years.

Music Style: Mostly New Age Piano, Classical Music, Southern Rock and a little Techno

Back to Product Information

Sound: I bought the Boss 1180CD back in 2003. Three years later the HD died and I had to pay 80 dollars to fix it. About a month ageo my CD player had/has some problems of its own. One morning I was bouncing four of the tracks to 9/10 so I could burn the song and finalize, the burner would read diskfull! or CD error! I never had that problem before and I don't have the cash to fix it or buy a newer one. To remedy the problem I initialized the hard drive and lost all my compositions. Then after creating a new file and song I tried to burn the songs. I could only transfer 2 songs to the cd and the messages wuold come up. Does anyone know how to correct the CD problem? Thanks Winston Feature: the most useful features are the linein/out jacks. I usually record songs from my keyboard. Ease of Use: I rarely import files or songs. I just use the basics record, bounce cosm effects and finalizing a disc. Quality: my overall opinion is the fear of malfunctioning like it has a few times before. It may only last 2 years before servicing. I used to have an older Br model w/o a cd burner. That's why I believed The Boss 1180 CD would be just as durable. Value: It may worth the price when new, but not in 2010. I may donate this to GoodWill. Manufacturer Support: When repairing the hard drive I had to bring the recorder to an authorized Roland delearship, luckily there is one near where I live. I will have to call roland for the recent problem. Overall: I would replace it with a different brand, maybe with a more durable hard Drive and CD burner. Not to be bias in anyway, this proudct was made in Japan, so I expected less trouble. Once I have enough money, I'll either buy a more expensive Roland or Yamaha. I think maybe I will look into the Boss 1600CD. I wish I knew about other brands

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"Roland gets my vote!! I APPROVED this message!" submitted September 17, 2004

By a customer from hotmail.com

Overall

Sound

Features

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Active Musician/Singer/Rapper

Music Style: R&B/Hip Hop

Back to Product Information

Sound: I love the sound and the quality of sound of my instruments and vocals. I dig the simplicity of the recording process and the way it retains the quality of recodings that I've transferred froother recorders. Feature: I didn't purchase any accessories...I use the 'vocal enhancing' features the most and they are incredible. Quality: Nicely made and dependable...Only need to replace powercord. Value: Nice Manufacturer Support: Don't know yet...will be using them to get a new powercord... The Wow Factor: 10...need I say more Overall: Other than drum machines,I never sought out Roland products...The 1180 CD has pretty much changed my mind and now I'm constantly looking to see what the company has new coming out.

1 of 2 people (50%) found this review helpful. Did you?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"Faulty hard drive beware" submitted June 26, 2004

By a customer from yahoo.com

Overall

Sound

Features

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Music Style: Gospel and Country

Back to Product Information

Sound: Produces a nice quality sound for such a small studio. The mastering option is nice especially for brighting up acoustic songs. I noticed however that sometimes the sound I hear from my studio speakers sounds great but once I master it and put in on other speakers then there is a lot more bass then comes out of the machine. Feature: Has a lot of great features. I really like the guitar and mic effects. The drum tracks are very time consuming to organize for a song though and it can take hours just to get it where you want it. Quality: I've noticed this isn't just me but the hard drive tends to freeze up and now after a year I have a faulty hard drive and will have to pay to put a new one in. After paying a ton for this I'm not happy about it at all or happy about the fact that after very little use I'm having to buy a new hard drive. They should make them much better then this. Value: If the hard drive didn't take a crap after a year I'd say a 9 but it's useless without the drive. Manufacturer Support: They are telling me to mail this in but I really feel they probably have some sort of boot disk or something they could send me to try and fix the problem here at home rather then ship it off somewhere to worry that it's going to get broken on the journey. Like we can all afford the shipping charges either. The Wow Factor: I really wanted this for a year. Now I'm sorry I got it. Overall: If this next hard drive lasts I will be very happy that I have it because everything else on it is great. Just have noticed a lot of people complaning about the drives and that is not ok.

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"Nice product, lots of great effects, could have been so much better" submitted March 10, 2006

By a customer from aol.com

Overall

Sound

Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: Rock

Back to Product Information

Sound: It sounds great until you try to bounce or master your tracks then you loose a lot of volume. It weird when you master a song it will sound great when your recording but when you play it back it looses the quality. Basically the sound that you hear is not what you get especially when you burn to a cd. I have to record at very high volume levels just to get a suitable cd volume level which make clipping a huge problem. Feature: I'm a big fan of all the effects, especially the vocal effects. I wish other recording studios had half as many. Ease of Use: This is a very easy to figure out unit. I was recording with it within a couple of days. Quality: Like i said it's great until you try to burn a cd. All you hard efforts are then spoiled by the low budget cd burner. Value: It's a great learning tool. I'm now looking for a better recording studio though. Manufacturer Support: Dont know The Wow Factor: It looks real cool. Overall: I've had it for four months. I'm going to try and sell it so I can get something else.

Did you find this review helpful?

Thanks for your opinion!

close [x]

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

Boss BR1180CD Digital Recording Studio with Internal CD-R Drive

User Ratings

"BOSS 1180 is the perfect home studio tool" submitted January 6, 2004

"This Is the Hook-Up" submitted January 30, 2005

"A sheep in sheep's clothing"

"The Boss is the Boss!" submitted January 8, 2004

"I would recommend a different brand or a more durable recorder" submitted November 6, 2010

"Roland gets my vote!! I APPROVED this message!" submitted September 17, 2004

"Faulty hard drive beware" submitted June 26, 2004

"Nice product, lots of great effects, could have been so much better" submitted March 10, 2006