Boss BR-1600CD 16-Track Digital Studio Multitrack Recorder

Boss BR-1600 Multitrack Recorder

A lot of multitrack recorders bill themselves as "self-contained studios," but we've yet to see one that comes with its own recording engineer packed in the box. So it goes without saying that a multitrack recorder should be easy to use. You're a musician and songwriter who needs to make full-band demos, and you want to track your band as cleanly, quickly, and reliably as possible. The Boss BR-1600CD is a streamlined, high-quality digital multitrack recorder that knows what you want it to do, and helps you do exactly that, without a clunky interface or unnecessary features. It was designed to help you go from inspiration to a physical copy of your music on audio CD with your original inspiration intact. In short, it's the perfect full-band demo machine.

Full-Band Recording with 8 Mic Preamps

So what makes the perfect full-band demo machine? Firstly, you're going to need enough inputs. Drums are the biggest input hog, usually requiring a minimum of three mics for proper tracking. The BR-1600CD offers 8 simultaneous channels of recording, so you'll be able to get your drums down cleanly and still have plenty of channels to spare. On some digital multitrackers, most inputs are 1/4-inch jacks, with only a couple of XLR connections. But on the Boss unit, each input is an XLR-equipped mic preamp -- so you can record 8 microphones without routing them through outboard mic preamps first, simplifying your setup. (And of course, every channel accepts a 1/4-inch line-level input as well.)

The BOSS Guided Tour To Recording

With everything hooked up and mics placed, simply turn on your BR-1600CD and the unit will guide you through every step of the recording process. Assign your inputs to recording channels, hit record and start playing. It's that easy. Once you've laid down your initial 8 tracks, you've still got an additional 8 channels on which to layer overdubs, or even bounce to free up more tracks for recording; the Boss BR-1600CD provides feedback and instruction via its brightly backlit LCD screen, making every function easy to understand and execute. With a hefty 40GB hard drive as its recording medium, the BR-1600CD not only handles 16 tracks of simultaneous audio, but it also allows for 16 virtual tracks per channel -- so you can swap in alternate takes or do-overs without losing the original. Boss takes the stress out of the recording process, so you can focus on the performance and the song. Want more proof that the 1600 is easy to use? Boss' TurboStart guide, which steps you through "naming your song" to "burning an Audio CD," is exactly two pages long.

Streamlined, but Feature-Rich

While you want to get your songs down as soon as inspiration strikes, you still want your demos to sound as good as possible. That's why the BR-1600CD records CD-quality digital audio at 44.1 kHz, 16-bit resolution. It's also why this Boss multitracker comes with a suite of effects and digital processing tools for adding a bit of polish to your raw recordings -- and if anyone knows digital effects, it's Boss, makers of some of the most popular stompbox effects in the world. A dedicated Hi-Z input jack lets you record guitar and bass directly, and also lets you take advantage of Boss's renowned COSM-powered amp and cabinet modeling. Even if you don't have the most acoustically perfect space, your tracks will still sound studio huge -- just another way the BR-1600 makes streamlines the tracking process. Don't have your own band yet? No problem: the 1600 has a built-in drum machine and bass loops. There's even vocal pitch correction, harmonizing effects, and easy-to-understand mastering effects to make your finished product sound its best, with minimal hassle. When you're happy with the sound, just use the recorder's built-in CD burner to make an audio CD of your music that will play in any CD player. It's still the most convenient and universal medium for distributing your music to family, fans, and booking agents.

Your demo is a very special recording. Fewer folks may hear it, but in many ways it's an even more important document of your band than a publicly released album. Track them with a recorder that was specifically designed to make the highest-quality demos, with the least amount of effort: the Boss BR-1600CD.

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