Boss Micro BR

Jeraz · 6th February 2007

I recenty purchased a BOSS MIcro BR portable studio as a sketchpad for my songwriting. The thing offers a pretty amazing feature set in a very small package. Thirty minutes out of the box, I sat on the sofa in my living room, D-35 in hands, and laid down two tracks, then imported them into my computer, and mixed them down in Samplitude Pro v9.02. This is the result. Apologies for the background noise...but It's winter here, and didn't even shut off the humidifier to record this. LOL.

Still, you get the idea that this teeny thing, with a teeny condenser mic, did OK as a sketchpad! Right now I am working on a more complex composition, including a drum track (built-in to the MICRO BR) and bass. This is a fun piece of kit for US$229.

It's not my John Hardy and K2 and RME, but when I am traveling, or just want to hang in the Den and doodle on my Martin while I watch TV...or when a friend comes over and we start jamming...I can get an idea down in minutes with no setup.

Best,

Mark

*********************

If you want to listen, please visit my MP3 page:

http://www.cloudstreetsmusic.com/Songs_MP3.html

Scroll down to "Sound Checks!" and click on "BlueFun!"

BeepBeep · 6th November 2007

I'm considering picking on of these up. Anyone else have any experience with these?

Jeraz · 7th November 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeepBeep

I'm considering picking on of these up. Anyone else have any experience with these?

It is a great little unit, but I actually sold mine on eBay and bought an H4. Here's why:

I wanted a sketch tool for only melody/guitar tracking/lyrics....very quick...the Zoom H4, I turn it on, press the record button twice, and it automatically starts a new recording...and off I go. With the BR, I had to initiate a new project/ file, blah blah...sorry...
The Zoom H4 is stereo, the BR will allow you to double tracks with about 34 button clicks, but it only has ONE mic.
The zoom H4 has on board mic emulations that I don't even remotely consider are close to the originals (U87 anyone?), but they provide nice harmonic/EQ overlays for sketches/sampling.
The Zoom H4 has XLR inputs, and 48v phantom power.
The Zoom can do 24-bit *.wav Files or record DIRECTLY to mp3.

Now, THESE were my priorities...but the BR has built in drum tracks, tons more FX, etc., and can be a great songwriting tool in that regard.

Now, you've heard my little Micro BR sketch...if you want to hear a RAW clip of the H4 in action, you can visit my Soundclick site:

WWW.SoundClick.Com/CloudStreets

...and listen to the sketch I did..."I Want To Hold On To You" draft #1...just above it is the draft #2 which I did with CEMCs and my API pres...I mention this one so that you click on the right one, though, anyone that clicks on both will know right away...lol... I will take this down in a few days, because it was a real informal sketch I posted just so that a few online friends could hear the sketch/Zoom.

Good luck to you in your selection....

Best,

Mark

BeepBeep · 7th November 2007

Thanks Mark,

I'm enjoying the songs on your site. You can really hear the difference in the crispness of the guitar on draft 2. The pelsusos sound great thru the APIs, but that's no surprise.

I just picked up the Micro BR this evening, although I may take it back. The H4 is another unit on my list. I've been looking for something that I can easily carry in my pocket and record while be as inconspicuous as possible, so the BR lends itself to that a little more.

sailcat · 7th November 2007

If you just want a sketchbook/stereo/quick and not-too-dirty machine, also take a look at the Zoom h2. The onboard mics are substantially better, and there are 4 of them, front at 90 degrees and back at 120, and you can mix both sets in surround if you like that sort of thing. it doesn't have xlrs or phantom power, but it is a really great point and shoot recorder for under $200. The mic in is 1/8" and is pretty useless, although you can get it to sound good with the right mics driven properly. Line in is clean, so if you use a pre - even a little battery-driven one - it sounds very good. the concert tapers over at taperssection.com can point you to a very good pre like this.

there's lots of great review info here Zoom H2 Digital Recorder Details - O'Reilly Digital Media Blog
including some serious testing. there also was an interesting test done recently by Ambisonoic studios of the H2 as a surround recorder, with the internal mics, up against some very high-end stuff. The samples are not posted yet, but I understand that the H2 held its own admirably .
Ambisonic Studio | Comparative Surround Recording

sorry for the long post - can you tell I like the H2?

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6th February 2007	#1
Jeraz Gear nut Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Hartford, Connecticut USA Posts: 140 Thread Starter	Boss Micro BR I recenty purchased a *BOSS MIcro BR* portable studio as a sketchpad for my songwriting. The thing offers a pretty amazing feature set in a very small package. Thirty minutes out of the box, I sat on the sofa in my living room, D-35 in hands, and laid down two tracks, then imported them into my computer, and mixed them down in Samplitude Pro v9.02. This is the result. Apologies for the background noise...but It's winter here, and didn't even shut off the humidifier to record this. LOL. Still, you get the idea that this teeny thing, with a teeny condenser mic, did OK as a sketchpad! Right now I am working on a more complex composition, including a drum track (built-in to the MICRO BR) and bass. This is a fun piece of kit for US$229. It's not my John Hardy and K2 and RME, but when I am traveling, or just want to hang in the Den and doodle on my Martin while I watch TV...or when a friend comes over and we start jamming...I can get an idea down in minutes with no setup. Best, Mark ********************* If you want to listen, please visit my MP3 page: http://www.cloudstreetsmusic.com/Songs_MP3.html Scroll down to "Sound Checks!" and click on "BlueFun!" __________________ CloudStreetsMusic.com SoundClick.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ API A2DADAM A7K701Metric HALO ULN-2 2dPelusoRODE

6th November 2007	#2
BeepBeep Gear Head Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 58	I'm considering picking on of these up. Anyone else have any experience with these?

7th November 2007	#4
BeepBeep Gear Head Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 58	Thanks Mark, I'm enjoying the songs on your site. You can really hear the difference in the crispness of the guitar on draft 2. The pelsusos sound great thru the APIs, but that's no surprise. I just picked up the Micro BR this evening, although I may take it back. The H4 is another unit on my list. I've been looking for something that I can easily carry in my pocket and record while be as inconspicuous as possible, so the BR lends itself to that a little more.

7th November 2007	#5
sailcat Gear Head Joined: Nov 2006 Posts: 49	If you just want a sketchbook/stereo/quick and not-too-dirty machine, also take a look at the Zoom h2. The onboard mics are substantially better, and there are 4 of them, front at 90 degrees and back at 120, and you can mix both sets in surround if you like that sort of thing. it doesn't have xlrs or phantom power, but it is a really great point and shoot recorder for under $200. The mic in is 1/8" and is pretty useless, although you can get it to sound good with the right mics driven properly. Line in is clean, so if you use a pre - even a little battery-driven one - it sounds very good. the concert tapers over at taperssection.com can point you to a very good pre like this. there's lots of great review info here Zoom H2 Digital Recorder Details - O'Reilly Digital Media Blog including some serious testing. there also was an interesting test done recently by Ambisonoic studios of the H2 as a surround recorder, with the internal mics, up against some very high-end stuff. The samples are not posted yet, but I understand that the H2 held its own admirably . Ambisonic Studio \| Comparative Surround Recording sorry for the long post - can you tell I like the H2?