Would you help me choosing the right MTR recorder?

[maxit]

uh... I was talking italian! Sorry, me and federico are questioning about the condenser microphone. By definition, a condenser mic is often better than a dynamic mic (so I've been told) - now Zoom is always equipped with a condenser mic, and the new BR seem to have it too. now we are discussing what condenser mic sound better (for me is a pure theory question, cause I've been a bad boy this year ;-)

[Geir]

If a good reverb is important, you shouldn't go for the original MicroBR. It's about the only feature of that shiny little box that sucks The BR-80 could be a good choice, or maybe the BR-800. The 800 has the advantage of more inputs, the ability to record dry, but still listen with effects, and then apply the effects when mixing. It also has a phantom powered input + the internal mics are rather good.

[FedericoC]

If someone could post some link of an acoustic instruments and/or vocals recorder with BR-80 embedded mic I'd really appreciate it very much 
-- Federico

[FedericoC]

Hi again all 
After a friend lent me his Zoom H4n and I used it for a while... I decided to get the MBR-80, which I got
just last week  .

I'll try and write a small review of the two products, explaining why I decided to buy the BOSS in the end, as I think such a comparison would've been very useful to me when I was deciding... so I guess it'll be useful for someone else.
Thanks again for all your help and tips so far!

-- Federico

[Geir]

I'll try and write a small review of the two products, explaining why I decided to buy the BOSS in the end, as I think such a comparison would've been very useful to me when I was deciding... so I guess it'll be useful for someone else.

Looking forward to that Federico. I too think that would be very useful!

[FedericoC]

OK, I'll write something in a nutshell, 'cause if I'll wait to write the perfect review, I'll know I'll never write one

About me: I play keyboards, harmonicas, woodwinds, NOT guitars.
I'm a fan of tiny, portable gear, better if it's battery-powered too.
I need something to capture my ideas, both with good onboard mics for acoustic instruments and line-in input for electric ones.
I want something I can develop an idea on, possibly all way to the final master.

The H4n is an ugly, bulky, heavy, ugly thing. Did I mention ugly?  
Onboard mics are very very good; on-board effects are good enough but, ugh: if you record with reverb
it gets wrote down forever. No going back. No applying it after recording either. A bit of a showstopper for me.
Also, the interface is maddingly bad, clunky and unintuitive.
All in all, the device is definitely thought for field recording, not for musicians (e.g.: timecode only in
seconds, not in beats).

So, when I found BR-80 in a local shop I just bought it without even trying it: I had already narrowed down the choice to those two products, and I wasn't having a great time with H4n.

Well, I've only used it briefly for a few days but I must say I'm quite pleased with it so far!
It's very lightweight, relatively small and with a convenient form factor (can be tossed in the gig bag quite safely, as it hasn't protruding parts, much unlike H4n).
The interface is very well thought: I never had to check the manual yet. This is a great achievement in se, especially considering how we're all spoiled by multitouch interfaces nowadays. It's functional and productive in clever ways (reminds me much of old Nokias interfaces): I would've never thought setting A<->B points without actually seeing a wave would've been so easy.

The feature set is just right for me; I appreciate eband too. COSM effects are very nice, and very usable with the harmonica (unlike Garageband for iPad's ones, for instance).
I would like to have a bit more freedom with effects, actually: I'd like to apply them to line-in too, and at bounce time but all in all it's good enough, and at least I don't have to commit the reverb forever  

Also, what really surprised me is that BR-80's onboard mics are really good, maybe as good as H4n's!
I was expecting an huge difference there but, actually, BR-80's mics are easier to get a good sound with: H4n's tend to capture a lot of ambiental sound, even with narrower capsule setting, which is not really optimal in my usage.

Just a little test I made: I recorded my Korg microPIANO in three different ways: once connecting it directly to LINE-IN, for reference, once using H4n's internal mics and once using BR-80's. In the latter cases the digital recorders were placed just below microPIANO's lid, right over its speakers.

I'll post all of three and let you draw the conclusions  (just don't pay attention to what I specifically played, I was just fooling around)

Sorry for this so-called review being much more of an aimless rambling, but I hope some points I touched can be useful to someone considering the choice!

-- Federico

[FedericoC]

First of all the "reference" recording using direct line-in connection (BR's incidentally: H4n is very prone to clipping when using inputs...)

[FedericoC]

recording with H4n's onboard mics

[FedericoC]

recording with BR-80's onboard mics

[alfstone]

AJO', Federico!!!

 

After listening to all of the 3 clips, la mia preferenza va NETTAMENTE alla prima delle tre (the first one is the best, IMHO)

(My 0.0002 dracmas)

Baciamo le mani
Alfredo

P.S. advise to all the other songcrafters: if paradise on earth exists, probably it's in the wonderful Federico's land, SARDINIA...