Would Boss BR work for me? (Mp3)

[seipu]

I'm thinking of buying the Boss BR bundle from thomann (http://www.thomann.de/se/boss_micro_br_bundle.htm) and use it as a stationary recorder during practise on my acoustic grand piano.

I understand that you can swith into mp3-mode and use the external mic that comes with the bundle as a stereo field-recorder. My questions are:

1. After you've turned it on, how many buttons do you have to press (and how many times) in order to get the machine ready to record mp3 with ext.mic?

2. Does Boss BR remember the last ext.mic level settings if you turn the machine off?

In short, I want to be able to do quick recordings of my playing during practise without having to go through a lot of menus and press hundreds of buttons between the takes, if i turn it off. Just quick, easy recording and listening. Would Boss BR work for me??

Regards,
Johan

[Flash Harry]

Hi Johan.

Welcome to the Boss Micro BR Community Forum.

The first time you start a recording session, you will have to create a new song. This means that you will have to push a few buttons, first to create the song, then to set your input up and then to start recording.

Once you have done that, you can switch your MBR off and the settings will remain fixed for that song, except for the Mic Power option which you will have to set each time you switch the unit on.

This will stay active for the period that your MBR is powered up.

Once set up, to record, simply press record and play on the MBR and stop when you are done. To play back, push stop and rewind to take you to the beginning and then play to start playing back.

It's really quite easy once you get used to it.

If all you need is a method of recording a single track and playing it back, then this may be a bit of an overkill, there are others which are designed to do the simple recording job.

Hope this helps.

Harry

[seipu]

Harry, thanks for your reply!
I see your point that MBR may be a bit of an overkill. But as long as it does what I want (without me having to push ten buttons each time to set it up) it still seems a better option than other recorders I've looked at (for example zoom H2). Most of them are very small so you can carry them with you, but that usually means small buttons and small displays as well. I'm going to use it as a stationary field recorder and prefer large buttons rather than portability. As the MBR is primarily designed to be used as a track-recorder I was worried that other recording modes would be less userfriendly. However, MBR seem to have large buttons while still in a handy format. Do you recommend any other recorder that would fit those criteria an be less of an overkill? What I need is a three-button recorder (Record, rewind and play) in a non-portable box. Maybe I should look at an analogue tape recorder instead..? Things used to be easier back in those days...

Thanks
Johan

[Flash Harry]

Johan

I have only had multitrack recorders, this has to be the easiest and most powerful four track that I have ever had. I do like it and I can use it intuitively most of the time.

Quality wise its great and ease of use is great too. I have never regretted buying my MBR and if I lost it or it broke, I'd buy another.

I'm sure that it would fit the bill for you. I'm sure that there will be others too, but I don't have any experience of them.

 

[seipu]

Harry - many thanks for your comments! If I decide to buy one I will post a few words here about my experience of using it. Perhaps it could be of help to other people who want to record in a similar setting/setup.

Thanks again
Johan

[64Guitars]

I'm thinking of buying the Boss BR bundle from thomann (http://www.thomann.de/se/boss_micro_br_bundle.htm) and use it as a stationary recorder during practise on my acoustic grand piano.

If you're not interested in multi-track capabilities, effects, and drums, then I think the Tascam DP-004 might be a better choice for you. It's slightly less expensive than the Micro BR, easier to operate, and has dual built-in microphones so you don't need to mess around with an external stereo mic. See this message thread:

https://songcrafters.org/community/general-discussion-b6/new-dp-004-4-track-pocketstudio-from-tascam/msg6068/#msg6068

On the other hand, if you also play guitar or you think you might want to make more elaborate multitrack recordings including drums, vocals, guitars, etc., then the Micro BR is a better choice, as the DP-004 does not include a drum machine, effects, or virtual tracks.

[hewhoiscalledj]

If simplicity is the name of the game, you may also want to consider a portable field recorder like one of these:

http://www.nextag.com/portable-field-recorder/search-html

Fewer features that you may not need anyway, fewer clicks to recording, and most of them have better built'in mics for excellent stereo recording.