Should I?

[Hook]

Ok Guitar Center here has 2 mbr's for sale, one is a scratch & dent(used) for $150 & the other is a in store demo model for $180. I'm only in for $150 if I'm in at all and I don't know if they will haggle. Neither comes with the adapter  but I feel like I need it. I'm completely capable with what I've got for portable recording but I miss the v-tracks and the vocal effects on the ps02 are quite lacking. I also feel like I don't get the best levels with the 004, I often have to amplify tracks and/or use the leveler. Not having reverb is a pain also & I could mix & master on the mbr. I don't know I'm on the fence, what should I do?

Also I looked for reviews for the mbr but could only find the 80 reviews, are there any posted?

[Oldrottenhead]

"the mbr changed my life."

is my review.

i think a few others would concur with that.

i know for a fact that greeny does,


i'm sure  flash harry, geir and tharek feel the same too, tho flash has gone all daw of late.

i want the new br80 but like you i am boracic lint and can't afford one.

but my mbr does everything i want of it and every so often i come across wee easter eggs of hidden capacity and wonderment within it's silver lining.

if you could climb inside one i'm sure it would be like the tardis bigger on the inside than on the outside.

make sure it works and get one.

[launched]

A. Beat them down if you can, if they come with the box and manual an MBR will always be worth a hundred and something. Maybe trade that little Zoom you have - Get that MBR!!

B. Rechargeable batteries are the way to go. You can get four for around ten bucks. I had a power supply first, then went batteries and never looked back (I actually gave my power supply to Tony). Do it, you won't be disappointed.

C. I'm so confident you'll like it that I'll buy it from you if you don't. Is that a good enough review?

Good luck, bro!

[Oldrottenhead]

yeah rechargeables (good ones tho), i got a power supply with my mbr but have never used it, is in a drawer with all my other "unmarked" power supplies. so not even sure which one is for the br but rechargeables mean one less wire to worry about.

[64Guitars]

Ok Guitar Center here has 2 mbr's for sale, one is a scratch & dent(used) for $150

$150 ? ? ?  Tell them you want it for their advertised price of $69.99.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store-Used-USED-BOSS-MICRO-BR-DIGI-REC--338-071412-107963642-i2622477.gc

Or order that one online.

Neither comes with the adapter  but I feel like I need it.

The PSA-120 is pretty cheap. You should be able to get it for well under $20. Alternatively, I'm pretty sure you can use the power adapter from your BR-900 with the Micro BR. It has a higher current capacity than the PSA-120 which the BR-900 needs to power its CD drive. But there's no harm in using it with a device that has lower current requirements. The device only draws as much current as it needs. It can't draw more. But check with Roland Tech Support before you try it, just to be safe.

Also I looked for reviews for the mbr but could only find the 80 reviews, are there any posted?

I'm not sure if a full review of the Micro BR was ever posted here because the Micro BR was already available when this site was created. We tend to only review new products that come along, like the BR-80. But there's no shortage of positive comments about the Micro BR here at Songcrafters. The least positive comments you'll find are mine, but they only apply for my own specific requirements (I prefer larger desktop recorders with a lot more tracks). For anyone who feels certain that they need a pocket-sized multitrack recorder, my recommendation would be the BR-80. But for cases like yours where the budget won't allow a BR-80, I have no hesitation in recommending the Micro BR. There's no better multitrack recorder available in its size and price range.

[64Guitars]

This topic might give you some ideas of possible shortcomings of the Micro BR so that you can decide if you can live with it:

Designing the next Micro BR

The biggest shortcoming is probably the 1GB memory card limit. It's not that 1GB isn't enough; it is. It's just that 1GB cards are really hard to find. And they sometimes cost more than 2GB cards. I believe you can use some 2GB SD cards in the Micro BR but it formats them to 1GB because that's the maximum memory it can address.

Browsing through that topic just now, I found it interesting that many of our suggestions were incorporated into the BR-80. I wonder if Roland read that topic?

[Hook]

Thanks Lanched & ORH, I've been thinking about rechargeable ones for a while now. Another drawback to my current portable set up the ps02 uses 4AAA & the 004 uses 4 AA so that's killing me. Plus 9 volts for my guitars, wireless units, batteries suck! I want cold fusion!
 I probably couldn't get $20 bucks for the ps02- but I might sell the 004 or send it to my friend in Richmond and get him recording piano to my tunes!

64- thanks for the price quote link, hopefully I can get that price down and that thread was alot to take in!

Current Questions:
 Does it take a long time to transfer files through usb? The 004 is super easy!

 Is it easy to remove the card and use my card reader instead?

I like the idea of start to finish in one unit, like the br900, is this easy to do w/mbr?

 Does bouncing and mastering work the same way as the 900?

Does it have loop effects, chorus and reverb separate for each track?

Can you indeed record guitar straight in and built in mic(vocal)  simultaneously?

Thanks again, you guys rock!

[launched]

The MBR only takes 2 batteries - Just so you know.

Current Questions:
 Does it take a long time to transfer files through usb? The 004 is super easy!

A: No, it's fast transfer.

 Is it easy to remove the card and use my card reader instead?

A: Yes, it can be removed and plugged into your reader.

I like the idea of start to finish in one unit, like the br900, is this easy to do w/mbr?

A: Yes, there are mastering capabilities similar to the BR900, just not as many options. You can load you MBR song project into your 900 I do believe (Is that right 64?). That might give you more flexibility.

 Does bouncing and mastering work the same way as the 900?

A: Similar, but I believe the 900 has a dedicated 7/8 mastering track destination - You can bounce/master to any free set of tracks on an MBR

Does it have loop effects, chorus and reverb separate for each track?

A: All effects are real-time recorded - But you can record dry and then apply effects through a bounce later. Separate reverb for each playback track track, though, which is nice.

 Can you indeed record guitar straight in and built in mic(vocal)  simultaneously?

A: You can, but that feature is somewhat limited. Greeny uses this feature with success, ask him how to do it.

Thanks again, you guys rock!

A: Yes, we do!



Oh, FYI, I have recorded and mastered from start to finish many songs on my MBR. On this one, for example, I actually had to use two different song banks and 60 or more tracks:

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3712.0

[64Guitars]

Does it take a long time to transfer files through usb? The 004 is super easy! Is it easy to remove the card and use my card reader instead?

If you go directly from the Micro BR to your computer, it's a bit slow because the Micro BR only has USB 1.1. Your TASCAM DP-004 has USB 2.0 which is much faster. However, you can remove the SD card and put it in a USB 2.0 card reader to get the same transfer speed as you get from your DP-004. In fact, you can buy a USB 3.0 card reader to get transfer speeds that are up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Of course, you'd also need a USB 3.0 port in your computer. Many new computers come with it built-in, but you can add an inexpensive card to your older computer to get USB 3.0.

http://www.google.com/search?q=usb+3.0+card&hl=en&tbm=shop

Also available for laptops:
http://www.google.com/search?q=usb+3.0+card+laptop&hl=en&tbm=shop

The SD card slot in the Micro BR is hidden beneath the battery compartment, so you have to remove the batteries to get at the card. Although inconvenient, this is actually a safety feature since removing the card while power is applied can ruin the card.

I like the idea of start to finish in one unit, like the br900, is this easy to do w/mbr?

Yes. In fact, the Micro BR even lets you export directly to MP3 format so you can upload your finished track to Songcrafters. Personally, I wouldn't use that feature. Instead, I'd always export to WAV format so I can load it into Audacity for final editing such as trimming, normalizing levels, and exporting to MP3 format. You can do everything in the Micro BR, but it's easier in Audacity.

Does bouncing and mastering work the same way as the 900?

Almost. The main difference is in how you specify the source tracks for mastering. On the BR-900, you have to first use Bounce Mode to create a 2-track (stereo) mix. Then, in Mastering Mode, you specify those two tracks as the mastering source. You also have to specify the destination track pair. On the Micro BR, the process is a bit simpler since you don't specify the source tracks. Instead, it takes the stereo output of the mixer section as the input to mastering (same as bounce mode on the BR-900). So, after you've recorded all of your tracks, you can go straight to mastering. There's no need to make the intermediate 2-track mix as you'd do with the BR-900. Just set your track levels and panning the way you want them, specify the destination track pair, and master.

Does it have loop effects, chorus and reverb separate for each track?

The only loop effect on the Micro BR is Reverb. There are no Chorus, Delay, or Doubling loop effects as there are on the BR-900. The Micro BR has COSM insert effects for Chorus and Delay but not for Doubling. The BR-900 has all of these insert effects plus separate Chorus, Delay, and Doubling loop effects. The Micro BR has separate reverb sends for each track, as well as Rhythm and Input.

Can you indeed record guitar straight in and built in mic(vocal)  simultaneously?

Sort of, but not in the way that you can with the BR-900. On the Micro BR, pressing the [TR1] (GTR) and [TR2] (MIC) buttons simultaneously will mix the sound from GUITAR IN and the sound from the onboard mic in mono. There's no way to separate them so that the guitar and vocals are recorded to separate tracks. Also, there's no SIMUL effects bank as there is in the BR-900. Instead, the Micro BR applies the selected effect to the guitar input only. You can't apply effects to the vocals while recording guitar and vocals simultaneously.

[64Guitars]

You can load you MBR song project into your 900 I do believe (Is that right 64?).

I don't think you can load a Micro BR project directly into the BR-900. Many of the files have similar layouts but the effects are different, the drum arrangements are different, etc. So you'd have to use the BR Wave Converter to export your Micro BR tracks as WAV files. Then you could import those WAV files into separate tracks on the BR-900.

I believe you can go in the other direction though, importing a BR-900 project directly into the Micro BR. This is described on page 111 of the Micro BR manual. But, as that page describes, the Micro BR ignores tracks 5 through 8 as well as the effects and rhythm tracks. So, really, it isn't much use. Better to use the BR Wave Converter.

Does bouncing and mastering work the same way as the 900?

A: Similar, but I believe the 900 has a dedicated 7/8 mastering track destination - You can bounce/master to any free set of tracks on an MBR

No, tracks 7/8 are not dedicated to mastering. You can use them for anything and you can master to any free pair of v-tracks, same as on the Micro BR.