Thinking of selling my MBR

[Tangled Wires]

I would echo what others have said. I actually went into a guitar store to buy an multi effect pedal, and the guy in the shop told me that for the same money I could have a Micro BR, which was a relatively new product at the time. When he told me of the all the features it had, it was a "no brainer".

I will fully admit that for the first year or so of having it, I just played around with it, and got a bit frustrated with not being able to understand all the features, as I am a bit of a clueless with technology at times, and do not have much patience with instruction manuels.

I then discovered this site, which changed everything, and have basically learned about the BR by both asking questions on here, and reading responses and advise to other peoples queries. People on here are extremley helpful, and will go out of their way to explain things to you, and although I am still some way off discovering the full potential of this device, I am streets ahead of where I was this time last year.

My advice is stick with it, and ask any questions you need to on here. I have now started to post my work on here, and hope you will do this in the future too.

[jjl5590]

wow i was not expecting so many answers! thanks a million guys, ive decided to keep it 
but just to backtrack a little, i'm not really gonna be using most of the features on the MBR, just the mic recording and maybe a little drum machine. If I buy an external mic, such as the Boss or sony one, or the one just posted above, will this give me the recording sound quality of the Zoom H4?


cheerzzz


(P.S. whats the biggest SD card that is compatable with the MBR? will an 8gb card work?)

[Greeny]

wow i was not expecting so many answers! thanks a million guys, ive decided to keep it 
but just to backtrack a little, i'm not really gonna be using most of the features on the MBR, just the mic recording and maybe a little drum machine. If I buy an external mic, such as the Boss or sony one, or the one just posted above, will this give me the recording sound quality of the Zoom H4?


cheerzzz


(P.S. whats the biggest SD card that is compatable with the MBR? will an 8gb card work?)

1gb is your limit on the BR. I think most people get around that by having several 1gb cards. I manage by backing up to pc reguarly (which is a good habit to get into anyway...).

Regarding the internal MIC, I think it's great. I've never used anything else on my songs. It does help if you use one of the MIC effects with it though - you should check these out.

I definitely recommend looking at the tutorials section on here (see 'articles and tutorials')... using these, I managed to make my first proper recording (4 tracks, with drums) and mix it down to mp3 without looking at the manual once. They are step by step instructions. Also, Pedro's video tutorials are great as an introduction.

I think everyone will try to help you because we all know that after you get through the first learning curve, you'll be as in love with the BR as we are. Glad you changed your mind 

[jjl5590]

Yeah I will definitly watch the vids. I'm a bit bummed it can only hold 1gd, cos if im in, say, a 4 hour band rehersal, and im recording for the most part, if it takes up pretty much all of the memory card, i wont be able to export it as an MP3 file because it will say card full lol. I had this problem with the 128mb card so I assume it will be the same with the 1gb card. someone mentioned a program that lets you convert it on the computer but i cant remember which one it was..

[64Guitars]

I'm a bit bummed it can only hold 1gd, cos if im in, say, a 4 hour band rehersal, and im recording for the most part, if it takes up pretty much all of the memory card, i wont be able to export it as an MP3 file because it will say card full lol. I had this problem with the 128mb card so I assume it will be the same with the 1gb card. someone mentioned a program that lets you convert it on the computer but i cant remember which one it was..

Get the free BR Wave Converter 2.0. It will convert your tracks to WAV files - not MP3. But it will work even if the memory card is 100% full. And you can use a program such as Audacity or Switch to convert the WAV file to MP3.

If you record a 4-hour rehearsal, be sure to press Stop a couple of times and start a new song. Otherwise, the recording will be too big to export. The BR Wave converter is limited to about 3 hours and 22 minutes in stereo. Also, the WAV file produced from a 3-hour recording can be huge and difficult to work with. So you're better off making multiple shorter recordings. Nobody plays for 4 hours straight anyway, so when you stop to take a break, press Stop and start a new song on the BR.

[dragonshade]

just to backtrack a little, i'm not really gonna be using most of the features on the MBR, just the mic recording and maybe a little drum machine.

Yes, at this time.
Still you have the ability to begin to do all these other things at any point, and the Zoom has no drums.

Good luck

[jjl5590]

ahhh hi again guys!

i made a bunch more recordings with the mic on the MBR, as well as more band rehersals, and I am just dissapointed with it. The recordings come out quiet on my pc unless i turn the volume to near maximum, the recording is very bassy with little high frequency response, and just generally the quality isnt great.

From my point of view, i have 2, or maybe 3 options.
I can either buy this external mic: http://www.roland.co.uk/guitar_room_catdet.asp?id=BACS10
That mic looks good, but its £50! Which i think is quite a lot.
Alternatively, I could get the Zoom H2, which has less functions than the MBR, but the mic looks a lot like that external one I posted above. Overall, getting the Zoom H2 would be cheaper than buying the external mic for the MBR, because I would probably get about £120 for the MBR which is what the zoom h2 costs.
Or i could just go for the H4 which has an even better mic, but i feel it is unnecissarily expensive...

also, will using the external mic with the MBR drain its battery even more, because it is powered by plug-in power?

thanks

[hewhoiscalledj]

You have to do what you feel will help your creative process... If that means buying the H2 or H4, then go for it. You can tell that many of us here on the forum are die-hard believers in the MBR and with good reason. Just keep in mind that ultimately, it's the microphone in the MBR that you are having issues with (I know because I had the same problem.) With that in mind, the one thing that will solve your problems is a new and better microphone and the mic in either the H2 or the H4 wont be much different so you would be better off, in my opinion, with a better mic that exceeds the quality of the MBRs or the H2/H4.

I'm assuming that the band plays loud (as it should!) and you have to set the SENSITIVITY down as low as it can go (-15db?) to avoid OVER (clipping.) That's a direct result of the built-in mic not being able to handle very high sound pressures. Like the H2, the MBR has a tool called a LIMITER which cuts the sound level off at a set THRESHOLD. In other words, when the MBR hears a sound that hits that level (say -2db; 0 is where your peak would be) it cuts it off and helps to avoid the OVER or clipping. That's just one of many tools available to you on the MBR to solve your problems. With that said, a better mic will solve all your issues...

Think of the MBR and the H2 as hard drives to record your music. It does the same exact job. The difference is that with the MBR, it's like having a built in MIXER, EFFECTS and MODELING AMP, MASTERING TOOLS, DRUM MACHINE, MP3 PLAYER, and then some.... You lose all this by going with the H2, and the quality will not improve... In fairness to the H2, it's much simpler to use but you will have the same issues to correct with it and far less functionality.

My suggestion is to save your money for a full 8 track or larger MULTI-TRACK RECORDER, decent mics, a decent set of monitors, and some acoustical room treatment. These purchases will take you where you want your sound to go; far more so than what a little field recorder ever can. Good luck! 

[Kody]

Hey man, I'd have to agree with hewhoiscalledj....

I have the Boss br900 and Mackie Tracktion 3 recording software with a 12-channel firwire mixer plus various rack mount gear~ But, I also have the micro br~ and I love it!! It can do everything the other stuff can do except record each mic'd drum to a separate track~ But you could send all of the drum mics to a mixer and then record in to 1 input on the MBR~

also, will using the external mic with the MBR drain its battery even more, because it is powered by plug-in power?

I don't know...but I bought a charger w/4 rechargeable batteries at Walmart for $16...Duracell...I don't think they need charged very often...works great!

The recordings come out quiet on my pc...

I've had that problem too, but I don't think it's the mbr's fault...I think it can be set up properly with practice.  I know people go to college to learn audio recording~ my brother went for 2 years (Ass. Degree). I don't know the first thing about proper procedure, but I think the mbr is easy to use....with a little practice I know you will too.  BTW, a way I worked around the quiet recordings:  Adacity~ the free audio program~if you don't have it downloaded, I highly reccomend it.  You just import your audio file, select it- go to effects and click on NORMALIZE...works like a charm..