another new boy

[Burtog]

Hello everyone! 

Just like to say what a great site this is, stumbled across it last night and thought I would join.
I have enjoyed listening to some of the music put on, diverse and some great quality.

I have been playing guitar for 20+ years and have been in several live bands but am currently not involved in live music due to .............well lots of things.
I am not currently set up to home record but am looking at buying a unit to get me started, found this site while looking for forums on the BR-800.

So to help me on my way can anyone sum up some basic points (for a recording beginner) on the pros and cons of say the MBR v BR800?

[64Guitars]

Welcome to Songcrafters, Burtog.

The Micro BR is a very popular choice among our members. But the BR-800 has a lot more going for it. If you're looking at both, the only reasons for choosing the Micro BR would be if the lower price and/or smaller size are important to you. Otherwise, I'd recommend the BR-800.

You'll find lots of info about the BR-800 in the following topic:

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=6710.0

One or two of our members have both (having started out on the Micro BR and kept it after buying the BR-800). Hopefully, they'll post some comments to help you with your decision. And if you have any specific questions about either recorder, post them in the Multitrack Recorders board.

[Geir]

Hey, welcome Burtog !!! You've come to the right place .... I'm in a bit of a rush now, but will come back with more later

[Geir]

oh and I have both the MBR and the BR800 (tho my daughter have occupied the MBR for the last couple of months )

[Burtog]

Thanks!

it's great to hear any opinions, especially when they are coming from people using the gear properly.
I had heard some negative comments on the BR800 elsewhere but from this forum they seem to be more positive....so far!

[Tony W]

I have both and both have their upside. The portability of the Micro can't be beat, but the 800 runs on batteries as well, and is fairly compact. I can't say enough good things about the Micro BR, but without a doubt, I like the 800 better.

The 800 takes a bit of work to learn your way around it, and has all of the best features of the BR line incorporated into it, along with many advancements. The ease of song generation from start to finish on the 800 is unparalleled throughout the rest of the lineup.

Unfortunately I've not spent as much time with the 800 as I had anticipated yet, but when it comes to the usability of it, Geir will come back and give you rave reviews.

[Bluesberry]

Welcome Burtog...you have come to the right place for sure.  I started my home recording experience with a Boss MicroBR, but I found it limited and wanted to get a bigger machine within about 6-8 months.  I ended up gettong the Boss BR-1200 and I absolutly love that one...but if I were to do it again (the BR-800 wasn't available at the time) I would have gotten the BR-800 instead and been perfectly happy I think.  Although I sure love my BR-1200, but that one is not really portable, it sits on my desk in my little studio and never moves from that spot.  There is a whole lot of advantages to the portability of a BR-800, I think they are a really great machine.  As for negative comments...one thing I notice is that certain folks and forums are negative on any "stand-alone" recorder and that has to be taken into acount.  On this site there are a lot of us who use the "stand-alone machines" almost exclusively and for us we love our machines...just something to keep in mind when reading comments...some don't like the "stand-alones" at all and will trash talk any of these machines...we love ours on here and so the comments are usually more favorable...the results speak for themselves...just listen to the quality of music recorded on here.  You will find a lot of Boss machine users on here, they are very good machines for the home recording types...they do what they do very well.

[Geir]

OK .... MBR vs. BR800

Let me start by saying, the MicroBR changed my life! Not at once, ... not until I got a "card read error" (nothing to worry about BTW look elsewhere on this site for solutions) and I found this site. So for me the combination of the MBR and this site was a dream come true. For the first time in my life I had a) complete control over the music I made, b) quality recordings and c) a supportive crowd of listeners willing to comment, collaborate come with constructive feedback!

I might be wrong, but I do think the MicroBR was a much better choice than ANY other recorder for me at that time (even if the 800 had existed then I think the MBR was a better choice). The portability of the MBR is the key. The fact that you can literarly put it in your pocket and with a couple of extra batteries can have it with you all day, do vocal additions, do some mixing, program the drums, do some mastering, etc, means you're in for a flying start in multitrack recording. I had a Korg D16 for 4 years before I got the mbr. I think I made a total of 25 "songs" on it during those years. Since I became active here Mars 2009 I've posted 220+ songs (about half of them originals I think, some instrumentals, a good deal covers, a lot of collabs some of which are posted by others) most of them recorded on the microBR.

On the other hand, since I got the BR800 all my recordings (save one or two) have been recorded on the BR800. And tho the BR800 has a lot more to offer than the MBR, I still think as a "CREATIVE AID" the mbr is unsurpassed!!! If I where to start all over again I think I'd get the mbr, BUT that's me. I know a few other here who feels the same and has had similar experience. I think Oldrottenhead wouldbe lost without his mbr, so would Greeny, Osckilo and Launched to name a few. In fact if you add up the posts of those 4 + Bluesberry and myself I think you have about a fifth of all the songs posted here on songcrafters. ANd the main reason for that is (IMHO) PORTABILITY !!

Now I hop Nigel will jump in and say something fabulous about the BR800, cause I really do want you to get a BR800 !!!

I've also posted a review earlier comparing the two ... I'll dig it up and post the link (if 64G doesn't beat me to it )

[Oldrottenhead]

as geir rightly says, i would be lost without my mbr. it goes with me everywhere. that said i had a few days seeing geirs br800 in action and would love one of them too.

if you have the money buy both, if i had the money id buy both, my mbr has been well used there are pics on here as to how war weary it looks, but if it was ever to die on me, i would replace it in an instant, bu like i said if i had the money i would get a br800 too.
not to replace my microbr (as of yet there is no product could do that) but to compliment it.

[cuthbert]

Jim's not kidding, here's his MBR:



That baby's gotten some use!