Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder

4-track playback, 32 V-Tracks. Records to SD Cards not CF cards.

Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10

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"BOSS BR"

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10
Support:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
There were no accessories as such HOWEVER the onbopard mike and the drum kit on board!!!??? wow... BUT i cant seem to mix down and use the MP3...anyone know how?

Quality:
everything perfect

Value:
even tho i cant work it.. i still rate it as a high 9 becuase the effects make it worht it on theyre own .. then theres the programmable drum kit ... and the 4 track... i wouldnt hesittate in buying it effects wise

Desirability:
it looks good , is tiny and is brilliant ..

Sound:
The sound on this unit is amazing, how can i word this, when i first started playing with this , i thought... how can you have so many different trCKS and sounds without the distortion? well this does it.. the onboard effects are amazing quality . im having hassles using the mix down- convert to mp3 BUT if it wernt for that.. id be 100% happy.. the effects on board- there are like over 80 or so for guitar and they REALLY make a difference. i was using a SG guitar but i used the "tele" effect and it totally changed the sound , really really worth the money just for the fact that the effects are great . also there are 4 bass effects which are good ..

Ease of Use:
i nearly just marked this as a 3 but i think thats a bit harsh .. I DO love this kit BUT it fails on one area for me.. mixing the whole thing down to one song and the en to MP3- it could be me not used to using these things but im 26 and good at using computers etc.. i thought this would be a breeze but it really isnt ..thast the truth.. its SO advanced its tricky to use.. its easy to place 4 tracks down..no problem there.. easy BUT i cant mix down to one song successfully and then convert to MP3 ..it keeps missing out tracks ..

Support:
I have contacted Roland twice in 2 weeks and had no reply...

Overall:
i give it a 7 only becuase i cant work it .. the min i can work it properly ill come back and change this to 10.. the rest REALLY IS THAT GOOD

13 of 13 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"A few drawbacks but overall you will want one of these"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
I think they should have included an AC adapter with this. I went and got one the day after I received this in the mail; the batteries were starting to drain pretty quickly. On the other hand, the features in the recorder itself are pretty impressive for such an inexpensive unit. I tried every option and it all works as advertised. Having a built-in tuner is nice, no need to unplug or use your pedal tuner, just press a couple buttons and get in tune. This unit was designed for single-player recording, a way to get ideas saved for later development or for practicing and or learning a song. For those purposes the 4 tracks is adequate, especially with the virtual tracks. The Rhythm track is great, and you can record it right along with your song when you do the mastering.

Quality:
While light-weight and small, the unit seems to be well constructed. I've only used it at home, not taken it to practice or to gigs. I've had it a little over a week, so would not expect it to show any wear and tear yet. The battery cover does not seem to fit really snug, but that shouldn't be a problem for me since I will normally use the AC adapter and not be changing batteries on a regular basis.

Value:
For the price, this recorder is great. It has a lot of bang for the buck, and fills a need I didn't know was there.

Desirability:
This unit is really cool looking - the lcd glows from a mirror finish. Just the thought of so much power in such a small unit is intriguing.

Sound:
This unit doesn't have much bass to it, although after mastering the playback sounds good on an MP3 player or CD player. I've experimented with hooking up my guitar amp to the line out and I can get beefier tones that way but it sounds pretty tinny through headphones. The end result sounds good though, and to me that's what's important.

Ease of Use:
It takes some getting used to the small buttons to choose the various options and settings. Also, I am a little disappointed in the documentation, it has several errors in it. There was a sheet of corrections included, but they still missed a bunch of mistakes. Some of the wording sounds like a mechanical interpreter was used to convert from Japanese. I looked for a PDF version of the manual on the website but none available for download. On the other hand, there is a quick-start guide that is very helpful to get your first song recorded. Making a drum pattern takes a little effort, but at least there are presets with intro, outro, verse, fills, etc. to help make it easier.

Support:
I have not needed to contact support; my only wish in this department is a PDF version of the manual so I could print another copy. Without the manual, it would be difficult to figure out some of the functions.

Overall:
No doubt about it, this is a fun gizmo to have and play with. A little bit of a learning curve, but after that it's sheer joy. It can help with creativity if you're into writing your own songs, or it can be a boon to learning songs or riffs. It's small, portable and flexible if you have a USB cable and some adapter plugs. There are tons of editable guitar effects, including different amp models. It can only record one instrument at a time, but I've found that even with a higher end MTR it still ends up being mostly one instrument at a time. It seems a little slow when exporting tracks, but that's not an operation performed on a frequent basis.

23 of 24 people (95.83%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"I recommed this product for all Musicians."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
This device has many features, it has alot of guitar effects, and it even has some bass effects. you can change it to the mic mode and record live sound. The drum machine is alright, they have many styles. But the best quality is when you plug your guitar straight into it and you get perfect sound.

Quality:
Well its plastic so i gave it a 9 but it seems to be well made. The worst quality is probably playing loud on the built in mic. But That is exellent for accustic.

Value:
yes in my oppinion it is, but to other people it isint because they just dont know how to use it. it came with a caseand a memory card.

Desirability:
I have it and im glad.

Sound:
This recorder is really good, i found many ways on how to use it. I also created songs that have better quality than professional recordings.

Ease of Use:
Once you get the hang of it you can create some awesome songs, and you can transfer them through the chip. You can put the songs online in a matter of minutes. I even make songs while in the car too thats how easy it is.

Support:
Never needed it.

Overall:
This is a definate 10, and i made over 150 songs with this and every song is perfect quality.

4 of 6 people (66.67%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"The best idea recorder ever!"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
Unlike it's predeccesor the BR-532, some of the effects like pitch shift and bass simulator were cut. But, reverb was added and it has the most common fx like chorus, flange, phase, tremolo, and delay, plus amp tones, so for the 230 bucks it's well equipped.

Quality:
For a plastic piece it's pretty solid.

Value:
What else could you want for the money? Anything more and you would problably lose quality overall.

Desirability:
Could'nt wait for it. Can't afford the BR-1600!!!!!!

Sound:
For little over 200 dollars this unit's quality of sound is better than some of the studio demo's I've heard recorded in local studios people dumped hundreds of dollars on. Mixes in well with al my mp3s. No noticable buzz or air noise like those crapola tape recorders we were all damned with just a couple years ago. Just make sure to mix and master them properly and it works fine even without faders.

Ease of Use:
Once you read the manual for whatever task it is you are trying to accomplish, it gets pretty easy after a day or so. I find the built in fx presets to be very usefull. I might tweak the speed of the phaser or delay a bit, but overall I stick to the presets. Mastering can sound intimidating, but a few minutes with the manual and it's a breeze.

Support:
The best. They've always been good, but this time around a power surge fried my micro br, and they sent me a new on in the box no questions asked within 2 weeks. I did of course have to go to my local Roland dealer an pay like 4.80 for shipping, but hey, thats better than 230 dollars!!!

Overall:
Great.

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"A little wonder."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
I'm just happy whith the features. I guess I did not take yet all the advantages it potentialy has.

Quality:
Quality is just great. No regrets at all.

Value:
It worth every cent I spent.

Desirability:
It's my first recording studio. Simply the best purchase I made to begin. People just don't believe that the results come from this little wonder.

Sound:
The sound quality is good.The effects don't replace my guitar pedal, so I use the pedal (a Zoom G2.1) when I want to get exactly the sound I want. I'm happy because both products behave together exactly the way I wish. When I'm in a hurry, the Micro BR is good enough by itself. One thing I miss is more vocal effects for an external mic.

Ease of Use:
Once you get accostumed to the interface, you can use it without problems Of course miniaturization forces a compact and a little bit difficult to understand interface. But it's only matter of time and some try and error work.

Support:
Difficult to rate because I haven't had problems at all. And hope the situation to remain as is!

Overall:
The only feature I miss is a bass effect. I mean an effect that can turn the frequency down to emulate a bass guitar. But except for that, I think it's the best.

1 of 2 people (50%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Wow. funtionality, features, no cassettes required."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
Shouldve included the psu as it chews batteries. getting about 8 hours per set of aa's. Youll want rechargeables. also, unit is not usb bus powered, so you still need external power or batteries to connect to a pc. data transfer and file backup is a snap on this. Simply drag and drop. onboard open air mic is a cool plus. Have had the unit for two weeks for a song sketchpad and its been quite condusive to song creation. The simplicity of recording without the technology killing the creative moment. Little extras like fx, track bouncing allow for tweaking of your concept and review prior to going to 'reel' via a full on session. great execution so far. No track mute is a minor gripe. if i wanted to be really anal, i would say having the same interface slightly condensed would allow for single hand operation (i have stubbies).

Quality:
feels like a handheld mattel basketball game. (sfx - dit dit dit dit deedaaa). hopefully will hold up under repeated mashing.

Value:
Yeah man. if i lost it, i'd get another.

Desirability:
I was looking at the zoom casually. I saw this and went out and bought it the next day.

Sound:
good sound. mp3's must be imported at 128. also allow wav import, so sq is competent.

Ease of Use:
Had to go to the manual to figure how to mixdown to 2 tracks, and to bounce tracks. most other functionality is intuitive and only a button press or two away. was able to open box, and get right to cutting.

Support:
been using roland in various capacities for a long time. first time using the boss product line.

Overall:
Im sold on the sketchpad ultraportable. with work and kids, i need a device that i can draw when inspiration hits. a straight voice recorder is not versatile enough. this device is just right.

1 of 2 people (50%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Great little multitracker, just be aware of the limitations."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
In spite of the missing multitrack features, there's an abundance of other features that almost make up for it. That's why I'm giving it a 9. I suppose there's only so much you can do with a piece of equipment that's only slightly larger than a Nintendo DS.

Quality:
The entire unit is made of plastic. Without the batteries installed the unit weighs practically nothing. Overall, it seems pretty sturdy, but I wonder how long the battery cover will last. Also with 21 tiny push buttons on the front panel, I wonder how well the switches will hold up to repeated use.

Value:
Lots of features in a small package. Some more useable than others. Overall, it's a pretty good value.

Desirability:
I was looking for an easy to use product that I could record rough demo's of my songs (I have a higher end system to record the final songs on). With the 32 virtual tracks I can make different versions of the same song and make decisions as to what works and what doesn't. In this regard the Boss Micro BR hits the mark.

Sound:
While the recorded sound is fine, there are some limitations to the recorder section itself. There are no faders for the 4 tracks. Level adjustments are made via a menu. There's no mute or solo function for the tracks. When editing tracks all in or out points need to be entered in real time. No provision for finding precise in or out points. In spite of these limitations for a multitrack recorder, I still feel the unit is very capable of producing nice sounding songs if proper planning and execution is followed. The effects sound pretty good and are editable. The MP3 playback sounds typical for an MP3 player, but the ability to slow down the track and loop a particular section in the trainer mode is useful for learning how to play riffs. You can also remove the vocal for a karaoke type sound. Lots of features that all sound pretty good, just some missing features that make it less of a multitrack recorder. (It also has a built in rhythm section that seems to be pretty versitile. I don't need this function and haven't really checked out how it sounds or works.)

Ease of Use:
Most features are accessed by menu's. Once you get a feel for the 3 letter abbreviations used in the menu choices, it's fairly simple to get to what you want fairly quickly. The manual is fairly helpful in that area.

Support:
I've had no dealings with anyone regarding any support related issues, so I have no rating for this.

Overall:
For my intended use of this product, I expect to keep it until it just falls apart. As a multitrack recorder there are much better options out there for just a little more money. Overall, it's got lots of features that allow you to make reasonable sounding recordings for a nice price.

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"The best little recorder"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
Best for the size and price. MP3 functionalities are a nice bonus, this can be used as a practise device in a bedroom as well as recorder.

Quality:
Seems to be ok. Th cardboard box it came in is the finest I have ever seen ;-)

Sound:
Sounds quality and effects are excellent for notepad type of playing.

Ease of Use:
Small size has its drawbacks. Once you get familiar with this, no problem

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"Not what I expected (In a not too good way)"

Overall:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * . . . . . 5