Our recommended alternative

Boss Micro BR BR-80 Digital Recorder

The pocket-sized Boss BR-80 eight-track recorder has everything you need: a 1/4" guitar input, built-in effects, eBand backing tracks, USB output, and more.

Boss Micro BR BR-80 Digital Recorder

$319.99
  • 8 x  
    $40.00
  • No Credit Check
    6 x  
    $53.33
  • No Credit Check
    4 x  
    $80.00
FREE delivery Wednesday

Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder

No longer available at zZounds
This is a carousel with one large image and a track of thumbnails on the left side. Select any of the thumbnail buttons to change the main image. You may also use the left and right arrow keys to navigate between images.
Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder, Main
Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder, Side 1
Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder, Main Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder, Side 1
The Boss Micro BR puts the power of a full digital multitracking studio in the palm of your hand. The Micro BR features powerful recording, mixing and mastering tools to take your music from thought to completion.

Wouldn't it be great if you could schedule inspiration? Just pencil some creative flow into your day-planner for next Saturday afternoon between 1:00 and 3:30, then whip out a few new songs. We all know it doesn't work like that. Inspiration usually hits when you're in the middle of a million other things. You're on the train or at the grocery store or walking your dog and you realize you're humming a catchy new melody. You're on the tour bus, driving to the next town, and that happy accident you had during your last guitar solo has you thinking about a cool new riff. One minute it's here, and the next, it's gone. You can't expect inspiration to wait around, so you've got to be ready when it strikes. The Micro BR digital recorder from Boss is small enough to take anywhere, and has the features you need to flesh-out all your spontaneous ideas.

Fully Functional Recording Studio

While most handheld digital recorders only offer simple audio capture and playback, the Micro BR is a complete, self-contained multitrack studio. Boss found a way to fit four-track recording, editing, and mastering into a device about the size of an iPod. Combined with multiple inputs, onboard effects, MP3 support, and more, you can create anything from a simple scratch demo to a fully produced, ready-to-distribute song. Whenever a new idea pops into your head, you can save it for later polishing, or sculpt it into something more while it's still fresh in your mind.

All the Ins and Outs

The Micro… read more BR offers easy input for all your sounds. Use the 1/4-inch jack straight from your guitar or bass, and get on-pitch with the built-in tuner. Acoustic instruments and vocal tracks can be added with the onboard microphone. This is also a great way to save your ideas for later. Sing in the tune, strum out a quick chord progression, or even leave a "note-to-self" with details about the mood you want to set, tempo, bass part, or anything else. You can go back and clean it up at your convenience. Alternatively, the mic/line miniplug input will handle external microphones, keyboards, and CD/MP3 players. Plug in your instrument-of-choice, adjust the gain for a strong input level, and use the transport controls to lay down the track. The stereo miniplug output with dedicated volume control lets you monitor all your music through headphones or external speakers.

No Shortage of Groove

You may be thinking, 'that's great for guitars and vocals, but what about drums?' You could mic-up your drum kit with a mixer and route the output to your Micro BR, but that's not exactly portable. Fortunately, Boss includes a special rhythm function to help you build the groove. You can select any of the 293 drum patterns from nine different styles to establish the pocket and maintain the tempo. Loop a single pattern continuously, or use the built-in arranger to trigger different patterns for the intro, verse, chorus, and bridge. Even better, this rhythm function is independent of your recording space, so you can build the beat without sacrificing any of your multitrack capabilities.

Build Complete Songs

With multitracking, you can explore all aspects of your composition. The Micro BR lets you record up to two simultaneous tracks, with support for four playback tracks. Start with the special "fifth-track" and program your drum groove. Lay down the bass on track 1, and the rhythm section is starting to shape up. Add a chord progression with guitar or keyboard on track 2, then tie it all together with the vocal melody on track 3. Use the last track for texture, mixing in backing vocals, guitar solos, or even horn-stabs with the internal microphone. Each track offers eight virtual tracks, providing a total of 32 channels of stored audio. Mix and match bass lines, vocal harmonies, and guitar solos until you find the perfect combination. Imagine walking around with all those tracks in your back pocket! The Micro BR makes it possible.

The Micro BR's Onboard Effects

No multitrack studio is complete without a healthy set of effects, and Boss stocked the Micro BR with a full assortment. These legendary COSM amp models and effects add color and depth to all your parts, polishing your songs to perfection. You'll find crunchy distortion, creamy chorus, spacey phasers, lush reverb, and more to spice up vocal and instrumental tracks. Experiment on the virtual tracks, and see which ones fit best. You also have the flexibility to add these effects as you record, or during mixdown. If you already know you want a certain type of delay, for example, go ahead and add it in. You may find a previously recorded track could use some extra EQ or compression, though. Insert these effects during mixdown, and tweak them until you've got everything sounding just right.

Tight Editing Control

Making mistakes is all part of the process, but the Micro BR's editing features help your final product sound flawless. You can punch-in and punch-out as you record, fixing little mistakes immediately. Use the manual setting to overdub on-the-fly, or set automatic punch-points if you think you'll need more than one pass. You can also copy and paste inside a track, or from one track to another. Lay down your chord progression, for example, then copy the phrase as many times as necessary to build the song. With short patterns for the verse and the chorus, you can create a tight, steady groove in seconds. This same technique is great for getting the most out of every track. Why waste a whole track, just for the the guitar solo? Record your vocal harmonies on a virtual track, then cut and paste them around the solo. Add some extra guitar texture, and your songs get even bigger. With a little creative organization, you can fill any silent spots with the subtle details that make your music come alive.

Don't Forget to Master

Once everything is recorded and mixed, bounce it all down to two tracks. You can then use the Mastering Toolkit to smooth out the stereo image and prepare it for distribution. The Micro BR lets you take your musical ideas from concept to completion, without ever leaving the interface. This "one-stop-shop" approach means you can work quickly and efficiently, taking advantage of every creative opportunity you encounter.

Storage and Power

So, where does all this audio go? Boss includes a 128MB SD card for convenient, portable storage. It will hold more than one hour of recorded audio. The slot accepts a maximum 1GB card, giving you over 13 hours of record time! That's about three hours of four-track recording. You can produce a full-length CD, and still have room left over for bonus tracks. Store your music in WAV format for the best quality, or MP3 format to maximize space. The Micro BR also has a mini-USB port to connect with any Mac or Windows computer. Archive all your audio to hard disk, or prepare your mastered tracks for distribution on CD or across the web as MP3's. While we're on the subject of capacity, two AA batteries provide up to six hours of continuous use. For longer projects, Boss offers an optional AC power adapter (not included).

More Cool Functions

Beyond its impressive recording capabilities, the Boss Micro BR is a helpful practice tool. You can use the rhythm function like a metronome, experimenting with different grooves as you improve your timing. If you're more interested in learning cover songs than working on original material, this device can help there, too. Use the USB port to import your favorite MP3 files, and you can learn the tunes at your leisure. The Center-Cancel feature removes lead vocals and guitar solos from stereo MP3's, so you can sing and play along, karaoke-style. Having trouble with a particularly tricky riff? No sweat. The Micro BR lets you time-stretch MP3's without changing the pitch. Slow that slippery lick down until you've got it nailed, then jump back up to speed and try it in real time. Those blistering solos aren't quite so intimidating when you can break them down like this. Expand your set list with covers and originals, take the monotony out of your practice sessions, and record your next CD, right from your guitar gig bag. The Micro BR from Boss does it all! read less

Power Supply (Optional): PSA-120S

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 323-890-3700

Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder

The World's Smallest Pro Studio
Meet the ultimate palmtop guitar companion and recording studio. Only slightly larger than an iPod, the tiny-yet-powerful Micro BR is a dream for musicians on the go. The Micro BR offers four simultaneous playback tracks (plus 32 V-Tracks), MP3 compatibility, onboard multi-effects, built-in rhythm patterns, a tuner, USB, an SD Card slot, and more. No guitar case or gig bag should be without one!

Features:- Ultra portable, only slightly larger than an iPod
- 4-track playback, 32 V-Tracks
- Loads and plays MP3 files
- Multi-effects onboard; dedicated guitar input
- Time-Stretch and Center Cancel features (including MP3 files)
- 293 rhythm patterns
- Built-in tuner and microphone
- USB port for data transfer
- SD Card slot for recording media, 128MB card included

BR in Your Pocket or Guitar Case
The Micro BR is so small you can put it in your pocket! It measures just 136.0 mm x 81.0 mm x 21.4 mm (5-3/8" x 3-3/16" x 7/8"). But even though it's tiny, the Micro BR packs an entire studio's worth of features into its tiny case. There are a dozen buttons on its front panel, nine knobs, and even a built-in microphone for quick capture.

4 Tracks & More
At its core, the Micro BR is a four-track studio with four simultaneous playback tracks and two simultaneous record / input tracks. However, there's more to this recorder than meets the eye. Each of the four main playback tracks also has eight companion V-Tracks (for a total of 32), so you can record take after take after take, then pick your best material for final mixdown.

Drum Machine & Effects Onboard
Given the Micro BR's small size and low price, you might be surprised to find the next two features onboard: (1) Almost 300 drum patterns are included. Use them for play-along inspiration or even as song foundations. The rhythms don't consume any of the four playback tracks -- they play back independently. (2) A quality multi-effects processor is onboard, including a time-stretch algorithm for changing the tempo of your audio tracks without changing pitch -- a great tool for both audio editing and phrase training. The Time Stretch feature can also be used with MP3 data; the Micro BR's Center Cancel feature can be applied to MP3 data as well.

MP3 Compatibility
The Micro BR is capable of loading and playing MP3 files. Load up your favorite guitar hero song via USB, slow down the tempo with no pitch change, and learn all of your favorite licks. You can even use the Micro BR as a standard MP3 player. All of your data is stored on convenient SD (Secure Digital) media found in common electronics shops. The included 128MB card, for example, can record approximately 65 minutes of audio when one mono track is selected.

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. (106 ratings)
Submitted December 10, 2006 by a customer from ToughGuy.net

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

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
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.

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.

Features
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… read more 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.

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.

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.

Manufacturer 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.

The Wow Factor
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.

Musical Background:
Active Musician

Musical Style:
Rock read less
72 of 78 people (92%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Rate and Review this Product
Read more reviews

No longer available at zZounds