The Boss BR8 is an 8-track digital hard disk recorder with built-in physical-modeling guitar amp simulators, digital effects, built-in tuner, and phrase trainer priced well under $900. We tried to think up a clever opening statement, but nothing quite had the impact of that preceding sentence.

Small and easy to use, the BR8 uses the technology that Roland uses in their pioneering VS series of hard disk recorders, along with some of the COSM physical modeling stuff that powers their VG8 guitar rig.

You won't need a special pickup for your guitar, either, just plug it in. Recording direct never sounded so good. Record your guitar "clean," insert the COSM effect, and Ö Pow! Ö you're playing through a "British" stack. Let's say you change your mind, and would rather boogie through one of those small boutique amps with one 12 inch speaker. Just change the insert. You wouldn't want to try to pay for (or store) the pile of heads and cabinets you'd need to replicate this feature. And bass players have some dedicated choices as well on the "amp" list. There are special inputs for guitar and bass so you'll never need a direct box.

The 8 tracks expand to 64 virtual tracks to save multiple takes. The BR8's digital mixer lets you dial in reverb, chorus/delay, or any of the other insert effects available like compression, pitch shifting, or even ring modulation. All music data is stored on the internal 100 MB ZIP drive. And although this machine is geared towards guitarists, you can… read more record vocals, drums, or keys just as easily. It's a real 8-track recorder through and through. There's even more on the features list, including a tuner and phrase trainer.

The Boss BR8 can be used by everyone. The pro can use it as a sketchpad, and a novice can make multitrack music for the first time. A singer-songwriter can use it as a "backup band." And bands in general can demo to their heart's delight. For about the price of 15 hours at a modestly priced studio, you can record whenever and wherever you wish.

Features
Self-contained 8-track digital recording studio with 64 Virtual Tracks

Zip drive for recording to convenient, inexpensive 100MB Zip disks

Simplified user interface with graphic LCD makes digital recording very easy

Diverse effects including COSM guitar and bass amp models and acoustic/bass guitar simulators

Innovative Rhythm Guide with various built-in patterns for building a rhythm track

Built-in chromatic tuner and dedicated Hi-Z guitar input

Phrase Trainer slows down recordings to half-speed for learning guitar licks

Optical digital output for connecting to digital devices such as DAT or MD read less