The Boss Micro BR has to be one of the neatest recording devices I have ever come across. The amount of things you can do with it is simply amazing. The Boss Micro BR is a recording device for anybody that plays guitar and likes to record their own music or record their own covers. It is primarily for use with an guitar but you can use a bass with it and you might be able to possibly hook up a keyboard or synthesizer if you have instrument cables for it. There are a ton of things you can do with the Boss Micro BR and I am here to give you a review of the Boss Micro BR.
The fact this thing is about the size of an regular iPod but slightly thicker, astounds me every time I use it. With setting the sound levels on each track and mastering it at the end, you can make songs that sound just like you’ve just recorded it at a professional studio. There is a built in memory card so you won’t have to purchase one on your own unless you need more space. I’ve had around 5 full songs and around 8-10 demo recordings that are anywhere from a minute long to two minutes long. The Boss Micro BR comes equipped with a 128MB memory card. You can also convert your demos or songs to MP3 format and upload them to your computer so you can save them and listen to them.
With the Boss Micro BR, you will have four tracks to use for instruments and the drums will run on it’s own dedicated track. That means you can have one track for guitar, bass and then have two more left over for guitar solos or any other small guitar or bass parts you would like to add. When the drum tracks are separated for recording, there somewhere along the line of 293 drum patterns to use for your recordings in which you can choose whatever ones you want and arrange them however. There are something like 60 – 70 full drum arrangements that you can’t edit their arrangement but you can record music to it. There are drum patterns for Rock, Metal, Hard Rock, Blues, Hip Hop, R&B; and more. The drum beats don’t sound cheesy at all and are pretty authentic sounding. You can change the tone of the drums and the sound level of them so they don’t drown out other instrument or vocals.
The Boss Micro BR has a dedicated guitar input. There are 80 different guitar effects with this thing and I was blown away how good they all sound. There are tons of rock and metal sounds and some blues guitar. There are some effects that have lots of reverb and other effects to really make them sound unique and interesting. You don’t need an amp whatsoever to use the Boss Micro BR. All I do is plug in the headphones I use for my CD player, plug in my guitar to it and play away. You will be amazed the first time you go through all the effects. It’s like having tons of different guitar amps all in one little package. There is a guitar tuner included with the unit.
The mastering area of the Boss Micro BR is another nice feature that really helps out with quality. There are 10 sound presets to make your songs sound more like a live mix, or with a real grainy sound if thats what your looking for. There are other sound sets that help it sound more dance oriented or just more powerful in general. These things are hard to explain but when you master your first song (which is very easy and quick), you’ll know what I mean. Always master a track before you present it to someone so the overall quality is top notch. Make sure the master level is as high as you can make it without distorting the sound. That will allow your track to sound better and all songs are usually recorded that way.
The only cons I have with the Boss Micro BR is that the thing literally eats batteries like nothing I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend purchasing the Boss power adapter at your local music store or national chain like Guitar Center for around $20. Trust me because I easily went through an 12 pack of batteries in a week and a half. The Boss Micro BR runs on double A batteries, so you won’t have to worry about looking for special batteries.
Overall, the Boss Micro BR is the perfect companion for any musician and songwriter looking for a relatively cheap and effective method to recording their art. You can learn to use the Micro BR pretty quickly and takes around a half hour to an hour to start recording. Some people will catch on faster but it doesn’t take long to learn the basics. This unit retails for around $230 and you can find it at stores like Guitar Center and online at sites like Musiciansfriend. I would take this little thing over more expensive equipment due to its portability and the quality of music you get from it. Overall, I highly recommend the Boss Micro BR to any musician.
